[MOD] [TC/AP] X3 Rebalance Mod (XRM) - Total conversion - v1.30d (02.12.13)

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d_ka
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Post by d_ka » Tue, 31. Mar 15, 13:32

MP are indeed very cheaty. I use MRT mainly to fix ships, and since the original script was charge free i switched to Dr.B´s one ( it trains marines too, which is a nice way to get drilled marines quicker ).
And it is not so much about repairing the hull, but all the software ( though: using Player Workshops helps a tonn ), shields&weapons - so you need your own small plex, or you barter the hell out of the system, or just buy them if you find enough in storage. In any case it becomes a full time job if you happen to have a considerable fleet(s). Oh, and as has been said: loosing a single fighter ( M3+ are the worst ) negates any profits you might make earning the bounty ;)

But all in all, it´s certain balance issues which bother me more, rather then gamey questions about what to do with virtual money.
"Only fools seek power, and only the greatest fools seek it through force".

Taro8
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Post by Taro8 » Wed, 1. Apr 15, 02:00

Yes, but they're unbelievably cheesy IMO. Even the HQ stations have a significant repair cost, but the maintenance pod is absurdly efficient compared to every other option. I stopped using them when I realised just how much money they could generate out of almost nothing, especially combined with hacking.
If they were more expensive would you consider them more balanced? I think it should be pretty easy to change their price.

Master of the Blade
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Post by Master of the Blade » Wed, 1. Apr 15, 20:00

They'd have to be outrageously expensive to be remotely balanced, due to the low cost of the repairs they give. Increasing the value of quantum tubes by a large amount would be a better fix to this specifically, but would throw loads of other stuff out of whack.

I think a way of improving the profitability of large scale combat would be to add large (50-60Mcr) bounty rewards for destroying key stations, such as Pirate Anarchy Ports, Xenon Stations/Shipyards or Kha'ak stations (if they're still a thing.). This would allow some leeway with losses, without trivialising the loss of something as valuable as an M1 or M2.
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paulwheeler
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Post by paulwheeler » Wed, 1. Apr 15, 23:13

What could be done is reducing the amount of hull repair per shot. I balanced these repair ships before they were automated. Now they are essentially fire and forget, maybe they need readdressing.

There already is special bounties for certain stations/ships. For instance, the Khaak queen has a special reward. This could be extended.

Master of the Blade
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Post by Master of the Blade » Thu, 2. Apr 15, 14:35

What could be done is reducing the amount of hull repair per shot. I balanced these repair ships before they were automated. Now they are essentially fire and forget, maybe they need readdressing.
That is a much more reasonable solution, I'm stupid. :lol:
If the repair pod was only as good as the space suit, or maybe a little better, you would pay a significant amount in time (or lots of money for more pods), and the quantum tube efficiency would be lower, making it less suitable for gluing nearly dead capitals back together.

I got 1.5MCr from killing the X347 Xenon station, and nothing for killing the shipyard in that sector. While the total bounty reward for clearing out the Xenon in order to do this was substantial (in the region of 60MCr total I think), I still had to reload several times because of the loss of a single frigate. Rewards for 'strategic' kills should probably be higher, though the bounty on Xenon command ships doesn't need increasing since they usually make themselves a 20MCr+ bounty by preying on shipping.

Maybe just a pipe dream here since I imagine it would require significant rewriting, but what if the bounty on stations scaled with the kills made by ships they send out? For example, when a marauding K kills something, the station it reports as its 'homebase' gains a bounty? Considering how long stations last and how many raiding parties they can send out in that lifetime, they'd probably need a lower growth rate than individual ships have.
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d_ka
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Post by d_ka » Thu, 2. Apr 15, 18:23

And after a while a station netts you about 100 mio bounty? Yea, that would totaly justify the effort, i´d say :)
Btw: Why are there no bountys from Pirates/Yaki upon other races ships that have dealt significant damage to them? I never bothered with Pirate Guild/Yaki Armada ( because i´m really scared to overload my poor lappy any more :o ), how is it with those scripts installed, and would it make any sence to give the outloaws their own bounty system, if those separate scripts are not installed?

