Prerelease 1.013A (Faster Starts For Human Players, Buffed Forts)

[x4000]

The Latest prerelease is now out: http://www.arcengames.com/share/AIWar1013A.zip

That version is an upgrade from version 1.012, so you have to already have 1.012 (or greater) installed. Just unzip it into your game folder (usually C:\Program Files\Arcen Games\AI War\ unless you specified something else). Please make sure that your unzip process keeps the folder structure from the zip file, rather than just unpacking all of the files into the base target directory.

What's new since 1.012:
(Cumulative release notes since 1.012 are attached at the bottom)

-------------------

-Scout starships no longer have the munitions boosting ability.

-Fixed some logic oversights with the AI trying to make its ships attack targets that are immune to the attacking ship's shots.

-When in placement mode, the entire text of the ship info is no longer shown.  Now it just shows the name of the ship, any special tips, and the costs and time to build.  This makes it much easier to see past it when building.

-The amount of starting crystal and metal updated to 20,000 each for players (up from 10,000 and 5,000 respectively), to help rebalance the start of the game since the AI is now so much more fearsome at the start.  This also helps to give players a faster start, reducing the amount of time spent in the initial fortification and defense of their single planet.

-The amount of starting knowledge has been increased to 10,000 per player from 1,000.  This lets players further customize their civilizations right from the start, and with all the many added techs that have been added to the game, this also lets them experience a bit more per game.  Plus, for some of the really expensive techs (like Fortresses), this provides an easier way to get access to those without players necessarily feeling like they are waiting too long between tech upgrades.  Think of this like picking starting abilities for a character in a western-style PC RPG.

-These additions of metal, knowledge, and crystal are retroactively applied to existing savegames.

-The attack range of fortresses has been quadrupled, their shield rating has been halved, their health has been increased by 2 million, and they now have a min hit percent chance of 80%.  They

[darke]

-The attack range of fortresses has been quadrupled, their shield rating has been halved, their health has been increased by 2 million, and they now have a min hit percent chance of 80%.  They

First thought: "Le Crap. I wasn't wanting them bumped up to being that hard!", then I notice it's cut off:

The attack range of fortresses has been quadrupled, their shield rating has been halved, their health has been increased by 2 million, and they now have a min hit percent chance of 80%.  They now also have a 90% attack penalty against bombers, in addition to space tanks.

*phew*

[x4000]

They may need to be bumped up even more, actually.  Around 30 Mark III bombers just cut through one like cheese in the game I'm playing now.

[Pandemic]

Well, that's unfortunate. I was looking forward to then being a little less of a hassle .


-Pandemic

[x4000]

Well, with bombers they are still not bad, with a penalty like that.

[Revenantus]

The amount of starting crystal and metal updated to 20,000 each for players (up from 10,000 and 5,000 respectively), to help rebalance the start of the game since the AI is now so much more fearsome at the start.  This also helps to give players a faster start, reducing the amount of time spent in the initial fortification and defense of their single planet.

Good idea.

-The amount of starting knowledge has been increased to 10,000 per player from 1,000.  This lets players further customize their civilizations right from the start, and with all the many added techs that have been added to the game, this also lets them experience a bit more per game.  Plus, for some of the really expensive techs (like Fortresses), this provides an easier way to get access to those without players necessarily feeling like they are waiting too long between tech upgrades.  Think of this like picking starting abilities for a character in a western-style PC RPG.

Woah, 10,000!? That seems like a huge amount to start with, it'll certainly have a significant effect on the early game dynamic - could be interesting.

[darke]

Started another pair of AI10's game to do some random testing now that the bugs I was struggling against were fixed... so of course I tripped over the 1996 bug again after draining my start world of knowledge. And one of my two adjacent worlds has a Fortress on it, so I guess it's time to crank out the bombers.

On another note: I generated a few games with a pair of AI Turtles, and then with a pair of AI Fortress-Master-thingies. The AI Turtles worlds had a few Fortresses scattered around in my start area, but the AI Fortress guys had no Fortresses, and less Superfortresses then the Turtle worlds have fortresses.

[eRe4s3r]

10k is really not that much - 1 defense 1 ship and 1 thing else (more ship?)

Or 3 defenses, or better shield right from the start...

It allows more custom game play at the start, i like it Also now you have a chance to survive when you have an unlucky start next to IV worlds

Ehm (random) there is a spelling error in the Tooltip of the Missile Silo It says "nulkes" are for advanced players.

