AI War Gaiden: Smashing the Empire

[KDR_11k]

Just as a thought exercise: An AI War side story game that's about the AI moving in to destroy the Spire empire and it's your job to make it succeed! The AI was annoyed by something else being more powerful than it so it goes on a campaign to eliminate those bastards.

What would it be like playing as the AI?

[LaughingThesaurus]

I can't say I've ever role played a computer before....
...although... if what the AI has in your galaxy is only a very tiny fraction of what they have in total, it shouldn't be that kind of difficult. That's my only real concern about something like that. I'd also like the AI to become a more fleshed out 'character' in other ways, with more mysteries answered through game/expansion content, such as the true nature of what the AI has stashed away (Mark VI H/Ks?!) and the nature of their real 'brain' is, and all.
I'm very interested in a playstyle that kinda gives you the strengths of the AI though. As in, you actually have all the things that it's got. You get the automated micro and defense and reinforcement mechanics to help you maintain a very wide front line, in exchange for losing things that normal players would otherwise have. You can't set up free attacks without freed 'threat' and you need to establish waves (the size building up more, the longer you take to send waves) to attack with and what kind of priorities your reinforcements are. Stuff like that. Though, I fear that would practically require double the work the base game itself took, given how big of a change it would be.

[LordSloth]

You could have an alternative to the helper mode, the 'dungeon master' mode. This player wouldn't have much, honestly, to do, if you wanted to have the same level of play.  They could control ships that the human player shook loose as threat, choose bonus ship types, set general targets for waves, stalking forces. And get a bit bored, because they'd have a lot less opportunity to take the initiative.

I could see this taking the place of the former netflix mode (fallen spire shard chase). There's been days where I've been willing to host, but not as interested in providing the leadership to make sure my group makes any progress. Hosting, occasionally intervening, and watching TV would be great for everybody in my co-op group who isn't able to host themselves.

Malevolence is more fun than leadership, after all.

[LaughingThesaurus]

If there were something like a DM mode, I'd like to see the DM player get a couple unorthodox little abilities as well. I mean, the AI does its thing and you guide it, but maybe depending on your personal "AI Type", you get your own things. You get your own special abilities, or iconic units, depending on what your AI Type is... all the way down to The Core straight-up giving you control of every ship on alerted planets, for instance. Just little unique abilities.
...FYI, that last ability is a terrible idea, and should not be implemented in any capacity. Wouldn't be very interesting if the humans lost 10 seconds in.

[Winge]

Depends on who you're playing against.  Against humans, it would be much like how the AI plays, because it really doesn't care enough to deal with those of us who survived.  We're puny and insignificant against them (which, incidentally, is also our only hope), remember?

However, the AI was focusing its full force against the Spire.  Given the alternative ending of the Fallen Spire campaign, I'd say that the Spire outmatches the AI almost as much as the AI outmatches the human remnant.  As such, a battle as the AI against the Spire would be much more...involved...than playing DM against human forces.  IMO, anyways.

[keith.lamothe]

Given the alternative ending of the Fallen Spire campaign, I'd say that the Spire outmatches the AI almost as much as the AI outmatches the human remnant.

Not really; the AI's forces in Andromeda (the journals refer to it as NGC 224) are vastly superior to what you see in the game, and they're fighting the main body of the Imperial Spire there.  If the spire hadn't lost their main cross-galactic travel they could eventually beat the AI in a head-on fight, but not nearly to the degree that the AI's leftovers in the human galaxy could stomp the humans.

As such, a battle as the AI against the Spire would be much more...involved...than playing DM against human forces.  IMO, anyways.

It would require a different numeric scale than the normal game

[LaughingThesaurus]

Dude. The normal game's numeric scale is already insane. Hundreds of thousands of HP on regular redshirt ships says so.

...Suddenly I want to command motherships and Avengers and H/Ks.