AI War Beta 6.024-6.025 "The Squeaky Wheel Gets The Buff (or Nerf)" Released!

[Faulty Logic]

There are a few solutions I would be happy with:

1} buff rate of production, or go back to the old way of drone production; a stream of drones I-III was a noticeable force in all but the largest battles, and now I can get to mkIV without exorbitant k expenditures.
2} go the mini-hive route.
3} significant dps buffing to the drones (hp hardly matters in their case).

Removing the turret prerequisite would be fine in all these cases, but isn't strictly necessary.

[ZaneWolfe]

Haven't gotten around to playing with the new Enclaves, but I have noticed the loss of my mobile advanced factory. You sure I can't convince you to toss one in there for 15k knowledge Keith? I'll give you a kitten. I will even promise that it wont secretly be a cybernetic feline assassin with titanium claws and acid dripping fangs bent on killing you. (See, I can be nice.)

[Cinth]

There are a few solutions I would be happy with:

1} buff rate of production, or go back to the old way of drone production; a stream of drones I-III was a noticeable force in all but the largest battles, and now I can get to mkIV without exorbitant k expenditures.

This fits with the science I did earlier.  High numbers of drones are very effective in both killing and smoke screening.

2} go the mini-hive route.

Ugh, no.  Don't care for this at all.

3} significant dps buffing to the drones (hp hardly matters in their case).

Think something similar to bomber drone would be in order (one of those changes).  I just can't recall the specific one I'm thinking that would apply here.

Removing the turret prerequisite would be fine in all these cases, but isn't strictly necessary.

And here I was wishing for more drone types based on damaging turrets

[Faulty Logic]

And here I was wishing for more drone types based on damaging turrets 

I would prefer that. Sniper/spider drones, tractor drones, gravity drones, and, of course, heavy beam drones. But just that might not be enough.

[keith.lamothe]

I'll give you a kitten. I will even promise that it wont secretly be a cybernetic feline assassin with titanium claws and acid dripping fangs bent on killing you. (See, I can be nice.)

For next expansion: the Neinzul Kitten!

[Lancefighter]

you should totally make them into warheads/autobomb/suicide ships.

[contingencyplan]

Quick question. I thought that counter-attack guard posts were restricted in where they could send their waves. If there's a significant difference in the hops to a player planet vs. the mark of the guard post, does it default to "send the waves anywhere"?

I ask because I just killed a counter-attack post near the AI HW, and it sent the counter to my HW 10 hops away. Post-kill save and pic attached.

[Cinth]

Quick question. I thought that counter-attack guard posts were restricted in where they could send their waves. If there's a significant difference in the hops to a player planet vs. the mark of the guard post, does it default to "send the waves anywhere"?

I ask because I just killed a counter-attack post near the AI HW, and it sent the counter to my HW 10 hops away. Post-kill save and pic attached.

P0 or P6 have a warp gate? If so then a MK IV or V CA post can hit that deep.

[contingencyplan]

Quick question. I thought that counter-attack guard posts were restricted in where they could send their waves. If there's a significant difference in the hops to a player planet vs. the mark of the guard post, does it default to "send the waves anywhere"?

I ask because I just killed a counter-attack post near the AI HW, and it sent the counter to my HW 10 hops away. Post-kill save and pic attached.

P0 or P6 have a warp gate? If so then a MK IV or V CA post can hit that deep.

The MkIV (P6) planet that's highlighted. Thought that a MkX CA could only hit X hops deep?

Edit: Just checked the patch notes --- yeah, a MkIV CA should only be able to send the wave 4 hops in, not 10.

Also, just had it happen with 8 hops (at the next branch over, P0 MkIII).

For those wondering, took about 670 AIP due to the superterminal, and I have all the CLs, so going for the 110-planet achievement.  >D May as well get above the AI floor a bit before finishing the game.

Edit 2: Kinda an inverse of kasnavada's game --- game won with "I know EVERYTHING!"

