AI getting spire debris before I started to hack the first one?

[carldong]

I haven't played for a few months, and I opened a Super Easy mode Fallen Spire to test out some features. However, as I was just reaching my 3rd planet (which happened to be the one with the first spire relic), the AI "takes spire debris" from that exact planet. I tried not entering it, destroying command station, and even hacking the relic for myself. None stopped the AI from taking the spire debris and constructing a Spire Cruiser which I encountered later.

I thought FS campaign is not triggered before I actually captured anything?

[Ovalcircle]

1. Relics and Debris are not the same thing. A Relic is the unit you use to build Spire cities. A Debris is invisible, but can be hacked to gain it for yourself. I believe you get science for doing so and the benefit of another faction not capturing it. If you don't hack a Debris, it goes to another faction (you can see that in the notification for it).

2. Super Easy mode spawns Debris right away (or close to it). I'm assuming you didn't hack any, or only hacked 1. In that case, the AI "captures" the Spire debris and uses it to spawn a Spire unit.

[carldong]

I see. There isn't any notification about a Spire Debris until the AI captures the "0th" one

[carldong]

Tranceiver end!

Perhaps it's because of Super Easy mode on intensity 5, the AI is extremely ineffective at responding against the Imperial fleet... It summons one last exo wave, right before the Imperial fleet beats to the core world and has already cleaned up pretty much everywhere else. The exo wave has a dozen of dragons, though it's too late.

The AI had better response against my earlier Spire fleet with all those Phoenix, Poltergeist, Hunters and things. They even managed to bottle my fleet for a while mid-game, until I managed to bait them with a swarmer fleet (with MkIII engineers and 4 factories' support) and flanked those big things from three sides.

Yeah, guessing hunter fleet location is an art. And it is much easier to put up a beachhead or stations in the middle of nowhere as bait.

[BadgerBadger]

Super easy mode was originally a debug mode, which is why you get the early debris. The AI will respond very ineffectually to all Spire related things.

 It's intended as more of a sandbox thing, and should make the game extremely easy. Intensity 5 spire with "super easy mode" is easier than intensity 1 by a good margin, if I recall correctly.