Any high-threat saves around?

[x4000]

Does anyone have a save where there's (say) 7k or more ships that are floating around your perimeter for a long time?  I'd like to have one of those to test out a new mechanic I'm thinking of.

[keith.lamothe]

Is this a "sack the quarterback" or "full court press" type of mechanic?

[x4000]

It's a "take the bullet for the CPU" type of new mechanic, mostly.  The goal is to keep letting the sieges building as they currently do, but to not have the eventual end of that siege cause the CPU to melt / RAM to run out.

I've finally found my use for Hunter/Killers, in related news. 

[keith.lamothe]

You know, I do have a fairly robust algorithm for generating smallish (100-200 ships) wolfpacks of doom that happens to be laying around, and perhaps it could be taught to metabolize raw bulks of ships

[wyvern83]

Spikey00 might have one, he mentioned his current game had a loitering threat of 15k for several hours in his mantis post (0001933) and that he was still playing it.

[x4000]

Keith: I'm good on this one.  But, that's similar to my idea, yeah.  I don't really want to introduce new AI logic into this particular mechanic, though, because the goal is to maintain the siege, not break it.  I think sieges are an interesting thing, so long as they aren't CPU-melting.  And it's a pretty new thing for the game, really, as well.

wyvern83: I was thinking he said he had one like that, and that it was really affecting his framerate, too.  Would definitely be a prime candidate save, in that case.

[keith.lamothe]

Oh, maintaining the siege sounds cool

[ShadowOTE]

Yeah, so long as the AI eventually decides to test your defenses. Otherwise it turns into "oh great, more threat. well, i'll hit those worlds eventually" instead of nailbiting "where are they going to hit next" tension that makes you spend time hunting them down and clearing them out.

Also, wolfpack of doom? sounds interesting - and an interesting potential mechanic. Have some percentage of waves be transferred into wolfpacks - small groups of 30-50 ships and 1 or 2 starships that circle your territory looking for other ways in, then try to mess with your economy.

Finally -HK units? New mechanic? Subtle Query - May I eliminate the meatbags, master?

[Spikey00]

You called?  :p

Yeah, it's affecting my game performance.  Odd thing is that I've only got 5-6K AI ships on my next two worlds on a maze map that's essentially snake-style, so the threat is all over the place.  There was this first CPA which released about 6k or so ships, and then another, and another, and I never really saw the CPA itself, they just trickle... everywhere, I suppose.

--

Yep, it's just you running out of RAM. I'm surprised you've had such large threat; most likely that's because you're turtling waaay too effectively and so the AI decided to just kill the process. ;)

Har har.

D;

I'm trying my best, with autobombs and all! 

[keith.lamothe]

Also, wolfpack of doom? sounds interesting - and an interesting potential mechanic. Have some percentage of waves be transferred into wolfpacks - small groups of 30-50 ships and 1 or 2 starships that circle your territory looking for other ways in, then try to mess with your economy.

I was referring to the event-attack mechanic used in the fallen spire stuff.  It doesn't really circle or do much in the way of subtlety; hybrids do a bit of that though.

[x4000]

Thanks, Spikey!  I'll see what I can see from that.

ShadowOTE -- The AI definitely decides to test the defenses eventually, but not until it thinks it has overwhelming force against your defenses. Perhaps I'll make the Hunter/Killers have cloaking, so that it's not so easy to go engage them early.  Hmm, well, that still wouldn't work as well as I'd like.  Hmm.

[Spikey00]

Eventually?  :\

I'm pretty sure that first CPA of 6k ships were from hours and hours ago.

[Mithror]

Here you go

[x4000]

That's fine -- time has no relevance on this.  It's a matter of when it thinks it can beat you, not how much time has passed.  As long as your defenses are uber, it's not going to just throw it's lives away.  Instead it keeps on building until it looks likely to overwhelm you... and then does so.

Regarding the "it's tougher to attack the siege in enemy territory" thing, I think I'll give Hunter/Killers a munitions boost while they are on AI planets.  That will make a big disincentive to attack them early, while making them still visible, etc.  That's usually the way with sieges, right?   You don't ride out and attack them unless you're feeling suicidally heroic and you suspect Gandalf will be there soon anyhow.

[x4000]

Here you go

Awesome, thanks!  Having more than one save will be extra helpful, actually, for this. 

Now I think I'm good, though -- well, if someone has a third, I wouldn't say no, but three's about the max of what I'd need.