AI War Beta 5.080-5.082 "Bonus Round" Released!

[TechSY730]

Wait, if I am reading the notes correctly, does this mean the counts for starships in waves will be much like how fleet ships are now (except with a pretty decent penalty)?

Not really, in that it basically just adds 1 starship, normally, and after that the wave calc would play around with it and then get brought back to 1 anyway.  But there are a few cases where multiple starships can happen, and now that won't be artificially prevented.

So you just removed that last "set to 1 anyways" step at the end, right?

[keith.lamothe]

Wait, if I am reading the notes correctly, does this mean the counts for starships in waves will be much like how fleet ships are now (except with a pretty decent penalty)?

Not really, in that it basically just adds 1 starship, normally, and after that the wave calc would play around with it and then get brought back to 1 anyway.  But there are a few cases where multiple starships can happen, and now that won't be artificially prevented.

So you just removed that last "set to 1 anyways" step at the end, right?

Actually it just skips most of those main-thread steps for starships.  The AI thread's already factored in what needs to be factored in for those.

[TechSY730]

Just FYI, it seems like we potentially have a game breaking bug: 9604: No Build Options appearing, crashes on exit

[keith.lamothe]

Just FYI, it seems like we potentially have a game breaking bug: 9604: No Build Options appearing, crashes on exit

That's really weird, as I'm testing stuff right now with no problems.  Will take a look, thanks.

[Cinth]

Just FYI, it seems like we potentially have a game breaking bug: 9604: No Build Options appearing, crashes on exit

I'm seeing it too. Just updated to .081 and no build options on anything.

[keith.lamothe]

Update: 5.082 hotfix is out to fix a nasty one in 5.081 that could cause basically all buy menus to be empty.  Whoops.

[Lancefighter]

http://www.arcengames.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=AI_War_-_AI_Opponent_Types

How is that page now effected by the ai changes?

[keith.lamothe]

http://www.arcengames.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=AI_War_-_AI_Opponent_Types

How is that page now effected by the ai changes?

A fair bit; I've already updated the numbers that pulls from:

http://www.arcengames.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=AI_War_-_Why_Do_Enemy_Waves_Get_So_Large%3F

I didn't recall that there was another listing of them.

[doctorfrog]

Are there any plans to update lobby setup scripts with the release of the new expansion?

[Lancefighter]

kk ill copy the new numbers to the other page then

[keith.lamothe]

Are there any plans to update lobby setup scripts with the release of the new expansion?

You mean to include the Dark Spire minor faction, or champions, or what?  I hadn't really thought about it since there isn't a ton to add there, I think.

kk ill copy the new numbers to the other page then

Thanks

[orzelek]

Wait, if I am reading the notes correctly, does this mean the counts for starships in waves will be much like how fleet ships are now (except with a pretty decent penalty)?

Not really, in that it basically just adds 1 starship, normally, and after that the wave calc would play around with it and then get brought back to 1 anyway.  But there are a few cases where multiple starships can happen, and now that won't be artificially prevented.

So you just removed that last "set to 1 anyways" step at the end, right?

Actually it just skips most of those main-thread steps for starships.  The AI thread's already factored in what needs to be factored in for those.

It smells like.. pain for 8+ H/Ws and 10 diff games

[doctorfrog]

Are there any plans to update lobby setup scripts with the release of the new expansion?

You mean to include the Dark Spire minor faction, or champions, or what?  I hadn't really thought about it since there isn't a ton to add there, I think.

To add any new features, for one, and for another, to provide a way to communicate game difficulty to a new or returning player.

The lobby is a wonderful, dizzying array of choices, but without intimate knowledge of the game, looking up things in a wiki, or asking on a forum (player behaviors you can't always count on), it can be really tough to figure out how to create a game that's appropriate to your skill level.

One thing that scripts can communicate is the difficulty a new or returning player can expect, with just a click. If I select a Moderate-Hard script, I can confidently start a game that will probably kick my butt. Or, I can peruse the lobby for the script setting and adjust them down or up, based on how scary they sound.

Right now, if a new or returning player just goes through the lobby and flips on a couple 7 AI's and a random selection of level 4 factions (maybe all of them, since I am paying for these expansions, ain't I?), they won't know what they're in for until an hour or more into the game. It might be a perfect balance, it might be a steamroll either way. In other words, it might be a good game or a terrible one, and leave a good impression or a terrible one. Why not take control of that?

That's not ideal for new or returning players. I'd argue they need guidance that's not on a forum or wiki, but coming from the game itself. A good set of lobby scripts clearly marked with difficulty settings can communicate quite a bit and give a better overall impression of the game.

The current scripts are either beginner games or randomized. I'd like to see these updated, sure, but I'd also like to see other boilerplate difficulties represented here.

Well, that turned out far longer than I thought it would for such a minor feature. Just arguing that it needs consideration. Thanks for listening.

[keith.lamothe]

New one