feat(balance): Rebalance turret turn rates for consistency, and apply a global nerf #10043
Conversation
Hecter94
added
the
balance
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Maybe I'm not fully understanding this, but what is the difference between Rebalanced Turn and Nerfed Turn? Which one is the proposal you're going with here? |
The end goal of this PR was to reduce turn rates globally; however, in order to do that, they first needed to be rebalanced so that they were consistent with each other. It doesn't make much sense to apply a global change to a system that is still in need of more generalized rebalancing, right? So step 1, named "Rebalanced Turn," was to adjust all of the existing turn rates following a standardized balancing schema.
Nerfed turn. |
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The Ballistic Cannon Turret's turn rate is now slightly slower than that of the entire Gneiss ship itself (the weapon's main user), which is... fine usually, but can lead to the ship turning away from what the turrets are targetting and the turrets being unable to keep up and going through a full 360+ turn before getting back on track. Might be worth considering bumping it up slightly to 0.45 or 0.5, especially since the changes here appear (from the graph image) to have have made it turn an extra ~10% slower relative to other turrets than it already did. |
I'm assuming this is on the latest release with the mass rebalance? |
Yes, in version 0.10.7. The Gneiss turns at 24.75 (min) ~ 25.41 (max), and with the nerf the turret would turn at at 24 deg/s. About replicating, when I say it "can" happen I only mean it is physically possible, but I'm not sure if the AI will actually produce the issue in practice. I think it is possible and something I have seen from pirate ships before, probably when the ship picks a new target that is especially fast, and this target loops around it and causes the ship and its turrets to turn in different directions because their individual positions relative to the target are slightly different (moment of arc, is it called? hope that makes sense anyway). It can definitely happen to individual turrets with opportunistic targetting (which Gegno fleets do use), since turrets aren't made to track what the ship itself is aiming at, but since Gegno ships are so slow and everything it might only manifest very rarely. |
Balance
This PR addresses the bug/feature described in issue #9469
Summary
This PR continues the proposed turret turn rates in #9469 (comment) after extensive tweaking, playtesting, and rebalancing.
The goal of this change is threefold:
Rebalance existing turn rates to follow a consistent schema based on overall range, size, damage, and other factors.
Turn rates are largely random and consistent within factions but inconsistent between factions. Some turrets have turn rates far too high or too low, considering their overall range, size, and damage. The starting point of this PR was to rebalance turn rates globally to make them follow a consistent schema, even between factions, based on identifiable attributes of the turrets themselves.
Increase the felt difference between turrets based on turn rates.
At present, most turrets have a high enough turn rate to target all but the fastest targets effectively. Consequently, the majority of turrets feel the same, with the only differences being limited to range and damage. Only a few turrets have a slow enough turn rate to feel different. However, if the turn rates are reduced globally, many more turrets will fall into the range where turn rate changes make turrets feel different.
Provide a higher ceiling for skill-based gameplay.
Even with the absolute largest and slowest turrets, trying to dodge them effectively is nearly impossible, and trying to aim with them effectively requires almost no skill. By reducing turn rates globally, the ability for players to effectively avoid fire from NPC turrets is increased, making smaller ships more survivable, assuming that the player can fly them effectively to avoid fire from enemy turrets. Conversely, players using large, heavy turrets will now need to pay more attention to the facing of their turrets compared to the facing of their ship and turn their ship to assist their turret turn if they want to hit faster targets with slower turrets.
Specific Considerations
There were a few turrets that stayed the same, and here are my reasons for why.
LG Gridfire Turret, Floating Crystal, Crystalline Formation, Hexagonal Crystal
Specific person ship weapons only found on a single ship, and there is no indication that they are ever intended to be used outside of specific person ships.
Korath Grab-Strike, Korath Banisher, Korath Repeater Turret, Korath Disruptor, Korath Slicer Turret
Deprecated, no real reason to change.
Drak Distancer, Drak Draining Field, Drak Draining Field (Augmented), Drak Turret, Drak Turret (Augmented)
Drak weapons already don't fit within the existing balance; there is no reason to consider them when creating a consistent schema, nor should they necessarily follow it.
Absorption Organ, Pug Gridfire Turret
Doesn't follow standard turret logic so doesn't make much sense to constrain them via the same metrics as other standard turrets.
Specific Changes
This table shows the changes made
Chart Form
Rebalance Philosophy
Currently, I am basing the rebalanced turn rates primarily on the size and range of the turret, with damage, purpose, and overall tech level being lesser considerations.
Size is internally consistent if, all else being equal, the larger a turret is, the slower it can turn.
Range, as the range of a turret is intrinsically linked to turning. The more range a turret has, the less turning it needs to be able to effectively engage targets at its maximum range.
Damage isn't as much of a consideration as the damage a turret can do isn't directly related to its ability to target effectively. Damage is also generally linked to size, so it's considered that way.
Purpose and tech level are then considered simultaneously, with some weapons, such as specific ranging weapons like the Heliarch Attractor and Repulsor, being given a boost to their turn rate as they are specifically for catching faster-moving targets and thus require more turn to compensate.
Certain weapons were also given a boost or a nerf to their overall turn rate based on the overall tech level of the faction, with some Quarg or Heliarch weapons being given a higher turn rate or Gegno weapons being given a slightly lower turn rate.
Final thoughts
The primary purpose of this PR is to change the overall "feeling" of turrets, which is a difficult concept to convey via numbers or a text description. I highly recommend playtesting this PR to experience it for yourself.
In my opinion, it greatly improves the game's overall feel, with heavy turrets feeling heavy and lighter turrets feeling more like dedicated anti-fighter turrets. Still, I encourage you to try it for yourself.
I would also highly suggest playtesting it alongside #9616, as the two PRs synergize well to create an environment where lighter, faster ships are far more capable of avoiding incoming fire, while large, heavy ships feel like large, heavy battleships. The two PRs work very well together.