Help give the guy who brought back H/K's feedback on his new desired AI type.

[chemical_art]

If I can get this idea of mine fleshed out enough I'll even put it on mantis *gasp*!


That's right, I want a new AI type.

Informal name: Grieving Gamer (GG)

This AI, a corrupted algothorum of human programing, combines raids, siege breaking assaults, and a mobile defense. Designed as much to wear down human psychology as mind, this AI is ruthless.




Ideas, if possible:

Raids:

Instead of normal wave logic, the AI launches its "waves" using the counter attack logic: The AI launches its attacks (AI MK lvl) into human space. Which means on a 7/7 it launches its waves 1 worlds in early game, then at II it goes 2 waves in, etc, on 9/9 it starts 2 worlds in.

These "waves" will not be unusually fast, nor particularly raidy in composition, but when launched have half the warning time, and are launched twice as rapidly as normal waves.


Siege breaking assualts:

Nothing that fancy here. Not meant to be fancy.

The AI launches exowaves using the current 4 / 10 hard golem logic. Meaning if the player has another exo also enabled...they crash together.



A mobile defense.




Good news everyone!


This AI gets one reinforcement on their planets per reinforcement wave!


Bad news everyone!

This AI's special forces are three times stronger, and the core world reinforce like normal!

[Kahuna]

I like the idea of giving the AI new ways to attack and defend. But with this AI it isn't clear what this AI does.. I mean other AI types have a clear role. One Way Doormaster has BHMs, Alarmist has Alarm Posts, Raider AIs send heavy attacks with Raider ships. I think this AI's "role" needs to be more clear. "Lightning fast attacks" kinda sounds like Retaliatory AI since it has lot of Counter Attack Posts on each planet. And the defense "philosophy" sounds like Special Forces captain.

I do like the idea of the AI attacking on multiple planets at once. ALL other AIs attack on a single planet. How about a Swarmer AI that always attacks on 2 planets and uses a LOT of Troop Accelerators (on every single one of it's planet?). The attacks would be half the size of a normal wave but the AI would have 1,25 Wave Multiplier. Also the attacks could be "counter attacks" so it could attack any planet and they could have half the warning time. This AI would also have 1,25 Reinfroce Multiplier. Instead of Troopl Accelerators this AI could have Interplanetary Troop Accelerators which would double the reinforcements on the planet it is on and adjacent planets' reinforcements by 50%. Alerting the planet the Interplanetary TA is on would also alert all planets affected by the Interplanetary TA.

I think something like this might serve a similar purpose of having new ways to attack and defend (for the AI that is).

[chemical_art]

Part of my inspiration is to have the AI mimic three common tactics see players use in RTS. The key for this AI is meant that it doesn't do just one tactic, but several tactics that when employed require no one tactic to defeat.

Rush (AI raids), Mass (exo waves), and blob (AI saves its AI units in special forces).

That why it is said it is a corrupt alogorithm of human programming...it was once meant to beat human rts games...then it started doing it outside the game. It tries to defeat the human chokepoint defense, human raids, and the human bend but don't break defense.




This AI of mine was going to be a hard/brutal AI type, where its only real weakness was its lack of reinforcements (which is hardly a benefit since the AI instead blobs). But to give it more flavor it could have a "jack of all trades, master of none" feel. Where it isn't as bad as the AI where it can teleport everywhere*, doesn't send the absolute hardest single wave, or blobs as much as the special forces captain. But it does take their three tactics at once, causing its own strategic nightmare.


 (so the AI logic is instead it can go as deep as MK X levels (so early game sub 9/9 doesn't have deepstrikes...I like that actually. editted).

[Kahuna]

Part of my inspiration is to have the AI mimic three common tactics see players use in RTS.

This is a good idea but the question is.. how to do it without making the AI too much like the other AIs. One option would be to kind of combine the existing AI types.. which is kind of what you've done there. But then it needs to be balanced too. 3*Special Forces size and an additional exo is a lot from just an AI type alone. There are so many different AI types in AI War already that it's hard to come up with something unique.

In addition to mimicing those 3 tactics^^ the AI could also mimic some things players do specifically in AI War not just RTSs in general.. like immobile defenses, warheads, attacks with assault transports, raids etc. The AI could do "drops" just to destroy an undefended Energy Collector, Fabricator or whatever.

