What's coming for spirecraft and golem balance.

[x4000]

It's not going to alter the core difficulty of the AI in any way.  But new kinds of waves and AI events will present themselves that will cause new challenges.  I haven't decided on all the exact specifics yet (usually that shakes out in implementation), but things like periodic attacks by roving opposing golems, etc, would certainly make an appearance.  Details to come soon, it will depend on what seems most fun and what I can code in a few hours; bear in mind that things like "a third AI faction" are like saying "just add a second knee in the left leg."  It could probably be done, but the risk of complications is high and it's of questionable value when you consider the purpose of the leg.

[CoyoteTheClever]

  Fair enough, admittedly when you explain it like that, the third AI idea sounds kind of silly, though I meant it to be like a kind of minor AI that specialized in means to deal with Golems and or Spirecraft. I like the idea of special waves and new events though, and really, that serves the same purpose my third AI idea would have but is obviously more elegant a solution, this is definitely a great way to make enabling golems and spirecraft feel like the game changer they should be. Can't wait!

[x4000]

Awesome!

[superking]

how will golems work with people who only have the zenith remenant? dosnt affect me, I'm just wondering

[x4000]

Well, the golem stuff is all only related to TZR, and the spirecraft stuff is only related to LotS.  If you have only one or the other, you'll see only the stuff related to whichever one you have.  If you have both, it will be more of a mix (if you enable both minor factions at once).  It's all compartmentalized.

So, really what this means is that our expansion from January is about to get some new features.

[snrub_guy]

Sounds fun, and I love the ideas of extra events and stuff. A Golem showing up in a wave occasionally sounds Fun.

[Oralordos]

I have to say that it sounds like you came up with a very good answer to the problem. Letting the player choose which of the three he wants is definitely a good idea. The Golomite AI will be getting harder soon I'll bet though.

Sounds fun, and I love the ideas of extra events and stuff. A Golem showing up in a wave occasionally sounds Fun.

Yes that definitely sounds DF Fun.

[keith.lamothe]

Yes that definitely sounds DF Fun.

No, that's when the AI storms you with massive Elephant Golem waves while you try to finish your Orbital Magma Cannon.

[Nemo]

Yes that definitely sounds DF Fun.

No, that's when the AI storms you with massive Elephant Golem waves while you try to finish your Orbital Magma Cannon.

I actually build those things now, lol, though the unit cap of 2 seems awfully small now that starships, guardians, AND golems will all arrive in some of these Spire event waves.

[LintMan]

So, if I understand what's being proposed:

The players can pick one of two Minor factions:

- "Easy" minor faction: Normal AI, score penalty, but most of the restrictions/penalties for using golems/spirecraft are removed.

- "Hard" minor faction: Beefed-up AI, no score penalty, "some" of the golem/spirecraft restrictions/penalties are removed.

So the next effect being that most of the previous restrictions/penalties will go away, with the choice then of a score penalty or a beefed up AI?  This sounds great to me; both factions are appealing.  Two thumbs up.

As for a "Medium" or "oldschool" option, which would presumably bring the old restrictions back, with the normal AI and no score penalty: Meh.  I can't see myself ever using that one.   It seems to me that this option would result in the same balance debates you have now in addition to new balance debates over the Hard faction.

[x4000]

LintMan, that summarizes it up well.  As for the middle tier, that's mostly just for those few players who were already happy with the idea of the way the ships worked at some point in the past (well, with restrictions in general, if not the current ones).  There aren't many of them, but rather than antagonizing them it's easier just to add a third minor faction that only they would use.  That one might also come with a minor score penalty, too, as it is likely to be a bit in the player's favor (just not so much so as the easier one).

[Wingflier]

X, I just want to thank you so much for your consideration. It's not often that a developer will go out of his way to appease only a small portion of his player base. I am truly baffled, thank you so much.

[x4000]

It's my pleasure.

[unclean]

I'm beating a dead horse here, but did you ever try angling Golems as short term but ultimately unfeasible superweapons? For example, making them fairly beastly but saddled with a decently high global wave multiplier and a very long repair time so that there'd really only be a short window of opportunity for them to wreak havoc?

[Ozymandiaz]

how will golems work with people who only have the zenith remenant? dosnt affect me, I'm just wondering

Perhaps wrong of me, but I auto-get any new installement to AI war and tend to think of it all as one game