Main flaw of GalCiv weapon-armor mechanic

from Stardock Forums

GalCiv suffered immensely from Rock-Paper-Scissors approach to armor and weapons. Just like Endless Space it featured 3 weapon types and 3 armor types. In the end it all boiledto how fast players could refit their ships to match the enemy.

Enemy has missiles and deflectors? Refit to Rockets and ECM. Beams with Armor? Refit to Deflectors with Rockets. And so on.

It does not require any strategy, tactical sence or anything else - you just look at what enemy has and change ship loadout accordingly.

That's why Master of Orion approach is vastly superior to RPS and still rival GalCiv seriesin popularity.

Basically it's only one armor, one shield and huge variety of weapons. Thus, players could build ships according to their tactics, instead of refitting them to match the enemy. And could install additional systems to bolster various ship systems, more powerful shields for example.

You could make rocket ships to pound enemies from afar, or ion ships to blast their inner structure, glass cannons, armored carriers, support ships with tractor beams, super-armored boarding vessels fillde with shuttles  - all this is absent in all GalCivs due to the fact that refitting your ships is the ONLY tactic that is left to you.

From screenshots it is obvious that third installments will see the same mechanic as before. We saw it in GalCiv2 and Endless Space - potentially interesting space battles stripped of 90%of tactics, strategies in an instant.

Please, developers, it's still early beta, at least consider changing this approach. Try MoO way and see if battles and ship developement would be more entertaining than constant refitting.

 

9,866 views 3 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

They're adding a large number of variables like traversal, speed, accuracy/precision, different sub-types of Lasers/Missiles/Mass Drivers and the defenses, alongside pre-battle general orders.

Does that sound better to you? I can see why you would prefer the other way.

Reply #2 from Stardock Forums Top

Sadly, we saw that in Endless Space already. Tactic cards, different speed and accuracy of different weapon types - in the end players reverted to refitting. Just because refitting is much more benefical than all tactics and other bonuses.

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Reply #3 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

Quoting Mucronid, reply 2

Sadly, we saw that in Endless Space already. Tactic cards, different speed and accuracy of different weapon types - in the end players reverted to refitting. Just because refitting is much more benefical than all tactics and other bonuses.
End of Mucronid's quote

I can't explain it well in English, but it's not like Endless Space.