Hi. I was reading through the entity text files and had ideas for a gameplay mod that would make ships less self-sustainable. The idea is that even though fleets can operate remotely, behind enemy lines, after enough combat they need to come back to base to be fully repaired and resupplied. Attacks would have to be better planned and coordinated as if a fleet gets hit hard then it will have a tough time building back up strength without going back home to recharge.
I'm primarily interested in modding for single-player, but perhaps some of these ideas would work in multiplayer as well.
I'm looking for input on answering the following questions for the ideas below:
* Is the mod feature possible with the current game
* Would developers have to add features to make the mod idea work?
* Would any of these ideas break the AI?
1) Fighter manufacturing changes
* Ships would no longer build their own fighters (but would carry more squadrons)
or, ships can still make fighter ships, but extremely slow to build and cost antimatter
* The Hanger Defense structure would be responsible for preparing new fighters for ships with hanger bays
* Would this change break the AI, as in, the AI would have no idea it ran out of fighters and would have to go back to pick up more?
2) Hull regeneration changes
* Ships would regenerate hull up to a certain percentage, such as 60% of maximum hull.
To repair any more requires going back to a Repair Platform or being repaired by another support ship (such as the Robotics Cruiser)
* Would add Robotics-cruiser like support ship for all races
I get the feeling this change would require the developers to add a new ship attribute, such as MaxRestoreHullPoints, which would work with the HullPointRestoreRate.
3) Ship production changes
* When ships are created they are fully stocked with shields and antimatter and fighters.
* For ships with hanger bays the ship construction time would be extended to allow building of the full fighter capability.
The problem with creating default maximum fighters is how to set the default selection, fighters and/or bombers. Could a GUI be introduced to allow players to decide what fighter types are selected by default when a new cruiser or capital ship is constructed?
4) Civilian Platform changes
* Give civilian platforms light defensive capabilities. Or, perhaps make this feature an upgrade for civilian platforms.
5) General combat changes
* Capital ships would have some point-defense capabilities against fighters and smaller ships (haven't thought this one out, yet). Perhaps this feature would be an upgrade.
Any input appreciated, thanks.
