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Skyward Collapse / Re: Skyward Collapse Teaser 1
« on: April 12, 2013, 12:46:44 AM »
This sounds really cool! I saw you mentioned co-op in the teaser; what does that look like? Local only (like SH), or can we play this over the internet too?
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AI War / Re: AI War Beta 5.068-5.069 "Old Enmity Reclaimed" Released!
« on: August 22, 2012, 05:34:24 PM »As for size, yea, succeeding X scenarios doesn't guarantee a particular size class, though I'm curious when people are getting their first DD and CA hull (minimums are 2nd and 5th scenario, respectively). Though if it's a neinzul hull that may be a bit of a nelson laugh from the RNG depending on how much you like that variation.
Just thinking out loud here but maybe class sizes should be guaranteed depending on the number of missions you've completed? So missions 1-2 give you a Frigate hull, missions 3-4 or 3-5 give you a Destroyer hull, etc. Getting a new frigate hull when you have a destroyer or cruiser is just kinda meh since you're never going to use it (the associated module rewards might also be useless), so I think this might encourage people to play with different hull types a bit more since you're always getting something valuable/new/shiny. You might not always have every tier of every champion line unlocked in order but I don't see why that'd be a problem.
Also good call on the cloaked-engineering-pit-crew. I forgot they could repair out of supply and I guess the cloak would keep them pretty safe
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AI War / Re: AI War Beta 5.068-5.069 "Old Enmity Reclaimed" Released!
« on: August 22, 2012, 11:36:31 AM »
It was my 9th mission, and I tried it with a zenith cruiser (I did the first 8 before the difficulty scaling change, not sure if that matters). Never actually beat it, but loaded out with bomber bays and laser modules I felt like the gattlings were pretty manageable (not so much before I switched to that loadout, though).
The third goal of the text was a little bit confusing, I felt like there was something I should have been doing instead of killing the gattlings (like disabling them somehow?), but if there's a secret to the mission, I couldn't figure out what it is.
It feels a little cheeky to go in, figure out what the mission is, and then reload with a special loadout based on that, though (and since I've done quite a few missions, I generally am going deep into AI territory to get to those wormholes, meaning I'm basically stuck with whatever layout I go in with - if I try to refit I'd surely lose the mission).
The third goal of the text was a little bit confusing, I felt like there was something I should have been doing instead of killing the gattlings (like disabling them somehow?), but if there's a secret to the mission, I couldn't figure out what it is.
It feels a little cheeky to go in, figure out what the mission is, and then reload with a special loadout based on that, though (and since I've done quite a few missions, I generally am going deep into AI territory to get to those wormholes, meaning I'm basically stuck with whatever layout I go in with - if I try to refit I'd surely lose the mission).
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AI War / Re: AI War Beta 5.061-5.062 "*Tackled*, Medic!" Released!
« on: August 16, 2012, 01:46:22 AM »
I wasn't sure what to do with the Neinzul Frigate/Destroyer ships (maybe quick/deep raids?), but the Cruiser was really cool. Not having shields on that line (at least discouraging it, and with the Cruiser eliminating the need for them altogether) makes it feel really different. Also, some of the Neinzul-only modules I picked up were hilarious.
Also, some of the Neinzul-only modules I picked up were hilarious.
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AI War Strategy Discussion / Guard Post Defenders - When Do They Attack?
« on: August 11, 2012, 08:33:21 PM »
I was under the impression that guard post defenders didn't abandon their post to attack an invading force unless you had a certain number of ships on the planet (some overwhelming amount). If you only attack with a handful of ships, they stick around their guard post until you get somewhat close. This is the whole 'battlefield within a battlefield' thing, right?
However, this doesn't always seem to be the case. If there are ships with infinite range, it seems like even poking on a planet will result in ALL of the defenders heading toward my invasion force (including the ones without infinite/long range). I can understand the infinite range ships attacking, but everything moving out seems a bit extreme. Is this supposed to happen? Under what circumstances do the AI ships abandon their guard posts (temporarily) to attack me if I move ships on their planet?
However, this doesn't always seem to be the case. If there are ships with infinite range, it seems like even poking on a planet will result in ALL of the defenders heading toward my invasion force (including the ones without infinite/long range). I can understand the infinite range ships attacking, but everything moving out seems a bit extreme. Is this supposed to happen? Under what circumstances do the AI ships abandon their guard posts (temporarily) to attack me if I move ships on their planet?
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AI War / Re: AI War Beta 5.058 "Further Shadows" Released!
« on: August 11, 2012, 07:24:33 PM »
Not to step on your toes Keith, but I'm not seing this if I disable the expansion. Also, this was in my log for the expansion (the MainThread.txt one):
numberOfReinforcements = (number of planets not controlled by the AI / 2) = 5
Whereas without the expansion enabled it looks like:
numberOfReinforcements = (number of planets not controlled by the AI / 2) = 0
numberOfReinforcements must be at least 1 and at most 15; = 1
I only control my home planet in both games (I started new ones and let them run for a few minutes)
Edit: looks like you found it ignore me
numberOfReinforcements = (number of planets not controlled by the AI / 2) = 5
Whereas without the expansion enabled it looks like:
numberOfReinforcements = (number of planets not controlled by the AI / 2) = 0
numberOfReinforcements must be at least 1 and at most 15; = 1
I only control my home planet in both games (I started new ones and let them run for a few minutes)
Edit: looks like you found it ignore me
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AI War / Re: AI War Beta 5.058 "Further Shadows" Released!
