RandomTank's blog

RandomTank's blogs United Kingdom

Assoguey (17)
Joined: 26th June, 2012

Lack of Com-Save Blog Updates
Posted by RandomTank on Saturday 12th October, 2013

12 comments

The reason I haven't done anything on the Com-Save in 2 weeks...

My Arm:

My Car:

And another:

I didn't show this for the sympathy vote, I just wanted to show why I haven't played any X and hence why I haven't uploaded any further posts. I did want to do 2 more updates to the blog, and had the 1st done, but couldn't really find enough to do (without leaving anything else for others) to fill another blog, so I decided to add more to the 1st to make one big final one, but I haven't been able to get the playtime to write the update! I've only just regained the use of my hand, so I'll have the last part put up tomorrow or Mon!

Sorry peoples!!

X3AP » A bit of a Balancing Act
Posted by RandomTank on Thursday 11th July, 2013

0 comments

I was throwing ideas against the wall the other day about X3TC and AP, and one that's been bugging me for a while now is how useless most of the M4 class is compared to the M3's, the M3's are simply better, and only a tad slower! So here'e my idea for a bit of an overhaul....

It should be changed so M4 = Workhorse civilian ship/defense fighter; M4+ = Interceptor; M3 = Fighter-Bomber; M3+ = Tank. I’ll explain how I would like this done, firstly with weapons:

The PAC, PRG and PBE should be dedicated Interceptor weapons, as they are all generally low damage per shot, high ROF and high bullet speed. The PAC should be the hard hitter of the 3; doing the highest hull damage (400 instead of 140), highest shield damage (1200 is good), lowest ROF (310rpm is good), slowest speed (700m/s is good), much less energy usage (-66% of what is now). The PRG should be in the middle; decent hull damage (200 instead of 70) decent shield damage (800 instead of 680), decent ROF (400 is good), high speed (1560 is good), much less energy usage (-66% of what is now). The PBE should be the fast, super anti shield but burst weapon; low hull damage (35 is good), low shield damage (800 instead of 950), highest ROF (1150 is good), highest speed (2500-3000m/s instead of 7000), use more energy (+100% the usage), but any ship that can take it has much increased energy regen, to allow it to do bursts.

The HEPT, EBC and FBL should be dedicated Fighter/Bomber weapons, they are generally high damage per shot, low to med ROF and low bullet speed. The FBL should be the hard hitter of the 3; doing the highest hull damage (800 instead of 470), highest shield damage (3000 instead of 2800), lowest ROF (220 instead of 190), lowest speed (400m/s instead of 370), less energy usage (same as HEPT). The HEPT should be in the middle; good hull damage (550 instead of 330), good shield damage (2000 is good), decent ROF (300 instead of 280), low speed (450m/s instead of 430), slight increase in energy usage (+20%). The EBC should be the fastest with no real energy usage; lowest hull damage (250 instead of 210), lowest shield damage (1500 instead of 1200), highest ROF (400 is good), fastest bullet speed (550m/s instead of 600), almost no energy usage, no change needed.
Now for the ships:

M3+: Have a general speed decrease but shield increase, maybe a bit of agility decrease too, make each one similar stats to their race’s bomber, maybe worse. Cargo space should stay about the same, but maybe Boron and Teladi ones can carry XL; Generators should be upped to about 10000J with 250j regen minimum. They should only have a rear turret if the Race’s basic M3 does, and the front turret should upped to 2 guns, but also should able to takes CIG’s, IPG’s or ISR’s depending on race (I know). This change would make them a bit sluggish, but also very powerful; making them a very good escort (especially a few mounted in a TM) for a convoy and also make them the deadliest ship that you can mount in a Carrier.

M3: Stats should be generally kept the same, maybe a few shield increase so no M3 has 1 25mJ. The main differences are that Argon, Boron, Teladi and Split use the HEPT; Argon, Teladi, Split and Paranid use the EBC; Paranid and Teladi use the FBL; Another big difference is that M3’s can’t mount PRG’s or PBE’s, as they are interceptor only weapons, though they can use the PAC. This is meant so that M3’s are great at killing each other, freighters and capitol ships in large numbers, but interceptors will wreck them as the M3’s struggle to hit them; they are designed for anti-capitol, not anti-fighter
M4+: Have a big speed increase (minimum of 200 m/s, the Asp heading towards 300), some shield increases (so that 25mj is the smallest shield health), round off the generators so that they are all between 3500J and 5000J, an agility increase, and a cargo bay decrease so that they can only carry their shields, weapons and a select few missiles; they’re fighters, not traders; they should also cost more, minimum 1.5 mill. Everyone uses the PAC; Argon, Boron and Teladi use the PRG; Split and Paranid use the PBE. M4+’s can’t mount HEPT’s, FBL’s or EBC’s. This makes it so they are very good at taking out M4’s, each other and M3’s, but really struggle against M6’s, as they are designed for anti-fighter, not anti-capitol.

