2.1 asteroid collisions: too punishing early, too forgiving late

[AntiElitz]

Showcase video: https://youtu.be/O5vawRxkYNs

I’m still unhappy with the balance of the new asteroid collision system. Medium asteroids seem too punishing during early space travel and while parked in orbit, while big and huge asteroids are too easy to survive later on.

I recorded a side-by-side comparison of 2.0 and 2.1 showing the following situations.

On a stationary platform over Gleba, a passive medium asteroid causes 64 damage in 2.0. In 2.1, a single hit destroys an asteroid collector with over 300 HP. That seems far too punishing. A player might have just arrived and need to repair or expand their platform, or be exploring the planet with limited ammunition left onboard. Orbit should be a relatively safe place to do this, with the main danger coming from travelling between planets.

During an early flight, such as Nauvis to Gleba, a medium asteroid also appears to cause roughly twice as much damage in my 2.1 comparison. New players will make mistakes and run out of ammunition. Letting an asteroid through should hurt, but it should leave room to recover. The damage in 2.0 was already significant.

For huge asteroids, the situation is reversed. In 2.0, the asteroid tears through the wall-covered platform. That feels appropriate for a late-game threat: at this point, failing to stop an asteroid should have serious consequences. In 2.1, the asteroid is destroyed after causing surprisingly little damage. Simply adding walls is too effective.

I would suggest these adjustments:

* Reduce passive medium asteroid collision damage in orbit to roughly its 2.0 level. Around 20% of the current damage could be a starting point.
* Reduce medium asteroid collision damage during early flights as well.
* Give big and huge asteroids resistance to impact damage, so collisions with walls and buildings do not destroy them so easily. Perhaps around 50% for big asteroids and 90% for huge asteroids, potentially more if needed.

The exact numbers need tuning. I want early mistakes to remain recoverable, while big and huge asteroids require proper defenses and become much more dangerous if those defenses fail.