« on: August 11, 2012, 06:19:51 PM »
Well, can't leave those adjacent planets alone at the start of the game anymore apparently...
Also, for some reason, the moment I send ANY ships to the planet in that screenshot showed, ALL of the AI ships at all the guard posts immediately leave their guard posts to attack me. Isn't that not supposed to happen unless I massively outnumber them?
And how do I deal with all of those maws? They ate half my fleet! Aside from not waiting 30 minutes to attack of course
Also, for some reason, the moment I send ANY ships to the planet in that screenshot showed, ALL of the AI ships at all the guard posts immediately leave their guard posts to attack me. Isn't that not supposed to happen unless I massively outnumber them?
And how do I deal with all of those maws? They ate half my fleet! Aside from not waiting 30 minutes to attack of course
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AI War / Re: Project Clarity: General Thoughts
« on: August 11, 2012, 12:10:43 AM »
I mean, I think that if Valve can solve or at least mitigate the community problems behind the DOTA community then they can bring something valuable to the genre. Their technical improvements to the game are certainly welcome (and necessary, since they need to bring something to the table with DOTA2 and they're apparently not changing the mechanics).
My issue with DOTA2 is that they are doing nothing to advance the genre in terms of mechanics (to my knowledge, at least), and I really think that this is a shame. Valve clearly has shown that they have a lot of talented game designers and it's sad to see that they aren't trying to push the genre forward mechanically with that talent. I'm not saying that I think the mechanics of DOTA are bad but just because a game has good mechanics doesn't mean that you can't put effort into trying to iterate and improve off of them.
My issue with DOTA2 is that they are doing nothing to advance the genre in terms of mechanics (to my knowledge, at least), and I really think that this is a shame. Valve clearly has shown that they have a lot of talented game designers and it's sad to see that they aren't trying to push the genre forward mechanically with that talent. I'm not saying that I think the mechanics of DOTA are bad but just because a game has good mechanics doesn't mean that you can't put effort into trying to iterate and improve off of them.
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AI War / Re: Should humans get a stealth turret?
« on: August 09, 2012, 04:56:30 PM »
Well, for planets in the middle of nowhere, I agree that it's not a one-stop solution, but it definitely helps; now you don't have to split your turrets and forcefields across two structures - you only have to protect your command station on the remote planet. That means fewer grav turret paths, more concentrated defenses, etc.
It's definitely not a one-stop solution, but it provides enough of an advantage that 1-3k knowledge seems reasonable. And yeah, this + grav turrets would result in some hilarity...
It's definitely not a one-stop solution, but it provides enough of an advantage that 1-3k knowledge seems reasonable. And yeah, this + grav turrets would result in some hilarity...
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AI War / Re: AI War Beta 5.052-5.057 "From The Shadows" Released!
« on: August 09, 2012, 04:21:55 PM »
Quick question: Will we need to start a new game with every update to get the latest missions/etc as they're added? Or can we do them bit-by-bit like with the Fallen Spire campaign (and just stop if we see a dupe mission, or something like that)?
Just wondering if the missions/wormhole areas are pre-seeded.
Just wondering if the missions/wormhole areas are pre-seeded.
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AI War / Re: Ancient Shadows - Coop only? (Answer: No! Everything works in solo also)
« on: August 08, 2012, 10:01:35 PM »
Why not just put a giant button someplace that says CLICK HERE TO ADD A CHAMPION, with a helpful tooltip explaining what it does, and maybe a (CURRENT CHAMPION COUNT: X) right below it? This could be somewhere in one of the setup panes at the bottom, or maybe even in a new pane (CHAMPIONS). It would just manipulate the player fields, yeah, but it would make the functionality a lot more obvious.
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AI War / Re: AI War Beta 5.052-5.054 "From The Shadows" Released!
« on: August 08, 2012, 09:52:31 PM »
Spent a few hours with it here. Very cool stuff! The rewards for the human player are a nice touch too. (Especially giving him some bonus fleet ships to move around!)
Few comments:
The mission in the game now (I assume it's the only one) is ok... it feels a bit grindy but you definitely have to move your ship around a bit to get things done. Itemizing for the fight definitely helps. Only so much you can do with one controllable ship in the field, though. Variety may be key, so having a bunch of different mission types might make this less of a problem.
Some of the additional modules are cool (the bomber bay in particular was a cool addition, though I might mantis some suggestions on ways to make it feel cooler to use).
Are there only two design/upgrades available at the moment (the starting one, one upgrade)? The two I've seen are really cool; looking forward to seeing more.
