Followings are set of changes for yet another rebalance mod called Endless Space Gallery (Korean ES2 Community) Mod.

I just wanted to have further discussion outside the Korean ES2 community.

If you are interested, see full changelogs at https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1744546179

Hissho

• Overcolonization penalty of Resource Recoverers is now -50% FIDS when overcolonized and will not be effective on Home System
• Ancestral Reverence transfer rate was increased from 25% to 50% (and Food penalty was increased at the same rate)
• Hatched at Home law is now FIDS bonus (and not effective at Home System) instead of being FIDSI bonus (bonus will partially-or entirely-negate overcolonization penalty of Resource Recoverers)
• Occupation Keii cost was decreased from 15 to 5
• Subdue will grant some Keii
• Keii cost for peaceful diplomacy was removed

While I agree that Hissho is too good at expanding, I think that's inevitable because it's Militarists faction. I believe militarist factions should be encouraged to wage more wars, rather than launching extensive mining missions. But, at the same time, I think mining Hissho is one of the intended way of playing Hissho. Plus to that, while I'm generally skeptical to the possibility of so-called 'Tall-Hissho Empire', I tried to make players go that way.

Therefore, Home System was exempted from overcolonization FIDS penalty. It's not as punishing as it did at 1.4.21 patch. Several Keii changes, which was too restrictive, is now rolled-back. Ancestral Reverence and Hatched at Home changes are there to encourage the use of Ancestral Reverence when waging wars.

Behemoth

• Main modules of Behemoth, including mining/science/economy/terraforming/etc., can now only equipped once among all of these main modules. (if your behemoth have one minig module, you can't add any of these main modules)
• Main modules are now under effect of module effectiveness multiplier (and generally nerfed)

These changes are generally because

A. to hinder the auto-clicker exploit of mining modules

B. to give some slots for other useful behemoth modules or generic support moudles

Obliterator

• Obliterator now can not destroy star system
• Cost-free fire cooldown was drastically reduced
• Firing cost was also reduced
• Penalties (and Keii cost) for firing was removed
• Population loss will depend on obliterator defenses, varying from 20% to 80%
• Building loss rate is still 50% (but subject to further change)
• Super-defense(100% defense) can now only be achieved with the help from Native shields (i.e. Unfallen)

To be honest, I don't think pre-nerf Obliterator was OP. But losing your system is always painful. I agree that. So, these changes are there to prevent you from losing your system, while guaranteeing the loss. 

System Obliterator Shield

• Once you build a shield at your system, you can build it cheaper (-75% industry, -60% strategics) when destroyed

This one is to make you feel less frightened from Obliterator firefight. But I'll recommend you to join the firefight.

Saints & Sinners

• Saint & Sinners law will fix your approval to 50 (as it did before 1.4.21)
• 1 overcolonization = 10% increase in law upkeep
• This penalty ignores overcolonization limit bonus on Federation
• Autonomous Administration increases law upkeep by 5%

Fixing your approval at certain point is pretty OP, provided there is nothing to stop you doing that. So, as ESGM already has a system to stop you from expanding everywhere, I just rolled-back the change. Now go try expanding with S&S law, if you can afford the law upkeep. Some might think it is still OP but there is no other reason to pick Religious party without former effect of S&S law.

Trade and Science Treaties

• Treaty upkeep was decreased from 2 influence per pop to 1 influence per pop
• Trusted Broker law (Pacifists T1) will now also decrease treaty upkeep at the same rate with peaceful diplomacy cost
• Guardian law will remove the treaty upkeep
• Science treaty was buffed (max 1000 science per turn)
• Trade Treaties will reduce the effective transaction tax rate (up to 100%)

Treaty upkeep was just unnecessary. But, as I just didn't want to abandon the upkeep, I tried granting more benefit for them. Currently thinking about further changes on upkeep.

Fleet Accelerator

• Fleet accelerator will now increase the distance moved per 1 movement pts on Starlane (no change on free movement)
• Effect is now cumulative and under effect of module multiplier
• Can be equipped on Support Ship
• Bonus on the distance moved per 1 movement pts is capped at +400%
• T1/T2/T3 Strategic modules effect is 10%/25%/50% respectively

The most hated part of taxi fleet was, from my personal opinion, the massive speed on free movement. This is removing 'free' movement rather than removing 'massive speed'. Plus to that, as it only increase the distance moved per 1 movement point, it will still encourage your combat ships to have decent speed. (3 pts * 500% is only 15 pts, while 9 pts * 300% is 27 pts)

That's it for mod update this time. As I mentioned earlier, I wrote this because I wanted to have further discussion on G2G for these changes. So any new idea or thought will be really appreciated. Thanks for reading!

Sublustris wrote:

I don't understand, why don't you allow to equip more then one terraformation/science/economy module? That makes them very bad and ineffective.

But now each module is up to 8 times effective. So your behemoth will be still competitive enough while setting 4 support slots free. Behemoth modules are so good that no generic support modules can compete against them.

Plus to that, there was minor issue of mining probe duration stacking (regardless of its type)

• Obliterator now can not destroy star system

Lol, are you serious?

My original plan was to restore the pre-nerf obliterator because its threat was exaggerated. But someone suggested making obliterator shots easy to fire & easy to defend.

Obliterator is superweapon that consumes a behemoth slot. So it should be presented as competitive option for waging war (or maybe diplomacy). But finding balance of star-destroying weapon is really hard. If its cost goes too low, players will lose several systems and feel unbalanced. If the cost goes too high, nobody would use it

So I chose the former to keep obliterators alive. As long as there are effective counter-measures and players getting annoyed by losing one's system, you can't make it super-costly super-weapon. You need to make its cost reasonable and contain its damage to bearable extent.

I would additionally reduce food growth for system by x% for y turns, if hit by Obliterator shot.

Groo wrote:

I would additionally reduce food growth for system by x% for y turns, if hit by Obliterator shot.

That could be nice! I'll check its feasibility soon.

PARAdoxiBLE wrote:

Sublustris wrote:

I don't understand, why don't you allow to equip more then one terraformation/science/economy module? That makes them very bad and ineffective.

But now each module is up to 8 times effective. So your behemoth will be still competitive enough while setting 4 support slots free. Behemoth modules are so good that no generic support modules can compete against them.

Plus to that, there was minor issue of mining probe duration stacking (regardless of its type)

Ok, sounds fair, but now you end with universal Behemoth design of each module type slotted, where only one-two out of four support modules slots does the job at any given time. I prefer more specialized and devirse designs.