Electronic & Propulsion Warfare

A new gameplay mechanic for the Electronic & Propulsion Warfare system has been planned since early 2004, it’s finally ready and will be updated on to the test server (Singularity) on next scheduled update which is on the 15th of february.

The goal with the changes is to add more depth to this part of supportive combat:

• Making players choose suitable targets based on range and defences.
• Allowing specialized players in a specific field (for example using multiple jammers) to distribute their attacks better on multiple targets based on success.
• Giving more specialized skill training to players in these activities.
• Possibly allowing players to ECM target jam NPC’s successully + allowing NPC’s to do the same thing.

The problem with the current system, gameplay wise, is twofold:

1. Range – infinite range (ECM, RSD, Tracking Disruptor) & module won’t operate outside specific range (Warp Scrambler, Stasis Webifier, ECM Burst)

2. Module Stacking – counting on activating enough modules on a target for and on/off effect where neither you can effect a player unless having enough of these modules or the target can’t stand a chance to get away from the effect (ECM, Warp Scrambler)

The solution to these problems will also be twofold, all the modules listed for these changes will get range factors and the modules that previously counted on enough stacking will be getting a chance based factor:

1. Range “without” Limits – modules will be getting Optimal Range & Fall Off which will make them act like “Turret Accuracy” works (besides the tracking speed and size of target), the module will have 100% of working within Optimal Range but the chance of the module to effect the target decreases if the target is outside that range (this is where the Fall Off range comes into play) – see forum thread with graph to explain the range

2. Individual Module Attack – the modules that previously counted on the stacking affect will be handled as individual attacks, each of them having a chance to affect the target; the attack strength is divided with the defence strength for a chance based roll – see forum thread with graph to explain the individual module chance

PLEASE NOTE before replying:
We estimate that the new system will be in testing / tuning phase for atleast a month and a half. Tuning has not been finilized yet, so a lot of changes will be occuring to modules & ships, specially since new skills will be available and more modules will be added to the game. So do not consider these values as final, we are still looking for comments on the values that will play a part in the new system and we will also be looking at other attributes that have different usability on various ships (for example capacitor usage, CPU need, etc.).

More Details & Updates:
There is a forum thread open that is focused on this topic where more details of this system is explained + new skills listed & various ship/module changes and the state on current items for testing. The post will be constantly updated with occuring changes.
The Forums Post

Your truly,
TomB