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| Pirates have launched a furious attack on player fleet (very early graphics) |
You start the combat with your fleet in the left and opponents in the right side of the battlefield.
While the battle happens in real-time, the pace of the game is not frantic. Most of your ships move slowly and majestetically to leave you ample time to maneuver them into a better formation and pick optimal targets. The image above might give a bit speedier impression than is usual in Rogue Ambassador.
Weapons, shields and defences
Since weapons have generally quite long range, the game is more about choosing what to shoot rather than trying to dodge bullets or outmaneuver the enemy. The weapons in the game generally fall into three categories: energy (lasers), kinetic (cannons) and missiles.
We decided to take a somewhat more realistic approach to energy shields - they will be stopping only energy weapons. Cannon and missile shots are slow enough (slower than light) to pass right through the energy barriers.
Missiles can be shot down with point-defence weapons, and the only way to prevent damage from kinetic weapons is evasion. Luckily, evasion is boosted by your ships ECM (electronic counter-measures) and captains dodging skills. On the attacker's side, accuracy (which is pitted against evasion) is boosted by onboard battle computer modules and combat skills of captains.
Capital Ordinance (Nukes)
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| A battered cargo hauler launches one of the capital nukes it was transporting (very early graphics) |
Have you ever experienced the amazing feeling of loading your very last nuclear missile from cargo into the torpedo tube and launching it against the swarm of enemy ships, spectacularly winning the battle from the brink of destruction?
Well, capital ordinance does just that. Each capital missile takes an entire module slot and comes with a single shot only, but the explosion is big enough to damage or destroy several enemy ships in one shot.
Selection of Capital Ordinance
Nobody manufactures capital ordinance any more, since the entire intergalactic civilization is in ruins. Those that remain are highly valued and usually saved for the really difficult battles - which in Rogue Ambassador, will be about every third battle >=) We promise to stay true to the fairly ruthless brutality of roguelikes.
Ships taking damage
If a ship receives damage despite it's energy shields, point-defence weapons and evasion maneuvers, the damage is substracted from it's total HP (which already includes armor. Better armored ships have more HP) but can also damage some of the modules the ship is equipped with.
An attack might damage weapons, engines or any of the miscellanneous components the ship is carrying. Hitting a fuel tank or armed nuke migh blow up the whole ship. Other modules can be either damaged or destroyed, and must be repaired before they can be used again.
Internal view, repairing & crew
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| Internal view of a large ship in repair view mode |