In this thread, I am going to talk about the tech tree. In general most technologies are fine and dandy, so I'm just going to focus on ones I think have a weird strength balance, or may be in an "odd place" on the tree. 1) Neutrino Scanner: I find that this scanner never gives me enough new detail to warrant its taking. I always get Quantum, because I need that level of resolution anyway. 2) Neutronium Armor Coating: I mentioned this in the beta thread but just for completeness. If there is one tech in the game that I feel is absolutely "overpowered" its NAC. The reduction in beam damage is much too great, it completes removes beams as a viable option in the late game...and its too easy to sometimes catch the AI with their pants down (aka focusing too much on beams) and then shred them once you pick up that key amount of Neutronium. The problem is not that the scaling is too good...the problem is this should not scale period, even 20% damage reduction is very good, but its quickly goes off the rails. I never even look at the other neutronium techs because this one is way too good. If you made it 10% scale....still would be much too good. My recommendation, increase the armor scaling, and put a note that says "Beams have a -20% damage reduction (2 neutronium or more)." This puts it more in line with other strategic techs, it gives you a singular cool benefit if you have enough neutronium, but its non-scaling benefit. 3) Galactic Space Port. There is nothing mechanically wrong with this tech. I just note that because of name, every game I think in my head "oh that's one of those techs that gives me a boost if I have a star base", instead of "that's a wonder tech". I don't know if there is really anything to do here but I note it because its such a consistent issue for me. 4) Quantum Singularity Access: This is imo the weakest tech in the game. Blackholes give paltry amount of science, even when I have a number of them, spending a lot of science to get a little more science is not worth it at this point in the game. If this came sooner, maaaaaaaybe it would have value. 5) Autonomous Land Processing Unit: I feel this comes a little too early in the tree for the tremendous bonus it grants...its makes infrastructure development night and day different. 6) Robotic Factory: There is nothing inherently wrong with this tech....but it is the defacto starting tech in almost every game (once in a blue moon I go asteroid mining first if there is a really good asteroid near by, but then this is number 2). No matter what start, what civ... this is the tech I always get first or second. The production increase is too good that early to ignore. And so considering that other thread about speeding up the early game, one idea to do that would be to make Robotic Factory a starting tech, and have your homeworld start with the factory. From there the player has a number of options they may consider, early aggression, asteroids, more terraforming, etc. So I think this would both open up options in the early game as well as speed it up slightly. It also helps newbie players who don't recognize that this is 100% the strategy you should start out with in every game. 7) Galactic Navigation Archive: This is the earliest wonder in the game, weirdly so because it costs just as much as wonders farther down the chain. I feel like this could be pushed back one level to more normalize the wonder timings.... or you could make this cheaper and truly set it up as a more rushable wonder. 8) Ultimate Targeting Algorithms: It is a bit strange that this come one tech level after expert, and gives a bigger improvement than comparing advanced to expert. Expert seems pretty weak, better to just go for ultimate.
I think the weapons and shields need spreading out.I just dont use the early techs in this field,feels a waste.
I agree about Neutronium Armor Coating. After experimenting with it early on, I stopped grabbing it as it was simply unfair for a computer that can't learn to avoid beam weapons. However, anything done to nerf NAC would also require a nerf to Beam Accelerators (hope I got the name right). Helium is the most common strategic resource, and it isn't hard to get ten of them. At that point, beam weapons shred everything without NAC. I once found Quantum Singularity Access handy when playing as the Cervix Sentinels--it's at the end of the shortest tech-tree--but this feels weak compared to the Asteroid Research option. I suppose I agree with the whole list.
On Neutronium Armor Coating, I agree--even with the 1.3.0 nerf to NAC and Interstellar Geology it is still to easy to be completely immune to beam weapons. For that as well as the +10% damage techs (Beam Accelerators especially do to so much Helium-3, but also the missile version, etc.) I'd like to see some sort of diminishing returns with NAC capped at maybe 50% and damage techs if not 50% at least 100%. For instance (I'm sure you know these formulas or others for diminishing returns, but as an example of a curve I think would be reasonable), using the general formula with n = # of Neutronium sources: y = A * (1 - B ^ ( -C * n ) ). Where A = max reduction and B and C define the shape of the curve If you want to keep 1 source at 12.5% reduction and capped at 50% with good returns through n = 8 you could use: Reduction = 50% * (1 - 17.75 ^ ( -0.1 * n ) )
I think the solution to both these issues is obvious. Beam accelerators should partially negate NAC while the former could also receive less of a direct bonus to damage. This would be a minimal change and retain the spirit of the techs
I still think the simplest solution is to have neutronium provide X benefit to armor, and a Y% reduction to beam damage when you have 2 or more sources of neutronium. X and Y are adjusted to balance, but the trick is Y DOES NOT SCALE. As long as Y scales, it will always be completely OP on certain settings.
Well something must be done because right now, here is what happens. I myself don't use NAC as for obvious reasons, it would be devastating towards the AI which already has a difficult time fighting effectively. I've encountered AI factions with full NAC. Because of that, I mostly ignore beam weapons as main offensive guns and relegate them to PD. Once Flak becomes available though, I ignore them entirely. So while I am certain the intent was to offer another interesting choice to the player, that is not what is happening with me, (and many other players I suppose). Now I'm sure the devs understand that there is a problem otherwise the recent changes to NAC resource cost would not have been implemented. The question is, does this change solve the problem?
