AI war Beta 4.032 Released

[mecharm]

Hey gang,

(This being my first post, I would like to thank the Team for the awesomest strategy game I've layed my eyes on in the past...many years. Your dedication to the game, your support and the sheer quality dripping from everything you release is really worthy of songs and praises).

Anyway, here's the setup:

- I'm into 6.30 hours of a game against two 7 AI's (all three expansions)

- I've built everything along the LotS questline (I guess...)

- AI progress is 265 and my current threat level is 193

and here's my problem:

- For no apparent reason (I'm guessing this is happening because the AI is "angry" with my Spire buddies) the threat level jumps to 780+ and every planet that has any kind of connection with the Spire is rushed by mark 4 ships

- Even though getting rushed without any kind of warning by 600 mark 4 ships is joy in itself, my grief is that within 2 minutes my HQ is demolished by 3 Core Starships.

Now, I'm not saying I'm an expert of the game (I've probably put a good 30 hours into it), but I'm pretty sure there is no way (for me at least) this situation can be won...

I understand that the AI hates the Spire (and me and everyone else, God bless it), but I don't feel the benefits of having talking crystals around my planets overweight the crushing defeat I have to endure...(oh any by the way ((just in case it seems otherwise) I love the new expansion, the questline really fills up the game, and gives a unique personality to every match)

Any thoughts?

[Lancefighter]

Yep. By design......


also, its going to be a *little* bit easier next patch. Maybe.

[x4000]

Regarding the ships not actually glowing, there's mainly three reasons for that:

1. I felt like with a literal glow it made it look a bit blurry.

2. It just didn't "look right" to me.

3. It also makes the ships a bit larger in size, which means that if I'm sizing them to power-of-two textures I either have to use larger textures or shrink the ships slightly.

I've no beef at all with a glowy-ships mod, but it's not something I'm planning to do directly.

[x4000]

New version: http://www.arcengames.com/forums/index.php/topic,7615.0.html

[HitmanN]

Fair enough. I'm yet to see a non-pink version of the new spire in the game anyways, so I wont judge yet, but at a quick glance I do think it's lacking "that something". Something that stands out from everything else in the ship. Glow seemed to fit. Fine details come to mind next. Stuff like being able to tell what part of the ship is weapon, where a possible cockpit is, engine glow, etc.

[x4000]

You're waaay more detailed on that sort of thing than I am.  Ship art really isn't that important for AI War, all things considered, given that most of the game is played so far zoomed out.  My focus is more on the gameplay, and when I get the ships looking cool and with a fun style, that's something where I'm done.  I'm not trying to make them realistic, or designed out in a "where are the guns, where is the cockpit, how many tons does the nose cone weigh" type of detail.

I guess I'm more about building a compelling forest, then about putting the most amazing bark on each individual tree, when it comes to ship designs and such.

[HitmanN]

That is true. I'd take a functional ship over a visually impressive ship any day.

when I get the ships looking cool and with a fun style, that's something where I'm done.

I guess what I'm trying to say is... maybe that's the point where you are done, and someone else continues, at some point, once the priorities are done with. And I'm not talking about myself here. Afterall, my glow suggestion was already shot down by some.

Just saying that I'm sure there are many users that would ultimately be happy to add detail and flare to the designs, without breaking the original vision completely. Graphics which you could be proud of, even if they're not completely made by Arcen crew. Afterall, your expertise is with gameplay, like you say.

I just have a roundabout way of implying things, heh. I'm weird like that.

My precioussss...shiny...



Crap, the colormask is off-center!

[x4000]

I don't have any problems with others continuing beyond where I go. I've included a lot of player art over the last year (as you certainly know, heh), and that's always appreciated. Those I don't directly agree with can always make a nice mod, if nothing else. No worries!