Why i don't play AI war anymore

[Ozymandiaz]

I'm sure when this game hits the Apple platform and eventually gets more support on Linux through Wine there will be plenty of people to replace anyone who gets burned out. Also seeing how fast this game gets updated those who do get burned out will come back shortly for new updates. Thats the great thing about a game that is constantly evolving.

Hehe, believe me, the game is totally different from the version 2 was it in January (when I joined)?

[vonduus]

I'm sure when this game hits the Apple platform and eventually gets more support on Linux through Wine there will be plenty of people to replace anyone who gets burned out. Also seeing how fast this game gets updated those who do get burned out will come back shortly for new updates. Thats the great thing about a game that is constantly evolving.

Hehe, believe me, the game is totally different from the version 2 was it in January (when I joined)?

Hehe, I joined about same time, even back then some people were burned out and posted nostalgic rants about how fantastic version 0.71 was and how everything had changed .

Welcome to the forums, Dpanr!

[soMe_RandoM]

Part of it's the ranges and speeds; it takes all of a couple of minutes to crush a planet, when it really feels like it should take longer. Combined with my available forces, i can just stomp post after post and easily finish off a planet quickly.

u can do that even quicker if u turn AI modifier on with nuclear command and all you then need to do is take out the command station and all guard post are gone. and it solve your fleet in steam rolling one planet after another since you don't have one anymore.

[soMe_RandoM]

Yea, turning off wave warnings.

yea i do that already with all my games it makes me have to consistently look at the threat meter and it forces all my defenses to be at my home planet (spider turrets) + core ion cannon and rest of my fleet to zoom across galaxy to protect other planets

2. Not really, they sounded really hard (in a passive way) and i don't care for really hard

hard = you have to try again
try again = you have failed
failed = you play it differently
i love ai modifier
not trying to be mean if that what ur thinking I'm trying to be D:

[RCIX]

Sorry for not replying, i just picked up Minecraft this saturday and it sucked me in (among other things)

And, actually, I think I'm pretty similar in the "don't care for really hard"; in my own gaming I want interesting challenges, not necessarily overwhelming ones.  AI War can fairly easily provide an overwhelming challenge on the right settings, and that's good for folks who like that kind of thing, but that's not what I (or you) want.

this hits the nail on the head. In the situations I've seen, the AI is too predictable and either doesn't surprise me enough or it ninja raids me and I get slammed. I understand, however, that there are options that might fix this, so I'll try those if I get time.

All I'll say is this: wait until I've fully had my say with 4.0.

There's some seriously cool stuff coming which will make things more varied and interesting, I think -- and which will penalized blobbing in a few ways.  So far, already the counter-attack guard posts present a partial blobbing penalty, but that's not everything I want to do with it.  I think that the end result is going to feel very, very different.

This is great to hear!

the regenerative properties of AI worlds mean fighting upon them to any effect except complete eradication is usually needless,

It is perhaps usually needless now, but one of the points behind the guard posts is to give optional (sometimes mandatory) sub-goals that can be accomplished short of the "take the whole planet", and materially improve your situation on that planet for future attempts to take or traverse it.  But I'm guessing that in your experience the "texture" provided by said guard posts is more like pebbles on a gravel road than boulders on a mountain path?

Pretty much. If you attack an AI world, they act like you sliced off a limb and start pumping tons of reinforcements into it, which more than compensates for any damages you did to their max capacity. a tiered alert system would do wonders

[Shardz]

I consider myself to be a hardcore gamer - and a relatively old one at that. You won't see or hear me doing the 'fanboy' thing simply because I like one element in a game or perhaps even the image of the company in question. My hard drive is chock full of games of almost every genre to suit whatever mood I'm in at the time. I do, however, have a generalized list of unwanted features that scare me away from purchasing a title and the amount of games this list covers is growing with new trends that I don't care for at all.

