Has anyone ever played Sword of the Stars 2?
That game has Leviathan-class ships which is their version of the titan. And I agree, late in game when you have a titan and it is killed, you have sooooo much resources, you could build like 10 of them. Having them getting destroyed should be a HUGE loss, like it is in SOTS 2.
Admittedly, I didn't read all the posts here (sinus-eye pain issues) so let me know if I missed something.
I lost my Leviathan in that game and my battlefleet hit the floor in terms of everything... And it was over 10 MILLION credits to rebuild one! Although in SOTS, you can build multiple Leviathans. But their cost is insane once you slap better tech on them. Seriously. With upgrades in that game, it was 6,000,000 credits minimum. The Maximum I've encountered so far is 61 million. And with each Leviathan, the costs increase. (My treasury never went above the 80 million mark. Dreadnoughts too for me were 2 - 3 million credits a piece. My friend whom I was gaming with then was non-stop rushing me with cruisers and I was constantly having to rebuild everything, lessening my credit income.) However, the earlier you build it, the costs could also be marked up.
The more stable you are, the easier it should be.
Plus, they have a true prototype system in that game. I think that should truly be added here. The first Titan prototype should be INSANELY expensive. All additional ships after the first prototype are cheaper, but still expensive. Plus, the prototype should be considerably stronger than a mainstream titan. Its how prototypes work, right? The first is always the best-of-the-best, but buggy and uneven.
There would be a 2 Titan limit. Your second one being weaker. Much weaker. And it should be used as a tank mainly... Not something that can wipe out entire fleets and it should be limited to level 5. Or, your prototype Titan could have weaknesses which make it take more damage. Once you loose your prototype, all titans afterwards are considered final and as said, are weaker than the prototype.
Having the truer prototype system would more or less prevent an a$$rushing of the Titan. But players who chose to anyways, their economy and long-term survival would be permanently hurt.
Just a two second thought from me though.
(Plus forum noobiness)
I'm not trying to compare the two games, Sins and SOTS. But both games have ideas that should be shared, modified and implemented into one another.
Lemme know your thoughts.