Starting again - Whats new?

[zoutzakje]

I've noticed that the core shield generators are usually on planets you want to take anyways. Especially the A type generators. As for B, C, D and E types... you only need to destroy one of them to destroy that entire network. I always enjoy scouting around and trying to decide which of the CSG planets I like to take and which ones I can just forget about because it will destroy automatically anyways

[Phyrex]

You can always scrap bases with no AIP increase.  The only AIP increase is when you take the planet in the first place, just FYI.  That's true of everything except your home command station (and always was, though some folks had some confusion on it).

Cool! Ok then it's perfect and I will play with them on.
I could have sworn losing a command station would make you lose some (10) AIP though. Could it be that it was just one of those special kinds of command stations you could build in the early days? (Since I only build those anyway)

[Phyrex]

I've noticed that the core shield generators are usually on planets you want to take anyways. Especially the A type generators. As for B, C, D and E types... you only need to destroy one of them to destroy that entire network. I always enjoy scouting around and trying to decide which of the CSG planets I like to take and which ones I can just forget about because it will destroy automatically anyways

True). Even if you were 'forced' to keep it, you had at least the option to choose from a couple and pick the best one.

In a regular game, do these core shield generators determine which direction you will be going for most hours of the game or is it more like an afterthought in the end stages of the game before you assault the homeworld?

[x4000]

You can always scrap bases with no AIP increase.  The only AIP increase is when you take the planet in the first place, just FYI.  That's true of everything except your home command station (and always was, though some folks had some confusion on it).

Cool! Ok then it's perfect and I will play with them on.
I could have sworn losing a command station would make you lose some (10) AIP though. Could it be that it was just one of those special kinds of command stations you could build in the early days? (Since I only build those anyway)

Nope, but back in the day a lot of people were unclear on what the "AI Only" flag next to the 10 AIP meant.  It meant that only the AI-owned ones bumped AIP, but some people misinterpreted.  It was later split between AI and Human command stations, to be more clear.

[Phyrex]

Ah that makes sence, good explanation.
I'm glad my memory isn't that bad that I'm just making up complete random stuff. 

It's also good to know you can pick the special command research upgrades later on and replace older/other models without a penalty, or being forced to take the research early on.

I have to say that the game right now looks really matured and professional. Well done! How long do you think you'll keep working on this project? Even more expansions planned and such?

[x4000]

Thanks very much!  Yeah, it's really changed since back in the day, that's for sure.

I'm not sure how long we'll be working on this game, but we don't have any plans to stop in the forseeable future.  Initially I'd said five years, and now we're just coming up on the end of year two.  Last year AI War earned 400% more than it did the year before, and so far we've already earned more than we did in our first year in the first three months of this year. 

So the game is definitely gaining in popularity, and it's not like it's a money sink for us to work on it or something -- we both love doing it, and it's making money to support the company, so it's win-win all around.  We do plan to do another expansion very late this year, or it might get pushed into January if past experience is any guide, and I don't expect that one will be our last.

At the moment things are overall pretty quiet as we're tied up with AVWW stuff mostly, but there's still been some significant post-5.0 releases, and in this past week in particular I've been going through the bug lists a bunch and the player tweaks.  As with last year, when we're primarily on another project things slow down some, but then they ramp back up, too.

Anyway, long story short is that I don't know about five years total anymore -- it's looking like this might last longer than that, who knows!

[zoutzakje]

I've noticed that the core shield generators are usually on planets you want to take anyways. Especially the A type generators. As for B, C, D and E types... you only need to destroy one of them to destroy that entire network. I always enjoy scouting around and trying to decide which of the CSG planets I like to take and which ones I can just forget about because it will destroy automatically anyways

True). Even if you were 'forced' to keep it, you had at least the option to choose from a couple and pick the best one.

In a regular game, do these core shield generators determine which direction you will be going for most hours of the game or is it more like an afterthought in the end stages of the game before you assault the homeworld?

that depends on your playstyle really, I think. Some players like to focus on other stuff first and near the end game they remember "oh yeah, gotta take out those CSG's " . I once made the mistake of assaulting a homeworld while there was still 1 A type CSG that needed to be destroyed... Ever since I've been marking them as a high priority

[zebramatt]

I understand why one can't destroy CSGs until the planet has been captured... but why don't they just automatically blow up once your comm station's finished? Is there a reason you might want to hang on to them for a while...?

[x4000]

I understand why one can't destroy CSGs until the planet has been captured... but why don't they just automatically blow up once your comm station's finished? Is there a reason you might want to hang on to them for a while...?

It's so that you can't just  jump in with barely enough forces to get up the command station in some corner of the planet, then drop and run as soon as it's done.  You actually have to pretty much control the planet at least for a bit.

[Red Spot]

I like that
You can already do the 'place CC = profit!' with ARSs

[zebramatt]

I understand why one can't destroy CSGs until the planet has been captured... but why don't they just automatically blow up once your comm station's finished? Is there a reason you might want to hang on to them for a while...?

It's so that you can't just  jump in with barely enough forces to get up the command station in some corner of the planet, then drop and run as soon as it's done.  You actually have to pretty much control the planet at least for a bit.

Fair enough!

Can they become auto-targetable once the planet is under one's control, or is that too fiddly?

[x4000]

It's a bit fiddly -- also, a lot of players complain when high-health stuff is auto-targetable, because then they can't use FRD to repel invaders effectively.  This way you can have them ignore the big thing and defend the planet for a while, then go back to the big thing for a while, rinse repeat, etc.

[Nice Save]

On the subject of core shield generators...

Enabling CSGs on a snake map is a very bad idea. Nothing like realizing you have to go through an AI homeworld with enough force to take a planet on the other side.

[x4000]

Transports for the win, with that.

[Sunshine!]

On the subject of core shield generators...

Enabling CSGs on a snake map is a very bad idea. Nothing like realizing you have to go through an AI homeworld with enough force to take a planet on the other side.

There was one where the Core Shield Generator was ON the AI homeworld.  Had to bug report that one...