Soldarius
TreadStone Standard
Tribal Band
279
   |
Posted - 2012.08.27 05:16:00 -
[1] - Quote
As a recon 5 falcon pilot, I don't think many of the suggestions in this thread are worthy of serious consideration. But they should be addressed.
First, ECM is chance based, but only to a certain extent. If your jam strength is higher than the target's sensor strength, they are permajammed, and that is the only way. Chance to jam is jam str / sensor str per cycle. The maximum attainable jam strength on a Falcon is in the neighborhood of 15. BCs have sensor strengths in the range of 17-19. Logistics, recons, and T1 BS in the low 20s.
Most ECM ships do NOT focus jams on one ship, thus negating the whole multiple jammers issue because getting caught with no available jammers when enemy reinforcements arrive usually gets you or someone else popped. They cycle jammers until one hits, leaving the rest off. So let's not talk about focusing 4 jammers on one target.
ECM ships are notoriously easy to kill once you get dps on them. Get rid of their ECM defense and they would be pretty useless except as dps decoys.
Reducing the max lockable targets would be pointless. Even 1 lockable target is enough to put dps on the ecm ship. With the maximum lockable targets available to some players in certain ships, they would be completely immune to ECM. Frigates with only a couple targets would still get completely locked out. It wouldn't change anything that neesd to be changed while making certain ships immune to ECM. That would be bad game design.
Splitting scan res and range damping between Gallente and Caldari. There is a reason you don't see Arazu/Lachesis/Keres very much. Range damps are easily countered by speed fits, which are prolific due to speed mechanics reducing dps. Scan res damps are useless vs anything that is smaller than a BS. Also, damps are easily countered by the fairly common sebo, though that is not it's primary use.
Tippia made some interesting comparisons between RL ECM and Eve. Not bragging, but I work on ECM and ECCM for a living. We should be glad that eve ECM does not do some of the things that real ECM does. Otherwise we would have to dock for repairs everytime a strong ECM ship blasted our sensors at close range, thus completely burning them out.
As for how well eve ECM does replicate some RL effects, one method of jamming relies on overwhelming the target's sensors with sensor noise. This relies on knowing which type and frequency of noise to produce. Racial jammers simulate this well. There are lso broadband jammers that broadcast on many frequencies. Multifreqs do this well.
ECCM is an able approximation of boosting one's sensor strength. But if the opposing noise is greater than your ability to discern your signal from the noise, you're still screwed. And you can only broadcast with so much strength, and receive a certain level of signal before your transmitter or receiver burns out.
Another method focuses on providing an EWAR suite with false information. The simplest way of doing this would be a decoy system. Flares and/or chaff can confuse sensors and make you miss. They last for only a limited time. I'd be on board for that. But such systems rely on ammo, and are strictly defensive.
Electronically, there are countermeasures suites that do this as well. One need not burn out or even blind a receiver to make it miss or lose lock. Give it multiple targets and confuse it. This could be simulated by screwing with the overview as suggested. I wouldn't like to see things removed from the overview. That would be too much like cloaking. But adding things... that sounds interesting. Could create a lot of confusion. Can you imagine the comms?
"Primary is Falcon."
"Which one?"
"What do you mean? The ******* falcon!"
"There's 3 of them!"
"FFFUUUU!!!! Nerf Falcon!"
The easiest way to put a bit of nerf on ECM would be to make a skill that increases one's sensor strength. So easy, yet so effective. Call it "Sensor Integrity"
However, knowing what ECM and ECCM are capable of and why they do the thgns they do, I have to set myself in the HTFU section. ECM is supposed to be unfair. It is supposed to make ti so you cannot function while your enemies bend you over the barrel and ride your ass like a little *****. You are trying to kill your enemy. Why should combat be fair? There is no e-honoure in combat. Why should a simulation be any different? Fit your ECCM. Be glad you have anything at all.
"How do you kill that which has no life?" |