Hi, first of all thanks Devs for this game.
I'm just gonna leave these thoughts here maybe some good will come out of it.
1. Airborne Infantry
Challenges:
vulnerability while air assaulting
infrastructure required for effective use
Suggestions:
a. Buff Airborne Infantry indirectly by increasing patrol radius of Air Superiority Fighter. ASF patrol radius increases a little bit, and increases a little more with each speed upgrade.
b. Increase AIrborn Infantry air assault radius with upgrades
I think the Airborne Infantry is good as it is. It is too vulnerable when hitting "behind enemy lines", though, and dissuades use. This change hopes to counteract some of the vulnerability.
Further increasing air assault radius will also lessen its reliability on airbases as the game goes on, and increase its potential as a "surprise" unit. (take opponent's lightly guarded bases, quickly dismantle production buildings, then leave)
2. Carrier
Challenges:
Indirect cost (planes)
Covers 2-3 tech trees to operate
Lack of defined role (in the navy's rock paper scissors setup of destroyers-submarines-frigates-cruise missiles, carriers don't fit in)
I am also aware of the challenges of putting other player's planes in your own carrier. That would've been neat but I assume that's not possible, so my suggestions work around it.
Suggestions:
1. (ROLE 1) So as not to interrupt the current navy interaction, I imagine carriers to fill the role of "continental invasion" platform
a. Slightly Nerf the operational radius of planes and bombers overall (this is to make carrier as continental invasion platform viable)
b. make navy jets deal less damage than their non-navy counterparts (to give clearly defined roles, non-navy jets deal more damage but have hard time reaching another continent. Navy jets deal less damage but easier to reach another continent)
c. SCRAP naval AWACS, and make regular AWACS carrier deployable from level 1
d. make drones carrier deployable from level 1
2. (ROLE 2) Naval centerpiece
a. Carriers boost an officer's buff.
A stack with carriers have no buff.
A stack with officer is buffed.
A stack with officer AND carrier is buffed some more.
3. (COST)
a. I don't know if its possible with the game engine. But I suggest Carriers spawn with planes inside it. A cheap, generic purpose, unupgradable(?), "airplane-militia". I imagine this to be a VTOL aircraft.
b. Greatly reduce Naval ASF and naval strike jet research time. I suggest 30 mins.
c. A straight up buff by reducing research cost, build cost, and build time.
Carriers spawn with 5 of these aircraft. Succeeding upgrades of the carrier don't increase the number of these pre-spawned aircraft, but only increase its capacity. The reasoning being that a player who wants to commit to carriers likely are thinking of using other fixed-wing bombers or striker jets.
Islets are nice and make good strategic hotspots, but hopefully carriers become a viable alternative with these changes.
3. New VTOL aircraft
A unit related to my Carrier suggestions
1. shorter operational radius
2. cheaper to get than other planes
3. requires later research day (day 7?)
4. carrier deployable from level 1
5. weaker overall but not by a lot. Should be reasonably effective for someone who did not invest in ASF and Strike Jet research. But should lose to someone who invested in ASF and Strike Jet research.
6. If upgradable, very limited research upgrade options.
I'm just gonna leave these thoughts here maybe some good will come out of it.
1. Airborne Infantry
Challenges:
vulnerability while air assaulting
infrastructure required for effective use
Suggestions:
a. Buff Airborne Infantry indirectly by increasing patrol radius of Air Superiority Fighter. ASF patrol radius increases a little bit, and increases a little more with each speed upgrade.
b. Increase AIrborn Infantry air assault radius with upgrades
I think the Airborne Infantry is good as it is. It is too vulnerable when hitting "behind enemy lines", though, and dissuades use. This change hopes to counteract some of the vulnerability.
Further increasing air assault radius will also lessen its reliability on airbases as the game goes on, and increase its potential as a "surprise" unit. (take opponent's lightly guarded bases, quickly dismantle production buildings, then leave)
2. Carrier
Challenges:
Indirect cost (planes)
Covers 2-3 tech trees to operate
Lack of defined role (in the navy's rock paper scissors setup of destroyers-submarines-frigates-cruise missiles, carriers don't fit in)
I am also aware of the challenges of putting other player's planes in your own carrier. That would've been neat but I assume that's not possible, so my suggestions work around it.
Suggestions:
1. (ROLE 1) So as not to interrupt the current navy interaction, I imagine carriers to fill the role of "continental invasion" platform
a. Slightly Nerf the operational radius of planes and bombers overall (this is to make carrier as continental invasion platform viable)
b. make navy jets deal less damage than their non-navy counterparts (to give clearly defined roles, non-navy jets deal more damage but have hard time reaching another continent. Navy jets deal less damage but easier to reach another continent)
c. SCRAP naval AWACS, and make regular AWACS carrier deployable from level 1
d. make drones carrier deployable from level 1
2. (ROLE 2) Naval centerpiece
a. Carriers boost an officer's buff.
A stack with carriers have no buff.
A stack with officer is buffed.
A stack with officer AND carrier is buffed some more.
3. (COST)
a. I don't know if its possible with the game engine. But I suggest Carriers spawn with planes inside it. A cheap, generic purpose, unupgradable(?), "airplane-militia". I imagine this to be a VTOL aircraft.
b. Greatly reduce Naval ASF and naval strike jet research time. I suggest 30 mins.
c. A straight up buff by reducing research cost, build cost, and build time.
Carriers spawn with 5 of these aircraft. Succeeding upgrades of the carrier don't increase the number of these pre-spawned aircraft, but only increase its capacity. The reasoning being that a player who wants to commit to carriers likely are thinking of using other fixed-wing bombers or striker jets.
Islets are nice and make good strategic hotspots, but hopefully carriers become a viable alternative with these changes.
3. New VTOL aircraft
A unit related to my Carrier suggestions
1. shorter operational radius
2. cheaper to get than other planes
3. requires later research day (day 7?)
4. carrier deployable from level 1
5. weaker overall but not by a lot. Should be reasonably effective for someone who did not invest in ASF and Strike Jet research. But should lose to someone who invested in ASF and Strike Jet research.
6. If upgradable, very limited research upgrade options.