Ambrosia Software Web Board: The mystery of Defense Drones - Ambrosia Software Web Board

I've always wondered about the little guys. Not only can you not build them in any net level, you also can only build them in one single player level, and not a very significant one either, and after which they are never seen or heard of again.

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-Traek Cicion of the Taeskor

"Never tell me the odds!"
-Han Solo

"Then we'll do it real quiet-like."
-Han Solo

I agree with you. Defense drones should have a bigger part in the game. I think that's why Mag put defense drones in the Rogue.

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Long Live Apple! Long Live the Mac!
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By the way, were you Commander Cicion in the past?

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Long Live Apple! Long Live the Mac!
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Quote

I can answer that.

Yes he was, look in the Officer's Club Bar about page 5-8 or somewhere in there... He changed his name when his character resigned from the fleet and became a pure taeskor.

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[This message has been edited by Avatara (edited 09-29-2000).]

Defense drones are too powerfull in my opinion. If we were to put them in Net levels, attacking would be pointless because all the money would be spent on defense drones.

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Give a man a match and he'll be warm for an hour... Set him on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.
-Polaris Confederate Recruitmant Theme
StarLance

HVDs and Carriers can outrange Defence Drones, though.

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"I can ail what cures you."

This is my guess:

When A.G. made Ares he originally had many levels with defense drones including mutliplayer. But when it was tested by players they found that even though many ships can outrange defense drones, the escorts of the hvd or carrier go forward and try to engage head-on. Since this is an insoluble problem in Ares, he thought that it would give too much advantage to the defender, who can still fight back from their wall of d-drones and therefore included them in a single level as a remnant of the testings.

Therefore defense drones or static defenses could never have any part in Ares, because if you made them less powerful, they wouldn't be worth buying (or too cheap thereby slowing the game down with many of them).

-Captain Calculas (Confidential bus-conductor to the President of France and Wartime Minister for Health & Sound.)

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"Me troubled by schizophrenia? Honestly.

I just tell the voices to shut up..."

I think there might be some truth to that.

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"I can ail what cures you."

That's too bad about the defense drones. They're almost like buildable flak drones in some ways. I suppose I have to agree that they can be very cracked in the fact that they make a nearly impenatrable defense for planets against transports cruisers and the like.
Gunboats tend to knock out defense drones fairly quickly though. The Ishiman Gunship can knock over a DD quite quickly, and without too much damage taken. One Gunship could probably take down a large number. And with a large number of gunships, you can take out defense drones. Canth Gunships I would think would do a decent job of it, with that huge-ass gun. Sal would do good, and the Gaitori's can outrange the DD's by magnitudes. Carriers might be torn up a bit, since they might not have the manueverability to dodge a bit, and can't deliver as much DIRECT firepower as a gunship can. But they can take a heavier beating and could probably overwhelm DD's.

As far as evening out the playing field, I once read an article (by Slug?) about Gunships and the like as anti-carrier, Carriers as anti-cruiser and Cruisers are anti-Gunships. Defense drones would fit in (and weapons should be gauged towards) small craft. Therefore, the larger ships would plow through but the DD's would be able to repel smaller forces, such as those of small, fast ships making a disruptive raid. Or to repel tranports. It'd add an interesting aspect to tactics and strategy. It would add in the aspect of hardened bases and the task of assaulting them.

Besides, nobody in their right mind would focus on DD's. Like so many strategists have said, one can never win a battle from the defensive. So, if you built up the hugest defense in the game, invariably the person who's been building HVD's, Carriers, Gunships and cruisers will sail in and whomp your ass, since all you have are DD's. You'll lose, no matter how many you have. So, perhaps Defense drone's aren't as bad as some people originally thought.

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Ne Cede Malis Sed Contra Audientor Ito

Not true. I said that it is a well know fact that AI ships like to get into close combat (like in the way those annoying fighters bump you around) without any sense of self-preservation. A defense drone will be able to take a carrier's shields down to about half, but they const the same as cruisers. You do the math.

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Give a man a match and he'll be warm for an hour... Set him on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.
-Polaris Confederate Recruitmant Theme
StarLance

Well, some changes might have to be made like higher shields w/ light weapons gauged towards small ships or pathetic shields with decently powerful weapons.

Perhaps the option of pathetic shielding with weapons that'll pack a punch. Thus, one defense drone won't be much of a threat except to something like a fighter or a cruiser, as a larger ship'll absorb the damage and plow right through the drone...

In massive numbers, they might get dangerous (same as anything else) but not without their weaknesses. Perhaps a tad more expensive than cruisers?

As for taking down a carriers shields... well, that's the point isn't it?
Less shielding on the drones part might even the playing fields a bit.

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Ne Cede Malis Sed Contra Audientor Ito

I think they're fine. If you only build them, you won't be able to win, anyway, so it's pretty pointless. And they can just fly their fleet in, and while their fleet is engaging your HVD, they can just sit in their HVD and pound the defence drones to dust from beyond their range.

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"I can ail what cures you."

Mabe DDs could be vulnerable to ENgineer pods...

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"Then enemy gate is down"
-Ender, "Ender's Game"

Nah

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Oh, I'm not saying those Alduran ships are bad. In fact, they make excellent minesweepers. Once.

-Orion Axis General Marxx
StarLance

Unless you want a long game, just building Defense drones for an attack force is not recommended. Those things move slow, though they can turn fast. Maybe someone who is making an Ares plug can slip a few in...

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There's no way DD's could be an attack force. They're about four times slower than transports, at least. It would be like an interstellar journey without FTL drive.

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-Traek Cicion of the Taeskor

"Never tell me the odds!"
-Han Solo

"Then we'll do it real quiet-like."
-Han Solo

Mabe they could have some one-time-use hyperdrive? Mabe it could be incredibly slow, like Human speed...

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"Then enemy gate is down"
-Ender, "Ender's Game"

But if you gave them superlight boosters, they'd be able to attack, which would be unfair. Defense drones trade movement for superiority in combat. You'd have to take away the superiority in combat if you gave them superlight boosters, and then there wouldn't be much point.

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"I can ail what cures you."

Precisely.
Defense drones are for exactly what they say. DEFENSE.
They do great at sitting stationary, and shooting whatever comes nearby... Unfortunatly, you can't transfer DD's to outlying colonies unless they can produce them too (or REALLY long chains of DD's heading off into the stars). But then again, DD's will free up ships that would otherwise be needed at home.

Regardless of various uses, they would add a strategic element of immobile, buildable fortifications that is otherwise absent from ares. I'd enjoy it. And use it.

Plus the comps would be completly baffled by it

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Ne Cede Malis Sed Contra Audientor Ito