[Cinth]

 Looking at the save, Piyae has a warp gate so anything within 4 hops of that gate would be a valid target and all of the southern branch satellites.  Not sure why that mk iv post sent the wave 5 hops deep.

The planet the CA post is not where it gets sent from.  Looks like the posts have gone from effectively sending -1 MK to sending + 1 MK.

In honor of tying for second in the poll, Counterattack guard posts:

    Can no longer just send a wave anywhere, the target must be within X hops of a warp gate, where X is the mark level of the counterattack guard post in question.
    Wave timer down from 14 minutes => 10 minutes, due to player complaints that it was annoying to have to wait that long.

[contingencyplan]

Looking at the save, Piyae has a warp gate so anything within 4 hops of that gate would be a valid target and all of the southern branch satellites.  Not sure why that mk iv post sent the wave 5 hops deep.

The planet the CA post is not where it gets sent from.  Looks like the posts have gone from effectively sending -1 MK to sending + 1 MK.

In honor of tying for second in the poll, Counterattack guard posts:

    Can no longer just send a wave anywhere, the target must be within X hops of a warp gate, where X is the mark level of the counterattack guard post in question.
    Wave timer down from 14 minutes => 10 minutes, due to player complaints that it was annoying to have to wait that long.

Yeah, Piyae is my warp gate for my chokepoint / whipping boy, so that makes sense. I'd skimmed over the part about "X hops of a warp gate" vs "X hops of the CA GP," so my apologies on that one.

As you pointed out though, that's still 5 hops for a MkIV and 5 hops for a MkIII at this point, so still  . Not that I can't handle it (as in my most recent edit, I'm essentially doing an inverse of kasnavada's game --- game won with "I know EVERYTHING!"), but it surprised me.

[Cinth]

Yeah, Piyae is my warp gate for my chokepoint / whipping boy, so that makes sense. I'd skimmed over the part about "X hops of a warp gate" vs "X hops of the CA GP," so my apologies on that one.

As you pointed out though, that's still 5 hops for a MkIV and 5 hops for a MkIII at this point, so still  . Not that I can't handle it (as in my most recent edit, I'm essentially doing an inverse of kasnavada's game --- game won with "I know EVERYTHING!"), but it surprised me.

Don't think you were the only one to miss the warp gate part   I've found that an island planet with a warp gate neighbor makes a good soak for all CA posts.  Just have to clean out 3 or 4 deep around the rest of your planets.

The timer says it was a MK IV post.  So any planet within 4 hops of a gate would be valid.  That one sending 5 in isn't exactly right.

The "I know everything" game has already been done. 120 planet game with 119 planets controlled   It's the same game that spawned my signature here  .

[contingencyplan]

Yeah, Piyae is my warp gate for my chokepoint / whipping boy, so that makes sense. I'd skimmed over the part about "X hops of a warp gate" vs "X hops of the CA GP," so my apologies on that one.

As you pointed out though, that's still 5 hops for a MkIV and 5 hops for a MkIII at this point, so still  . Not that I can't handle it (as in my most recent edit, I'm essentially doing an inverse of kasnavada's game --- game won with "I know EVERYTHING!"), but it surprised me.

Don't think you were the only one to miss the warp gate part   I've found that an island planet with a warp gate neighbor makes a good soak for all CA posts.  Just have to clean out 3 or 4 deep around the rest of your planets.

The timer says it was a MK IV post.  So any planet within 4 hops of a gate would be valid.  That one sending 5 in isn't exactly right.

The "I know everything" game has already been done. 120 planet game with 119 planets controlled   It's the same game that spawned my signature here  .

Oh, I wasn't at all thinking I was the first, just thought it was funny that I'm going for that sort of game given the recent thread.

The 5 hops vs MkIV seems like an off by 1. The 5 hops vs MkIII seems more interesting.

[Cinth]

Do you have logs enabled? Could you post up the AIMechanics_Waves_Main?

[contingencyplan]

Not sure if I had logs enabled; I don't think I did. I'll check this evening.