Messages

31

AI War Strategy Discussion / Re: Neinzul Viral Enthusiast homeworlds or Dear God Make The Pain Stop Please.

« on: April 02, 2012, 10:18:15 AM »

Warheads. Why didn't I think of that? *Grumble*

I did try to pop it with Raids a couple of times, but they couldn't survive long enough to get to it, even in a transport. Core worlds are no joke! I suppose next time I'll have to whittle it down, just like I did with the AI eye planet, and just fight off the raids.

Thanks for the advice. I think my major problem was that my fleet was largely high-cap, low durability stuff that just couldn't compete. I did have a chokepoint set up two worlds away, but it didn't last long. I don't know if the cockroaches or the 250 mark V ships did the most damage to it, but once it was down there were only four planets in between it and my homeworld.

Yeah, the first homeworld I found was six hops away from mine. It's not what you would call an ideal starting position, but you go to war with the RNG you have, not the RNG you wish you had.

32

AI War Strategy Discussion / Neinzul Viral Enthusiast homeworlds or Dear God Make The Pain Stop Please.

« on: April 02, 2012, 12:50:57 AM »

This might be a special case, but it was pretty brutal. I wonder if anyone can give me some advice on how I might proceed next time.

I was playing against a Peacemaker and a Viral Enthusiast and doing quite well against both of them. At three hours I had scouted the AI homeworlds, by seven hours I had all but one ARS, a Factory IV, and fabricators for Youngling Tiger V, Speed Boosters, and Spider Bots. Eight hours in and one CPA later, I still had the Tigers. I'd started with Stealth Battleships, and found Tractor Platforms, Microfighters, MLRS's and Autocannons from the ARS. I felt pretty good about my chances for the first homeworld, but there were several problems.

The two coreworlds both had AI eyes on them, and there was a raid engine on the homeworld. AIP was low, 262 when I first started the battle. This mean that the waves were only 400-500 strong, but they were still mark IV and coming every couple of minutes. I used hit and run tactics and tried to minimize the time I spent alerting the homeworld. I made progress, but slowly, and took a more or less continuous beating the whole time, but eventually the AI eye fell. I withdrew to regroup and rebuild my fleet.

The Raid Engine was about as far away from the wormhole as it could get, and in between were a Mark V Viral Swarmer Colony and a Core Guard Post that spawned about 1700 Neinzul Cockroaches when I got within striking distance of it. Between that and the hundreds of swarmers already released, it was a massacre. The fleet I had sent in was destroyed in seconds, and the cockroaches and Core ships from the homeworld destroyed the remainder of the fleet, and the rest of my empire, mere minutes after that.

I've never seen anything like it. It was beautiful and terrifying and impressively lethal. I just can't see how I could have avoided it. I wasn't playing with Golems or Spirecraft on, or I might have used Artillery or Penetrators. The Neinzul Spawner post was right by the Raid Engine, so as soon as I fired on it I would trigger that wave of doom. Any thoughts on what I could have done better in this situation? I'm sorry I didn't think to get a screenshot, but I was preoccupied.

33

AI War / Re: Why you should always keep fighting

« on: March 29, 2012, 09:17:55 PM »

Sounds like it was a rather fun last-stand defense

Now for humanity's ultimate weapon: Load Game!

I'll admit it was exhilarating. I even thought I might win for a few minutes, there. While I never use humanity's ultimate weapon usually, I decided to see what would happen if I changed my strategy. I abandoned the rebel colony and the Fabricators, and sent most of the fleet back to the homeworld. It was still a tough fight, and I lost my Hive Golem, about half of the fleet, and five planets, but I survived. The AI didn't even attack the fabricators. What luck, I thought.

Until waves of 902 fighters and 987 Polarizers were announced right on top of each other. They rampaged through four of my remaining worlds to get to my homeworld, losing more than half of their number. What was left was enough to finish me off, though.

