View Issue Details

IDProjectCategoryLast Update
0024284AI War 2SuggestionDec 30, 2020 5:32 pm
Reportertadrinth Assigned ToChris_McElligottPark  
Status closedResolutionwon't fix 
Product Version2.709 Obedient Engineers 
Summary0024284: New 'absolute AIP floor' might be good to set on AI HWs
DescriptionI see a new 'absolute AIP floor' in the upcoming patch notes, which sounds good. I've been thinking for a while that a similar mechanic might be a good thing to implement on AI Homeworlds. Something like 'when you kill a Dire Guard Post on an AI HW, the AIP absolute floor is set to 250'. Narratively, that represents the AI going 'holy heck these Humans are about to cut off my head, I thought they weren't a threat but CLEARLY THEY ARE'. From a gameplay perspective, this is doing the same thing the starting absolute floor is doing, just at the other end of the game: it means you have freedom to take some more planets, because the AI is going to freak out a certain minimum amount when you go after the HW. And it scales a lot better with multiple AIs than just giving players AIP for taking out a HW, because if the AI HWs are far apart you'll incur AIP anyway just taking enough planets to get to them all without deepstriking. The absolute floor could still go up a bit with each AI HW, or just go up once when you kill an AI Overlord, or go up the first time you kill a Dire Guard Post on each HW, not sure what would be best here.
TagsNo tags attached.

Activities

Crabby

Dec 28, 2020 7:09 pm

reporter   ~0060170

This seems like a good idea. Nothing like warning players that the AI suddenly... NOTICES YOU! All the more reason to get the goodies in the universe.

Arides

Dec 29, 2020 4:14 am

reporter   ~0060171

While I generally like the idea, I would be cautious and keep the new floor value relatively low. Again - I'm not against this at all, I just don't want the game to get too rigid and formal by saying: Attacking an AI gets you from your 120 AIP straight to 250, therefore attacking before having actually 250 AIP is usually not that great. With that being said, it's just the balance that bothers me, the idea itself seems very interesting.

Chris_McElligottPark

Dec 30, 2020 5:32 pm

administrator   ~0060197

I had to think about this for a while. At first, I really liked the idea. In a lot of respects, I do want to do things that make the AI notice you more when you trigger certain things. But I think that will need to be done really carefully, and probably with some special buildings, etc.

Right now, if I were to make the change remotely as described, it would basically invalidate most low AIP gameplay styles, particularly any with more than one AI. Essentially you'd have to survive killing both the AIs, despite being weaker from taking fewer planets, and kill them before their increased revenue kills you. I think I'd have a sizeable chunk of players who would revolt at that.

I like the flexibility in playstyles, from lower AIP to higher, and I'd like to continue to encourage that while at the same time not cornering people into just playing any one way at high difficulties in particular. In the recent months, people at super high AI difficulties were cornered into ultra-low-AIP changes, and the recent shifts were designed to get them out of that. But I don't want to force them entirely out of the low -- just the ultra-low.

Cheers!

Issue History

Date Modified Username Field Change
Dec 28, 2020 4:36 pm tadrinth New Issue
Dec 28, 2020 7:09 pm Crabby Note Added: 0060170
Dec 29, 2020 4:14 am Arides Note Added: 0060171
Dec 30, 2020 5:32 pm Chris_McElligottPark Assigned To => Chris_McElligottPark
Dec 30, 2020 5:32 pm Chris_McElligottPark Status new => closed
Dec 30, 2020 5:32 pm Chris_McElligottPark Resolution open => won't fix
Dec 30, 2020 5:32 pm Chris_McElligottPark Note Added: 0060197