As a side note: I really wonder how those blody Pirates ( and their Teladi pendants ) are able to kill anything flying those.... i don´t even have a name for them... :lol:
I mean, FusionBombLauncher is an awfull weapon, those ships are bullet catchers, and their speed won´t help them to escape since they gonna be daead too soon.
Geochen vs. Tern - what´s the thing with those? Aside that Tern is a super carrier, the Geochen is kind of lame ( and has even less shields ). A midged of a twin, hu? ^^
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BlackArchon
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Post by BlackArchon » Thu, 2. Apr 15, 18:40

The pirate M2s (and their Raven) can use photon pulse cannons in addition to the usual Teladi gauss cannons. Especially in mid-range combat (IS) and OOS this means they have more firepower than their Teladi stock versions, because the PPC does about 25% more shield dps than the GC.

Master of the Blade
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Post by Master of the Blade » Thu, 2. Apr 15, 18:57

A station would have to live for a VERY long time to get a really large bounty though, and it would make a lot of sense for races to handsomely reward the one who destroys the station coordinating the neverending plagues of Xenon.

The Tern is maybe a little bit OP, it has more flak mounts than the Geochen and 4 docking clamps for M6 ships, for only 1GJ less shielding. Not a huge deal, and I've really liked having the Geochen around as a flak frigate, as its extra shielding helps it survive getting attacked by capitals. The other Teladi carrier frigate, the Heron, has far more fighter slots and 6GJ shielding, so they're more or less balanced against each other.

I think a bigger issue is with the Boron Hammerhead and Coelacanth - the Coelacanth is better in almost every way barring speed, for only a few million credits more. The Boron also lack a flak frigate, so it might be worth converting the Hammerhead into a carrier/flak hybrid like the Cerberus, with only 8-10 hangar slots.

As for vanilla frigates which probably need looking at, the Aegir, Yokohama, Deimos, Tiger and maybe Shrike are rather weak for their pricetag.

Pirate capitals being a bit weak makes a lot of sense, since they would be salvaged/stolen race ships, and pirates aren't likely to have the resources to maintain them. They're still reasonably strong. The FuBL isn't as bad as you might think when it's supporting 'proper' capital weapons as well.
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BlackArchon
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Post by BlackArchon » Thu, 2. Apr 15, 19:50

I wouldn't put the Shrike in a line with the Aegir, Yokohama, Deimos and the Tiger - the Shrike has 8 capital ship class weapons (IBL), while the others don't have any.

d_ka
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Post by d_ka » Thu, 2. Apr 15, 20:16

Concerning Teladi/Pirate Frigates:
First, both are crappy saucers; Teladi ain´t famous for their space engineering ( it´s pretty much X3 canon ), and Pirates have even less ressources to build their own ships.
That said, i´d like to see more significant differences between each of them, couple of examples:
1. Geochen - Teladi Flak Frigate? Fine, but not the Pirate version ( already ).
It´s appr. 9m/s more speed ( and a bit agility ) are a very expensive "buy" for the Pirate Geochen: -2Gj shielding, neglectable WRR, -1k cargo space, and all that for about 2mio, credits more? Ha!
2. Why whould pirates have restricted ( aside super high tech beam lasers, perhaps ) wepon loadout? Raven, Galeon, Brigantine - the all have at least PPC access. In my book, Pirate ( and Yaki, to a certain degree ) ships need more variety on usable weapons.
3. Pirate versions of those ships should not absolutely follow the path of their commonwealch pendants. What is a flak Frigate for Teladi, might be some super fast assault Frig. for Pirates.

Geochen lacks Flaks in its side turrets, so it could be even more specialized.
Just imagine you get the chance to steal/build together kind of such a ship, woulldn´t you try to specialize it in one, or two, directios, to pronounce the strong sides of your creation ( and thus, the original design ), instead of trying to balance it? Especially when you are a Pirate?
A Geochen of my liking would loock more like this:
- for sure capital ship gunns: no matter if the WRR is sufficient ´cause it´s a super fast, and light ship, but with "boom" potential for hit&run
- very agile, and even faster then right now
- definetly less cargo space then Teladi original, this ain´t an half armoured traider, this is a pirate raiding ship!
- any standard gun available for them, flaks too, aside from high tech beam weapons, and no terran weapons too ( are also high tech, imo, at least in theory :p )
- boarding pods usage is a must - it´s a freakin pirate ship

Pirate Tern, on the other hand, i rather see as their Mobile Repair base:
- slow/ not agile: c.a. 60m/s
- perh. 2 docking ports for Corvettes is enough
- strong shields: 8 Gj, and rel. good recharge rate.
- no Frigate class gunns - flaks/fighter anti missile/anti fighter defence
- crappy WRR
- kind of hull regen. function ( repairs itself in time )
- build in Military Scanner