I guess it's just not meant to be.

34

AI War / Re: Beta Update Deployment Process

« on: March 29, 2012, 09:02:21 PM »

You won't hear any arguments from me about what a powerful drug caffeine is. That's kind of the whole point, really.

Techsy, it makes more sense on an Arcen forum than anywhere else, I think.

35

AI War / Re: Beta Update Deployment Process

« on: March 29, 2012, 07:39:02 PM »

Life's too short to worry about long-term consequences.

I hear you, though. I teach 8-year olds, so without caffeine I would be eaten alive. I used to make and drink 20-24oz every morning out of a french press. I switched to a Bialetti stovetop espresso maker a couple of years ago. It's a 3-cup model, so it makes about 5oz per brew. It gives just about the same jolt, though. And Illy tastes so good out of it...

36

AI War / Re: Beta Update Deployment Process

« on: March 29, 2012, 07:14:28 PM »

I hope you saw my tongue firmly planted in my cheek for that post.

I'm amazed at the consistently high volume of work you do. Much respect!

37

After Action Reports / Re: Disposable Heroes

« on: March 29, 2012, 07:06:43 PM »

I've only recently figured out how much fun the neinzul are to play with. I didn't grok them for a long time. "Disposable Heroes" is so apt a description it makes me want to weep that I didn't think of it myself.

I salute you, sir, for your quite ridiculous and entertaining epic. I look forward to its continuation and eventual conclusion.

38

AI War / Re: Beta Update Deployment Process

« on: March 29, 2012, 06:46:25 PM »

Cheers, thanks for that.  And yep, you pretty much nailed it.  Although sometimes we have to skip the last step for... sleep.

What, you haven't heard of caffeine?

39

AI War / Re: Why you should always keep fighting

« on: March 27, 2012, 07:57:19 AM »

GUDare, my AIP was at 354 when this hit. I was just about to clear out the Coprocessors and last two data centers, too.  The reclaimers did well until they, and their reclaimed ships, were simply outnumbered. I know that I should have abandoned the Fabricators and focused on my homeworld defense, but it was so hard to give them up after having them for such a short time. It's not a rational or intelligent response, but I never claimed to be either.

Zharmad, I didn't know that about the Rebel Colony. That would have definitely changed my plan. I like the rest of your strategy. I have a save about 8 minutes before the CPA hits. I could reload it and see if that makes a difference. It goes against my nature as a Roguelike player but I'll make an exception for research purposes this time.

40

AI War / Re: Why you should always keep fighting

« on: March 27, 2012, 12:19:59 AM »

I removed the previous message because the formatting was borked and I couldn't figure out how to fix it. Sorry.

Beam Frigates are quite dangerous to your turrets, especially if you use Ctrl-click like I do. They were probably my least favorite wave to see in this game. So. Much. Carnage.

I took the rebel colony and found out just how tough those rebels can be. If they can clear out a quadrant by themselves, why did they need me to rescue them? They freed up the rest of my fleet to capture the Warbird and Bomber IV Factories. It was easy to clear and hold them, and I got to play with some new toys.

I really, really like  the new Warbirds. They're deadly but not invulnerable, and just a lot of fun to play with. I used them with Raid Starships to make a fairly unstoppable raiding force. Bomber IVs were exactly as I remembered, turning things into debris quickly and efficiently.

All was well, and I was happy, and then...

"2,407 ships are massing for a Cross-Planet attack." I had less than 12 minutes to prepare and I had just crashed my economy building very expensive starships. You can probably see where this is going.

A more skilled player probably could have fought on that many fronts and managed better. I should have unlocked fortresses earlier. I had time to build one before the warning, and none after. That could have made a tremendous difference. I also probably should have unlocked some mk II and III triangle ships, but I was too enamored with my reclaimers. Once your reclaimed fleet goes down, the mk I gets chewed up pretty quickly by mk II and III fleets. My empire was fragmented, with too many places to defend. I expanded too quickly after getting giddy with how much power I had.

