If you want your own changes..

[PsychoBoB]

If you want to combine the usableness of SCUs and that T3 is longer on the battlefield then let the Gateways cost the same as T3 landfabs (T1 plus both upgrades) and let them produce T3 units too. Buildrate can be adjusted but should be the same that a T3 landfab has.
Just my two cents...

[Kryo]

I would rather see Quantum gates quite expensive but producing t3 units very fast. SCUs should need the same time as now.

[pip]

I would rather see Quantum gates quite expensive but producing t3 units very fast. SCUs should need the same time as now.

There is the possibility to add all lands units to the build menu of the Quantum Gateway. Since it has 120 buildpower, it would build t3 units twice faster than a t3 land factory.
Maybe that's a good way to make them more polyvalent and another way to make t3 land production easier without the need to touch their buildtime. I'll keep that idea in mind.

[Softly]

It would also sign the death warrant to t3 land facs

[Icy]

If you want Qgates to make t3 land effectively without making factories obsolete,increase the gate cost, and buff the buildpower of the gate to 240 or 360 but limit the units it can build.

Seraphim gate for example would build SCUs and Othuums, but not snipers, arty or shields. That way you could make a lot of tanks really fast, but you would still require regular factories to make the support units to go with them.

[pip]

The problem with making the Gateway building t3 units very fast is that it will make SCU obsolete in another way:
if it's too easy, and very fast to build t3 units, would you still build the more exprensive and complicated SCU? It would be much easier to spam t3 main units with Gateways, and support units with t3 land factories. If it takes 2 or 3 minutes for a Gateway to build a SCU, and 15 seconds to make a t3 unit, I know for sure for what purpose I will use the Gateway.

The current SCU balance is that the Gateway is not very expensive, and SCU affordable and ready for customization through upgrades. Let's try out how it plays like this, without changing too much the game. If it is not enough, then we can try other possibilities.

[Icy]

It was a suggestion for a suggestion If anyone wants to play some test games, let me know. I'll be on friday night (EST)

[Kryo]

well in my opinion SCUs should not be really fighting units. they should be supporting units. They should neither replace t3 land, nor experimentals, nor t3 engineers.

We had once the discussion about SCUs could be a assurance for if your ACU explodes... this would be possible. If it would be good i dont know, we could try. you would ahve to make SCUs quite expensive, but it could be your second or third acu and you wouldnt be endangered by snipes anymore. That would be my suggestion #1. And in my opinion it should be tested.

#2 would be, make SCUs only build intel and defense structures, and maybe exps. But no eco buildings. Dont make them as strong as t3 units, but make them quite high hp, so you can actually move in dangerous areas and start building defense. I know, this would encourag turtling even more, but wree talking about really late game.

#3 would be, give them special abilities that really support fighting units, this could be done via faction diversity:
Cybran: cloak field and stealth field upgrades. make them better deceivers.
UEF: bubble shield
Seraphim: extremely good restoration field and maybe health bonus for all units in the field. (dont make it percentual, but maybe 1000 extra healt for t1, 2000 for t2, 5000 for t3 and 10000 for exps)
Aeon: increase range of all units in an area? Something like that. Or increase rate of fire of units. Think about that.

[pip]

#3 would be, give them special abilities that really support fighting units, this could be done via faction diversity:
Cybran: cloak field and stealth field upgrades. make them better deceivers.
UEF: bubble shield
Seraphim: extremely good restoration field and maybe health bonus for all units in the field. (dont make it percentual, but maybe 1000 extra healt for t1, 2000 for t2, 5000 for t3 and 10000 for exps)
Aeon: increase range of all units in an area? Something like that. Or increase rate of fire of units. Think about that.

SCU are already somehow like that.
- UEF SCU already have a wonderful bubble shield (52000 HP!) that can make Fatboys and Atlantis real beasts. A single bubble shield SCU escorting your Percivals can win you the game.
- Seraphim SCU have Overcharge, and good survivability, great front line fighters against t3 and t4. But just spamming SCU cannot work, because you cannot micro easily several SCU. If you overcharge the same unit, it's only profitable against experimentals (and shielded or bubble shielded SCU), otherwise, you waste your energy.
- Cybran SCU have AOE EMP weapon, that can stun several t3 units for 3-4 seconds, they have cloak making them perfect surprise party builders, especially at the bottom of the ocean, where they can build HARMS (but other SCU have intel upgrades, that can counter cloak). They also have a good anti air weapon. Cybran SCU are super good.
- Aeon SCU are the better engineers (good shields, better RAS than others, teleport, sacrificial system to help finish an experimental fast if required) but also good support unit ( best range and 200 DPS with 4 AOE with gun upgrade, that's incredibly good against t1 and t2 land spam for a very cheap upgrade).

SCU are good support units already, there is no need to completely redo the game. They were fine in Vanilla Supcom except for RAS spam. Now that RAS spam efficiency has been heavily nerfed, that they are affordable, they can play their support role well enough.
What's more interesting : there's a SCU metagame. Several upgrades are really good but can be countered by other SCU upgrades. I think that as they are now, they add a great depth to t3/t4 gameplay.

[Plasma_Wolf]

The AA is just what I wanted to mention. For 200 mass more than a T3 SAM, you get thalf the damage output, with the same range. The SCU is mobile but I don't think that the SCU speed is enough to make up for a higher cost, with 50% damage ouput of a T3 sam. I'd suggest increasing the damage output a bit, or reducing the cost to 800 mass.

I do know that the SCU has a higher number of HP, but it's less than double the SAM's HP, so I'd say you'd give it a bit more than half the damage output in return (then keep the cost the same).