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Dev Post: Overheating gettin’ an Overhaul…

January 16, 2014

Heat is one of our favourite combat mechanics as it provides opportunities for good decision making, bad decision making, and the excitement that comes from not knowing how your decision making will compare to that of your opponents. Big smile

The main goals of this change are to lower the barrier of entry a little so that newer players can choose to jump into overheating earlier, and to expand the heat mechanic to a lot of modules (mostly active midslot modules) that one would expect to use heat but currently do not.

Firstly, we are reducing the Power Grid Management skill requirement to train Thermodynamics from level 5 to level 4. This means that post 1.1 the requirements to train Thermodynamics will be Capacitor Management III, Science IV, and Power Grid Management IV. PGM is still a great skill to get to level 5, but now you can start overheating before starting that relatively long train.

Next, we are expanding what modules can use heat. Modules gaining heat functionality are:

Tracking Computers
Sensor Boosters
Remote Tracking Computers
Remote Sensor Boosters
Remote ECCM
Tracking Disruptors (see associated thread)
Sensor Dampeners (see associated thread)
Target Painters (see associated thread)
ECM Bursts
Smartbombs
Target Spectrum Breakers
Interdiction Sphere Launchers
Omnidirectional Tracking Links (see associated thread)

The overheating effects of the modules will be as follows:

TC, SB, Omni, Remote TC, Remote SB: 15% strength
Remote ECCM: 30% strength
TD, Damp, Painter, ECM Burst: 20% strength
Smartbombs, TSB, Bubble launcher: -15% duration

Most of these modules will be getting heat generation rates in the same range as similar modules, with the notable exception of smartbombs. Overheated smartbombs will give off a lot of heat (less than prop mods but more than most other modules) to ensure that a full rack of them cannot be sustainably overheated for extended periods.

That’s the changes we are making to heat itself in Rubicon 1.1. There are obviously other changes we want to make in the future including improvements to the UI and feedback for colorblind players, but those will need to wait for future releases.

Please take a look at the other threads linked at the top of this post for information on the other module balance changes being made to Ewar modules, Capital guns, and Omnidirectional Tracking Links in concert with these heat changes.

These changes will be on SISI in an upcoming update and we look forward to hearing your feedback.

[ Original Dev Post ]

EW Strength Changes in Conjunction with Heat Iteration

Hello again! This thread will cover the changes to the base stats of Tracking Disruptors, Remote Sensor Dampeners, and Target Painters alongside the expansion of heat to these modules.

I advise reading the Heat Iterations post before this one.

Since we’re giving TDs, RSDs, and Painters the ability to overheat in Rubicon 1.1, we are also going to be reducing their base strength slightly to compensate.

The TL:DR is that all Tracking Disruptors, Remote Sensor Dampeners, and Target Painters will have their base effectiveness reduced by 10%, and at the same time be given the ability to get a 20% effectiveness through overheating.

This means that compared to current TQ values, these modules will be 10% worse when not heated, and 8% better when heated.

The fact that this change reduces the power of these modules a bit for extended engagements and increases their power for shorter bursts is intended. Ewar already lends itself well to longer fights, and now with the ability to increase effectiveness in short bursts more player decision making can play a part in the use of these modules.

These changes will be live on SISI very soon for you to try for yourself, and we look forward to your feedback on these changes and the others we have announced for Rubicon 1.1.

[ Original Dev Post ]