Does the AI reinforce neutral planets?

[clone]

Hey guys,

If I take out the command station in a system, but leave the guard-posts, does the AI still reinforce those guard-posts, or does it give up on the system?

[Martyn van Buren]

It does.  You can take advantage of this to leech reenforcement points away from other systems, I think, but someone more familiar with the ins and outs of the game should confirm this.

[Hearteater]

Not entirely true.  It only reinforces if it still has a Reinforcement Warp Gate.  When you are in a neutral or AI system you'll see a count in the top left of the number of Reinforcement and normal Warp Gates (normal Warp Gates are used for sending waves).  Command Stations count as a Reinforcement Gate, but so do Special Forces Guard Posts, which is the most common reason an AI system without a Command Station will still receive reinforcements.

[clone]

Ah, so reinforcements don't just magically appear at Guard Posts?  A reinforcement warp gate must be there to allow that to happen?
Interesting.

So if you go in, take out all the reinforcement warp gates (including the command station, rendering the planet neutral) but leave all the guard posts, the AI will no longer reinforce the planet?

If true that would make an early-game raid starship blitz on many alerted nearby systems very appealing.

So reinforcement warp gates determine whether the AI can reinforce a planet, and guard posts determine how many forces the AI is allowed to station there?

[keith.lamothe]

So if you go in, take out all the reinforcement warp gates (including the command station, rendering the planet neutral) but leave all the guard posts, the AI will no longer reinforce the planet?

If true that would make an early-game raid starship blitz on many alerted nearby systems very appealing.

How so?  That's a lot of AIP, and the planets adjacent to the newly-neutral planets become on-alert.

So reinforcement warp gates determine whether the AI can reinforce a planet, and guard posts determine how many forces the AI is allowed to station there?

Basically, yes.  As I recently discovered the quantity of reinforcements doesn't go down as guard posts go away (indeed, it goes up somewhat), but the total amount it can pile on that planet (via reinforcement) is limited if you kill the posts.

[clone]

How so?  That's a lot of AIP, and the planets adjacent to the newly-neutral planets become on-alert.

Ah, yes.  I mean on planets that look appealing to take anyway.  It seems best to rush them and target specifically the command station very early if you want them.  Provided, of course, that you're prepared to deal with the freed AI forces.

Basically, yes.  As I recently discovered the quantity of reinforcements doesn't go down as guard posts go away (indeed, it goes up somewhat), but the total amount it can pile on that planet (via reinforcement) is limited if you kill the posts.

If the limit imposed by the guard-posts is exceeded, does the AI start building barracks and carriers?  Or does that happen only happen after an unrelated "per system" limit is crossed?  Or is the limit imposed by the guard-posts a "per-reinforcement" placement limit, and not a "total units in system" limit?

[keith.lamothe]

If the limit imposed by the guard-posts is exceeded, does the AI start building barracks and carriers?  Or does that happen only happen after an unrelated "per system" limit is crossed?  Or is the limit imposed by the guard-posts a "per-reinforcement" placement limit, and not a "total units in system" limit?

All the limit does is that when picking planets to spawn fresh "reinforcement" units at, an AI player asks "is the limit less than the number of my ships on this planet"; if so, it does not do any reinforcement spawns there.

[clone]

All the limit does is that when picking planets to spawn fresh "reinforcement" units at, an AI player asks "is the limit less than the number of my ships on this planet"; if so, it does not do any reinforcement spawns there.

And the limit is defined by the number of guard-posts?

[TechSY730]

All the limit does is that when picking planets to spawn fresh "reinforcement" units at, an AI player asks "is the limit less than the number of my ships on this planet"; if so, it does not do any reinforcement spawns there.

And the limit is defined by the number of guard-posts?

From what I understand, yes. However, no matter how many or how few guard posts their are, the reinforcement cap cannot fall below 200 or grow beyond 700 (1000 for homeworlds).

This is a per AI player cap though, meaning each AI player could possibly get 700 guards per planet, for 1400 in total.

[keith.lamothe]

All the limit does is that when picking planets to spawn fresh "reinforcement" units at, an AI player asks "is the limit less than the number of my ships on this planet"; if so, it does not do any reinforcement spawns there.

And the limit is defined by the number of guard-posts?

Yes; the number of guard posts plus 1 if there's an AI command station, times 100 (on normal caps).

From what I understand, yes. However, no matter how many or how few guard posts their are, the reinforcement cap cannot fall below 200 or grow beyond 700 (1000 for homeworlds).

It's 700 (1000 for homeworlds and core worlds) on normal caps.  The 200 is the same on all cap scales, though.

This is a per AI player cap though, meaning each AI player could possibly get 700 guards per planet, for 1400 in total.

Correct