ItachiHenshi

Join Date 02/2006

Problems I have with this game

This game just isn't fun.

I think this game is a great concept, but there are several things which, in my opinion, make it no fun.

1) Enemy AI seriously overestimates the strength of your capital ships. If I take all the capital ships it is possible to produce, the enemy will run away every time. They will leave their planets, even if their fleet seriously outnumbers mine. They will run and not stop running until I have taken every single planet they own except the last. Once they are down to their last planet they will actually fight. They actually do put up a good fight too, so I know they could have taken down my fleet at any point, but they never did. This is a problem with all AI difficulty levels.

2) The AI never builds any defences. Actually, the only time I have ever seen any defenses is around the AI's homeworld. Even then, it is maybe one or two things. Even hard dificulty level AIs will not defend their planets. Combine this with the above, and taking an entire empire's planets is trivially easy.

3) The "hard" AI is pathetically easy. I played a huge random map against all hard AI players, and never allied with anyone. The AI did not capture a single one of my planets.

4) Make the upkeep costs scale. If I have researched the highest level of fleet capacity, I always suffer the 75% upkeep penalty, even if I have 1 ship. Just because I can support that many ships doesn't mean I am supporting that many ships. Each level of fleet capacity should apply it's upkeep costs only if you have that many ships. For example, if I research the first level, it only takes effect once I build a ship that puts my logistics over 100.

Fix these problems and it may just be a good game. As it stands now, it is no fun at all to play.

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Hi Itachi,

Thanks for your post.

-Can you post a screenshot or detailed description of the units when this happens? The AI is only supposed to run when the player is clearly stronger.
-Try playing with different AI personalities - particularily the defensive one. Also try to take on serveral AI teamed up.
-The AI will be improving over time and we get detailed suggestions of people's encouters with them.

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Gauntlet03

Join Date 01/2004

+139

my only real disagreement is #4.

Right now upkeep is perfect: it doesn't represent how many ships you support... it represents how many ships your empire is equipped to support... Just because you have 1 ship doesn't mean your empire isn't paying to keep fueling stations open to equip a 1000 ships (which you told them to be prepared for!)

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#3..... ummmmm I'm gonna need some proof on this one good sir. Maybe you could send me the saved videos of this because if it's tru I'll walk around in a pink dress on campus.

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I think this game is a great concept, but there are several things which, in my opinion, make it no fun.

1) Enemy AI seriously overestimates the strength of your capital ships.

No, you underestimate the strength of yours. A full set of 5 levelled Vasari capital ships can brutally cripple three mixed fleets through focus-firing (Makes for some fun play around Gateway too)

2) The AI never builds any defences. Actually, the only time I have ever seen any defenses is around the AI's homeworld. Even then, it is maybe one or two things. Even hard dificulty level AIs will not defend their planets. Combine this with the above, and taking an entire empire's planets is trivially easy.

The defenses wouldn't help, look around the forum at the discussion going on about defense.

3) The "hard" AI is pathetically easy. I played a huge random map against all hard AI players, and never allied with anyone. The AI did not capture a single one of my planets.

Ok, and? You got lucky?

Fix these problems and it may just be a good game. As it stands now, it is no fun at all to play.

Have you thought about multiplayer? And somehow I just don't think upkeep-scaling is a dealbreaker on a game, I think you're just being dramatic. Get in line.

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4) Make the upkeep costs scale. If I have researched the highest level of fleet capacity, I always suffer the 75% upkeep penalty, even if I have 1 ship. Just because I can support that many ships doesn't mean I am supporting that many ships. Each level of fleet capacity should apply it's upkeep costs only if you have that many ships. For example, if I research the first level, it only takes effect once I build a ship that puts my logistics over 100.

I believe the reason for this is to discourage you from making a huge rush in the beginning, if you fail, your economy will be broken for a long time.

(Personally, I'd prefer a system where your upkeep goes up instantly, but if you're not using it, the upkeep % falls by 1 every 2 minutes until it gets to where you are, so it accomplishes the same thing, but is a little friendlier)

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I think that's too friendly. The game is assumin that your empire has reached the limit of military growth before leveling in fleet capacity. Sure you may not need to have the capacity for a bagillion ships now, so why did you expand? If you expand the game assumes you need the ships to permanently solidify your defenses and carry out your offensive. In a 1vs1 if you reach the point where the upkeep really isnt needed then you're jsut about done with the game. In MP maps I don't think you can ever have too many ships. I always feel that if I'm not constantly expanding a nd supporting my empire with my fleet that I will get wrecked by the AI.

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Right now upkeep is perfect: it doesn't represent how many ships you support... it represents how many ships your empire is equipped to support... Just because you have 1 ship doesn't mean your empire isn't paying to keep fueling stations open to equip a 1000 ships (which you told them to be prepared for!)

If we're going to play the realism card, then why would these facilities be soaking up the same amount of resources whether they were being used or not? Using expendable fuel surely doesn't cost exactly the same amount as not using any at all?

Moreover, shouldn't the player be allowed to essentially take back that research by, say, mothballing those facilities?

I can understand 'some' costs being incurred by advancing your logistics but I agree that taking a unrecoverable 75% hit to your economy (whether you actually have ships or not) doesn't make much sense.

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The AI kicks my a$$ even on normal. I do not think its "pathetically easy", but I've only played three games. I don't think anybody could do better in creating a game like this...

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