AI War Beta 4.029 Released!

[winthrowe]

While I'm new and may not understand all the balance implications, this sounded like a good idea to me:

1) How about having to "deploy" the MRS. This could take a few seconds, and causes the MRS to become static until "packing" it back up. But it can only repair units when deployed. This seems like the kind of thing you had in mind, but I don't know how difficult it would be to implement.

[keith.lamothe]

Wait wat? When were tugs removed from the mrs??  Tongue

Well that shows you how much I used that feature of the mrs it seems..

One part of the problem with the MRS is that it moves so fast the enemies can't keep up.  Another part of the problem is that the design changes so fast the players can't keep up

Well, actually, some of them seem to be keeping up quite well, and on ff-bearers as well...

[Zeba]

 

[Vinraith]

I kind of miss the tugs, though it's certainly true that with the MRS speed boost they're no longer necessary. There was just something so... grounded about watching those little ships ferry damaged vessels back and forth across the system. It lent this odd note of mundane reality to the whole thing that made the "giant space battle" aspect of things that much more spectacular. 

[Lancefighter]

I kind of agree they told the story of the much-forgotten logistics crew in the background.. but I rather dislike their actual function..

[Zeba]

I kind of agree they told the story of the much-forgotten logistics crew in the background.. but I rather dislike their actual function..

Which is one of the reasons I rarely used them. But if the mrs has to deploy to an immobile mode to repair then there would have to be some sort of function to get the damaged ships to the mrs without the painful micro of manually picking them out and getting them out fast enough.

Maybe a new option to have ships with x amount of damage automatically make best speed for the mrs? Seems the code is already in the game with the regen chamber mechanics so it should be fairly easy to put in.

[orzelek]

If you want to nerf MRS-es severely then please give us actual ability to raid farther than 2 planets and be able to go back. Currently transports are one way ticket to death because they use their own health for the journey. And certain "fun" things can force you to raid quite far - capturing everything on your way is also not so doable.

Currently MRS gives that far away fleet some kind of help - without it that fleet will die much faster. Give us ability to actually retreat that fleet for repairs. Transports would need to be simply unable to jump further than certain amount of planets from friendly territory - but not use their health as limiting factor so that transport can deliver units, they can do what needed and then have chance to go back to your territories in same transport (or spare one).

[Spikey00]

With regards to quests, there has to be more notification given to the player(s). 

1) On quest start, not everyone realizes that you can click on the notification in the top left to view the journal entries (or that you can view them from message log window).  Perhaps there need be an indication somewhere that you can click on them, or something that just implies, "click me to view."

2) I was surprised when on the third quest, that something was spawned that need be brought back to my home command station.  When I realized this was given to me (or rather, in a two-player game, my friend who was host) it was already too late to react.  Nothing was ever indicated to us that we came in possession of such an artifact; it would help if the player was actually aware of whatever objectives or units they come into possession, or are tasked with.

Beyond that, I haven't gotten past that point because that's the dead end of the quest line, I suppose, which I dislike because I believe it should be re-doable; of course, not to the point where you can just attempt and re-attempt in frivolity.

[Lancefighter]

would it be possible to force-pause the game and bring up the journal screen? I think that would make a lot more sense then just popping up a notification (thats what I ended up doing anyway)

[keith.lamothe]

1) On quest start, not everyone realizes that you can click on the notification in the top left to view the journal entries (or that you can view them from message log window).  Perhaps there need be an indication somewhere that you can click on them, or something that just implies, "click me to view."

Oh, I thought that was already in.  It's certainly saying (Click to read) in 4.030.

2) I was surprised when on the third quest, that something was spawned that need be brought back to my home command station.  When I realized this was given to me (or rather, in a two-player game, my friend who was host) it was already too late to react.  Nothing was ever indicated to us that we came in possession of such an artifact; it would help if the player was actually aware of whatever objectives or units they come into possession, or are tasked with.

Rule #1 of survivng events I write: read the journal entries

Along that line, as Lance pointed at, it may be better to force-pause and display the journal immediately, or at least have an option to have it do so.  I don't like to interrupt the flow of the game for folks, but the fairly significant AI forces that spawn in response to the artifact's discovery are sure going to interrupt it if I don't

[x4000]

New version!  http://www.arcengames.com/forums/index.php/topic,7563.0.html


Regarding raid distance, it's meant to only be a round-trip if you go two hops out, and a one-way suicide trip if you go further.  That's not intended to change, and if MRSes are letting you circumvent that that's just another reason to change them.  If you can raid indefinitely far, then there is no benefit to capturing planets for position.  If you capture every third planet in a path (or possibly every fourth, actually, depending on what's between them) you can enable much longer-term raiding.  That's because transports only lose health when not in supply, and by having a planet captured you then give supply to it AND the planets adjacent to it.  That makes very-long-range raiding have a moderate investment cost in terms of time and AIP, but at the same time if you pick your planets carefully you can capture one planet to enable raids to a ton of AI planets.  MRS shouldn't be affecting this one way or the other, it's an exploit if it currently is.

At any rate, regarding the overall MRS discussion, let's please continue that here if there's something to add beyond what I've got in the current Mantis issue: http://www.arcengames.com/mantisbt/view.php?id=1192  Otherwise when I get to this, I'll never be able to find all the notes related to it.

[zebramatt]

I'm inclined to agree.

Is it in Mantis?

[Winter Born]

I'm inclined to agree.

Is it in Mantis?

(SNIP)
At any rate, regarding the overall MRS discussion, let's please continue that here if there's something to add beyond what I've got in the current


 >>>>>   Mantis issue: http://www.arcengames.com/mantisbt/view.php?id=1192   <<<<<


Otherwise when I get to this, I'll never be able to find all the notes related to it.

 

[zebramatt]

Apologies, I was ninjad by Chris there!

What I meant was:

Along that line, as Lance pointed at, it may be better to force-pause and display the journal immediately, or at least have an option to have it do so.  I don't like to interrupt the flow of the game for folks, but the fairly significant AI forces that spawn in response to the artifact's discovery are sure going to interrupt it if I don't

I'm inclined to agree.

Is it in Mantis?