Messages

1

AI War / Re: Engineers not healing Mercenary ships when they're in range

« on: May 18, 2012, 11:05:06 AM »

What version of the spirecraft lobby option are you playing with? On medium, spirecraft cannot be repaired at all; that's their tradeoff for the extra power they give you. They can be repaired on hard but then you get exo-waves to make the game harder. Easy gives you spirecraft with no tradeoff.

That explains it nicely. Many thanks.

2

AI War / Re: Engineers not healing Mercenary ships when they're in range

« on: May 18, 2012, 10:43:19 AM »

Either select the engineers and just right click on the golem to do it manually, or set the limit to 0 (unlimited). With it on 0 and the engineers either nearby or on free roaming defender, they should do it.

I have Spirecraft Implosion Artillery MkI and MkII where all this does NOT work. Bug?

3

After Action Reports / Re: there IS a learning curve from L5 to L6

« on: May 16, 2012, 04:11:02 AM »

I abandoned that last game because I learned

Lesson 4: that AI Eye is a warp gate, too

surprises after surprises, at least for those who don't read the small print...

4

AI War / Re: Engineers not healing Mercenary ships when they're in range

« on: May 15, 2012, 03:39:24 AM »

Go into the CTRLS menu in the bottom left. Change the "Engineers do not assist large projects" to 0. This value sets how expensive ships need to be for engineers to not autorepair, thus tanking your economy.

Hmm I thought this had to be set sufficiently high, ie, 1,000. Which works in my case.

Followup question: how to heal the arty golem? I tried 50,000 as that number but even that didn't work.

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After Action Reports / Re: there IS a learning curve from L5 to L6

« on: May 14, 2012, 01:04:54 PM »

Wait, you set both AIs to Random Easier and it gave you Spire Hammer and Stealth Master?  Neither is marked in the code as one of the Easier types.

Ah no, that was the very first game where I thought I could progress to Random All. Sorry for the confusion.

6

After Action Reports / there IS a learning curve from L5 to L6

« on: May 14, 2012, 11:05:48 AM »

Maybe YOU took that learning curve graciously and went straight to L7.

80-planet map, simple-hubs map, conquest, normal ships, AIP
1/30, factions: Golems (moderate), Spirecraft (moderate), no plots, all
expansions. Both AIs Level 6 Random Easier.

First being glad from having found a snug corner with bombards for my HQ,
I'm soon bothered by the facts that one of two neighbors is a IV planet, and
my opponents are Stealth Master and Spire Hammer.

99 Cloaked Ships, 1 Starship

I'm putting a tachyon drone on each wormhole, and place a decloaker
strategically, and start building snipers. I send my single raider into the
lion's mouth (the IV planet) to pull the warp gate -- she even manages to get
away, so I think why not send her for the gate of a third planet, and so she
goes. My main attacking force (2x98 fighters/bombers+light starship) is sent
to the other neighbor, trusting the rest with the defense.

At 0:14, two minutes before the expected first wave, probably due to my
attack, a Spire Stealth Battleship MkIV makes a showing at HQ. Not that it
would need those few MkIV bombers accompanying it... a salvo from my 70 MkI
frigates manages to diminish its health by three per cent! But fortunately,
the 24 bombards can kill it, my force field being down to 65 per cent. Oh
well, 90 seconds time to repair and get my main force back, or maybe finish
building those snipers? Perhaps also repair the frigates, as the main force
will not make it in time? Check if you're really playing at level 6?

ATM, the main force is near a distribution node, kill it. The material is
sorely needed for all tasks at hand. Now quickly kill that 3rd warp gate, then
back. Somehow, although I have a scout at the I-planet, the AI manages to
sport an AI Artillery Guardian MkIII and an AI Heavy Beam Guardian MkIII, both
invisible at the planet summary from the galactic map, a bug? Ah no, they move
as fast as starships, I have never seen this on lower levels. Meanwhile, at
home, my first Leech ship is built, so there may be a chance of soon having
better equipment. 30 seconds to go. On that "I-planet", my main force (all
MkI, the brave ones!) are now fighting 3 artillery, 1 heavy beam guardian, and
2 MkIII stealth battleships. How many will make it back?

Worries were unfounded. It's 17 minutes in the game, my MkI units and 20
snipers do astonishingly well against six spire starships and a hundred MkI raptors.

19 minutes. I'm 50 raptors richer and the rest of the enemy has escaped --
where to? Following through their wormhole to I-planet, the wounded spires are
nowhere to be seen. Well then, continue what you started five minutes ago. D'ned
interruptions, spire hammer, phh... Guess why it's named stealth battleship? So I find
the escapees, too, and complete their fate.

This game turned soon and I learned

Lesson 1: Do not expect a quiet game

Game 2. I thought it was a good decision: placing myself at a 2-hole planet
with parasite bonus ship. I weathered the first waves and took a neighbor,
only to find that that next ARS neighbor which I couldn't take in one go was now
so alarmed that, regardless what I was throwing at him, I didn't get through.
Of course, the warp gates were destroyed and so the threat constantly was at
300, so he always got supply. Me not. I gave up, as I couldn't see how to
break the "stalemate". Do you?

Lesson 2: chose an aggressive bonus ship

Game 3. That looked better. First. The bonus was Raider and my neighbors all
I-planets. Farther away, some III,IV but they could be ignored, as they had
nothing I was interested in atm. So make a nest. Wait, if I take that warp
gate from the IV-planet, then I can make this one the inlet, the whipping boy.
Send that raider starship, huh what's this, a new ship type, Zenith Paralyzer,
bother, click the warp gate. What, 80, 60, 40, 20, dead! Bummer, but you won't
do that to 150 raiders, I swear...

