Messages

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AVWW Brainstorming / Re: The end of the end of the world

« on: July 23, 2012, 03:17:22 PM »

Hopefully this isn't thread necromancy. Since "no failure state" is one of the central ideas of the game, I'd like to suggest a consequence that's more for drama than in-game punishment. I like the idea that the overlord actually is a danger to the continent, and would destroy it if left unchecked. I think it would be fun to have an option available at the start of the game that gives it some teeth, adding a countdown to the lifetime of the continent. Killing a lieutenant would extend the deadline, and maybe there would be some kind of dispatch mission to delay the overlord's evil plan as well.

But the big sticking point seems to be the penalty, making it something you notice but not end the game completely. I suggest forcing you and the other survivors to move to the next continent. The second continent is the same level as the one you left, and the old survivors are at the new settlement in addition to the new ones (but with the usual penalty for having to leave their home.) And a new countdown begins. I think this idea would be better if killing an overlord gave you some unique kind of gift that couldn't be had any other way, but the general idea might have merit on its own too. What do you guys think?

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A Valley Without Wind 1 & 2 / Re: Feeling railroaded into secret missions

« on: July 19, 2012, 06:37:20 PM »

Now that buildings are given in outdoor missions, I'm going to suggest something counter-intuitive.

Outdoor missions should give spells of equal level to the continent, rather than +1.

As it is there really isn't much need to craft your own spells, in my experience. Just go through a few quick missions after increasing the continent level and your spells are restocked, no problem at all.

Reducing the power of spells given by missions would allow you to have a reasonable variety of spells as before, but if you want that extra edge you'll need to collect those ingredients and decide on whether to use them now or upgrade the continent one more time first.

I also agree with the idea of changing the small consciousness shard pickups found in stashes to something else. I've run into 2 shard piles plus an enchant charge stash rooms and it is not fun.

3

AI War Meeting Grounds / Re: Yet another new player looking for group (Evenings Eastern Time)

« on: July 19, 2011, 06:55:18 AM »

Another EST player here, got the game recently so I have a lot to learn. I do have every expansion though. I use Skype, Vent, and I'll download whatever else is needed. My Steam name is Regdren, same as it is here.

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AI War Strategy Discussion / Re: New to the game, what I'm doing wrong?

« on: July 18, 2011, 09:15:09 PM »

You may indeed need to start over. AI progress of 1000+ is pretty substantial, and one of the things about AI War is that pretty much everyone simply loses games once in a while. It's all part of learning how the game works.

It's tough for me to say exactly what went wrong since I didn't see the game unfold, but I'll do a little math. 1000 AIP/20 progress minimum per planet=50 planets taken. This isn't counting things like special forces guard posts, warheads, or on the other side of things data processors or similar things. That seems pretty close to what you've got on the map.

I think that a lot of those conquests could have been avoided by better scouting. It helps to remember that in most cases, taking planets helps the AI build things rather than hindering it. So for your expansions to be a net gain for you, they should be directed towards things absolutely required or at least extremely helpful, such as advanced research, an advanced factory, core shields and so on. It's not that hard to skip territory with transports, especially early on.

That having been said, you might be able to survive this cross-planet attack with the right tools. CPAs tend to bunch up outside your wormhole before going in, so a lightning warhead or two might help reduce their numbers a bit. Since you have a huge amount of territory, you might be able to rebuild some of your fleet as they charge towards your home world, especially if you can slow them down enough with turrets and such. Good luck, let us know how it went.

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Off Topic / Re: Recommendation for boardgame for x4000? :)

« on: July 18, 2011, 06:14:26 PM »

I didn't even know about the Sauron expansion before you mentioned it, sounds like fun! The boards themselves are pretty simple so setting up shouldn't be too time-consuming. I've just played with the base rules and those already make pulling off a win pretty tough.

Does the game give the hobbits any compensation for contending with an active Sauron, or is that just another boost to the difficulty of the whole thing?

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Off Topic / Re: Recommendation for boardgame for x4000? :)

« on: July 17, 2011, 07:31:07 AM »

I realize this would leave one person out but I've played the LOTR board game and enjoyed it a lot. The game doesn't take as long as you might think; the whole point is to get through the various events as fast as possible, after all. If you spend a lot of time talking about what to do next it might be dragged out a bit but a lot of the decisions are up to the individual anyway. I like the dynamic of the game a lot and recommend it if you can stomach the limit of 5 people.