I guess you are right, I haven't done much in terms of online play yet, so I guess the lines may really be lacking in that respect... thanks for setting me straight   

Maybe make the jump inhib. limited to 3 or something

Yes, defenses need to be improved BIG time to make this a tactical battle at all. I agree with the above post that the battles are a cluster F. My biggest concern is the inablity to make a real push on someone's planet when holding more than just 2 fronts. Maybe i'm not getting the game right, but i haven't finished a game yet, and i've but almost 20 hours into the game so far. I always get to a point where there is just too many choke points for me to cover, i can't rely on defense to hold up any corner of my empire, so i have to dedicate an entire fleet to that planet. It never fails, the AI allies with themselves and i get ganged up on, every time. That's not THAT bad, i do enjoy a challenge, but when it means i can't progress, what's the point of playing? Something must be done about one of two things; 1) Make defense more reliable. Having reliable defense DOES NOT MEAN TURTLING WILL BE A HAMPER, if anything it will make ppl who do that lose. Try turtling in Company of Heores against someone who is even remotely good and you will get owned. This is supposed to be a RTS, let's get some proven RTS qualities in here. Defensive strategies are a must for planning attacks and setting up structures on key planets.
2) Fix the phase jump inhibitor. It is worthless for defense. A counter to it would be to add a ship that can Jam it long enough to get a colony through that lane or have so sort of long range weapon that can home in on the signal and take it out.

My grievances stem from the same problem, the inability to dedicate my hard earned fleets for a push forward. Devs, please respond with some recommendation if i am wrong.

Defenses are not useless. Instead of trying to build the Great Wall of The Trader Emergency Collation, you place them around important resource nodes, major trade routs, your production centers and capital. They a good at delaying attacks until a real fleet can arrive but they could do with a slight cost decrease, not a great one but a decrease none the less.

I'd say the major defensive structure that is missing is a structure with some kind of recall ability. It would need to be really high up on the tech tree as it would only be necessary for large, well developed empires. Seriously though, on large maps when you start getting a large empire it takes too long to jump from one front to the other, and when you get flanked by 2 full sized fleets if you defeat one by the time you even get to the other end of your empire 3-4 planets will be wiped out. But the ability to recall a fleet to a planet sector would be an excellent defensive structure. or maybe a structure that can link 2 planets in your empire for a direct warp lane.

Honestly? I have no real problem with defending my planets with mostly static defenses (It's called "overlapping fields of fire"). But to be blunt, no static defense has ever been the be all end all solution to an attacking force. If you played StarCraft and sat behind your Photon Cannons, you'd probably die...quick (Disruption Web, what?). It's always best to have some mobile units at a planet (or nearby).

and the point of this game is more toward fleet battles, and not just put up defenses and let them do all the work.

garrett

I have no idea if this has been suggested yet or not, but regarding phase jump inhibitors: What would the balance effects be of adding in a percentage chance of jump failure? For example: a fleet ships is trying to leave a system and they are under the influence of a PJI, not only do they have the increase in time required to jump out of a system, but each ship has a 30% chance of experiencing a failure which would result in them having to start the sequence over again. Even on the second try they still have that chance of failure (maybe reduce the failure chance each time if that balances out better). If you're lucky, all your ships will make it out on the first attempt, but if you're very unlucky, half (or almost all) will be stuck in the system for another try.

Basically if a fleet was trying to jump into the heart of their enemy's territory, it would slow them down because their fleet would continue to get split up each jump (unless they destroy the PJI of course).

To clarify, I haven't played this game online yet so I'm not sure if this idea has any merit, so I'll leave that to you net-veterans to decide if it's any good.

Defense structures are the home team advantage. Force him to fight both your fleet and your defense. If he ignores your fleet you have have the battle. If he ignores your defense make sure to be in range of your repair structures, and make him come to you.  

Fleets win the gam, both offensively and defensively; defense simply stalls or inhibits the ememy.

The difference between using defenses as delaying tactics in Sins vs other RTS is that it takes 10 minutes to get your fleet over to the area in question in Sins. And defenses don't delay for that long.

There seems to be a huge discrepancy in the balance between how long it takes to siege a planet (short), with how long it takes to kill orbiting structures (slightly long), with how long it takes to reach a planet in the first place (very long).

Defenses need a boost, I agree with Orinial Poster. Large maps are annoying to play without a scaled up fleet suppy or better defense. I also think the phase inhibitor should be more effective.

