EMP/Device Damage

[Aeonic]

I just had the annoying experience of realizing that EMP protection and device damage protection are NOT the same thing, which somehow just really irks me because I went and EMP-immunized all my armor in order to protect myself from the Ventari only to realize that the ion disruptors don't do EMP damage, they do device damage, even though it seems reasonably the EMP would do device damage since an EMP blast generally fries electronics.

I'm just very annoyed because I lost my x-ray laser and laser collimator to the Ventari all at the same time that the flipping retarded black market shipyard decided to attack me all due to a misconception that EMP-immune armor would block device damage!

Okay, and now that I'm reading the XML files and item descriptions, if an ion disruptor has an "ion stream" that can "penetrate a ship's hull and damage the delicate mechanisms", why exactly don't all the other ion weapons do this?

[Prophet]

Frankly, I'm glad that not all Ion weapons have an EMP effect or do device damage. Perhaps the disruptor uses a specific EM wavelength to achieve this.

I have a feeling that armor with these immunities will be the most sought after in RC3 with the shield nerfs. Who wants to risk their brand new FFH after saving up for 5 systems just to have it turned into a tinker toy?

[Atarlost]

I think device damage needs to get nerfed a LOT. Either any installed device will need to be made repairable at stations or something else equally drastic.

[Ihlosi]

I think device damage needs to get nerfed a LOT. Either any installed device will need to be made repairable at stations or something else equally drastic.

I second that.

Device damage with little to no way of protecting against it (apart from not letting anything take down your shields) and no real way of repairing it just sucks.

[Fossaman]

Yeah, device damage for me equals "Screw this. I'll self-destruct and resurrect, forget the score hit." It's just not fun.

[digdug]

device damage would be more "fair" if we had more possibilities to repair our devices

What about ringers shipyards with repair ability ?

[Atarlost]

Way too late. It has to be on something that appears before Ventari. I'd say drydocks, militia stations, and CSCs.

[Aury]

I'll just say I agree they need to be nerfed.

[Atarlost]

This is the downside of weakening shields and boosting armor. EMP and device damage become crazily overpowered, as if barbaries and dwarg masters and ventari weren't already the most feared opponents of their levels.

[Aeonic]

Incidentally my last insured-death was the result of an encounter with a dwarg base where I was promptly EMPed over and over, sitting there spinning in a circle while little dwargies blasted me to pieces. Nothing I could do about it.

Disabling weapons, disabling shields - things i can live with. Disabling entire ship, preventing you from escaping while you're repeatedly disabled with the same weapons - not fun.

As for device damage, personally I think any dealer should be able to repair it. Its like most shops that sell computers can also repair computers, or most dealers who sell cars can also repair cars. Most weapons deals should be able to repair weapons, and Bushido should repair Bushido, and the other two unpronounceable companies should repair their stuff as well. When devices are damaged, you're stuck working without that device until you find a proper station to repair it for you.

Alternatively, device damage could not disable the device, but weaken it instead. Now the laser does less damage, or the missile launcher fires more slowly, the shield generators only generate 80%... Or maybe things just periodically misfire or don't fire at all. Consecutive damage results in further reductions until the player is inclined to discard their own equipment for something less beat up and uncooperative.

Personally having a weapon that refuses to fire half the time, or occasionally doesn't fire quite straight, or a shield generator that periodically stops recharging, or takes abnormally long to get started again, or just turns off when disabled, or equipment than randomly turns off in general - things like this would be more fun to work with, albeit highly annoying, which gives you a good incentive to trade it in or get it fixed.

[digdug]

so, CSC with repairing dock ?
It sounds like a good idea, and it's also storywise acceptable because CSC are autonomous base-ships, I suppose they repair their own centurions.

[schilcote]

device damage would be more "fair" if we had more possibilities to repair our devices

What about ringers shipyards with repair ability ?

Almighty Wrench. It's on Xelerus. It's awesome.

[Bobby]

weapons can still be used if damaged, provided you re-enable them. they will misfire sometimes.

the same goes for shields(randomly lose charge), and jumpdrives seem to operate normally.

I don't know about the patch spiders, drives, and solar panels.


there's also the repair droids, but I assume this thread is about the vanilla Transcendence universe.

[Atarlost]

And both repair droids and the wrench schilcote suggests are mods. The balance problem is in unmodified transcendence and it needs to be fixed there.

[Prophet]

Perhaps EMP should be like radiation and simply become an inherent immunity in higher level armor.

The only other solution would be to have a device or an overlay that can protect against it.