Jacob Holland
Gallente
FIRMA
Interstellar Alcohol Conglomerate
   |
Posted - 2006.10.27 12:33:00 -
[1]
Looking at the EWar systems (and not including Stasis Webs, Warp Scramblers or Nosferatu as they aren't EWar, they target the enemy's engines, warp drive or power systems not electronics (and yes, I realise that the Painter doesn't target the opponent's electronics either, I'll come to that later)) the ECM stands out. It is the only chance based EWar, but it is also the only module which eliminates rather than reduces a function of the enemy vessel. If tracking disruptors had a 30% chance of preventing a turret ship firing entirely you'd see more of them about, if sensor damps had a 30% chance of reducing any ship's lock range to 0 they'd be ECM, if Painters had a 30% chance of increasing a target's sig rad to infinity more Ravens would be loading Rage Torps, a webber and Painter and going interceptor hunting.
Every one of those effects would be seen as overpowered.
However, in the old system ECM effectively degraded your sensor strength and that didn't work either.
So let's take inspiration from the message which flashes up every time you attempt to get a lock while jammed.
 Quote:
You are currently managing 0 targets, as many as your ship's electronics are capable of.
Rather than degrading Sensor Strength how about it degrades the number of targets you can lock. ECM Multi knocks off one target, racial ECM vs the wrong race knocks off half and racial ECM vs the right race knocks off two.
To compensate you have ECCM modules and Backup Arrays, if these added targetting slots (regardless of skill or ship, so a character without targetting might be able to manage 3 targets with a backup array or 4 with an ECCM (both modules being slightly renamed)). A Scorpion should be able to lock down a couple of Battleships which aren't running defenses (most are Max locked 8 IIRC) or at the least force them to remanage their targets if they're running some form of defence. However a solo Vampadom would no longer fit a single ECM multi "because there's a slot free" (the fact that noone considers fitting ECCM immediately there's a slot free - but instead tries to jam a Multi on there is perhaps telling).
Yes you might well find that Every ship in a fleet would fit an ECM to lock down the primary - but they'd be just as likely to fit damps to reduce the primary's lock range to 0 or tracking disruptors to reduce his optimal range and tracking to nothing...
Tweak things slightly more by saying that ECM (or Damp, or TD) cycles in place before the activation of ECCM, Sensor Boosters or Tracking computers didn't effect them - your whole fleet may jam the primary, but if he's fitting ECCM he'll have a chance at a couple of shots every now and then with which to fight back, or at least run Nos to fuel his tank.
Originally by: cordy
Respect to IAC .Your one of the few people who truly deserve to own and live in the space you are in.
|