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 AI War is the award-winning flagship title of Arcen Games, released in 2009. Six expansions were added, with the last coming out in 2014. Just recently, the sequel AI War 2 entered Early Access. I hope it does well, since a lot of Arcen's other titles haven't and I think they really need this one to be a success. AI War is a very complex strategy game, and is the only release-version title on which I have ever lost the tutorial. It plays differently than literally anything else, so if you've never experienced it before be prepared for that. Officially, it's a 'Grand Strategy 4X Tower Defense RTS'. A lolwutnow? Yep, precisely. For more information see the AI War Wiki Backstory The Human Civil War is over, having lasted eight centuries. It ended when the increasingly sophisticated AIs we created to manage the destructive conflict for us first learned how to cooperate, and showed us how powerful that cooperation could be - by uniting AGAINST us. Only a small remnant of humanity remains, while the bulk of the AI forces have left the galaxy to pursue more pressing goals than finishing us off, whatever those may be. Still, what they left behind, under a pair of AI Commanders, is still vastly superior to us. We must survive long enough in a desperate post-war struggle to recover and defeat them, before they complete the job. One side or the other is going to be utterly destroyed, and soon. It falls to the player to command this uphill battle for survival. Hasn't this been done? Well, yes and no. RockyB did an excellent SSLP a few years ago that is in the Archives. However, it's also quite a pretty high-level one and despite his best efforts, that's a lot of stuff for people to absorb. More broadly, there are a number of YouTube series about AI War but not as many as you might think. Most are on the default difficulty or below(there's a good reason for that - this is not an easy game and it can be ruthless even on the easiest settings if you screw up - hence the mentioned tutorial loss). Others are versions of 'heh, I'm going taking on this game on super-hard settings to see how quickly it smacks me around' with predictable consequences, along with a tutorial series which is fantastic but also throws too much at the player IMO. There's a number of holes in that body of work, and my aim is to fill some of them here. LP Format? Normally I go hybrid, but this is going to be strictly a video LP with hopefully coherent and vaguely tolerable rambling by yours truly. Feel free to cry about that as much as you want, I know a lot of people like screenshots, as do I - but I'm not changing my mind on this. It's my preferred way to do and read LPs myself, but it just won't work effectively here. I think the archived LP shows the limitations, but there's a lot of zooming in and out to see various things, and a great deal of AI War is lost when you don't see it in motion. I'll be breaking this up into 'bite-size' sections, 20-minute videos at most is the goal. Along with that, I'll be uploading at least twice a week, and maybe eventually more often depending on how things go. Spoilers? For unit types, have at it. Story elements, use the tags in case people other than me want that stuff revealed as we progress, but otherwhise go for it as well. LP Scope? As is my tradition, I plan to be fairly comprehensive here. I'll start with a beginner-level, tutorialish game with a stripped-down-to-the-basics setup, then proceed to escalating levels of complexity and difficulty until I hit whatever my limits are in the game. I've been waiting for the time to do this LP to proceed further, because I want to 'climb the ladder' and learn as I go through this - the journey of discovery is a rewarding part of things for me. I expect several playthroughs to eventually come out of this project, all of them significantly different, and there will be setbacks and defeats as well as successes. LP Index This shtuff has already happened so far. Beginner Walkthrough 5/5 Difficulty, stripped-down setup with most optional things off Beginner Walkthrough #1(Intro & Setup Options) First Steps Ships & Scouting Basics AI Planets & AI Progress Humanity Strikes Back Hacking & AI Reinforcement Scouting Strategic Assessment End of the Beginning Fabricators & Tachyon Raiding Upping the Ante Advanced Facilities Closing the Net Final Preparations Victory! Vanilla Standard 7/7 The 'default' AI War experience with most optionals turned on but not all Setup & Scouting Defending the Kahuna Way Even the Planets Have Eyes Battle of Tethys Beachheading Massalia Mid-game Multi-tasking Planning & Neutering Elektra Data Center Hunting Cleanup Punching Through Approaching Slaan Slaan Beginnings Tug of War Slaan Still Lives Slaan's Last Laugh The Zenith Remnant The first expansion, which adds variety and GOLEMS and other fun stuff. 