Still, I  held out for quite a while. The Zenith fleet dealt more than its share of death to the AI and managed to hold the the Nanoswarm and Blade Spawner Fabricators.  They just turned out to be the wrong planets to defend in force.

The Resistance fleet was a standout, holding its colony by itself, then carving a path through AI-controlled space to the Homeworld, only to arrive too late to save it. It's doubtful how effective they would have been against 800 ships, but I would have liked to see it.

I had used all of my Starships to protect the Warbird and Bomber fabricators, and they were very good at it. A full cap of Mk I and II starships, supported by the Warbirds and Bomber IVs, cleared at least 300, maybe closer to 400 ships worth of Mk II and III threat without any fleet support, and very few turrets.

So, lesson learned: don't forget defense and consolidate your empire. You would think I wouldn't need to learn any more, but...  Still, this was the most fun I have had with the game in a long time. It turns out I was playing a Zenith Descendant (big surprise) and a Tank. I think the next time I pick parasites as a bonus ship, I might choose Zenith Descendant and Spireling opponents. Maybe I'll get lucky again...

41

AI War / Re: Liking the new plasma starship

« on: March 25, 2012, 10:53:13 PM »

Sorry, I meant the original BSG. The starships were outnumbered by a fair margin by the fighters. Perhaps my memory is faulty? It's been a long time since I've seen it. It's probably better to say "inspired by" anyway.

 I watched the first season of the new BSG but not much after that. Again, it's been a while, but Galactica did a lot of running from superior firepower in most of those episodes, using a lot of fighters to cover them. Galactica is very powerful, but would get chewed up quickly without a screen to keep the enemy away while those big guns did their work.

I don't remember them going toe to toe against those Cylon star-shaped based (base stars? It's been so long since I've watched it) and expecting to live. If they had missile frigates, bombers, and an Artillery Golem, though?

42

AI War / Re: Why you should always keep fighting

« on: March 25, 2012, 09:14:10 PM »

Thanks for the advice and encouragement! This is the furthest I've gotten in a game in a while. It's been a wild ride. The funny thing is, I hadn't used reclaimers much at all before this game. My preferences might change after this.

I had some free time this weekend and scouted out the rest of the galaxy before deciding what to do. The screenshot shows the situation currently. As you can see, I took Bode and a few other planets. Things were mostly smooth, but I ran into a couple of setbacks. Do not underestimate a wave of 641 Zenith Beam Frigates that is closely followed by 750 armor ships. You will be very, very sorry  and you will fight a running battle where you lose several planets before you get things under control.

Unfortunately, I lost the Microparasite Factory to the most recent CPA. You can never have enough shields over things like that. Still, they were fun while they lasted. Are they really supposed to have a 20x multiplier against polycrystal?

On the map, P4 worlds have Co-processors on them. P5 have data centers. P7 means a golem. There's  two Botnets and two Regeneration Golems, and one each of Hive, Artillery, and Black Widow. I'm playing on Medium and repaired a Hive so far. It's been a great addition and my first choice for clearing a system. I'll probably repair the Black Widow and one of the Regeneration Golems. At this stage of the game I'm starting to be very selective about what AIP hits I take.

P8 means it has a Fabricator on it. The lower left quadrant is pretty rich with them: Owkedi has two: A Blade Spawner V and Spider Bot V. Jeruhha, in the same general area, has a Mirror V. Yarisizi has the previously mentioned nanoswarm facility.  On the right hand side of the map, Vuafr has a Warbird and Zarqa has a Bomber Starship IV. Osarksharp has Speed boosters. In the upper left, Dicmigen has a Microfighter V factory.

The P9s in the top and right parts of the map are the Factory IVs. The P9s in the left part of the map are the remaining ARS.

