New Core: PCore001

[ThePhantom032]

I started with WeedCore 3 as I like quite a few of the changes weed made.
This is a quick release so I am sure I have missed something broken. However I think a quick fix to the most overused broken things in Weedcore 3 is what we need right now, as I think everyone is tired of seeing Phoenix, TF and Rix win nearly every game against any of the other factions.

If anyone wants to check it out before it gets on AU here is the core file (with .txt changelog, too):

I also put the short changelog here (a longer version with explanations is below so if you want my reasons you can skip this):

CODEGeneral:
- reduced gunship agility (turnrate and torque both) by 15% of old value.
- all miners cost 3500 [3000], except belters (3000) [3000] and TF (4500) [4000].
- seismic missile/cannon moved to gar [tac]
- tied ss2/3 to having a sup [not tied]
- Removed Draconium from selectable factions

Phoenix:
- removed vanguard lead indicator
- hyper-jump booster research now needs booster 3 or hvy boost picked up or researched [booster 2]

TF
- nerfed accel to 1.0 [1.15]
- changed the sb weapon A-B Ion Blaster to use 45 [3] shots/ammo clip with same dmg/time.
- changed dmg class of A-B Ion Blaster to 8 [19]. No change to dmg vs stations.

Belters
- returned belts sig to 1 [0.9]
- basic, enh and adv figs now get 910 accel [750]
- fighter-bombers now have 750 hp [450]
- increased belters pod mass to 15 [10]. Flying rocks ftw.

Rix
- added seismic pods for free with adv tac and seismic cannon research to use with sbs. Values like in cc16.
- changed dmg class of rix station drones to 17 [8]. Changes dmg against large station shields only - now x10 [x15]
- fixed hvy scout [SR].
- mining speed 0.9 [1]

OH
- mining speed 1.0 [1.1]

Dreg
- increased pod size to 4 [2]

Any other issues will have to wait for the next version.

As a bonus with explanations to the changes, if anyone cares:

CODEGeneral:
- reduced gunship agility (turnrate and torque both) by 15% of old value. Gunships without gunners are too strong to be cheap -
especially with med3. Gunships are meant to be used with gunners after all, so it should have a harder time aiming the front.
- all miners 500 more expensive, aside from belters. Those miners suck enough to be 3k cheap and were 3.2k originally anyway.
- seismic missile/cannon moved to gar from tac. Seismics are fun and should be useable without having adv tac.
- tied ss2/3 to sup instead of just researching it there. You now can not use it without having a sup.
- Removed Draconium from selectable factions; I wont let unfinished stuff confuse people. It WILL come back once I have all the
stuff needed to make it work - whether weed finishes it in wc4 or I have to do it myself sometime doesn't matter.

Phoenix:
- removed vanguard lead indicator
- hyper booster now needs boost3 or hvy boost (stealing either works even without sup) instead of boost2 - this will make vans
weaker early game while not breaking their (remaining) potential lategame.
I think vanguards are better balanced with this. They are still really strong in the right hands, however since early vangs are
weaker and harder to use enemies get more chance to do something about it, instead of GG at "vanguard research done".

TF
- nerfed accel to 1.0 [1.15]
- changed the sb weapon A-B Ion Blaster to use 45 [3] shots/ammo clip with 1/15th of the dmg each because of a bug that can
make the last shot of the clip deal no dmg.
- changed dmg class of A-B Ion Blaster to 8 [19]. This doesnt affect dmg to stations in any way and clears up an otherwise
unused dmg class. It is unlikely that Ion Blaster will prove to be the new OP weapon for dogfighting since the added spread
pretty much negates any dmg against small enemies.
All these changes were done in cc and worked out well there.