[Revenantus]

10k is really not that much - 1 defense 1 ship and 1 thing else (more ship?)

Or 3 defenses, or better shield right from the start...

It allows more custom game play at the start, i like it Also now you have a chance to survive when you have an unlucky start next to IV worlds

I agree that it definitely increases the number of strategic possibilities in the early game. I use the word, 'huge', not in relation to the general availability of Knowledge throughout the course of the game, however the initial amount of Knowledge granted to the player has been increased by a factor of 10 - this is a big deal early on.

After playing a few games it'll be interesting to learn about players' preferred, 'Starting Techs'. Obviously they won't be the same every time, but I expect there'll be some general patterns/guidelines nonetheless.

[eRe4s3r]

Actually I'd be curious to hear what your favorite starting techs are with 10k .. i still don't seem to have understood this entirely... - I can't really tell when defense tech are worthwhile or if a fortress is really worth the price (of knowledge) which is 2 ships (mk2/mk3) and Advanced Sensor tech...

[Revenantus]

Actually I'd be curious to hear what your favorite starting techs are with 10k .. i still don't seem to have understood this entirely... - I can't really tell when defense tech are worthwhile or if a fortress is really worth the price (of knowledge) which is 2 ships (mk2/mk3) and Advanced Sensor tech...

Defensive turret technologies are unlikely to be a wise investment right at the beginning of the game. They tend to become more desirable as the game progresses and you have more territory to defend. You'll know precisely when you reach the point that you need them in that you simply won't have enough turrets/firepower to adequately blockade wormholes / defend Command Stations.

The main benefit of investing in turrets is that you get considerably more firepower for their resource costs than you do with mobile military ships. The obvious downside is that they don't have engines and therefore can't participate in assaults, except perhaps in the formation of beach heads - For this reason you generally shouldn't invest in turrets unless you actually require them for defense. Ships are much more versatile.

I usually unlock the MkII Short Range and MLRS turrets in a game, more rarely do I reach the point where I require Tech III turrets but it certainly happens. An alternative to investing in more turrets is to station some of your weaker ships near wormholes. Cruiser Is make particularly good sentries, just make sure that you have tractor beam turrets at the wormholes to prevent the AI ships from reaching the cruisers.

As for fortresses, well, you can essentially think of them as just really beefy turrets, though of special consideration are the facts that they counter negative energy and can't be repaired. I have personally never unlocked fortresses due to their immense knowledge costs, though with their new strength increases I may have to reevaluate that policy.

In conclusion, some general guidelines are;

 - Preferentially invest in technologies that increase your ability to attack the AI.
 - Invest in defensive technologies ONLY as required.

EDIT: If you do by chance use the Unit Types and Tactics page of the wiki as a reference, I'll point out that my policy is to keep it up to date with the latest actual releases. Prerelease changes, such as the newly improved Fortresses, aren't included.

[x4000]

so of course I tripped over the 1996 bug again after draining my start world of knowledge.

Still on my short-term list.   Hopefully I'll get to that this week.

On another note: I generated a few games with a pair of AI Turtles, and then with a pair of AI Fortress-Master-thingies. The AI Turtles worlds had a few Fortresses scattered around in my start area, but the AI Fortress guys had no Fortresses, and less Superfortresses then the Turtle worlds have fortresses.

Currently, the fortress barons just get lots more of superfortresses, not fortresses.  I already added this to my list, too -- you mentioned it before.

[x4000]

10k is really not that much - 1 defense 1 ship and 1 thing else (more ship?)

Or 3 defenses, or better shield right from the start...

It allows more custom game play at the start, i like it Also now you have a chance to survive when you have an unlucky start next to IV worlds

Yep, that' s all part of the idea.  Glad you like it.

Ehm (random) there is a spelling error in the Tooltip of the Missile Silo It says "nulkes" are for advanced players.

Fixed it, thanks.  Man, that one has been there for more than a month.

[x4000]

I agree that it definitely increases the number of strategic possibilities in the early game. I use the word, 'huge', not in relation to the general availability of Knowledge throughout the course of the game, however the initial amount of Knowledge granted to the player has been increased by a factor of 10 - this is a big deal early on.

After playing a few games it'll be interesting to learn about players' preferred, 'Starting Techs'. Obviously they won't be the same every time, but I expect there'll be some general patterns/guidelines nonetheless.

