Forums » Suggestions
Variable Charge Batteries
There's been a lot of talk here recently about batteries, and I just had this idea occur to me. I think it's a seperate enough idea to deserve its own thread.
Mostly, I see this as an 'additional content' type of suggestion, adding more interesting stuff to the game, rather than address any particular gameplay balance issue, which is what most of the battery discussions have been recently. Of course it would also affect gameplay, hopefully in interesting ways.
So, what I'm thinking is there could be three types of batteries: constant charge rate batteries, which are what we have now; variable charge batteries optimized to charge faster when full ("Top Chargers" - can anyone think of something better to call them?); and variable charge batteries optimized to charge faster when empty ("Bottom Chargers").
The most obvious thing that this would affect is infiniturbo. For the "Top Chargers" if you keep your energy above a certain percentage, your battery will charge fast enough to give infiniturbo, but if it's too low, turbo will drain (and the lower the capacity is, the faster turbo will drain). "Bottom Chargers" on the other hand, would drain down to a certain point, draining slower the lower it goes, until eventually it reaches equilibrium & stops draining.
Choosing numbers is (as always) the hardest thing, as the wrong numbers could easily unbalance everything. Just some rough numbers here that might not work very well:
Top Charge:
Capacity: 100
Charge Rate (0% - 100% Capacity): 20 - 65
Bottom Charge:
Capacity: 500
Charge Rate (0% - 100% Capacity): 65 - 20
The Top Charge battery would be preferred by traders for long inter-system trips due to its low battery capacity (quicker WH jumps), but has the disadvantage of needing to be charged up a ways before they can infiniturbo - which gives pirates an advantage for catching traders coming out of WHs. It would also be nice for long-range (especially inter-system) fighters with energy efficient weapons, as it could give them infiniturbo if they manage their energy well & keep it high enough.
The Bottom Charge battery takes longer to to get through wormholes due to its high capacity & low charge rate when charged higher, but traders might still like to use it because it gives them infiniturbo right out of the wormhole, and will actually charge up to a certain point while turboing. And it would also be a favorite of fighters with energy hungry weapons, thanks to its high capacity and fast charge when drained, but would be harder to use in chases (especially inter-system) due to turbo draining down to equilibrium, and needing to wait to recharge before jumping through WHs.
Mostly, I see this as an 'additional content' type of suggestion, adding more interesting stuff to the game, rather than address any particular gameplay balance issue, which is what most of the battery discussions have been recently. Of course it would also affect gameplay, hopefully in interesting ways.
So, what I'm thinking is there could be three types of batteries: constant charge rate batteries, which are what we have now; variable charge batteries optimized to charge faster when full ("Top Chargers" - can anyone think of something better to call them?); and variable charge batteries optimized to charge faster when empty ("Bottom Chargers").
The most obvious thing that this would affect is infiniturbo. For the "Top Chargers" if you keep your energy above a certain percentage, your battery will charge fast enough to give infiniturbo, but if it's too low, turbo will drain (and the lower the capacity is, the faster turbo will drain). "Bottom Chargers" on the other hand, would drain down to a certain point, draining slower the lower it goes, until eventually it reaches equilibrium & stops draining.
Choosing numbers is (as always) the hardest thing, as the wrong numbers could easily unbalance everything. Just some rough numbers here that might not work very well:
Top Charge:
Capacity: 100
Charge Rate (0% - 100% Capacity): 20 - 65
Bottom Charge:
Capacity: 500
Charge Rate (0% - 100% Capacity): 65 - 20
The Top Charge battery would be preferred by traders for long inter-system trips due to its low battery capacity (quicker WH jumps), but has the disadvantage of needing to be charged up a ways before they can infiniturbo - which gives pirates an advantage for catching traders coming out of WHs. It would also be nice for long-range (especially inter-system) fighters with energy efficient weapons, as it could give them infiniturbo if they manage their energy well & keep it high enough.
The Bottom Charge battery takes longer to to get through wormholes due to its high capacity & low charge rate when charged higher, but traders might still like to use it because it gives them infiniturbo right out of the wormhole, and will actually charge up to a certain point while turboing. And it would also be a favorite of fighters with energy hungry weapons, thanks to its high capacity and fast charge when drained, but would be harder to use in chases (especially inter-system) due to turbo draining down to equilibrium, and needing to wait to recharge before jumping through WHs.
...wow
a very novel idea, seems to be on the right track; It's such a radical departure from what we have now, though, that I'd really need to see it in practice.. still:
[stamp of approval]
a very novel idea, seems to be on the right track; It's such a radical departure from what we have now, though, that I'd really need to see it in practice.. still:
[stamp of approval]
Sounds interesting.
-:sigma.SB
-:sigma.SB
that does sound pretty cool. One of my pet peeves about bataries is that there are realy only two types worth concidering and i personaly havn't found much use for the heavy battery.
This could make for some interesting new dunamics to battery choice.
This could make for some interesting new dunamics to battery choice.