Carrack:
- NO friggin mainguns! ( please ) - it´s brother model, Astraeus has one!
- better cockpit ( bridge ) positioning
- specialization: Boarding ops. - IPG already available as weapon
- maybe IC in the rear turret, so it can manouver around, while laming it´s oponents?
- bit stronger shield. gens, perhaps. generaly, the ship is too weak for it´s price, and the purpose i actually try to assign to it :?
- build in Military Scanner ( for better preying on the weaklings :p )

Talon:
As is, Pirate Assault Frigate. Generaly, i´d like to see all their ships getting better turning rates, and overall bit speed increas ( or if that´s too bad for collision aviodig, acceleration doubled, i´d say ).

Shrike:
Well, i don´t know, maybe an Assault Carrier for poorer Pirates? :D
Moar gunns, heavy Gunns ( side turrets need IBL! ;) ). It´s not ment to be in a prolonged battle ( see: crappy WRR ), if it´s kind of a Gun Ship ( with frontal guns ), it has poor range due to IBL only, thus allowing Pirate using other weapons like PIC etc.

Well, just my 2 Cent, feel free to tear them to peaces ;)

P.S: Frigate guns ( CiG etc. ) need speed buff up to their larger counterparts from destroyers. And maybe? bit more range - their damage is still low enough not to be that strong; plus - more energy consumtion if made better.

P.P.S: The poor Tenjin needs some love, too. It´s agility is even worth then some Corvette.
"Only fools seek power, and only the greatest fools seek it through force".

ganon23
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Post by ganon23 » Mon, 6. Apr 15, 15:25

Hi,

I just installed this MOD yesterday and I'm loving it, however I really hate the new weapon sound effects. I couldn't find any solution on Google so I'm asking here, how do I play the XRM mod with the original weapon sounds?

EDIT: I also just found a glitched sector wich I want to report. In Mandalay there's apperantly a South Gate leading to a sector called "Credits Received", this sector is not cartographed on the Universe Map that is linked in this thread regarding XRM. It contains some random stations and some pirates and I couldn't get out of there since the game froze when I tried to go back to Mandalay through the northgate, the screen just stayed black for 2 minutes, then I gave up and restarted the game.

EDIT 2: Where can I buy non-military factories like Chip Plants, Ore Mines etc. in XRM? Every Shipyard I visit only has weapon, shield and rocket factories and sometimes Orbital Weapon Platforms on sale, but none of the "normal" ones :(

BlackArchon
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Post by BlackArchon » Wed, 8. Apr 15, 19:48

ganon23 wrote:...
EDIT 2: Where can I buy non-military factories like Chip Plants, Ore Mines etc. in XRM? Every Shipyard I visit only has weapon, shield and rocket factories and sometimes Orbital Weapon Platforms on sale, but none of the "normal" ones :(
You can buy civil stations in the showrooms - these are (mostly) civil shipyards.

Viliae
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Post by Viliae » Wed, 8. Apr 15, 23:26

Hello
ganon23 wrote:Hi,(...)
EDIT: I also just found a glitched sector wich I want to report. In Mandalay there's apperantly a South Gate leading to a sector called "Credits Received", this sector is not cartographed on the Universe Map that is linked in this thread regarding XRM. It contains some random stations and some pirates and I couldn't get out of there since the game froze when I tried to go back to Mandalay through the northgate, the screen just stayed black for 2 minutes, then I gave up and restarted the game.(...)
First:
"Credits Received" were always in XRM (north of "Void of Opportunity" - originally "Unknown Sector" in Vanila), but due to map changes in patch 3.0(?) and additional plots (another player sector) its location were changed.
Second:
You will find that "Vestibule of Creation" is now called "Omega expanse" (due to failed Betty pronounce).
Third:
Never got problem with leaving "Credits Received".

ganon23
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Post by ganon23 » Thu, 9. Apr 15, 01:16

"Credits Received" were always in XRM (north of "Void of Opportunity" - originally "Unknown Sector" in Vanila), but due to map changes in patch 3.0(?) and additional plots (another player sector) its location were changed.
Yes I noticed that aswell by now, however there are 2 Credits Recieved Sectors now or what? Because both, the one north of Void of Opportunity and the one south of Mandalay are existing in my game, weird stuff :?

RicoOcho
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Post by RicoOcho » Fri, 10. Apr 15, 03:51

If i understand correctly, Entry level Frigates (Tigers, Cerbs, Diemos etc) are meant to take on fighters and corvettes..where as the heavy frigates (Cyclops, Ocelots etc) are meant to take one those entry level frigates and escort the M2's n M1'S.

