I like to tackle things a little more philosophically, so...
I like that approach, breaking it down into sub-components is part of objective design, and its an approach that I appreciate and understand.
- Detection: I need to know where the enemy is, and where they are going.
The advantage of minefields is that they do not require detection. As a matter of fact, I also need to account for stealth-ships. Minefields, being a physical impediment, can be an issue even for cloaked ships that can't otherwise be revealed. While I do like the idea of having a few specialists be able to decloak enemy ships around them, minefields provide some kind of map control that deal with this.
Also, spending sufficient amounts of resources should allow you to make up for the fact you may not have detection, or that your detection range is too short (preventing your fleet from reaching in time). Ideally, you'll setup your defense perimenter in such a way that it never happens, but a player with a stronger economy but less forward scouts should also be allowed to figure some means of immediate defenses against shock-tactic incursions.
- Delaying tactics: I have units/mechanics that allow me to slow the enemy down so that my forces can catch them.
I like to extend this to having a 'threat' to the enemy forces. Something that will keep them guessing and force them to either player it safe or take the risk. This gives the player a tangible ambiguous choice to make, and this is what makes it more fun/rewarding imo. Being slowed down is generally not a sufficient drawback as you will have no tangible reasons not to try, and when you see you're being slowed down, you're likely just to turn back and try some place else. There needs to be a tangible risk of loss of any kind.
For example, say you're hunting for a deer and trailing behind it, and know its whereabouts. If you know there are bear traps about, but really need to eat, you could either move carefully, at the risk of losing the deer, or rush for it, at the risk of being snared by the bear traps. The bear trap itself won't kill you, but it might cripple you in such a way you won't be able to hunt down any deer, yet, if you let that deer go, there's no telling there will be another anytime soon. Its the kind of heart-shattering choices that make every choice more vibrant because there is no 'right answer'.
| Warp Gates are the absolute essence of mobility. If I can move my ships to defend any system instantly, then I don't need static defenses or delaying tactics.
From a tactical perspective yes, but such a solution would also have tremendous consequences on the economy of the game. This would also mean that freighters would get the same kind of benefits, and distance would no longer be much of an issue except when colonizing and developing the first planet in a star cluster. This is the reason why I've had to limit this to a single of my species, as it would balance for another particularly nasty drawback they had. Thus, I would probably need alternate mobility solutions for other species.
/ Orbital defense platforms represent static defences. If I put enough firepower around my home world, it doesn't matter how many enemy ships get through.
I'm currently using two different layers for this. One that is limited to damaging ships orbiting a planet (planet-to-orbit defensive posts) and one that has some kind of range into space, generally able to fire a volley at a specific ship before it gets in range. It generally costs a hefty amount of resources per shot, and has the capacity to incapacitate the ship in various ways, such as disrupting its engines or emptying its shields (allowing them to regen the turn after or something like that).
- Singularity traps are a form of delaying tactic. Its only purpose is to delay the enemy for enough turns that my fleets will be in position ahead of them.
I like this idea, as I've said before. In fact, I'm looking for more ideas like this, perhaps with a bit more punch to them than merely giving the player the advantage of time. Various consequences I see that could be considered threatening:
- Destruction (such as the minefield, it deals damage as well)
- Fuel Drain (fear of being out of fuel, thus unable to complete movement or even escape)
- Temporary disruption (as per my example above, the temporary loss of shields or firepower would force the opponent to refrain from engagin, not because they are delayed, but because they would be at a distinct disadvantage if they engaged now)
- ?
So if someone tries to punch through, he will need to go fast, and thus have easily predictable path, and thus be vulnerable to long range missiles.
I was thinking of implementing such a system where, if an enemy ship has a certain velocity, it gives away more information than its current position such as its heading. Your suggestion, in this case, would more or less allow a planet to fire at an incoming enemy ship provided that its speed is high and it has become close enough.
What I like about your idea is that there would be a counscious choice to be made by the player: since he doesn't know if you have such a defensive measure into place, he might choose to be careful and slow down just in case, or try his luck and rush through in hope you're not going to fire. He might even be cloaked, unaware that you have sufficient detection to see him.
In this case, the missile fire could trigger right before the engagement, damaging the enemy ship in some way, and clearly giving your planetary defense system a major advantage in this engagement.
The one part I'm hesitant about is that it doesn't quite provide space control. In the scenario where the enemy seeks to avoid frontal confrontation and passes through your outposts to go straight to your home sector, he's unlikely to travel close enough to your outposts to be in range of such a device, and its unlikely you'd keep one on each of your planets 'just in case'. Minefields have the advantage of being spread pretty much where you want them, even in large chunks of unoccupied space. Perhaps extending your mechanic to some kind of spatial 'body' would make more sense, with players having the ability to load such satellites in ships and tow them further out or back inside their lines as needed. I've toyed with a few concepts including satellites that served several purposes such as detection, limited counter measures and economic improvements and this could be the way to go, but I'm still a bit unconvinced that its a viable alternative to minefields of its own. I can't help but think there's something missing.
