Figured I'd post some more Garden Psion thoughts here, rather than the Discord, so that they're easier to ignore if you choose
Regarding 1.3.1 Garden Psion that deals "fire damage". I still haven't played it yet, as I'm in the middle of a bunch of testing runs for other stuff.
My understanding is that the pros are:
- Communicates to the player that they don't have to worry about vines killing fire-immune NPCs like the train and convoy.
In my view the cons are:
- Vines dealing "fire damage" is thematically weird.
- Calling it "fire damage" is mechanically weird. I wouldn't entirely know what to expect from this. I'd expect it to go through armor and not double, which it sounds like you can code, but...why doesn't fire damage actually SET units on fire? Why doesn't it light forests (I assume vines have never lit forests? Never checked)?
- It gives one squad (Behemoths) an advantage. And they already largely ignore the armor psion, too.
Other ways I could think of to deal with the original NPC issue, along with some pros/cons:
A: Remove "fire damage" from the psion, and instead hack the relevant NPCs to give them a new status immunity, "vine immunity".
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Pros: The psion text gets simpler. The vine damage gets more thematic. Flame Behemoths are more balanced. Units (including other mods, I assume) can be given vine/fire immunity independently.
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Cons: Harder to code (I assume). Harder to for other mods to code (I assume). Creates a new status for players to read (I view this as a minor con, but others may feel different). Modifies NPCs that players are used to.
B: Remove "fire damage" from the psion, and have its text say "does not damage NPC units".
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Pros: The vine damage gets more thematic. Flame Behemoths are more balanced. Simple.
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Cons: Essentially creates a status without an icon (not an uncommon thing for mods, but still).
C: Remove "fire damage" from the psion, and just let players deal with it as far as trains/convoys.
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Pros: The psion text gets simpler. The vine damage gets more thematic. Flame Behemoths are more balanced.
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Cons: Maybe less balanced and more frustrating. Although since you made it easier to "wall off" the vines, maybe it's okay?*
*Could you adjust the psion's targeting scores so it stays farther away from NPC units? Would ensure players had a turn to get between vines and NPCs.