M4: Not many changes, a shield increase so no M4 has 1 5mJ, have same weapons as interceptors, but most importantly they (in a lot of cases) have double the cargo space; I thought this because they have smaller shield and weapon generator, but similar sized engines and most are physically the same/similar size to their M3 brethren. This makes them a basic fighter, they guard the Fighter-Bombers from other fighters, and they have a similar speed to the M3’s, but have the anti-fighter weaponry to kill the enemy’s fighters as the M3’s can’t effectively; they can also be used as fast traders or civilian ships with the now larger cargo bays. The Vanguard versions of each type should have a considerably better combat ability, and should basically work as another type of Interceptor for each race.

All these changes would result in M3’s not being just simply better than an M4, that now they have different uses, and similar costs. You would now have to have a balance the amount of Interceptors, Fighters and Fighter-bombers stored in your Carriers; if you have too many M3’s they will get overwhelmed by your enemy’s Interceptors, and you lose your fighter cover = Death; or if you have too many M4’s, you’ll kill their fighters, but won’t be able to kill their Cruisers as the M4’s don’t do enough damage, which = Death. Just adds a bit more fleet co-ordinance, rather than just M3 spam. I spose you could do all this with a bit of fumbling around with the game code, could even make a 'Fake Patch' mod out of it, so then if you don't agree with it, don't use it; but I, at least, think this kinda needs doing.

X3TC » A bit of a Balancing Act
Posted by RandomTank on Thursday 11th July, 2013

X3TC » My Burgeoning Fleet
Posted by RandomTank on Tuesday 2nd July, 2013

1 comments

After a bit of sorting, selling and stealing, my ship list is looking a lot more manageable; there is still about 50 TS's that need repairing and selling, but now all the excess fighters have gone, been put into wings or stored away for the PHQ.

I now have my Shrike outfitted as an RRF Destroyer that packs quite a punch, but it also has Red Wing mounted in it, which comprises of 5 Nova Raiders toting 4 HEPT and 4 PRG each, allowing for quite flexible usage; but I also keep my X-Shuttle in its hanger for personal use. My main ship though is my Panther, equipped to be a Carrier/Cruiser with plenty of ISR, CIG and FAA, and it carries Gold and Silver Wing in its hangers; Gold Wing being 10 Solano's all equipped with 6 Mass Drivers and 50 crates of ammo each, which functions as a heavy interceptor wing; and Silver wing being 5 #deca.cefa's equipped with 4 PM/AM Launchers, 10 crates of ammo, and 2 EMPC's in the turret each, which functions as a light bomber wing. I also have 3 Blastclaw Prototypes as a Combat-Salvage squad, and a couple of personal use ships including my favourite fighter, a Venti named 'Total Annihilation' with 6 EBC and 4 PRG. I recently added an escort for my Panther in the shape of 2 Heavy Dragons, equipped with 8 ISR on the front and a choice of 4 ISR or 4 PBG on the turret (I have the SMART turrets mod), and are set up to follow my every jump.

I finally got a chance the other day give my small fleet a proper combat test; I was in my Panther and had traveled to Zyarth's Dominion as I was buying the second Heavy Dragon and had spotted an abandoned Ranger (which sell for 3.7 mill fully repaired!) on 87% hull health; when I was there I found a Hold Position and Xenon Sector Patrol missions paying 1.2 mill and 2 mill respectively, so I took both to roll in the money. Immediately a Xenon Strike Force, consisting of a Q, 2 P's, 3 L's and a few M's and N's jumped in the South gate. As I was by the East gate, and felt like I was going to be a bit overwhelmed, I jumped my Shrike in by the South gate, and then jumped there myself; as soon as I jumped in I found that my Shrike had already killed a P, and had launched Red Wing which were now destroying the L's and the other P. I launched Gold Wing to intercept the M's and N's, and then switched to the Shrike, just to be staring down the nose of the Q. He had already been receiving fire from my GC's, but now he got a punch of charged IBL fire right to the face, and with the combined fire of my IBL's and Red Wing's HEPTs, he died very swiftly! I got a message thanking me for my efforts and a payment of 3.6 mill, not bad for 30 seconds of combat!

I switched back to my Panther and checked the map to see that my Sat had spotted that 2 Q's, 3 P's, 5 L's, a few M's and large contingent of N's had jumped in not far from the Trading Port; though the Q's has split and were heading in 2 different directions. I checked both Q's and found that one was slightly under-shielded with 3.2GJ, so I flew an intercept course. The 3 P's had overtaken the under-shielded Q, so I sent Silver Wing to do what they do best; with 20 energy saving CIGS (PM/AML) they quickly annihilated all 3 P's with only 10% Shield loss between them, I was very impressed! As I closed to 10km from the under-shielded Q, I let off 3 Firestorms, and as they closed, I launched about 10-15 Wasps to spam his turrets; 3 successful hits later and the Q was on 4% shields and my CIG's were ripping into him, resulting in a large explosion.