Belters
- returned belts sig to 1 [0.9] (sig works as division instead of multiplication like most other GAs, meaning they are less visible now)
- basic, enh and adv figs now get 910 accel [750] (like cc, but with 10% heavier ships, so worse than cc still)
- added 300 flat hp to belters fighter-bombers (like cc), as they dont mount small shields and otherwise have the same hull as other
faction fbs.
Anyone that had to fly belts wc3 will probably agree that belts figs needed better accel - not like normal factions, but better.
I've put them a bit worse than CC16 levels. Will need to look at this more closely in the future. In CC16 belts scouts, figs,
sfs and ints were also roughly 10-15% smaller, so they should still suck badly even with this perk. Expect more buffs in the
future, but I do want them to feel like flying rocks. Not falling rocks, flying rocks ;-)
- increased belters pod mass to 15 [10] to fit in with the mass increase of other belter ships. Belters get podded a lot. If it should feel
like flying rocks, pods need to be flying rocks too. Maybe they'll get a booster next version. Retrobooster sounds about right to
eject a pod more quickly.

Rix
- added seismic pods for free with adv tac and seismic cannon research to use with sbs, as these are the only sbs not able to mount
seismic cannons or missiles. Values like in cc16. All seismic parts convert into each other when docked.
- changed dmg class of rix station drones from 17 to 8. Only effective change if used against stations as intended is against large
base shields - it was a 15x multiplier while all other factions have 10x multiplier for their ab weapons. its not a big nerf, as
techbases have 2x the hull they have shields, so they lose 1/3rd of 1/3rd of the dmg required to kill a base, meaning 1/9 against
techbases. Only against IC ops they lose 1/6 dmg and for starbases the reduction is 1/8. That means it is an effective 11-16%
dmg reduction depending on base type. May people just stop from soloing everything. Sometimes at least. Just a change because
I saw no reason for it to be different than others and rix sbs are still insanely strong with exp GAs (and decent without them).
- fixed hvy scout SR - weed simply forgot a checkbox here. There are still 2 types of hvy scouts, but the SR version can now be ripped to.
- 0.9 mining speed [1] - their endgame is strong, their research fast.

OH
- 1.0 mining speed [1.1] - their endgame is strong, their research cheap (no money for ships, telerefs)

Both of these factions have sbs without missiles and tts/htts that can kill tps without having to buy bombers.
Their econ was simply too good for that strong endgame.

Dreg
- increase pod size to 4 [2] to increase their ability to pk on minefields. In my test I ran FULL SPEED straight through a 17kb prox 1 and my pod
survived with 30% hull left. I hope anyone else considers that broken too. 4 is the size of most other pods, so im going with that.
For example size 4 rix was able to pk on a prox1 with 10kb without completely crossing it; dreg can do the same now.
Unbelieveable that we had that issue for years? It is, but it is also true!

[ryujin]

nice man!

[ryujin]

tf scouts still op though

edit: a ship that can scout shouldn't be able to beat another factions opening figs...
also did you nerf the tf rp's? those need nerfin too

[Terran]

pretty good changes all around, except the belters changes. i'm not too sure if those perks were necessary. will see i guess

[ThePhantom032]

QUOTE (Ryujin @ Aug 10 2013, 07:43 PM) tf scouts still op though

edit: a ship that can scout shouldn't be able to beat another factions opening figs...
also did you nerf the tf rp's? those need nerfin too

They're still strong, yes. Missiles should win - but I'm gonna make sure seeker1/qf1 is actually worth mounting, as I think their tracking may be so bad they miss by the target just sidethrusing in one direction...
Beacons get more signature and cost in the next version, forgot it in this
I'll make them like IC rescues.

QUOTE (Terran @ Aug 10 2013, 11:14 PM) pretty good changes all around, except the belters changes. i'm not too sure if those perks were necessary. will see i guess

Well, any belters game I have seen in wc03 belters lost.
(Aside from that one game where i commed, went tac on IO and got a horrible stack early in when someone quit, so im not counting that one.)

I had a horrible experience flying the accel-nerfed figs, a horrible experience flying their flaming sbs (~132base sig), and based the important changes on that.

I also see it rarely played, which means its either percieved as weak or at least hard to use by most comms, or it is simply no fun to fly.

If I'm wrong, I should see more belters with my core and they should win often. Until that happens I'm more inclined to believe they need another buff.

[djrbk]

Cool edit bro.

I'll try to try it out tomorrow.

[NightRychune]

i'm real happy for you and imma let you finish

but i had the best belters changes of all time

ALL TIME

[Weedman]

lol