June 23, 2013

Moderating Modules

There are a few editorial mistakes that I need to fix, mostly concerning example characters, and I could do that right now and leave it at that, but I could also just as well ask what do people think about the game in general and see if I should change anything else while I'm at that.

The one thing I am more or less sure I want to touch up a little are Modules.

After limiting Enhancements, Modules are the last thing up there in the list of 'things too good to not always get'. Now, they can be Maimed, which has always been their one balancing factor to compensate for their reduced cost, but much like with Sub Units they are always good to have around for basically every character... And since they're just stat-ups that's both powerful and boring. Not a good combo.

With that said, Modules are the only way to represent Alternate Forms with different statlines, they make crafting Grunts a lot easier, and of course sometimes you just want to make the guy who really really is the fastest or toughest and they let you do that. They need to exist, and also to be affordable.

Possible workarounds include making them only applicable to Alternate Forms, making it so you can only grab 10 UP of them, and making them join Sub Units in costing up Archetype slots. Those are the quick and easy solutions, and they need not necessarily be exclusive to each other.

A slightly more involved one is to merge the four existing modules into two, a Speed Module for Evasion and Accuracy and a Power Module for Armor and Penetration. It could cost 10 and grant +2 to both Attributes. Either option keeps them affordable while reducing their power level (slightly) and making the Evasion and Penetration ones less exploitable due to the increased cost.

Or I could leave things as they are if it really is not as much of a problem as I imagine it is. Feedback would be appreciated.

2 comments:

  1. For modules, option 2 is best:
    "You may install a maximum of 10UP worth of modules, or 15UP total across multiple forms with a maximum of 10UP per form, if equipped with alternate forms or a combination system"

    I've always found the typical "you have one form, and sometimes pretend you're a plane just for purposes of being able to change back to look cool" used in a lot of older mecha anime exceedingly lame.

    With option 2, alt form might have +Acc and +Eva, with the 'original' form being 'slowed' by heavy, inaccurate oversized beamcannons or whatever.

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  2. This is gonna sound weird perhaps, but I'd argue they're perfectly fine, and that the real fix is to TREAT the modules[like, move them over to right below the enhancement section itself] AS part of the enhancement schedule.

    A maimable +3 isn't a very good deal compared to a real, permanent +3. It only gets interesting, but very, very quickly interesting, once you've bought actual enhancements here. Someone with a +2 in Accuracy is now getting it to +5 for a total of 16pts, vs 30. You could also look at it as paying 10 points to get a maimable 24 points in that case.

    But what if the stat's enhancement schedule for stats with modules was capped at +4, with the understanding that even a char-custom is going to need auxiliary boosters to get that evasion to ungodly levels? And what if, as a final limit, anyone with +4 in said stat gets only +2 out of the module?

    This would give us the following 5/10pt module prices for varying totals on stats:
    +1 for 1/2
    +2 for 3/6
    +3 for 6/12 or 0+3mod 5/10
    +4 for 8/16 or 1+3mod 6/12
    +5 for 2+mod 8/16
    +6 for 3+mod 11/22 or 4+mod 13/26

    This vaporizes the worst cost scenario [+3 and mod was cheaper than buying up to +5], and limits the 4+mod's efficiency enough that while still an improvement, you won't flat out reject the cost difference in keeping just a bit more after maiming.


    Expansion Pack installations are no issue at that point either, as they were only problematic when reaching those same levels of "4+mod vs 5 enhanced".

    tldr; Enhancement on Acc/Eva/Arm/Pen go only to +4, modules moved over to right next to the enhancement page so that they're viewed more appropriately as "together": A module is AS much a part of enhancing, rather than 'special option' and IF you still feel it needs nerfing, module only gives +2 to someone already so tuned-up they have +4 in that stat from enhancing it 'naturally'.

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