** Online-based copy protection (Steam, Ubisoft, etc. - see below before getting upset)

** Uni-tasker games which aren't replayable

** Movie-based titles

** Subscription-based titles

** Endless Micro-Transaction games

** Botched sequels of great games

** Console-based PC ports

** Dumbed-down PC versions (eg: Console-friendly sequels)

** Non-existent customer support

** Evasive copy protection schemes (Starforce, etc.)

** No user-definable qualities (editors, options, settings, etc)


Now, I know what you are thinking and I've been told this at least 100 times by Steamfolk; "Then you aren't a hardcore gamer!". My response is that I've been gaming on the PC exclusively since 1990 or so and I have played literally thousands of games in my time and won't fall for every gimmick that is devised for the public. Even in this day and age when the above criteria stifles about 90% of the PC gaming market for me, there are still tons of games made today that make the permanent migration to my hard drive. Unfortunately, most of the big corporate blockbuster companies generally just don't get it because they are corporate entities at this stage and are out for blood and money (Bobby Kotlick of Activision anyone?).

This brings me to AI War. I might not play it every night...or maybe even every week, but I always keep coming back to it because I know it will challenge me and the content is ever-changing. It meets my personal criteria above (yes, there is a non-Steam version) and is one of those gems that will permanently remain on my system - long after Windows 7 dries up and blows away in the wind. I believe that while I have about 60 games on my system, I balance them to suit my needs to keep me interested. Too much of anything is not good and moderation is the key for me, but one thing definitely rings true - AI War has reached the Hall of Game Fame in my book and will remain with me for a long time.

On top of it defying all of the above I listed, I note the following features:

* Scalability of size
* Scalability of difficulty
* No-nonsense multiplayer
* Modest system resources
* Intense strategy and tactics
* Massive scope of command
* Emergent & cunning AI
* Community interaction
* Growing database of content
* Extremely fun and engaging
* Modest price range

All that to me is the real deal. This is what I whip out my debit card for and hope other game companies are listening. I'm not one of those bandwagon types, but it's really hard to go wrong with this product no matter how you look at it. If any case of boredom does seep into your experience, I would definitely look into a more well-rounded gaming cycle and then revisit when the mood strikes.


P.S. I actually bought Tyrian when it came out. 

[Mánagarmr]

I'm with Shardz. I certainly won't class as an "old" gamer by any stretch (29 isn't old is it?), but I've been gaming since the age of five, starting with an Atari, then C64, through Amiga, NES and up to PC and never left.

What he looks for in games is pretty much my list as well, and AI:War fits it like a glove. I might not play it much, but it's always there, sitting on my favourite list. A game I keep coming back to over and over again, while most other games come and go. Some (Crysis) faster than others (Mass Effect).

I'm always very sceptic towards any kind of DRM that impairs my user experience (UBisoft is a terrible thing). However, Steam is far too convenient for me to complain about. It gives me games at the click of my mouse and all horrible DRM solutions (Starforce for instance) are removed from these games and use Steams DRM (which, tbh, I've never neither seen nor had problems with). So while I understand the reluctance against Steam, I have to admit that I was positively surprised at how well it has worked.

And even if Steam is down, you can login to offline mode and play anyway. Try to do that with UBIsofts demonizing system.

Wow, this turned out to be one giant "Don't touch my Steam!!!" post. Did not intend for it to be. It was simply a way of saying that "Even if a game isn't AAA and you play it 24/7, it can still be a game that will never fade and you keep coming back. You love it, even though you aren't playing all the time.

[Winter Born]

I never listen to the same song, or watch the same movie, read the same book, or play the same game over and over. But my favorites (which change from time to time) I do keep around and return to when the mood strikes. Might be time to train some bile demons and warlocks in DK2.

[Mánagarmr]

I so wish I could get DKII to work Been trying several times to make DKII work in Win 7 64bit, but no go. I either get no graphics at all (all black) or the game constantly crashes.

[Winter Born]

I so wish I could get DKII to work Been trying several times to make DKII work in Win 7 64bit, but no go. I either get no graphics at all (all black) or the game constantly crashes.

I keep an old desktop running XP around just for some of my older games


wikipedia has some things to try

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dungeon_Keeper_2


hope that helps

[lanstro]

Wish they'd gone ahead with DK3, great series.

[keith.lamothe]

DK was one of my favorites, though I don't care for the evil-is-good thing.  But one day I really hope to make a game with similar gameplay.

[Winter Born]

DK was one of my favorites, though I don't care for the evil-is-good thing.  But one day I really hope to make a game with similar gameplay.

Hmmmm      A future Arcen title perhaps?

[keith.lamothe]

That's more up to Chris than me.  Oh, and finances, you know

[Winter Born]

of course, maybe in 2012 after the other titles are released