reef/carrier - remove airpad

Problem with current reef is that it attracts planes on its airpads, and that it is often operated by someone who doesnt care about staying out of strong AA range. In such a case, plane player will have a rapidly diminishing number of planes. Yes drones will also suffer from AA, until reef's missile has taken out AA, then drones will regenerate. But planes will not regenerate...

Proposal:
- remove airpad function from reef/carrier
- optionally, add another airpad unit. Maybe only 2 pads, maybe as a sea unit or flying or whatever.

Just remove the plane bait function from the carrier. If you find another way to fix it... such as a toggle to disable reef's airpad function (with default=disabled) or a way for plane player to pick allowed landing pads, why not...

Repair platforms can be built on water too, so there isn't really a need for a repair pad boat in the ZK universe.

It is possible to make carrier only accept drones for landing (using minAirbasePower).

There are two additional problems with current Reef that are not mentioned by above post:
- It is ugly.
- Its wreck is beyond ugly.

Therefore, by the power granted to me by forces of random, i declare a DRONE CARRIER CONTEST to replace the current Reef.

quote: A drone carrier has come! A ship twisted into shape of a drone airbase. It has small landing pads for its drone detachment. It has a missile launcher for its cruise missile. It has a missile launcher for its antinuke missile. Beware its drones! Now you know why you fear the sea.

Whoever makes the best one (probably) wins inclusion. How you implement the "drone pad" concept is utterly up to you: hanging racks for drone housing, internal cavities for a hive-like feel, retractable cranes or just small pads are all possible if you feel like it.

Another thing that was proposed was to create a carrier gunship to introduce additional synergy between gunship and planes factories, possibly replacing krow.

Just remove its missile (keep anti) and limit drone flight range. Then sea players wont have to move them close to the enemy. After all, it's a CARRIER. Warlord is supposed to be the artillery ship.

Or replace missile with a tacnuke silo, like the real thing, together with ability to build them, and make anti a buildable single-use missile :P

Then abolish leviathan.

quote: carrier. it is not this multirole thing as it is right now.

Fun fact: real carriers carry cruise missiles, planes of various sorts, antisub helicopters, marines, torp lauchers, aa guns, and more. What were you saying?

quote: give it AA turrets. 2 copperhead guns maybe?

quote: a medium sized shiled

quote: D-gun airstrike with a temporary new plane

... right.

+1 rafal

quote: even the puny scout frigate has an anti-air gun.

fwiw, Skeeters are quite ok at shooting planes.

quote: Then give carrier MOAR DRONES!!11

I could get behind that idea if it meant more drones of different kind. Like bomber drones that drop a tiny missile and then head for reload, or fighter drones to shoot enemy air ^^

My idea: everything opposite of what TheSponge posted.

For "Laser AA guns, like on a razor" you have Shredder, for "riot guns, like on the corvette" you have corvette, for antinuke and tacnuke silo you have Leviathan.
Units which are like other units joined together don't add anything new to the gameplay. Units with too many roles are actually boring and impossible too balance. They are either too good at everything or not good enough and not worth making. On the other hand units with a limited role are best for the gameplay as they have major strengths and major weaknesses.


Carrier should be unique so lets buff it main strength - the drones and remove the rocket and the antinuke and let other ships handle AA and raider defense.

Okay, I have a kind of neat idea but it'd probably be hard to implement.

The problem with reef is that it acts exactly like a repair pad, and you can build those yourself. So why not make it a specialist?

Give it a stockpiler like the screamer and drones that launch and instantly repair and reload any aircraft within the range of a defender from the carrier.
It could speed up time between bombing runs to near instantaneous.
You go in with one carrier with 12 stockpiled repairs and like four bombers to attack a line of annis, park the carrier right outside the anni range and it's like you have 16 bombers instead of 4, because they can attack, circle around and repair at the carrier instantly and bomb the next target.

This would fill a similar but more specialized role than the airpad, not just keeping planes alive but also increasing damage output due to faster reload times.

When enemies attack the group the carrier is in it could be especially devastating because planes could be reloaded and repaired the instant they take 80% damage or need reloading.
Actually it might be a good idea to have a seperate stockpile of drones to repair and drones to reload so they aren't wasted.

Of course, the stockpiling might take a similar time to a screamer so give the repair drones an on-off switch and give it a regular repair pad too so it can always help.

Other things that might help include but are not limited to=
- A very large radius shield that is centered far above the land so it protects far more air space than surface space. This would protect vs screamers and chainsaws.
-AA so your bombers can retreat to it
-Regular drones like we have now for defense

edit-
Maybe an air factory with limited production options too.