This is an experimental balance mod for playing around with major changes. It’s not extensively tested, but everything should work and be stable.
The aim of the changes is to flatten out fighter speed, make armor more viable outside armor-tanking, and increase the threat posed by missiles to fleets without point defence.
To achieve those aims, I’ve reduced the costs on many armors (particularly low end armors), drastically increased missile damage, and removed decoys from most missiles. I have also done an almost complete redesign of fighter balance, basically making it improbably difficult to mount more than one engine and making component weight less important. The fighter balance and design is still very rough. I’m not sure the power changes were necessary at all after the weight/thrust changes but it seems to play alright.
These files use the 1.12 patch as their base, with some files copied over from 1.14 for consistency. To install, extract to your (GSB)\data\ directory. It will overwrite your existing modules and hulls directory, and also place two ‘Copy’ directories containing vanilla files for reversion.
A complete changelog:
Megaton Missile - Decoys removed, damage 60 -> 110
Cruiser_fastmissile - Decoys removed, damage 30 -> 50
Cruiser_missile - Decoys removed, damage 30 -> 60
Cruiser_missile_multiple - damage 11 -> 17
cruiser_armour - cost 136 -> 80
cruiser_armour_II - cost 220 -> 150 weight 72 -> 108
cruiser_armour_III - cost 243 -> 223
cruiser_armour_IV (light) - weight 90 -> 72
cruiser_armour_V (ultra) -
cruiser_armour_VI (minimal) - cost 89 -> 55
cruiser_powered_armour -
cruiser_ecm_shock - fire_interval 6000 -> 7000
cruiser_laser - damage 20 -> 16
cruiser_light_shield - shieldpoints 100 -> 180
cruiser_shield -
cruiser_shield II -
cruiser_shield_multiphasic - powerconsumed 12 -> 18 shieldpoints 275 -> 320 recharge_rate 0.007 -> 0.009
cruiser_repair - repair_rate 0.05 -> 0.08 power
cruiser_nanorepair - power 5.1 -> 9.0
frigate_armour - cost 45 -> 32
frigate_armour II - cost 63 -> 53
frigate_armour III - cost 96 -> 90
frigate_armour IV (powered) cost 112 -> 97 maxdamage 46 -> 52
frigate_armour V (lt powered) cost 142 -> 102 maxdamage 45 -> 50
frigate_light_shield - shieldpoints 27 -> 21 resistance 7 -> 17 crew 3 -> 4 cost 44 -> 52 (-> Mirror Shield)
frigate_superlight_shield - shield points 18 -> 48
frigate_shield - shieldpoints 50 -> 62
frigate_turboshield - resistance 7 -> 9 recharge 0.006 -> 0.007
frigate_antifighter_missile - armor_pen 6 -> 12
frigate_missile - decoys removed, damage 12 -> 24
frigate_fastmissile - decoys removed, damage 11 -> 20
frigate_ion_cannon - armor_pen 12 -> 6 fire_interval 290 -> 330
frigate_torpedo max_range 1000 -> 650 min_range 280 -> 200 damage 22 -> 32
fighter_engine I - --> standard engine thrust 14 -> 28 weight 2.0 -> 10.0 hitpoints 5 power 1 -> 3
fighter_engine II - --> interceptor engine thrust 17 -> 26 weight 2.5 -> 8.0 hitpoints 6 -> 4 power 2 -> 2.5 cost 15
fighter_engine III - --> armored engine thrust 25 -> 30 hp 7 -> 12 weight 3.0 -> 12.0 power 3 -> 3.5
fighter_laser power 4 -> 0.5 shield_pen 8 -> 5 armor_pen 8 -> 5 damage 5
fighter_pulse laser power 4.8 -> 1.0 shield_pen 3.8 -> 8.0 armor_pen 3.8 -> 8.0
fighter_torpedo weight 15 -> 10
fighter_rocket weight 2 -> 4
fighter target painter weight 25 -> 10
fighter powerplants -> “capacitors”
fighter_powergenerator - weight 2.5 -> 1 power 3 -> 0.5 hitpoints 6 -> 3 cost 11 -> 6
fighter_powergenerator II - weight 3.1 -> 1.3 power 4 -> 1.0 hitpoints 6 -> 3 cost 16 -> 8
fighter_powergenerator III weight 3.9 -> 1.6 power 5 -> 1.5 hitpoints 7 -> 3 cost 19 -> 12
fighter_armor I - cost 25 -> 15 weight 0.625 -> 1.25
fighter_armor II - cost 30 -> 19 weight 0.86 -> 1.72
fighter_armor III - cost 36 -> 24 weight 1.25 -> 2.5
fighter_armor IV (ablative) cost 28 -> 20
fighter_armor V (adv ablative) cost 31 -> 22 weight 0.31 -> 0.2
Alliance Scorpion Fighter power 3 -> 3.5
Alliance Hornet Fighter power 2.3 -> 3.5
Alliance Tarantula Fighter power 2.2 -> 3
Imperial Ballista Fighter power 2.1 -> 4
Imperial Phalanx Fighter power 2 -> 3
Imperial Javelin Fighter power 2.6 -> 3.5
Federation Leopard FIghter power 3 -> 3.5
Federation Falcon Fighter power 3 -> 3
Federation Hawk Fighter power 2 -> 3.5
Rebel Achilles Fighter power 5 -> 3.5
Rebel Atlantis Bomber power 4 -> 3.5
Rebel Icarus Fighter power 4 -> 3
Rebel Pheonix Fighter - power 4 -> 3.5
ABMV2.rar (228 KB)