Think the only modification i did was to the ion shard rail gun..2.xx Km for its range was way to low...wasnt shooting at all when it came around to protecting its ocelot brethren from fighters as the Ocelot was taking on enemy frigates .. ...kicked it up a couple for more KM for flack barrage effect etc
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Master of the Blade
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Post by Master of the Blade » Fri, 10. Apr 15, 14:44

The problem is, they don't. The Deimos LOSES the fight with a heavy M6, because it has so little turreted firepower. For the same cost or thereabouts, a flak frigate is much more effective against fighters and corvettes while also being faster (see Logich versus Yoko. Wolf vs Tiger isn't quite as clear cut because of the Wolf's 2GJ shielding, but it has over twice the turreted weaponry IIRC).
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d_ka
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Post by d_ka » Sat, 11. Apr 15, 05:26

In XRM most of the ships have experienced speed increases, and while the Frigates have stayed at a moderate rate, the speed of Fighters, and Corvettes is really up now, which means that the turning rates lagg behind if they ain´t adjusted ( vanilla: Dragon -3.8 vs. XRM Dragon c.a 20 ). The M6 agility has been drastically improved, thanks Paul again ( though Split versions feel bit "fighter like" ), and they can now mess with fighters IS very well. Although front turrets instead of main guns would have solved this problem at a very moderate agility upgrades, imo ). Many M7 have still their main guns, and pretty much moderate turning rates, which leads them to fullfill the "wounded fox manouver", as i like to call it ( turning around it´s axis forever, trying to get hit on a target ).
One could increase their agility even more, but it somehow defeats the purpose of such big ships ( though, in case of Pirate M7 i´d seriously think about it ). Or one could simply give those Front Turrets instead of main guns, with nice angle. Boom, problem solved.
Also, most ships in X3, esp. those with main guns, are very forward oriented. Which, on one hand, makes them very one sided ( player can kill them easily flying a more agile ship, that´s the "point" here, i guess^^ ), and on the other, makes them pretty weak against multiple oponents. A more balanced layout ( along with improvement of speed of Corvette/Frigate weapons like CIG ), would be more effective, imo. At least for some models.
Unless one has Adv. Fight Scripts installed, but those aiin´t a part of vanilla XRM, and have their own issues, so...
"Only fools seek power, and only the greatest fools seek it through force".

leoriq
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Post by leoriq » Sat, 11. Apr 15, 21:10

M7 with front turrent instead of main guns is a big no-no for player's ship IMHO - I've tried it, and they behave just like an overgrown M6. Thicker shields, same hitting power.

If the ship has heavy main guns and weak turret coverage - it's intended to be used against larger ships, not smaller, and vice versa. The targets for the light frigate are M7M and M7C, not corvettes.

No one goes after fighters in light M6.

RicoOcho
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Post by RicoOcho » Sun, 12. Apr 15, 03:29

Master of the Blade wrote:The problem is, they don't. The Deimos LOSES the fight with a heavy M6, because it has so little turreted firepower. For the same cost or thereabouts, a flak frigate is much more effective against fighters and corvettes while also being faster (see Logich versus Yoko. Wolf vs Tiger isn't quite as clear cut because of the Wolf's 2GJ shielding, but it has over twice the turreted weaponry IIRC).
Depends on set up.
Example, i have a Cyclops that is escorted by a Cerberus and its complementary fighters and an M6.
Ocelot is escorted by a tiger( i modified the range for the ion shard railguns) and a M6.
2 x Kvasirs each escorted by an Aegir and an M6

the fat kids ( M2s) go in pairs or escorted by one of the M7 squads i posted..

they work perfectly in battle and are fun to watch them pew stuff

Haven tried paranid class yet so dont know how they will react etc
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RicoOcho
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Post by RicoOcho » Sun, 12. Apr 15, 03:42

leoriq wrote:M7 with front turrent instead of main guns is a big no-no for player's ship IMHO - I've tried it, and they behave just like an overgrown M6. Thicker shields, same hitting power.

If the ship has heavy main guns and weak turret coverage - it's intended to be used against larger ships, not smaller, and vice versa. The targets for the light frigate are M7M and M7C, not corvettes.

No one goes after fighters in light M6.
thats why you need escorts for the escorts.
An object in motion, stays in motion unless acted on by an outside force.
Sir Isaac Newton, The meanest person in space.

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