Boarding modules are required to even attempt to board an enemy vessel that hasn't been completely immobilized. You still must be at point-blank range. As far as I'm aware, shields do not interfere with boarding modules.

Pretty much this. Shields don't affect boarding modules at all. Point-blank ...

Or just have a modifier where ships take a percentage of damage prior to combat?

To give smaller ships a continual use in the game, have smaller ships actually have a bonus to clear mines and lower over all damage before combat?

All of this would be simulated prior to combat.

Hmm. I'm not sure ...

If they could make the combat sequences more live than turned based it be easier, but on the same token, it's still an I go you go and who ever has the better numbers wins, It's a difficult balance.

I've thought about this a bit, and it's a pretty tough problem to solve.

There's a few different ...

That said -- I'm less worried about balance in the case of really late game weapons -- getting godlike weapons as you get into the end game *is* fun, and the game is likely nearly over by the time they come into play.

The other case to be made for super-weapons is that they help end the game ...

Hmm.

Given the way the SSB works right now, if I were to encounter the AI using it on a planet, I would very happily drown that planet in cheap, disposable ships in order to take advantage of the massive overkill factor.

I'm not sure if giving the weapon a residual AoE is a good idea though ...

More games, Teros-style:

I figured the Teros would feel and play a lot like the Haidur and for the most part, that is true. There are a few differences though: easily the biggest one is the extra industry. That +3 industry per colonist is a beautiful, beautiful thing. It lets you get your industry ...

When one captures an enemy colony ship, it stops behaving like a colony ship you build yourself except in the system in which you captured it - the game will not flag or prompt you to colonize/disembark; you have to do so manually through the ship's info screen. It also does not use the correct max ...

Played for a bit as the Gremak this time, mostly to check out the new Vipers:

The start I had for this game was absolutely bonkers. Nothing like having two ocean and two garden worlds close at hand to take over with no competition. The downside is I have yet to see a single Swamp planet that is ...

The update gave the saved game errors and I already over written the game. But on that easy/normal thing.
I played the humans. Yes, I know it even states that the beginning is difficult, how ever.

1st time made a 20 planet map and there were only 3 planets in range, max was 6 population. I fought ...

Hmm. I'll take a look at these when I can.

As far as carving out that niche goes, it might make more sense to give regular torpedoes an effective or absolute minimum range - RP-wise, consider it a safeguard against premature detonation. The battlemap may need to get bigger over time to help ...

I use stockpiles to prep for building bigger hull designs I haven't quite finished researching yet, but I suppose I could just start building something else and then switch to the new hull when I have the tech as well so I guess I don't necessarily need the stockpile option.

These are the sorts ...

where the Orthin shine is there gunboats, sofar they are the only race with a siege mount and a weapon to go with, coupled with there small size means you can print your own artillery.

That being said they need escorting, the orthin gunboat needs all its power dedicated to that weapon leaving next ...

Ran through part of another new game as the Orthin, focusing on beam weapons. The Yoral game was basically 'won', however once the games progresses past a certain point, I can only get four or five turns in before the game implodes as a result of no memory. I usually play a game until it starts ...

Little more to add:

Boarding works more or less as intended. You don't get any info about how the boarding action went currently, however. I now know that the 'green' ship-bar is the trooper level. Two light cruisers with one boarding module can easily overwhelm a single enemy Phidi cruiser with a ...

I had a little oopsie when I was browsing the new techs. I was curious about Energy Torpedoes, clicked on it and the game promptly imploded, #511. No other new tech seems to do this, guessing that something's missing that the game was expecting to display in the research screen.