I had a quick idea to diversify the arsenal of Airships, as well as add something unique to buildings or landships giving them more validity over airships.
It's a module suggestion, here's how it would generally appear in the game:
Interference Drive
"Basically a gigantic volatile mix of charged suspendium strapped to a equally gigantic gyroscope and some magical science devices.
The Interference Drive will consume coal to generate pulses that drastically lower the service ceiling of all airships in combat until they recover.
Gains a bonus against airships with multiple suspendium lift devices and the Drive recharges faster with each pulse until all ships are inescapably grounded.
Explodes violently when damaged, interference is removed on destruction."
Exact stats up to developer, but this is the general outline I had in mind:
Weight: Very heavy
Health: low
Cost: Very Expensive
Size: 5x5 (or 4x4?)
Crew needed: 4 (3 operators, 1 coal hauler)
Run time before coal refill: 10 seconds.
Interference duration: 5-6 seconds.
Interference service ceiling damage: 20% of max per pulse (stacks up to 5).
Pulse recharge: 50-4 seconds, lowering by 6 seconds each pulse.
--
This thing will really change up the combat in airships, imagine having a late campaign mega-death airship fleet going up against an armoured building with an interference drive and having to time attack your way to not being grounded in the middle of battle. Also imagine slapping one of these on a dedicated landship, or a boarding building. This would be really interesting.
Sounds ... ambitious ... maybe too gamechanging for a continuous pulse?
It made me think of something simpler - a reverse depth charge - a bomb that launches up a couple hundred metres then detonates, everything caught in its radius drops a couple of hundred metres or so, loses thrust and control for its x seconds.
A useful but not overpowering counter to those pesky high level bomberships.
I can see why, hypothetically that original idea could ground an infinite amount of airships in combat. Good addition for a mad scientist blight, though.
That reverse charge idea sounds better for players, especially good because it fills in the niche of anti-ultra high altitude ships.
Bunkers do not need more buffs.....especially one this strong. Although I do like the reverse charge idea, maybe like a suspedium style EMP.
Bombers are still frustratingly difficult to deal with but landships and airships can counter them with proper designs. Bunkers need the counter so they don't get too out of hand.
I like the part of a temporary bouyancy disruption of the idea with lowering service ceiling, but maybe it should be more of nousence than damage and grounding. it might become a bit a weapon of mass distruction if it damages or grounds in battle. that said, it could be a great endboss unique module version that is overpowered with madness forcing a countdown on a confrontation with it.
I feel if it can't ground ships they aren't really worth the trouble, at best it just makes airships bob up and down a lot and making it harder for you to hit them which is actually more disadvantage for you than advantage.
Having the grounding capability immediately is quite overpowered, though.
The best way I can see to make it work without being overpowered would be by having it be a projectile. If the projectile hits it does Y m of service ceiling damage per second for X amount of seconds, the reload is something like X - 4 seconds.
This way ships will gradually lose altitude and can recover just by not getting hit, but enough chained hits will eventually ground enemies.
yeah that could work
or a circle area where the weapon is aimed and builds up (so there is still some time to get away), making the inner circle ground ships and the others around being pulled down, this ways ships on the move are a better target and maybe the damage can be quite higher so ships realy fall out of the sky rather the let them go slow and give celing damage for the center ring ship. sounds also more scary wen ships suddenly plummeting to there deaths.
great idea though, could have it own arangement of modules :P
Air Lord, Engineering Corps
I had a quick idea to diversify the arsenal of Airships, as well as add something unique to buildings or landships giving them more validity over airships.
It's a module suggestion, here's how it would generally appear in the game:
Interference Drive
"Basically a gigantic volatile mix of charged suspendium strapped to a equally gigantic gyroscope and some magical science devices.
The Interference Drive will consume coal to generate pulses that drastically lower the service ceiling of all airships in combat until they recover. Gains a bonus against airships with multiple suspendium lift devices and the Drive recharges faster with each pulse until all ships are inescapably grounded. Explodes violently when damaged, interference is removed on destruction."
Exact stats up to developer, but this is the general outline I had in mind:
Weight: Very heavy
Health: low
Cost: Very Expensive
Size: 5x5 (or 4x4?)
Crew needed: 4 (3 operators, 1 coal hauler)
Run time before coal refill: 10 seconds.
Interference duration: 5-6 seconds.
Interference service ceiling damage: 20% of max per pulse (stacks up to 5).
Pulse recharge: 50-4 seconds, lowering by 6 seconds each pulse.
--
This thing will really change up the combat in airships, imagine having a late campaign mega-death airship fleet going up against an armoured building with an interference drive and having to time attack your way to not being grounded in the middle of battle. Also imagine slapping one of these on a dedicated landship, or a boarding building. This would be really interesting.
Commander
Sounds ... ambitious ... maybe too gamechanging for a continuous pulse?
It made me think of something simpler - a reverse depth charge - a bomb that launches up a couple hundred metres then detonates, everything caught in its radius drops a couple of hundred metres or so, loses thrust and control for its x seconds.
A useful but not overpowering counter to those pesky high level bomberships.
Air Lord, Engineering Corps
I can see why, hypothetically that original idea could ground an infinite amount of airships in combat. Good addition for a mad scientist blight, though.
That reverse charge idea sounds better for players, especially good because it fills in the niche of anti-ultra high altitude ships.
Captain
Bunkers do not need more buffs.....especially one this strong. Although I do like the reverse charge idea, maybe like a suspedium style EMP.
Bombers are still frustratingly difficult to deal with but landships and airships can counter them with proper designs. Bunkers need the counter so they don't get too out of hand.
Commodore
Reminds me of your Suspendium Projectors idea: https://airships.zarkonnen.com/forum/2/topic/827
Both great ideas.
Lieutenant
I like the part of a temporary bouyancy disruption of the idea with lowering service ceiling, but maybe it should be more of nousence than damage and grounding. it might become a bit a weapon of mass distruction if it damages or grounds in battle. that said, it could be a great endboss unique module version that is overpowered with madness forcing a countdown on a confrontation with it.
Air Lord, Engineering Corps
I feel if it can't ground ships they aren't really worth the trouble, at best it just makes airships bob up and down a lot and making it harder for you to hit them which is actually more disadvantage for you than advantage.
Having the grounding capability immediately is quite overpowered, though.
The best way I can see to make it work without being overpowered would be by having it be a projectile. If the projectile hits it does Y m of service ceiling damage per second for X amount of seconds, the reload is something like X - 4 seconds.
This way ships will gradually lose altitude and can recover just by not getting hit, but enough chained hits will eventually ground enemies.
Lieutenant
yeah that could work or a circle area where the weapon is aimed and builds up (so there is still some time to get away), making the inner circle ground ships and the others around being pulled down, this ways ships on the move are a better target and maybe the damage can be quite higher so ships realy fall out of the sky rather the let them go slow and give celing damage for the center ring ship. sounds also more scary wen ships suddenly plummeting to there deaths. great idea though, could have it own arangement of modules :P