Given all the recent wrangling and annoyance in the forums, I have decided to spend the time and effort – not much, I must admit – to make a modest proposal with regards to the Vasari and TEC. Please consider my proposal carefully, and in the proper light, and remember to respond politely good sirs, for it is but the folly of a young man, constructed from an idea of the venerable Swift.
With regards to the Vasari, let us change their structure as follows. Since they are indeed a nomadic race, let us replace their colonizing worlds with placing power centers upon them, and all structures in the grav well require a power center to function correctly. Those power centers should also provide the fleet points they so desperately need to build ships, much as colonized planets do these days. They would gather resources by constructing a refinery, and then their construction ships – which should be changed to be constructible – will function as transporters for the mines as well, hauling goods back and forth. When they wish to begin construction of a new building, they must merely pull a construction ship off resource duty for a few moments, to drop a nannite construction module which will then construct the needed building on its own, without further assistance.
Given their strongly technological nature, let us reduce the hull points deeply, and increase their shields. After all, taking damage on shields is much less resource intensive than on hull, and thus we can expect them to focus on shields rather than hull. And since that focus on shields is so great, change their repair centers to be shield capacitors, renewing the shields of any vessels that approach them. To further differentiate them from the TEC, perhaps their cobalt analog's weapon should be changed – make it a short range plasma cannon, that requires it to be but barely a few inches from the targets hull before the magnetic containment field can last long enough to transfer the weapon's fire! Similar weapons could be used for other vessels – perhaps a stealthy one would benefit greatly from it?
This leaves the TEC, and perhaps the following changes should be considered. Let them have no shields, as it is an advanced technology primarily used for war, and instead be stuck with armored plating. Instead of getting logistics points from planets directly, require them to build logistics depots – but make them tactical units, and give unto them the ability to deny enemy units their full mobility. Perhaps they'll launch fleets of debris around themselves when enemy vessels come close, requiring those vessels to slow to nearly a halt to work their way through the debris field. After all, a logistics depot probably has many spare resources floating around inside.
When the TEC vessels are damaged, let their hull be replaced by their construction ships – after all, to build is not so different from repairing – and let the process require the expenditure of resources, to replace the materials destroyed by enemy fire.
This, of course, leaves only the Advent – whom we do not know – to deal with, but I imagine the devs will make them a vastly numerous race, with cheap units. They can probably repair their own ships in space, without need of help, and construct buildings by using specially designed vessels which are consumed to provide the materials needed for construction. Perhaps they have a unified hive mind, via their psychic powers, which requires floating command vessels to act as focus and relay for the groups decisions and ideas. And, as their fleet must indeed be numerous (given that they built it just to attack the TEC) let their basic cobalt analog come in twos, and use a psychic based weapon, such as telekinesis! Of course, given that the mind cannot grasp the vastness of space, this would require that vessel to approach closely indeed to their foe, but that is the price of power.
I would continue, but by now I am sure that your brilliant minds have all deduced the direction I have taken, and can come up with a million ideas for each one that I have proposed, to further improve this game to be the best it can be.
