The new Hybrids

[TechSY730]

Ah, so there is a separate ship type for Super Hybrids. Good to know you didn't hard-code the "hybrid patrol, annoy, and other stuff" commands to only work with a single ship type.
I'm assuming they are beefier, stronger, and can take more stuff from the hybrid modules than normal hybrids.
Also, as mentioned, they are currently the only ones allowed to spawn "constructors" for buildings.

I'm going to have to load up my game, check the reference pages, and see just how much stronger they are.

[Mánagarmr]

As for the "Rebuild Command Stations" (and possibly guard posts?), didn't we decide WAAAAAAY back that the Hybrids would spawn an "AIP-less" type station when they did their recolonization mission in order to prevent an AIP race? Basically any station that is rebuilt is worth 0 AIP, as are Warp gates that are rebuilt.

[Mánagarmr]

Heck, you could probably even call them "Rebuilt Command Station" or "Rebuilt Warp Gate" to separate them from normal structures.

[keith.lamothe]

As for the "Rebuild Command Stations" (and possibly guard posts?), didn't we decide WAAAAAAY back that the Hybrids would spawn an "AIP-less" type station when they did their recolonization mission in order to prevent an AIP race? Basically any station that is rebuilt is worth 0 AIP, as are Warp gates that are rebuilt.

Yes, that is one of the ideas we had.  Might still do that, but it'd be one of the lower key things.

[Shrugging Khan]

If that happens, then I suggest you also make Buildings the AI buys from the Zenith traders the AIP-less kind.

[Mánagarmr]

If that happens, then I suggest you also make Buildings the AI buys from the Zenith traders the AIP-less kind.

Aren't they already? Except for the capturables. Making those AIP-less would likely be a bit OP. (ZEP, for instance)

[Shrugging Khan]

Why does the AI buy ZEPs in the first place? 

[Wanderer]

Okay, I've been trying a few games out with Advanced Hybrids x2 out.  I gave up on 9/9 for this for the moment and went down to 7/7.  I'm still getting maps like this:



The Red dots are Tech IV worlds.  The Yellow Tech IIIs.  On a 7/7 map (Assassin/Bully, for giggles).

In case your wondering, yes, raid fighting with T I/II against that gets rather interesting (and I use the term loosely), but that's not exactly my concern.   Can someone else check out their seeds and see if they're getting an overabundance of Mk III/IV worlds with Advanced Hybrids on?

[Wanderer]

Disregard the above, it's not due to Hybrids, advanced or not.  It's also not due to AI type, either, just tried with 'easy' ones on a few different seeds.  It appears I'm either having bad luck or seeding of Mk III/IV worlds changed.

If you'd like an example of what I'm talking about, try seed 134173947 (Simple).  Grab the Mirror world.  You'll have a couple of Mk IV barrier worlds to your immediate right, another one trying to get into the south, and a chain of IIIs and IVs to your west.

But, again, this has nothing to do with Hybrids, sorry about chasing a Red Herring.  I'm not used to seeing this many Mk III/IV worlds though, particularly in 7/7.

[keith.lamothe]

Yea, the procedural generation leads to a pretty wide variety of III/IV density near your homeworld.  It's pretty random and has nothing whatsoever to do with how badly a player has recently beaten the AI on 10/10.

[Wanderer]

Yea, the procedural generation leads to a pretty wide variety of III/IV density near your homeworld.  It's pretty random and has nothing whatsoever to do with how badly a player has recently beaten the AI on 10/10.

LOL, nah.  I had wondered if the Hybrids were pushing the planets up, since the majority of constructors and the like seem to spawn on MK IVs.  Though, that'd be funny if the AI remembered that...   

[keith.lamothe]

Every mkIV world gets a hybrid spawner, and the drone-spawner/equipment-module-factory/construction-module-factory things take their mark level from the planet, and it also has a chance of spawning one mark lower, I think.  I may have it always spawn just the one mark because the planetary summary listing for that category tends to get mighty crowded.

[TechSY730]

Yea, the procedural generation leads to a pretty wide variety of III/IV density near your homeworld.  It's pretty random and has nothing whatsoever to do with how badly a player has recently beaten the AI on 10/10.

Hey, here's a dead horse, let's beat it up!


Any thoughts about restricting the density of high mark levels in a cluster on lower difficulties (like <=8), in addition to restricting the total number of high mark level planets like it does currently?

Of course, defining "acceptable local density" can be tricky. Like, at least how many planets are needed to be considered a cluster? How well connected must a sub-set planets to be considered a cluster? Should a line of planets be considered a cluster? Things like that are not so easy graph questions. (I don't think it's NP hard like the clique problem is, because this is a loosened version of the problem. Strict total connectedness in the subset is not required, only "decently" well connected)

[keith.lamothe]

Hey, here's a dead horse, let's beat it up!

Maybe one of the new Hybrid tricks should be planting a dead horse in player space and then ambushing the home command station while all the humans debate it endlessly

On high mark density, the inner workings of the mapgen that determine the planet mark levels were there long before I started, and have been unchanged since that point at least.  I doubt they're changing

[Silver]

Make it a massive horse with millions of Hp and give the player the ability to attack it while still in construction!