Shamarskii Simon wrote:Adipem Nothi wrote:Thaddeus Reynolds wrote:
I feel a system wherin scanning took time rather than a binary yes-no would be far better for the overall EWAR balance of the game personally...you avoid the problem of immunity, while ensuring that scans are not fully Omnipotent either. (Example: A medium frame detects a heavy frame in .5 seconds, while taking 3-5 seconds to detect a scout frame) Active scanners would work the same way, just project over a larger area...ramble ramble ramber...possibly make Cloaks immune to either Active or Passive Scans (one or the other, not both)
That'd make for a fantastic EWAR system ...
(Imma extend on that)
...Where the dB of precision and profile influence the chance of being scanned. If you're 16 dB profile, and I have 40 dB precision. I can still scan you in X amount of time with a Y chance of picking you up between X time intervals.
Or is that unnecessary lol.
Love it, Thad!
So the lower a detected unit's scan profile, the shorter his onscreen blip is displayed and the longer the interval between blips. From the scanner's perspective, the stronger the scans the longer blips appear onscreen and the shorter the interval between blips.
The signal from an undampened heavy would "read" much differently than the signal of a dampened Scout. The former would blip at a much shorter interval than the latter, and the blips of the former would linger longer on screen. A sneaky heavy could effectively mask his signal by running dampeners. He'd still get scanned, but his signal might easily be mistaken for that of a MedFrame.
This could be alot of fun and would absolutely make for more dynamic EWAR interplay.
Unlike other modules which are always effective, dampeners and precision enhancers are currently effective under very specific use conditions. If an Assault (for instance) is scanned while running a damp, that damp pays his user zero returns. In a setting where strong scans are always up, the Assault is better served 100% of the time by other types of modules (i.e. plates, biotics, etc). Under your proposed system, our dampened Assault would still get scanned, but he'd be scanned for a X% less time than an Assault who was not running a dampener. EWAR modules would become more like other modules; every unit would benefit their use, and that benefit would no longer be binary.