Zenith Devourer causing CPAs?

[Kahuna]

I'm pretty sure every time the Devourer goes on an AI Core planet and stays there for a while the AI launches a CPA. Devourer causes the Core planets to be alerted ---> boom 18k ship CPA. The Devourer has been hanging close to the core planets for quite a while now and every time it visits the home planet I get a CPA.

Now I'm not sure but I thought CPAs are supposed to happen every few hours or something.. I get them like every 30 minutes or something.

Thanks for alerting the core planets cookie monster.. I might have to start a new game because of your.

[KDR_11k]

Quite uncharacteristic of the cookie monster to share cookies with you.

[Kahuna]

Quite uncharacteristic of the cookie monster to share cookies with you.

Well.. the cookies are running away from the cookie monster. They would rather die than be eaten so they attack me.

[Varone]

I'm pretty sure every time the Devourer goes on an AI Core planet and stays there for a while the AI launches a CPA. Devourer causes the Core planets to be alerted ---> boom 18k ship CPA. The Devourer has been hanging close to the core planets for quite a while now and every time it visits the home planet I get a CPA.

Now I'm not sure but I thought CPAs are supposed to happen every few hours or something.. I get them like every 30 minutes or something.

Thanks for alerting the core planets cookie monster.. I might have to start a new game because of your.

Is it triggering a core CPA post? Post a save perhaps.

[Kahuna]

I'm pretty sure every time the Devourer goes on an AI Core planet and stays there for a while the AI launches a CPA. Devourer causes the Core planets to be alerted ---> boom 18k ship CPA. The Devourer has been hanging close to the core planets for quite a while now and every time it visits the home planet I get a CPA.

Now I'm not sure but I thought CPAs are supposed to happen every few hours or something.. I get them like every 30 minutes or something.

Thanks for alerting the core planets cookie monster.. I might have to start a new game because of your.

Is it triggering a core CPA post? Post a save perhaps.

Nah. Only human ships trigger those. I think Devourer makes CPAs happen more often because it alerts all planets around it so there will be more AI ships in the galaxy than without Devourer.

And LOL.. now there's ~13k threat chilling out around the galaxy. Half of it next to my planets. And they refuse to attack so I'm stuck on my planets. Was gonna attack the AI Homeworlds but NNnope.. "we're just gonna sit next to your planets with thumbs up in our asses and not attack you".. frakking toasters..... -_____________- I thought CPA stands for Cross Planetary ATTACK

[Wingflier]

Hrm, I thought CPAs happened when the AI had enough reserve forces mustered up that it wanted to bleed some of them off.  From what I understand, how many planets are on alert does not change the amount of reinforcements the AI gets, which is a set number based on your AIP.

[LaughingThesaurus]

I'm pretty sure every time the Devourer goes on an AI Core planet and stays there for a while the AI launches a CPA. Devourer causes the Core planets to be alerted ---> boom 18k ship CPA. The Devourer has been hanging close to the core planets for quite a while now and every time it visits the home planet I get a CPA.

Now I'm not sure but I thought CPAs are supposed to happen every few hours or something.. I get them like every 30 minutes or something.

Thanks for alerting the core planets cookie monster.. I might have to start a new game because of your.

Is it triggering a core CPA post? Post a save perhaps.

Nah. Only human ships trigger those. I think Devourer makes CPAs happen more often because it alerts all planets around it so there will be more AI ships in the galaxy than without Devourer.

And LOL.. now there's ~13k threat chilling out around the galaxy. Half of it next to my planets. And they refuse to attack so I'm stuck on my planets. Was gonna attack the AI Homeworlds but NNnope.. "we're just gonna sit next to your planets with thumbs up in our asses and not attack you".. frakking toasters..... -_____________- I thought CPA stands for Cross Planetary ATTACK

Could also mean Cross Planetary Annoyance.

[Bognor]

From what I understand, how many planets are on alert does not change the amount of reinforcements the AI gets, which is a set number based on your AIP.

AIP and number of non-AI planets.

But if the Devourer is causing reinforcements at planets that have not been neutered instead of planets that have, I could imagine it also increasing the total number of AI ships arriving through reinforcements.

[Wingflier]

Interesting, I always thought of the AI Reinforcement protocol as a game of Risk, where the AI is given a limited number of reinforcements based on the game difficulty and AIP.  I only thought putting a planet on alert meant that you were causing it to spread out its reinforcements more...I didn't realize it got MORE reinforcements per planet on alert.

[Hearteater]

Neutering planets actually increases the total number of ships it receives.

[KDR_11k]

Planetary caps also play into it. Planets that are on your territory border and thus on constant alert will reach their unit caps and won't take further reinforcements but something far behind enemy lines being alerted by the Devourer is still a good way away from its cap.

[Philo]

Neutering planets actually increases the total number of ships it receives.

They do? I was under the impression that every guard post destroyed meant less reinforcements for the AI, given that AI progress stays the same.

[Toranth]

Neutering planets actually increases the total number of ships it receives.

A little more complicated than that.  Wormhole Guard Posts count, and if I remember correctly, the 'best' point is at 11 reinforcement locations in a system (Actually, it's AIP/10, but caps at 11).  Since Wormhole Guard Posts are placed at wormholes, the base locations count after neutering is the number of wormholes.  Defensive AI types get +1 Wormhole Guardpost per wormhole, and higher difficulties get +1 (or more?) Wormhold Guard Posts per wormholes.

So a system with 6 wormholes, owned by a Turtle AI set at diff 9, will have 3 Wormhole GPs per wormhole, for a total of 18 Guardposts even after the system is neutered.

On top of that, killing non-Wormhole Guard Posts has the effect of lowering the planet's population cap.  Planets at the pop cap get no/fewer reinforcements. Cap is (Guardposts + 1) * 100(200 min, 700 max).

See this thread (and post, specifically) for more details:

http://www.arcengames.com/forums/index.php/topic,10047.msg97601.html#msg97601

[LaughingThesaurus]

You can just kill those guard posts though if you're patient enough.

...is that still viable on higher difficulties?

[Soyweiser]

And LOL.. now there's ~13k threat chilling out around the galaxy. Half of it next to my planets. And they refuse to attack so I'm stuck on my planets. Was gonna attack the AI Homeworlds but NNnope.. "we're just gonna sit next to your planets with thumbs up in our asses and not attack you".. frakking toasters..... -_____________- I thought CPA stands for Cross Planetary ATTACK

You can try moving all your defensive ships back to one of planets next to the one they are threatening? That usually convinces them to attack my planets. (As the defensive power is then reduced. The AI considers the threat to be high enough to kill the planet).