Changes in hover mechanics
Greetings to all survivors! Today we would like to talk about such an important and long-awaited event as the change in hover mechanics. Please note that all the features described in this blog are preliminary and may still be changed before the final release on the game servers.
First of all, we would like to describe the current situation with hovers. Today this movement part is often used in crafts for low and medium PS fights, since it's an extremely effective option, giving a certain advantage over the other crafts with “rare” movement parts. Let's look at what we are going to do to change the current situation in the game.
As many of you already know, every hover in the game (“Icarus IV” and “Icarus VII”) has its own constant power parameter, which serves as a basis for acceleration and manoeuvrability of the vehicle. Hover “Icarus VII” has more power and allows you to accelerate faster, while “Icarus IV” has greater durability and less power, compared to the seventh “Icarus”. Due to an additional balance restriction, if you mount more than 4 hovers, the power of each is significantly reduced, which negatively affects the armoured car's manoeuvrability.
We have decided to remove this restriction. After the changes take effect, each installed hover, like all other movement parts, will reduce the cabin's power by a certain value. You can compensate for this by installing a cabin with more power or an engine that significantly increases it. Now hovers will also directly depend on the power of the cabin used.
These changes will reduce the effectiveness of crafts with hovers based on low-power “common” and “rare” cabins at low and medium PS.
Along with the above changes, we also decided to make balance changes to hover tonnage and durability. At the moment, the planned changes in the parameters are as follows:
Hover “Icarus VII”
- Hover tonnage increased from +500 to +800 kg.
- Hover durability reduced from 150 to 100 units.
- Each installed hover reduces cabin power by 8%.
Hover “Icarus IV”
- Hover tonnage increased from +500 to +800 kg.
- Hover durability reduced from 200 to 150 pts.
- Each installed hover reduces cabin power by 14%.
Reducing durability will reduce the effectiveness of “low-PS” crafts without structural parts that would protect both the hovers and the craft itself. Increasing tonnage will allow players to attach more parts to the craft and increase the chances of survival even in the most fierce battles. In addition, both hovers will still retain their individuality: the “Icarus IV” is still more durable than the “Icarus VII”, but at the same time it greatly reduces the power of the installed cabin.
Today we are planning to start mass testing of updated hovers on a special server. There you will be able to evaluate the updated movement parts in live conditions and share your opinion and constructive reviews in a special thread on the forums. We will announce the start time of mass testing additionally and attach instructions for entering the test server.
Please note that the plans described in this article are preliminary and may change in the development process or never make it into the game.