This AI could fill "AI Assault Carriers" (similar to the new Assault Transport (fast, durable, has weapons)) with threat ships and attack with those.. without warning of course.. I mean it's threat so no warning. These Assault Carriers would be comparable to Mark IV or V Spirecraft and they would try to skip the whipping boys. They would target planets with low firepower and/or home planet. Each Assault Carrier could hold up to 200 ships. This AI could also load Lightning Warheads or something similar into the Assault Carriers. These Warheads would not have friendly fire so they could not be used against the AI. The AI would also have "AI Missile Silos" on some of it's planets that would send LightningWarheads Mark=PlanetMark like Neinzul missile silos do.. except these Warheads would behave like SHIPS. When Total AIP hits 200-500 these Lightning Warheads would be upgraded to Armored Lightning Warheads. Core planets would send Mark IV and V Lightning Warheads AND Nuclear Warheads which could be destroyed (with Raid SSs for example) without causing a nuclear explosion. Special Forces would have Lightning Warheads too.. hundreds of Lightning Warheads. Or instead of giving Special Forces Warheads this AI could have additional "Special Forces like" fleet which would have dozens of Warheads.. AI Rocket/Missile Corps? This "Warhead Fleet" or whatever would be an offensive version of Special Forces. I mean Special Forces only defend except when they join CPAs. AI Rocket Corps would occasionally launch Warhead attacks on the player. It would first send in an EMP Warhead and then ships and Lightning Warheads. It could be this Rocket Corps that would also use the Assault Carriers.

[chemical_art]

Trying to walk a fine here:

I don't want all the various AI tactics have a counter...meaning for example the raids can be countered somehow (defense in depth, your own strategic reserces) so I don't like instant teleporting.

However...I do want the AI to have three separate avenues to frustrate the player, a mobile defense, chokepoint cracking defense, and raids to frustrate that chokepoint.

Also keep in mind this ai as a minimal is hard, if not red, so it is meant to be harder then any of the ai types it somewhat draws from. So it is ok if it takes the special forces idea...because it is also taking the raiders idea.

[Kahuna]

I don't want all the various AI tactics have a counter

I'd say everything has a counter. But having to counter multiple different things can get hard.

However...I do want the AI to have three separate avenues to frustrate the player, a mobile defense

Your 3*Special Forces and/or my AI Rocket Corps with their Warheads^^

However...I do want the AI to have three separate avenues to frustrate the player[...]chokepoint cracking

1 additional Exo and/or my Rocket Corps with their EMP and Lightning Warheads and ships.
These 2 could be combined too. It wouldn't even have to be called "Exo". This AI could get it's own attack force. It would be based on Exo but it could be tweaked a little bit. I don't think this "Exo" or whatever it would be called should have Hunter/Killers, Golems nor Spirecraft. It could have some other nasty stuff. Hell.. it could even have a BEACHHEAD.. or simply Mark III EMP Warheads which are about as nasty as Beachheads. All ships in this Exo could be Mark V so the EMP couldn't be used against them. The Exo could first EMP the choke point and then send all ships and like 10 or 15 Mark III Lightning Warheads to destroy the player's Turrets and ships.

However...I do want the AI to have three separate avenues to frustrate the player[...]and raids to frustrate that chokepoint.

I don't know if Military Command Stations are immune to EMPs. If not EMP + Lightning Warheads could destroy like 90% of all turrets on that choke point. Ever played with Neinzul Rocketry Corps set to 10/10? Damn those Mark III Lightning Warheads can get annoying. That AoE is surprisingly huge. In addition to that the AI could send those Assault Carriers filled with ships.

[chemical_art]

Can emps be made hull specific?

An emp against turrets would be interesting...

[Kahuna]

Can emps be made hull specific?

An emp against turrets would be interesting...

Not sure.. but maybe a "Jammer Warhead" could be added which would cause the same effect as Beachheads for x amount of time.

[chemical_art]

Would be interesting. it would be weaker (last shorter) then the traditional emp missile or guardian. howeclver theyll spawn fairly often. I'm tthinking a 10 * mk sec duration. enough to trashed a wormhole choke but not enough to cripe a fpwet in depth.