Yeah, I know just what you mean, too.  I think that this will let people basically fall into different "civs" that they prefer.  For example, econ is hugely important to me even above having extra military hardware.  So I'm always likely to go Command Station II right at the start (same as I always go French in AoEIII).  Then I have a choice of some turrets, or Mark II somethings right from the start, or whatever.

Other people might go for the Fort right from the start, when they otherwise would not (my dad likes these, so I think he will).  In multiplayer games in partifular, somebody might get all the way to Mark III scouts at the start to really get better scouting early.  Unlocking Mark III of any one class is now possible right from the start with this, which means that players can field something ion-cannon-immune immediately, resources permitting, if they invest most of their starting knowledge in that.  Or they can get turrets or mobile repair stations right from the start if they do that.

I think that people will fall into a dozen or so different "civ styles" with this, with minor variances, but it will also be interesting to see how this changes and evolves as more and more techs are added to the game.  The DLC and expansions items probably more than triple the number of techs available, so a year or two from now you could be seeing even more huge of a variance in what people might do -- kind of like how most RTS games add more civs in their expansions, I feel like.

The example that most came to mind for me with this was Fallout 3, although Neverwinter Nights also fits.  Just how you tend to get to customize the skill points of your character at the start, and then you get a couple of starting feats or whatever right at the start also.

[x4000]

Defensive turret technologies are unlikely to be a wise investment right at the beginning of the game. They tend to become more desirable as the game progresses and you have more territory to defend. You'll know precisely when you reach the point that you need them in that you simply won't have enough turrets/firepower to adequately blockade wormholes / defend Command Stations.

The main benefit of investing in turrets is that you get considerably more firepower for their resource costs than you do with mobile military ships. The obvious downside is that they don't have engines and therefore can't participate in assaults, except perhaps in the formation of beach heads - For this reason you generally shouldn't invest in turrets unless you actually require them for defense. Ships are much more versatile.

I tend to actually go for Mark II short range turrets earlier than a lot of people, I think.  Usually not until I've captured maybe 8 or so planets, but now that there is a 10k starting bonus I think I will often get them sooner than later.  They really pack more of a punch for less cost, as you say, and this frees up more of my fleet/resources for offense.  But this isn't such and obvious thing that even I will always do it, it will most likely depend on how much I'm being attacked right at the start.

I usually unlock the MkII Short Range and MLRS turrets in a game, more rarely do I reach the point where I require Tech III turrets but it certainly happens. An alternative to investing in more turrets is to station some of your weaker ships near wormholes. Cruiser Is make particularly good sentries, just make sure that you have tractor beam turrets at the wormholes to prevent the AI ships from reaching the cruisers.

I tend to keep my cruiser Is in my main fleets since they have such a long range and thus also tend to be so good in combat in general.  I also tend to go Mark II and III of the short range turret, then maybe the missile turret (which has been really buffed in the last month, if you didn't try them more recently).  That would usually be all of my turret unlocks over the course of a game. But it's more personal preference than anything else, that just fits my playstyle most.  And in some games I certainly need counter-whatever turrets or something else.  Or, if I have teleporting battle stations or teleporting raiders or snipers, I might unlock fewer turrets in general since they can protect whole worlds more easily.

As for fortresses, well, you can essentially think of them as just really beefy turrets, though of special consideration are the facts that they counter negative energy and can't be repaired. I have personally never unlocked fortresses due to their immense knowledge costs, though with their new strength increases I may have to reevaluate that policy.

Also, all of those non-repairable units like forts and forcefields have auto-regen as of a couple of releases ago, by the way.  So it will heal back to full health in about 3 hours if it is fully damaged, or faster if it is less damaged.

In conclusion, some general guidelines are;

 - Preferentially invest in technologies that increase your ability to attack the AI.
 - Invest in defensive technologies ONLY as required.

I pretty much follow those, myself, even though I'm a bit turtleish at times (I attack the AI early and often, but I also like to know that my personal defenses are really solid while I do so, which is why I'm say "a bit").  I think these are good general guidelines, and people with turtle tendencies will feel like defensive techs are required faster than other players.

EDIT: If you do by chance use the Unit Types and Tactics page of the wiki as a reference, I'll point out that my policy is to keep it up to date with the latest actual releases. Prerelease changes, such as the newly improved Fortresses, aren't included.

I think that's a great policy.  Otherwise that thing will be changing way too much.