Cloaking and Detection

posted on November 17th, 2009, 5:07 pm

So if a Romulan tries to harass, and then has to cloak and run away because a fleet is after him, that fleet can use the starbase tachyon scan (or ping, or what have you ) to have a chance to reveal some of the Romulan ships and target them while they're cloaked, but some Romulan ships will have the chance to escape undetected?

posted on November 17th, 2009, 5:51 pm

But if the tachyon sensors are only in addition to the tachyon scan and intelligence report, aren't cloaking devices still just as shafted?

posted on November 17th, 2009, 5:59 pm

Well, if Tachyon Scan doesn't force decloak anymore, cloak won't be as shafted.  As it stands now, you can catch a ship on the very edge of the scan, and they get decloaked.  If they had just attempted an emergency cloak (used the last of their energy to do it) then they are completely hosed.

If it's not decloaking them, they run away out of it's range and escape.

Personally, however, I dislike the Intelligence Report.  I personally believe it should be a feature of the Romulan Intel Center, not every starbase.  With it revealing the location of all cloaked things, it severely reduces the power of cloaks.  Especially against the Dominion and Borg (though I'm kinda okay with cloak not being great against the Borg) with their ability to generate supplies rather than purchase them.

posted on November 17th, 2009, 8:47 pm

tachyon scan no longer decloaks ships, but renders them visible. the intelligence report remains untouched

That's what I was hoping to hear! Nice! 

Eh, Intelligence Report is costly enough to really not make that big of a difference in my opinion. Plus, it just reveals the location - not the actual ship.

posted on November 17th, 2009, 9:12 pm

However, once that location is revealed, you just tachyon it, because there's no range on that power.  Anywhere on the map, whenever you want, so long as you have the energy.  And since you can easily have multiple starbases to handle the tachyon pings...

posted on November 17th, 2009, 9:20 pm

That assumes that not only have you researched those technologies, but that you have the funds available to do the Ping (not often true in a multiplayer game) and that you have vessels in the location. I wouldn't call it that easy to have multiple starbases - in a 1v1 getting more than one means that you've already lost (your opponent I mean), and in a larger game than that you should be more focused on ships than starbases in the first place. I've never had an issue with Ping, because almost nobody has ever used it successfully on me for the past year.

posted on November 17th, 2009, 9:31 pm

Yeah I don't use the Tachyon pings from the starbase because of the supply cost... but it is good to give you a 'general' idea of where the enemy is fielding cloaked units but that's about it.

posted on November 17th, 2009, 11:19 pm

If memory serves, tachyon doesn't use up supplies, just energy.  I thought it was Intel report that uses up supplies (and far too many of them for comfort).

I personally prefer to research the anti-cloak tech, and just deploy it, rather than relying on the starbase for it.  Easy for rommies, who deploy cloaked cloak detectors.  Nothing like a refitted talon, cloaked and following your fleet.

posted on November 17th, 2009, 11:24 pm

I think he meant Intelligence Report

posted on November 17th, 2009, 11:27 pm

I think he meant Intelligence Report

Indeed... 

posted on November 17th, 2009, 11:53 pm

The only thing I'm concerned about the change for tachyon scan is that you can still see and target ships, but if it doesn't decloak them, they don't have their shields up and you can destroy them with ease.  But I guess we'll have to see how it plays out once it gets here.

posted on November 18th, 2009, 9:01 am

I thought that too Mal.

posted on November 18th, 2009, 9:45 pm

Yeah, it's a reward and a danger I think

Shouldn't be too bad if some ships can escape just because the scan will miss them, plus the fact that I think we aren't getting a Tachyon Scan like the one available at the Starbase anymore - just movable "scanners". Makes cloak a lot more formidable overall.

posted on November 18th, 2009, 11:19 pm

so you cant decloak any area on the map now? thats ok

posted on November 18th, 2009, 11:57 pm

I think so - that's the impression I got based on the posts so far, as well as Optec comment a while back that Tachyon Scan would no longer be available at the Starbase. Plus, he wanted to diversify the ways different factions get access to detection technology... 

I await confirmation