Criticise this new official ship

I’m thinking of adding a new rebel frigate. It’s all done, I just need feedback on potential balance issues.
It’s called the ragnarok, and is a slightly bigger and more deadly frigate than usual:

it’s stats are:

width = 110
height = 110
powerproduced = 10
cost = 135

[bonuses]
0 = POWERBOOST,0.19

7 standard slots and 4 turrets

Any thoughts? (This will just go in the next patch, not an add-on or anything like that). I’ve deliberately given it a bonus that the rebels don’t normally have (power) instead of the speed boost, to reflect the fact that it’s an unusually big frigate for the rebels (imperial frigates are larger still).

It seems less powerful overall then several of the other frigate hulls already out there. As such there shouldn’t be a balance issue.

indeed, I’m wondering about giving it yet another slot, to make its role more interesting (at extra cost).

This frigate design looks quite interesting, cliffski. Inclusion of another module slot as per your musings would be most useful. While Rebel frigates can possess awesome short-term damage output, they are disturbingly fragile. This new ship looks like a great exception to that trend! I look forward to flying one as well as fighting against one.

OTOH, I surely wish that the name assigned to this frigate hull wasn’t the same as the dreadnought I modded for the Rebels much earlier in the autumn. Please forgive my impertinence in humbly asking that the new frigate class be given a different Norse name.

The stats don’t look that much different from an Odin to warrant a balance concern. The most unique thing for rebels I could think of is that there’s more leftover engine power for a hull-powered armored/unshielded AA ship.

I usually don’t go for larger frigate hulls unless I want both shields and armor. I’m not sure if a power bonus alone is attractive enough.

Diggin’ it

I can change it. tbh I wasn’t 100% sure about ragnarok because it should be a great big fearsome thing, at least a cruiser. I will try and find a better name, although I’m besieged by relatives now so this will happen post holidays anyway…

Name change definitely needed. Ragnarok is too epic to waste on a frigate.

I didn’t know you were still making ships, Cliff. Awesome work! (It’d be great to see some more Empire ships, hint hint nudge nudge, etc.)

The stats look way too weak. I can’t imagine ever using this ship.

What we’ve got is a more expensive, slower, bigger target, harder to armour ship, than the Odin (which has the same module configuration.) The only plus is 1.0 +19% power.

Adding another standard module might help… But are you really going to use all the modules on a 11/12 module frigate without armouring it? In which case, the Odin will be tougher anyway.

I’d suggest giving it another module, and either an armour boost to match the Odin, or a small hull integrity boost (hey, it’s big and slow(er)! should have some more toughness of some sort.)

It looks like someone cut up 2 rebel frigates and mixed the pieces and then added another engine
I like it

Looks kinda like a turtle, lol. Maybe it should be called “Turtle frigate” or armadillo? hah I found a neat way to come up with names for ships, check out scientific names for animals then use the words for inspiration and the lettering

chelonia.org/Turtle_Taxonomy.htm

Since it looks like a turtle, you could call it “the Dermochelys frigate class” (change spelling to Dermocles and drop the y). Dermocles frigate class!

Ships should have some kind of tactical distinction. Many ships in Space are too similar I think what needs to be done is when adding new frigate classes, have frigate class specific weapons or abilities, i.e. differentiate the frigate classes (heck all classes) by having weapons be class specific. Say one has less weapons/engine slots, then compensate in some other area.

Whenever you change something in one area (reduce) you need to improve somewhere else. Or you add new slot types, so that you can add more items to the game.

I like it, but I feel like the Rebels needed a new ship the least.

I agree that the number of modules/hardpoints needs adjusted to distinguish it from the Odin. Like the idea of a low hull boost to reflect increased size along with power boost.

May I suggest Midgard as a name? We’ve already got the home of the gods (Asgard) as a frigate, so why not the home of man as well? Also, somehow seems to fit the larger, more durable frigate style.

It should probably carry a speed boost bonus as well, as it is rebel after all. Feels like you’re breaking the rules if not.

I’m also starting to think “power boosts” across the board should be bumped up a bit. It just doesn’t seem like a useful hull attribute at the moment - the Ballista in particular comes to mind.

I don’t really use frigates, so I couldn’t comment… OH SNAP! I did!

I’ve added a structural integrity bonus to this frigate as well, to make it a more tempting choice, and it will be in patch 1.29

I felt oddly vindicated when my computer loaded up 1.29 last night and I saw the new frigate in all its glory … and with the name I’d pegged for it.

Plus it helped that it let me redesign my AA frigate to be a lot more effective with only a 25% increase in cost.

It’s huge. It looks pretty ridiculous when it’s in a fleet with then Fenrir. While the Fenrir Cruiser is longer, the Midgard Frigate looks substantially larger, since it’s way fatter.

A frigate really ought not to look bigger than a cruiser.

Seems like quite a nice hull, gameplay wise. The beefed up power bonus seems useful, makes for a nice beam frigate. I just wish it looked a bit (well, a lot) smaller.