And I have 90 minutes to liberate the rebel colony at Suoash. As you can see, it probably won't take me more than 10. As luck would have it, I want the Fabricators near that planet anyway. After that, I think all I have to do is capture the rest of the fabricators, fortify them, and take the Homeworlds. Boompe will be my first target.

I'll let you know what happens after the next round of expansion. I have a feeling it will be pretty easy because the CPA drained a lot of AI ships from their worlds.

43

AI War / Re: Liking the new plasma starship

« on: March 25, 2012, 08:19:36 PM »

I use Starships in all of my games. Once I have an economy that can support them, I'll usually unlock the Mark II versions of the basic combat ships. They're great for clearing out AI Eye worlds in most cases: Fleet and Leeches to draw defenders away, Bombers and Raids to snipe guard posts, and Plasma for general battlefield chaos. If you're careful, you can keep them alive for a long time. Mobile Repair stations make them even more lethal, but you should be using those anyway.

If Starship knowledge costs were all in line with the Raid Starship, I think people would find them a lot more attractive. I'll usually get Raids and at Mark III because they are so useful, and Bombers because when you want to make it dead RIGHT NOW you can't ask for a better ship.

Starships aren't superweapons, and they're not meant to be. They're supposed to be supports for a fleet, and in most cases they do the job pretty well. I wouldn't want them to be super-durable because that would ruin the Battlestar Galactica-style storylines I invent.

44

AI War / Re: Why you should always keep fighting

« on: March 24, 2012, 12:36:21 PM »

All you need to do now is find a Microparasite fabricator, and you've got the set.

As luck would have it, the next ARS I found has that very same fabricator. I'm one world away from capturing it. It's taken a long time to get there, for reasons I'll explain in a minute.

My Homeworld has three planets connected to it. Between them, they have 12 wormhole connections. They only share three of them. This means that while it's easy to scout a large part of the galaxy, it's hard to defend in force everywhere. I fortified those planets as best I could and captured the first two ARS. Waves had been coming regularly and threat had built up to uncomfortable levels. I took a planet I planned on using as a whipping boy because it only had one incoming wormhole, and started neutering every other planet around my territory.

It took a couple of hours to clear 13 planets of guard posts and warp gates. Two AI Eyes and a CPA slowed the process down, but in the end I did it.  I wasn't happy about the AIP, which was 80 or 90 points higher (I forget exactly). I destroyed the two data centers I had found and started expanding. There's a screenshot to the post to make things clearer. On the right hand side of the map is a line of four planets that I took quickly and made into a nice layered defense using a lot of Mark II turrets. Bode, the P9 planet in the lower right, has the microparasite factory.

Somewhere along the way, my reclaimed Zenith fleet outnumbered my triangle fleet, so I started using it instead. I supported it with starships and my reclaimers, and watched as it grew. And grew. And grew. I have over 600 Bombards, Electric Bombers, Beam Frigates, Chameleons, Mirrors, and Paralyzers as my attack force, while my Fighters, Frigates, and Bombers stay behind the lines dealing with threat.

Playing with an all-Zenith fleet is really, really fun.

The improved reclamation mechanic is something I really appreciate in this particular game. I have noticed that it makes it easier to get and maintain a cap of ships from a wave. If the wave is large enough it can take out your reclaimed ships pretty quickly, but I've used this to great effect so far.

I'm looking forward to the endgame. I assume something will backfire on me, as it always does, but I'm enjoying the ride so far.

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AI War / Re: Balances: Zenith Electric Bombers and Zenith Chameleons

« on: March 23, 2012, 12:49:41 AM »

I wish z bombers were 1/3 of the unit cap and 3x the stats and cost and immune to ion cannons.

Then they'd fulfill the role of "big ship with big single bomb"

There are other ships that do that role better, I think. Bombards, for one. I'm not sure they should be more like another kind of ship. I could support insta-kill immunity since they're halfway towards being starships anyway.

Give them cloaking and turn them into stealth bombers.