Based on the description of the current ship, it sounds like you're planning on having some type of "tier" system for wormholes, yes? I'm interested to see how powerful these hero ships will get (and also how many of the mini-wormholes we'll see seeded on a map by release).
Few comments:
The mission in the game now (I assume it's the only one) is ok... it feels a bit grindy but you definitely have to move your ship around a bit to get things done. Itemizing for the fight definitely helps. Only so much you can do with one controllable ship in the field, though.
Variety may be key, so having a bunch of different mission types might make this less of a problem.Some of the additional modules are cool (the bomber bay in particular was a cool addition, though I might mantis some suggestions on ways to make it feel cooler to use).
Are there only two design/upgrades available at the moment (the starting one, one upgrade)? The two I've seen are really cool; looking forward to seeing more.
Based on the description of the current ship, it sounds like you're planning on having some type of "tier" system for wormholes, yes? I'm interested to see how powerful these hero ships will get (and also how many of the mini-wormholes we'll see seeded on a map by release).
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AI War / Re: Disappointment :(
« on: August 08, 2012, 02:48:39 PM »
Also, looks like you can get it now off the downloads page. Not sure if you need .052 to install it or if it's available now, though...
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AI War / Re: Disappointment :(
« on: August 08, 2012, 01:38:13 PM »
Ha! Google Reader cached it :-P
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AI War / Re: Thinking about blobbing
« on: August 06, 2012, 12:17:45 AM »
Wingflier's solution is good insofar as it encourages you to think about the positioning of your units but I don't see how it deals with the problem of putting my entire fleet cap on planet X all at once; maybe you can clarify that?
First, I'll say that I agree with most of what's been said here; right now I find that most of the interesting work in AI War (and the reason why I play) comes from high level decisions: Do I take planet X? Do I research ship type Y? Etc.
I think that there's a lot of nice theory behind the guardposts and battlefields within battlefields but blobbing takes less time, less thought, and roughly the same amount of resources (or not sufficiently more that I notice, at any rate). I also really, really dislike the Eye. It just makes conquering a subset of planets actively unfun instead of solving the problem of blobbing being good. I'd rather have a mechanic that rewards me for being clever about how I use my ship caps.
On a related note, the whole battlefield within a battlefield thing is a huge PITA right now because it's so opaque. I have absolutely no idea how many ships I can throw on a planet before the AI releases everything at its guard posts, or maybe releases everything, or whatever. I'm probably killing a bunch of AI ships so that number will probably keep changing anyways.
I think part of the answer is to add large incentives for players to attack AI planets with small groups of ships, and take the AI out piecemeal following the "battlegrounds within a battleground" theory. But do this through rewards to me for being clever while attacking a planet, instead of punishing me for blobbing on a few of them. For starters, let me form a "task force" of a fixed size which will *definitely not* cause AI units to release from guard posts, regardless of the enemy ship count on the planet. (Maybe this cap is expandable through research, or something.) Maybe also give these task forces a firepower/armor/etc boost (or maybe I should just attach fleet starships to them?), to further give me an incentive to use them instead of blobbing.
Also, I'd really like to see some mechanism for sorting my fleet out, so I can tell my fighters to go out front, frigates to hang out in the back, that sort of thing. Its kind of a pain to keep them in formation right now. (I like to use fighters to screen bombers and keep frigates in the back through group moving, but it's a pain if I try to change the group's direction.)
First, I'll say that I agree with most of what's been said here; right now I find that most of the interesting work in AI War (and the reason why I play) comes from high level decisions: Do I take planet X? Do I research ship type Y? Etc.
I think that there's a lot of nice theory behind the guardposts and battlefields within battlefields but blobbing takes less time, less thought, and roughly the same amount of resources (or not sufficiently more that I notice, at any rate). I also really, really dislike the Eye. It just makes conquering a subset of planets actively unfun instead of solving the problem of blobbing being good. I'd rather have a mechanic that rewards me for being clever about how I use my ship caps.
On a related note, the whole battlefield within a battlefield thing is a huge PITA right now because it's so opaque. I have absolutely no idea how many ships I can throw on a planet before the AI releases everything at its guard posts, or maybe releases everything, or whatever. I'm probably killing a bunch of AI ships so that number will probably keep changing anyways.
I think part of the answer is to add large incentives for players to attack AI planets with small groups of ships, and take the AI out piecemeal following the "battlegrounds within a battleground" theory. But do this through rewards to me for being clever while attacking a planet, instead of punishing me for blobbing on a few of them. For starters, let me form a "task force" of a fixed size which will *definitely not* cause AI units to release from guard posts, regardless of the enemy ship count on the planet. (Maybe this cap is expandable through research, or something.) Maybe also give these task forces a firepower/armor/etc boost (or maybe I should just attach fleet starships to them?), to further give me an incentive to use them instead of blobbing.
Also, I'd really like to see some mechanism for sorting my fleet out, so I can tell my fighters to go out front, frigates to hang out in the back, that sort of thing. Its kind of a pain to keep them in formation right now. (I like to use fighters to screen bombers and keep frigates in the back through group moving, but it's a pain if I try to change the group's direction.)