Development:Balancing

Development

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Balancing the Races in the Vega Strike Universe

This page is meant to provide a developer's guide to the general way in which the various factions and races found in the Vega Strike universe should behave and interact. The information will be useful for general ship balancing, play balancing, and ai programming, and should hopefully be used for all the above in the future.

However, before digesting any of the material below, it would be a good idea to become familiar with the species and factions within the universe.

Fleet Formation and Tactics

Confed

Empty.

Aera

The Aera are big on frigates and corvette class ships armed with torpedoes, and escorted by assault craft (i.e. fighter/bombers rather than fighters). Their fighters take the task of softening up the enemy while the true capships engage in missile barrage, whilst closing to extreme energy weapons range.

Their subcapitals and light capitals are heavily offensively oriented, and thus rely disproportionately on interceptors and fighters for defense of their true capitals, at least compared to the humans.

They have no bombers, using assualt corvettes for that role. The biggest capitals are special-purposed, emphasizing long-range energy or kinetic engagement, or, in the case of their carriers, massive resupply. However, their cruisers are fairly general.

In summary, the Aera have good small craft, excellent subcapitals, decent but boring small capitals, excellent super-caps. A great example of a deep seated "best defense is a good offense" paranoia. They're nasty.

Rlaan

Keeping in mind that that the Rlaan civilians and military aren't even the same species anymore, here's some general info:

• Their small ships won't have accels as large as the other species.
• Their big ships will be very maneuverable relative to everyone elses, with a much flatter/slower decay curve, that starts from a lower starting point.

The Rlaan will be odd to fight - they won't use missiles, but their capships can outacellerate all of yours, and they like to close and shred at short range. Their top-line small craft will be split into those designed for escort/scout/independent, and those designed to lend special weapons support for capship chase-downs: namely, the Janissary class, which will come in a few variants.

Cargo Space/Upgrade Considerations

Keeping in mind the general rule that military ships have little need for additional cargo space, but require plenty of upgrade space (and visa versa for civvy ships), here's some advice:

Confed

Military vessels contain cargo space purely for the utility transport facility provided ... it is thus minimal. Room enough for something or someone important, tech scavenge, a covert ops probe, or who knows what ... but that's it.

Bombers will want some additional cargo space for provisions on long range missions (mainly fuel).

Aera

Aera ships should be low cargo relative to humans.

Rlaan

Assume a slightly higher upgrade capacity in general (due to different, more compact, engine technology), and negligible cargo capacity for all military ships. Remembering that the Rlaan civilians and military aren't the same species.

General Thoughts

The Human Factions

Do not fall into the trap of thinking of the intentionally divergent human factions in a "people are people" sense. On a scale of "just human" to "really alien," they're more like "aliens with forehead ridges" (to steal a categorization from "the tough guide to the known universe") in their societal makeup, and even, for some, their biology and fundamental natures (to the degree that said exist).

A Confed Citizen's View of the Universe

• Any human who isn't at least a little apprehensive of the Andolians hasn't been paying enough attention.
• The klk'k disturb us because we think we understand them and then occasionally find that we really didn't.
• The aera disturb us because we think that we don't really understand them and then occasionally find that we really did.
• The Rlaan disturb us because we're not sure we'll ever understand them except as they let us.
• The shapers disturb us, because they're only still human because they will it to be so.
• The unadorned disturb us because they're simultaneously crazy and productive.
• The AI quorum disturbs us because we're sure we understood them once, and we aren't sure that's still the case. Many have interests that are more closely aligned with each other than with those who built them, and the vast majority are all are in communication with each other.

To do

FIXME Additional detail and improvements required.