Do you know this feeling, its why i play AI War...

[eRe4s3r]

Just a little innocent post

Do you know the feeling you get when you just hit 350 progress facing your first ai homeworld conquest, all your production geared to maximum on a adjacent planet, everything plastered with guns and ships, repair drones, engineers mobile builders.. fortresses and every kind of missile you might need, everything prepared, ready to fight one of the longest hardest and most costly fights.. the anticipation that once this homeworld is gone you can entirely leave this arm of the galaxy and prepare for the final offense? This feeling of reaching the milestone that makes the difference between winning and losing?

This feeling is why i play AI War

[Harry]

Well, I've spent many many hours and days playing this game, but I still haven't experienced that feeling -- because I haven't gotten that close to finishing a game yet!     Unless you count my victory in the tutorial campaign.

But in a more general sense, I know exactly what you mean.  I love the feeling of a good plan coming together.  When I did my first multi-hop data-center raid with transports, I paused at the jump-off point and said to myself, "now THIS is good computer gaming."  I had much the same feeling of satisfaction as I launched my first conquest-of-distant-system campaign, too.

[raptor331]

I had a strange feeling once, then I realized it was the burrito I ate

[RCIX]

Well, I've spent many many hours and days playing this game, but I still haven't experienced that feeling -- because I haven't gotten that close to finishing a game yet!     Unless you count my victory in the tutorial campaign.

But in a more general sense, I know exactly what you mean.  I love the feeling of a good plan coming together.  When I did my first multi-hop data-center raid with transports, I paused at the jump-off point and said to myself, "now THIS is good computer gaming."  I had much the same feeling of satisfaction as I launched my first conquest-of-distant-system campaign, too.

You have a comrade-in-ships

[Echo35]

When I play this game, I get the feeling that I'm a terrorist or guerilla fighter. Not many strategy games out there where spamming a [mega]ton of units and swarming is a BAD idea. I feel like I really have to think like a terrorist and check my attacks. Hit the AI where it hurts.

[Note from x-400: Edited for language]

[x4000]

Very cool to hear about what everyone likes most, by the way -- and useful knowledge for me to have, as well!

[Kalzarius]

I think we're at 1980 AI progress now.... or maybe we've passed 2000.  I can't recall.  Last I recall for certain, we were at 1976.  All and all, it's been a long campaign with endless changes to our strategy for coping with the ever-escalating AI threat.  I think we have just 30 more planets to take and we'll have all 100. 

[x4000]

Just... wow. 

[Echo35]

I think we have just 30 more planets to take and we'll have all 100.  

Achievement Unlocked: Masochist.

EDIT: So what happens when you kill every AI Unit in the game anyway?

[x4000]

EDIT: So what happens when you kill every AI Unit in the game anyway?

I've never seen it happen.  But, basically, the humans can then go about their business as they please.  The AI won't be able to warp in waves or reinforcements, the humans own the entire galaxy, and can just... do whatever they want on their big empty planets.

[eRe4s3r]

Time to .. get to work on those population numbers then? AI War - Colonization soon? :p

[carlosjuero]

The feeling that keeps me going is that satisfaction of defeating a huge cross planet attack or wave raid, especially if I am under strength. Watching the AI ships go Boom and taking that moment to attack a neighboring world just keeps the game going for me.

Another thing that just keeps it fresh is the completely unexpected things the AI likes to do to me, like sending a raid against me from a system I haven't touched or scouted yet - I can imagine the AI talking to itself and saying 'hit from here, they won't see it coming'

[eRe4s3r]

Yeah, or when you ignore a bunch of marauders because "They never did any damage before" and suddenly they beeline to the one sector where you have no defenses, once there they kill your energy and move on ! now you are in negative energy and they just pass through your defenses on the next world.

Seen it happening Its times like these that i understand why the way the AI is coded in AI War is a really really good way to do it. Even if the AI still needs to be improved in how it handles enemies (meaning, player-in-AIsector-attack) but its sparks of genius that the ai does sometimes that really make for an completely different experience. Its not often that i say it, but the AI in AI War is viciously smart.. sometimes. But for an Goliath being smart sometimes is enough to make a difference. The player thus is forced to always play "perfect" and can never rest.

This is something reviewers have mentioned as negative, but i think its awesome. You can never rest in AI War. Unless you really, really know what you are doing.

[Lancefighter]

I once took a rest.

It cost me 4 AI progress (in the use of lightning turrets) to get anywhere after that.

[x4000]

Want to feel super, super awesome?  Crank the AI down to 1, and you'll really steamroll them.  My alpha testers accidentally started a game on 1/1 AIs, and won in something like 2.5 hours on an 80-planet map.  They were feeling really good about themselves until they realized what had happened.