Edit: There have been some misunderstandings where I am aiming with this thread. To clarify: I do not want to have to repeat the RNGineer grind. I have no issues with an item reset that also gets rid of RNGineers in the process. But right now the most likely prospect is that new gear will either come in the form of new mods, new items that we have to reapply the the mods we already use on existing gear, or both.
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I am not the only one that fears that the rather vague hints about "new weapons" may either mean more powerful guns, shields etc. than the current ones, higher grade engineer mods than the current ones, or just a special variant of either that specifically works against Thargoids, but is no more powerful against other human ships (or any combination thereof).
I implore you, FD, please do not go down this path. Do not bulldoze over our current gear, invalidating it all with an dreaded MMO style item reset.
There is a way to achieve your goals without invalidating our current gear: new item slots.
While many an MMO likes to add new equipment that replaces existing gear, another common approach is to introduce all new item types that go into all new item slots!
This has many advantages:
I have compiled a few examples what these new items may be, all in the form of add-ons that are equipped into new slots on existing modules:
Some of these items may be easier to achieve because they are very fundamental of mounting any form of resistance (i.e. the EMP Jammer - you can't even think of defending or fleeing if your ship is just shut off) and would thus be easier to acquire, while other gear is more advanced and takes a greater effort (of whatever the new grind may be) to get.
P.S.: Once we have add-on slots on the equipment, it might be a good idea to revisit engineer experimental effects; these could be available also in the form of add-on to put into these slots on your guns, thus allowing you to add the effect to an existing weapon, swap out different add-ons (they would function like modules that you can swap, store, transfer etc. in this regard) etc.
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I am not the only one that fears that the rather vague hints about "new weapons" may either mean more powerful guns, shields etc. than the current ones, higher grade engineer mods than the current ones, or just a special variant of either that specifically works against Thargoids, but is no more powerful against other human ships (or any combination thereof).
I implore you, FD, please do not go down this path. Do not bulldoze over our current gear, invalidating it all with an dreaded MMO style item reset.
There is a way to achieve your goals without invalidating our current gear: new item slots.
While many an MMO likes to add new equipment that replaces existing gear, another common approach is to introduce all new item types that go into all new item slots!
This has many advantages:
- Existing gear keeps its value, the effort we have put into it is not devalued.
- The new gear does not compete with existing gear, but adds on top of it.
- New players do not bypass all the old content and equipment, but face a broader set of things to achieve.
- It is much easier to keep up the game balance when the old items keep their role intact instead of having to rebalance everything from scratch with new, more powerful gear.
- Opening up the new slots can be part of (if not the most significant part) of the effort to acquire the new gear.
- New types of items would naturally lend themselves to new, different types of effects that may not come in the form of damage.
- It might be a good idea to implement these not as slots on the ship, but slots on existing items, like gem sockets in various RPGs.
I have compiled a few examples what these new items may be, all in the form of add-ons that are equipped into new slots on existing modules:
- EMP Jammer. The Thargoids have the ability to completely shut down human ships. With this add-on to the power plant, you can withstand their EMP and keep your reactor going, and thus your ship alive. This could either be a passive effect or something you have to activate in the right moment.
- Bioship Scanner. Thargoids have biological ships that function totally differently from ours. With this add-on to your sensors, we can identify modules and weak spots in the Thargoid ships to attack. (Thargoid ships could even be game-designed so that only those weak spots can be attacked to damage them!)
- FSD Hypermodulator. While we are not able to utilize the advanced hyperspace technology of the Thargoids, with this add-on to the wake scanner it is possible to fly through a Thargoids hyperspace portal intact.
- Hyperdiction Countermeasure. A hyperdiction is not instantaneous, and this add-on to the FSD detects it as soon as it starts, and allows you to counter the effect in a manner similar to supercruise interdiction escapes.
- Meta-Alloys Nanites. Some Thargoid weapons deploy effects similar to how the Unknown Artifacts damage ships and starports. These nanites made out of Meta-Alloys can repair the internal damage caused by these weapons. This is an add-on to the regular AFM unit.
- Quantum Shield Modulator. Thargoids weapons are actually not much more powerful than human weapons in terms of energy, but utilize new quantum effects only recently discovered through research into Thargoid incidents. This add-on to the shield generator utilizes the same effect to protect against Thargoid weapons, preventing them from simply bypassing our shields.
Some of these items may be easier to achieve because they are very fundamental of mounting any form of resistance (i.e. the EMP Jammer - you can't even think of defending or fleeing if your ship is just shut off) and would thus be easier to acquire, while other gear is more advanced and takes a greater effort (of whatever the new grind may be) to get.
P.S.: Once we have add-on slots on the equipment, it might be a good idea to revisit engineer experimental effects; these could be available also in the form of add-on to put into these slots on your guns, thus allowing you to add the effect to an existing weapon, swap out different add-ons (they would function like modules that you can swap, store, transfer etc. in this regard) etc.
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