I'm still learning how to perfect this, and while I wish that I could take credit for the victory due to my tactical skills, this is a result of the latest balance changes. That Battlestation was technologically superior to my Frigates, however my PD and ECM neutralized its missiles while my higher evasion negated its direct fire weapons. This is during my mid game, which with my settings, is akin to the early game when production and research is set to normal.
Follow up. After more testing, the issue isn't related to Frigates alone. Larger ships can now be designed that will negate missile damage entirely while also being configured to max out evasion and suffer less damage over all. During the early game, missiles were the only viable weapon, now they too have become in-effective, especially if one includes both PD weapons and ECM in their designs. So how do we fight in the early game now? What happens when you stumble upon an AI very early and they declare war? What about the late game? it too has taken a hit, (though not as pronounced), as it is easier to create some ships that can't be hit due to miniaturization, but at least here you have time to bring some targeting techs into play. Still, missiles remain useless against most targets. Some changes in 1.08 were essential, such as giving PD to the monsters, others however are less than ideal. And would you believe it? that's right, it was obvious just by looking at the change log that there would be new balance issues. But hey, what do I know, I could be wrong, it's not like I have any significant time with this game is it?
Running a few more sessions with various set ups, including the default impossible emperor settings, here’s what I notice. There are two options that work for me The first includes the use of missiles but in order for them to be effective, I need to overwhelm a target. This is done by having as many different platforms as possible firing at a single target. Where I needed four ships in the past, I now must have six. With my own play style this isn’t much of an issue as I use swarms of ships anyway, but it can get tedious and casualties will be low. The second is to ignore missiles (mostly) and build ships like this These ships were designed on turn 75 with my research at 100%. Note the base ship defense on both the Frigate and Destroyer. Note that this is also still with nuclear drive. With a bit more research, I can replace the Tungsten and Laser Guns with Particle beams and add in ECM packages, while also upgrading the drive system. This was how I destroyed the Battle station yesterday, which was a tedious affair by the way, but I needed to prove it can be done. In both cases, my ships are safe from the enemy due to the reduced damage I’m taking. Look at the designs again, even if a stray missile gets through, the shields can handle it now, (25% less damage makes all the difference, the math confirms it). Direct fire weapons against these designs, especially at the stage where I introduced these ships, do not score hits consistently so I am safe from that. A short while after I created these I completed improved Targeting algorithms, meaning that my own ships have a hard time handling AI Frigates, (that’s what the missiles are for on the Destroyers), but can smack around the larger hulls, (or Star bases), quite nicely while taking little damage in return. Heck, even if some are destroyed eventually, so what? they’re far easier to replace than Cruisers. Edit In conclusion, 1.08 tilted ISG even more towards the defense and allows some un-realistic situations to unfold. ECM is a tier 1 tech, PD weaponry can also be had early. Factor in evasion, and we have some interesting things unfolding. In contrast, Missiles can be researched on tier one, but MIRV does not become available until tier three (for Nuclear) and tier six for Polaris. Getting multiple launchers on a hull also takes some time, unless of course production and research are set fast. Dropping the base damage of missiles on turn one while simultaneously increasing the chance they will be negated entirely, caused issues where there were none. If the fear is/was that multiple banks of MIRV would be o.p. in the later game, (which I do not believe as shields, armor and larger hulls become available then), the balance adjustments should have focused on where the problem may be and not where it certainly isn’t. It can be done.
Talk about overcompensating. Look at the captured Draguul Cruiser below. Excellent defensive capabilities against Missiles... except of course for the fact the most of my ships don't have them. A player can defeat this by doing the following. (consider this a public service announcement) Sprinkle into your fleet just a few ships with MIRV missiles, make sure you engage in at least one battle with these ships. The AI will start putting a lot of PD and Flak on their ships in response, (I've seen Frigates with two Flak Cannons and a tungsten gun only), reducing their offensive firepower considerably. Now the bulk of your ships should feature your favorite direct fire weapon without space wasted on Missiles. Go toe to toe with the AI ships and they wont be able to match your firepower. Your own ships should feature PD/Flak, and or ECM, (but do not overcompensate and go overboard like the image below). Enjoy the ensuing slaughter Edit Now look at the Missiles this ship is carrying. Thanks to the recent 'balance" changes, that translates to 12 points of Damage. This is close to turn 200 on the hardest default settings, you see the armor and shields involved. Absolute waste of space. Image speaks for itself.
