Posted by: Jorgen_CAB
« on: August 09, 2023, 07:07:05 AM »A variable speed fleet can potentially be allot more efficient than a fleet with one common speed... they serve two different train of thoughts in terms of what is efficient. If you have a pure beam fleet you will need to put ALLOT of resources into making sure you are very fast at all times. A mixed speed fleet does not have to do that and can save resources for other things and still have portion of their fleet as fast or probably even faster.
This also ties into beam combat and how it can be done and how efficiently your ships can fight in close range engagements and what beam weapons you choose to use. Laser for example gives you a wide range of flexibility and could be the ONLY beam weapons you divert resources into, so less overall research needed in that case. If you research particle beams you probably also need to at least research railguns or gauss as a secondary weapons system for PD depending on circumstances and how much reliance you make on missiles.
At the end of the day it is more of a strategical thing rather than tactical to have the proper resources at the right place. It is more important that you can strategically manage to out manoeuvre the enemy by having a much larger fleet where an engagement occur than what specific weapons you use, so... strategy and knowledge of enemy presence and strength is more important. No one in their right mind intend to fight a fair fight if they can help it...
So, even if you have a weapon system that is sub optimal in most situations but flexible can strategically be very strong.
In general I think the change will make particle weapons more relevant because it have more DPS in beam combat. Close range beam combat is already a minor part of the game anyway, missiles are still the most strategically powerful weapon in the game as a single system. Not saying that beam weapons is not important or anything, but still...
This also ties into beam combat and how it can be done and how efficiently your ships can fight in close range engagements and what beam weapons you choose to use. Laser for example gives you a wide range of flexibility and could be the ONLY beam weapons you divert resources into, so less overall research needed in that case. If you research particle beams you probably also need to at least research railguns or gauss as a secondary weapons system for PD depending on circumstances and how much reliance you make on missiles.
At the end of the day it is more of a strategical thing rather than tactical to have the proper resources at the right place. It is more important that you can strategically manage to out manoeuvre the enemy by having a much larger fleet where an engagement occur than what specific weapons you use, so... strategy and knowledge of enemy presence and strength is more important. No one in their right mind intend to fight a fair fight if they can help it...
So, even if you have a weapon system that is sub optimal in most situations but flexible can strategically be very strong.
In general I think the change will make particle weapons more relevant because it have more DPS in beam combat. Close range beam combat is already a minor part of the game anyway, missiles are still the most strategically powerful weapon in the game as a single system. Not saying that beam weapons is not important or anything, but still...