Upgradeable Hydro

[FunkOff]

AZ, that's a poor idea, to make existing structures gain bonuses from being built on mass deposits. This does not create a strategic choice because it will always be very simple to calculate where you'll get the most benefit, and it becomes a knowledge issue not a choice issue.

What would make choices, however, is if you could use mass points to build things other than mex, like a PD, but for cheap (100 mass for a mex PD). Then, the choice would be a short-term benefit of building the special structure for cheap versus the long-term benefit of collecting mass from a mex for a long time.

[AdmiralZeech]

That's fine as well, but I dont think it's as necessarily cut-and-dry as you suggest.

If the choice is between combat structure vs. mex, then the "best" choice would depend on the situation and where the front line is etc.

If the choice is between a support structure vs. mex (like some sort of land repair tower, aircraft pad, etc) then it depends on your other units and whether they might benefit from it.

Intel structure vs. mex, again depends on the situation.

Factory vs. mex, not sure.

---------------------

In this case the player would need to evaluate the situation and/or his intended strategy/plan, and decide whether a special structure is worth the tradeoff of not having a mex there.

In a given situation, yes, there might be only one "correct" choice. In your eyes, does that mean there is no strategic choice?
To me, this is still interesting because the "correct" choices will vary from match to match, faction to faction, player to player, and even over the course of the same match, because the situation will change.

Especially if the special structures have fairly significant effects.
Eg. currently in some maps we have a race to the big reclaim in the centre, because its so important. What if getting to Hydro X or Mass Point Y first, and building a special PD or Intel Tower there first was important?
And what if there are several such objectives on the map, with different reasons for being important (and different structures that are useful to build on them), such that it's difficult to take them all first, and a choice needs to be made based on your intended strategy?

---------------------

Similar to my long-held criticism of, "We need more snipeable targets in SupCom other than the ACU", its more interesting and "crunchier" to have these sorts of pivotal events and locations in a match. As long as there are enough of them so that the map is multi-dimensional, I dont think it's a bad thing.

[noobymcnoobcake]

How about giving them the ability to have some very nice ajacency bonuses to some things? might make them more usefull later game. like 50% E usage reduction for something touching one side of it. Could be usefull for producing interceptors early game and possibly some massfabs or shields later game.

Also with better ajacency bounuses for it you could "upgrade" it by adding storage around it. Lets say each storage makes it produce a nice amount more of energy (+50 each storage?) allowing for 700 power when its completely surrounded in storage. but dont forget thats 3160 mass that can be destroyed instantly by 2 T1 bombers and is not reclaimable. Also would kill everything around it. it would be more efficiently than t1 pgens but less efficient than t2 while being far more volatile and also giving you a ton of E storage.