Well, the raiders had to wait, as that IV-planet staged an immediate
counterattack with MkIV ships which I was just defending with MkI when...

50 AI I Zenith Beam Frigates I, Starships (1) to Homeworld in 3:00

OK. I'm now 30 beam frigates richer but I saw myself at the edge, again.
However, the lesson is

Lesson 3: do not tickle the lion without a good defense

So, what's good against MkIV paralyzers. just for a raid of that warp gate, not
more? Lots of raptors?

7

After Action Reports / Re: Playing around with new toys

« on: May 09, 2012, 12:15:08 PM »

Random AIS were Spireling and Special forces captain... Game over in 6minutes. Spireling is very tough AI type, thats my only excuse,

I'm beginning to hypothesize that AI type is equally a measure of difficulty as AI level, as I have a L6 game with Stealth Master and Spire Hammer that is SO unlike that quiet posted L5 game...

8

AI War Strategy Discussion / Replace the headquarter station?

« on: May 09, 2012, 12:08:28 PM »

Is this possible? The menu of the colony ship is all inaccessible when opened at headquarters, and I wanted that EcoIII so badly...

9

After Action Reports / Re: put a toe in the water -- with level 5

« on: May 08, 2012, 12:12:51 PM »

I recommend enabling golems and spirecraft medium for your next game by the way. If you choose not to employ them, it'll be the same as not enabling them at all as the AI won't gain anything. But if you do use them, they're great fun (golems are, not used enough spirecraft myself to see the use).

Thanks for the hint, I will do that!

10

After Action Reports / put a toe in the water -- with level 5

« on: May 08, 2012, 11:31:22 AM »

Hello,
I was encouraged by posters to share a boring level 5 report, so here goes:

80-planet map, Seed 164124034, simple map, conquest, simple ships, AIP 1/30,
no factions, no plots, all expansions. Both AIs Level 5 Random Moderate which
was (as seen from the high scores) Spireling and Vicious Raider.


This is after 3:45, everything is scouted and I have a nest with one entry at
the bottom left. Green is what's actually taken, Blue is planned must-takes
(ARS, Co-Pro, shields). I have everything I need and the game is mainly
logistics/battle/raid/build hops over the next 2-4 systems, and some waves at
 Juzup that are easily handled by the Mil station plus Fort and some hundreds of
MkI,II ships there.



It's now 5:10, and although I took planets sparingly and raided all Data
Centers in the vicinity, the AIP is at 425. Now that all shields are
destroyed, the plan is clear: first take the Vicious Raider's base in the top
right, then, less straightforward, get to the left branch, taking the last
Co-Pro at Vileaju but also handle the cloaked planet Enanro somehow.

However, at this moment the cross planet attacks start. I'm still ignoring
waves at Juzup with 1 starship and >600 MkII ships, they all feed the
shredders which keep growing -- the first CPA though has 1,600 ships, and I'm
relieved that they are only distributed over the planets that are neighbouring the
AI's ones. With a mil station where it matters, and the slow trickle of the
attack, only Uszi goes down -- I let it as I need that mil station elsewhere
soon. Timing starts to matter, I notice.

6:05 The first AI is gone, under the fire of 1,100 ships of all Mk types which
are finally thinned down to 600, mostly III-V and merc, except the spaceplanes
which remained I, II untouched... probably the least threat to the AI. Essential, as always,
was to take the Z-Fortress near entry first, then the 4 missile posts.The rest, two spire
shields, an electric one and the command, was no comparison to 400 bombers. Meanwhile,
 the reaction to this deepstrike builds,
and the shredders at Juzup are at 210, after the last wave of 350 MkII MLRS
ships. Unexpectedly having 600 ships left allows me to proceed two-pronged and,
preferably, leave the cloaked planet as is. AIP is at 590.

7:20 Waiting before the wormhole to the last AI station is the 900 ship
expedition force. But what are they waiting for? There! A slow plump rocket
cloaked by two slowly makes its way, ... goes through... only a bright flash
is seen. AIP jumps again to 550. But the AI planet's electric net is gone, the
Z-Fortress a lifeless hull. The feeble counterattack by 300 is destroyed
quickly, and the expeditionary force slowly grabs one guard after another...

Summary: this went nearly riskless but there were possibilities for big
mistake. I will never play at 5 again, I think. There was only one CPA and
due to many single stations dispersed over the field, the CPA itself was
dispersed which presented no problems because of mil stations and the
additional number of ships from Z reserves. I would like to continue this way
and it will be interesting to see which factors will counteract this plan
first. The AI's last wave, some 1,200 ships with 2 starships, found their
master in a system where 300 shredders, 4 riot ships, microfighters etc. plus
a hundred turrets reduced it within seconds. I never unlocked turret tech and
only bomber MkIIIs. However, I built a lot of merc units.

Next game: level 6, normal ships, random all AI.  Thanks for your time.

11

AI War Strategy Discussion / Re: Various things

« on: May 02, 2012, 02:10:06 AM »

You can also press T.  The blinking wormhole is the one the attack will be coming from.

It appears (not only from this) you know what you're doing. Thanks for your work!

12

AI War Strategy Discussion / Re: Various things

« on: May 01, 2012, 11:10:05 AM »

If you have built a warp sensor, and at least one bordering warp gate is alive, the wormhole ships will be coming from is coloured red, instead of green. That's where the ships will come from.

May I remark that this goes against accessibility in programming?
About 10% of men are partially color blind and cannot distinguish certain colors (especially red/green).
http://accessibility.psu.edu/usability
Wikipedia says 5% but that's still enough.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_blindness

I nevertheless enjoy the game, now that I'm managing the AI's warp gates
I would post some report but at level 5 or 6 that would bore you to death...

Regards,