Because Red Wing had started scrapping with the L's, and my Shrike was lagging behind due to it's slow speed, It was only me and my fighters to kill the other Q, which still had quite a few N's and M's around it, so I decided to leave Silver Wing behind (as they are a bit badly shielded and can't kill any fast fighters) and just engage with Gold Wing and my Panther; I ordered Gold Wing to attack, and all of them immediately went for the Q. Thinking that their Mass Drivers would be like Pea Shooters to something that big, you can imagine my surprise when they proceeded to tear it a superfluous new bee-hind!! They then mopped up the remaining fighters, leaving me only a couple of N's to snipe with my Disruptors! I got message giving me another 3.5 mill, and a big relationship boost with the Split. With a grand total of about 7.2 mill rewards + another 6 mill from the abandoned fighters, Ranger and all the loot; and not a single casualty or repair needed, that was a really good day for my Credit Account, and a fantastic try-out session for my fleet, all I can say is I'm impressed!

X3TC » Too much.... Stuff!!
Posted by RandomTank on Tuesday 18th June, 2013

4 comments

Been playing a TC save for a while now, an I now officially have more ships than I know what to do with...
Lets start the list shall we? I have:
M7
A Panther, fully equipped, needs more fighters for escort (uses the Nova Raiders);
A Shrike, fully equipped, needs fighter escort;
A Cobra, partially equipped (needs hammers), needs more marines (10 4 star)
A Griffon, needs equipping (has nothing useful), needs fighter escort;
A Gannet, needs equipping (has nothing, may sell), has no marines;
A Carrack, needs equipping (has nothing, may sell);
A Minotaur, needs equipping (has nothing, may sell);
M6 & M8
A Skiron, fully equipped, no marines;
A Pirate Osprey, needs equipping (has nothing, may sell), no marines;
A TLS, fully equipped, no marines;
A Vidar, needs equipping, no marines;
A Hades, fully equipped;
A Claymore, partially equipped;
M3/M3+
A Chimera, empty
6 Blastclaw Protos, 2 combat ready (PBG, PRG, PAC), 4 empty
3 Blastclaws, all empty
11 Pirate Novas, all empty
2 Pirate Falcon Vanguards, all empty
3 Pirate Falcons, all empty
A Pirate Eclipse, empty
A Perseus, combat ready (HEPT, PBE, PAC)
A Barracuda Raider, empty
5 Nova Raiders, Red wing (HEPT, PRG)
A Venti, combat ready (EBC, PRG)
X shuttle, combat ready (EMPC, PBE)
A Cutlass, combat ready
2 Scimitars, combat ready
A #deca.cefa, empty
A Falcon Sentinel, empty
A Nova Proto, empty
M4/M4+
6 Pirate Busters, 3 as fast tenders, 3 empty
2 Pirate Buzzards, all empty
A Pirate Scorpion, empty
A Pirate Buzzard Vanguard, empty
A Pericles, empty
11 Solanos, 10 in Gold wing (MD), 1 combat ready (MD, PRG)
A Elite, combat ready (PAC)
A Eurus, combat ready (PRG, ION)
5 #deca.deafs, all empty
A Kite Vanguard, empty
A Mjollnir, empty
M5
A Kestrel, combat ready
A Rapier, combat ready
A Pirate Harrier, empty
A Advanced Discoverer, combat ready
A Advanced Jaguar, empty
TL
A Elephant, fully equipped, full fighter wing (uses the Solanos)
A Mammoth, partially equipped, needs fighter escort;
TP & TM
3 Toucans (marine storage)
4 Hermes', all empty
2 Mantas, all empty
2 Iguana Vanguards, all combat ready, boarding transports;
A Express Hauler, empty
2 Scabbards, fully equipped, 10 crap marines in each
A Chokaro, fully equipped, full fighter wing;
A Zephyrus, fully equipped, (mobile repair station, I have marine repairs script)
TS
About 25 working on stations, storage, jump traders and UT's
About 60 needing repairs, probably selling too, but can't transport or repair them...

There is probably more, and I'll add it as I go along. I just sold over 60 M5s, so now I have more M7s then M5s. Storing and equipping those fighters is pretty daunting, as my universe has a shortage of Hammers, HEPTs and EBC ammo (I have 500 boxes, total), and I'm not set up to make my own, I only have 30 mill, and not much sector defence. Storing the TS' is a logistical nightmare, as I can't really move them because they travel at about 10-20m/s, and I can't transport them because I need an Aran, yet most of my marines are in training (~40% done), so can't cap one yet. I'm horrified every time I look at my Property Owned list because there is just huge amounts of injured freighters and unequipped fighters. I really want a squadron of either 5 #deca.cefas or deafs with 4 PM/AML and ammo to use as a sort of bomber squadron. I also plan to have a squad of 5 Falcon Haulers as a salvage/heavy attack squadron (all with EBC's)