Also I notice there are too many lanes connnecting too many planets. You end up defending ALOT of choke points. There should be less multiple phase lanes. Darn near all planets are connected.

Maybe fleets should suffer attrition damage while inside enemy space.

I think the idea of linked phase inhibitors preventing hostile jumping could have merit. It would force players to attack a particular target (the inhibitor) before advancing, which would allow you to arrange your defenses usefully. Turret ranges are so short as to be relatively useless against a player, compared to the AI which will stupidly fly into them.

Basically you could do to the player what is already the optimal strategy against the AI.

Like the Stardock guy says, defenses aren't there to make yourself invincible. They're there to slow your opponent down and give you time to get a fleet there.

That said... I've found that if I build 6 fighter bases ringing a planet, then a fighter and bomber in each, with another ring of 6 gauss guns just a little farther outside that ring, I am completely immune to almost any attack, and I rarely even lose a single turret or base. As in, I might lose one base in an entire 5 hour game. For added security there's still enough tactical slots left to build a planet shield. At the very least, you'll be completely immune to pirates.

How about this to hinder the jumping past your defensive planets straight to your homeworld:

Phase-Jump Scramblers.

The idea is, that it messes with the Nav system of the enemy fleet. When they go to Jump, it directs them away from the planet you are defending. So, if you have a nexus planet with 3 phase lines, and you want to keep people from jumping down phase line (a), you buld the PJS and designate (a). That way, when they jump, it will redirect them down another path (b) or where they came from (c). Now, the next time they jump in, they HAVE to take out the PJS, and, of course, you are going to have it heavily defended.

Anyway, great game. It is really different, and there may be some growing pains, but, i think the dev's are really pretty close on how it needs to be.

Not sure I'm feeling that one.

Platforms need more range. Maybe add a 2nd kind of defense platform high into the research tree that does dbl the normal dmg but costs 3-4 times as much. Haven't used the Phase jump things yet, so not really sure what to say regarding this. I do think that the hangers should have a tech at the end of the tech tree that adds a squadron or two more to them. One idea that I think would be neat would be some kind of system patrol craft, something the size of a frigate or cruiser but not able to actually phase jump away from the planet it's built from. This could allow that a enemy fleet isn't able to jump in, bypass the defenses and get to the phase lane to make the next jump. Then there could always be a ability added to the ship that will actually prevent a enemy from jumping, like the ion bolt, for say, 10-20 seconds. Of course I'm not sure exactly how this could work, does it take from your fleet supply or your tactical slots? Just some thoughts.

Just tie available cap ship crews directly to empire population instead of having the hard cap. If you start losing planet populations, you don't have crews to replace capital ship losses. This would give you more incentive to capture planets and also give you more capital ships to use to cover back doors. This also makes the populous worlds much more attractive targets; you can defend them in tight, and the enemy has to come into your defensive perimiter to make a dent.

I agree fully that turrets are useless given their limited range. I think increasing it by at least 50% would do it.

^ What he said.

Any one who says that defense systems are worth anything hasn't played against multiple CPU's on Normal on a larger map.



Try that and come back. There is not home team advantage!!!!!!!! This game is a total offense zerg fest on larger maps.

With multiple AI. forget building defenses.

i agree with the idea of makeing turrets, ie gaues cannons have a bigger range. the enimu always seems to fly right just pass there range

Ok i see guys making suggestions that hangars and turrets will fend off an attack while you get your fleet back to help out the planet, or some have even suggested that it will fend of ANY attack. I call BS on this, in my past 2 games, normal AI (random) on a medium map, by about the 5th hour, two or all AI's are allied together and i get attacked by no less than 2 big fleets on a forward planet. OK that's fine, just fall back, regroup and take them out with a better, more powerful fleet right? WRONG! I get attacked on the OTHERSIDE by the OTHER PLAYERS. I can't imagine trying to do this game FFA online, it would tempt me to throw my laptop out the window in frustration. Yes this game is about startegy and planning but how can you really plan anything if one is constatnly having to plug ships into your most vulnerable flanks? Why am i the only one making this an issue? Perhaps i am "speacial"?   

When i say "vulnerable flanks" btw, i mean choke points, planets with more than 1 avenue of approach, which is usally AT lease 2, one on each side of my territory

NO your not special. This is a real problem. Increase the cap or make planetary defense viable.

Thank You, it is oh so frustrating when you put SO much time into a game only to get fudged constantly. *down on knees* PLEASE DEVS!!! HELP!!!!