Ship Balance Poll
1) How often do you use repair bots and shield batteries?
I personally use them more than I'd feel comfortable ... I'm very nervous about damage, so I usually use them at the slightest hint of such.
2) When you do use your repair/shield, do you use them more often to repair minor damage or recover from 5% hull strength?
Both ... sometimes, especially on freighters, I run out of batteries and have to depend on seat-of-my-pants ... I usually survive though.
3) How often do you get hit?
Like I said, more than I'd prefer ... even in the smaller fighters I seem cursed to fly never ending battles where I have to use something like three full recharges and repairs, which in a Titan counts out to something like 20 rb/sb each ... gah.
4) Which is more important: hull strength, or shield strength?
Though I always seem to get my shields shot away, I'd rather have strong those ... if you're reliant on hull strength, you've got a problem ...
5) Is it important to your survival and general mental health to be able to destroy bogeys in one hit? (a la Nomad Gun)
I always thought too much 0wnage was dull ... I actually sold my Eagle for a Humpback because I wasn't having fun anymore. Of course, once I got the thing I wanted more firepower on it In general, slower, less maneuverable ships better have more shields and firepower to even it out.
6) Which do you prefer: strong and slow, or quick and fast?
I honestly had more fun with light fighters than big, safe ships like the Titan ... Fighting something that can snap-roll out of your sights is of course annoying ... though not as annoying as having a big, vulnerable enemy your guns can't whittle down. I used to like the battleship mod, but flying around in a space whale gets really really (really) annoying after a while ... I liked the early wing Commanders, where a couple of shots coult down your fighter and every maneuver counted .... If I had my choice, I'd probably make most of the fighters light fighters, and the rest big, obscenely powerful, Titan-like ships. Probably take away the turrets to even it out.
7) Of the following, which have you USED more: fighters, bombers or freighters?
The first time I played, during MP, I gravitated toward the heavy fighters (being ambivilant towards lights after my starflyer experience, and downright hostile towards freighters after getting fragged over and over in a Rhino). Maybe I got tired of them, because when I finally got around to SP I used light fighters almost exclusively, except for brief moneymaking excursions using freighters. I actually prefer to make my cash through trading, legitimate or otherwise, than through fighting, though it's always nice to get pirate booty <G> I used a lot of freighters, and though I can't really say I like them, probably half my experience is split between them, the other half being equal lights/heavies.
Rate these in order of importance: Speed, Firepower, Protection
Probably Firepower, than speed, with protection a close second. Lots of shields batteries and repair bots, or proficient dodging, can make up for lack of protection but not even a crack shot can fix crap guns.
9) How often do you use turrets?
Well, unless you're flying something relatively agile like a Rhino or Clydesdale, when you fly freighters turrets are a necessity. Even not using them, though, I probably use turrets more than most people. I have the most annoying tendancy to piss off the factions I'm courting, and my days often revolve around running towards a trade lane, cargo in hand, while firing my turrets in their general direction, not so much trying to kill them as to keep them honest.
10) Fight or flight?
Unless I'm deliberately trying to make them mad, or it's part of the mission, or I need the booty, flight. Any animal is dangerous when backed into a corner, though. Even a Humpback <G>
11) What were your thoughts on single-player balancing?
To be honest, I rarely saw a mission twice. I blazed through the game in about two sittings over a weekend. The only time I had serious trouble was on mission 3, when I didn't have enough moolah to trick my Patriot out. I had to reload mission 2 to get to a decent cash level. After that monetary concerns were foremost, and I never had a problem after that.
12) What are your thoughts on multiplayer balancing?
MP is, I think, a lot more addictive than SP. Or it would be if there was more to do. After you get the superfighters (and I think everyone will agree with me here), there really isn't much to do. Nobody's a threat anymore. There should be some suicidal missions with obscenly high cash payouts (we're talking millions here) that only groups can realistically hope to survive. Maybe "destroy these three Nomad battle groups". I mean, I can already slaughter the entire Liberty, Rhineland and Kusari navies. *cough* not that I've ever *done* that *cough* I was also disappointed that you didn't need to use torpedoes all that much. To put it straight, either NPCs need to be tougher, or everyone else weaker. Drastically.
13) How often do you use missiles
Never.
14) How often do you use countermeasures?
I tried it once, with about ten baddies on my tail. It didn't work. I never used it again.
15) How often do you use torpedoes?
I think I used them once in Kusari space to take out a weapons platform, and in the plot missions against fortified Nomads ...
16) How often do you use strafe, enginekill or any of the advanced maneuvers?
What?