7.3 'still normal' difficulty Zenith Remnant Intro Traders, Mirrors, and More A Series of Unfortunate Golems Vampire Claws SUCK! A Plan Finally Emerges Seizing the Initiative Venus Convention Power, Unlimited POWER! Ambush at Geonosis All Their Ships Are Belong To Us A New Rebellion March of the Golems Superterminal, Bane of Framerate Avenger, We Hardly Knew Ye The Last Battle Neinzul Knife-fight! Children of Neinzul 'micro-expansion', which explores the 'sentient fruit flies' of the galaxy. 7.6 'Moderate' difficulty on a minimal 10-planet map for a quick, frenetic game.  Neinzul Knife-fight Intro Two for the Price of Uh, Two Release the Blasted Weapons! Core Resistance The Maginot Line, in SPAAAACE Is This the End? A Photo Finish  Fallen Spire Stepping up to the 'semi-pro' level of competition now with the Light of the Spire, big third expansion which explores another race and adds a bunch of things for both human and AIs, another entire campaign mode, and an alternate path to victory. 8.0 'Hard' difficulty at which the gloves are now completely off. Something Spirelike This Way Comes Blitzkrieg! Spirecraft Ahoy! Two Can Play at the Warhead Game Facing the Exos Utapau and Back Again Look Before You Leap The Spire Lives! A New AI Trick Spire Logistics & Cryptic Hints Scouting and Escalations Surgical Strike Casualties & Revelations Spire Hacking, Meet Cookie Monster The Fifth Hub A Capitol For Exaron Recovering the Core Last, Desperate Defense, Part I Last, Desperate Defense Part II Go Drunk Spirecraft, You're Home. Literally. Shut the Front Door Defender Mode The alternate pure tower defense mode introduced in Light of the Spire for a shorter, more intense game of AI War. Its, uh, really different. I'm not good at it. Watch me prove it, if you're sadistic. Defender Mode Flop Royal Buttkicking Fallen Spire Pure Redux A no-frills, normal 7/7 difficulty run in a Concentric galaxy. I WILL see the alternate FS win condition. I hope. The Fallen Spire Returns Hektor!!! Revealing the Galaxy Getting Down to Business Assembling the Fleet Behold the Might of the Spire! A Swift Conclusion Champion Adventures The fourth expansion, Ancient Shadows, brings forth a 'hero unit', complete with upgradable modules, its own campaign, and all sorts of other tomfoolery. And that's just part of the surprises in store as I go for a more methodical, super-low-AIP approach.  Ancient Shadows Intro Beachheads Suck The Champion's New Clothes The Shattered Pillar Attack of the Infinite Drones Antagonize This! Premature Retirement Champion Reboot Let's try this again - this time with a more limited set of optional add-ons Focused Champion Reboot Miner Mayhem A Slow, Steady Grind Kamikaze Colony Ships? Mourners & Cruisers Over the Raiding Hump A Sizable Roadblock Outwitting the Ravenous Shadow Close Call(s) Battleships Ahoy! AI Masterstroke? Raiding Tour of the Galaxy Neptune's Folly Finishing the Job SuperTerminal, Part Deux Themis, Part I Themis & The Aftermath Coruscant: The Early Years Coruscant Continued Submission  Spirecraft Showdown Vengeance of the Machine, the 5th expansion, brings the Showdown alternate win condition, Dire Guardians, Dual AIs, Planetary Subcommanders, and the usual assortment of bells and whistles to an already-packed environment. 8.0/Hard Spirecraft Showdown Teeth of the Tigers I HATE HKs. Why are there HKs? Ramming Speed!! or Not Return to Quaoar Deploy the Sentinels! Over the Hump? Showdown Snippet (22:56) Another Piece of the Puzzle (19:10) Shredding the Opposition (28:20) Outmaneuvering Sindai (30:06) Pathway to Coruscant (18:57) Cliffhanger (19:16) Showdown Suprises (20:12) Bizarre Showdown Finale (22:44) Exodian Blade Exodian Blade Intro (13:04) Nomad Meeting & Shopping Spree (16:21) Guardian Grind (25:58) Reprocessing Pain (29:18) Deceptive Danger (27:54) Back on the Exodian Trail (23:25) Exile Hunt (24:45) Exodian Blade Revealed! (23:28) PITA Core Guardians (33:43) Repairing the Blade (19:37) Activating the Blade! (26:18) Double Destruction! (35:09) A Hopeless Cause (11:10) Strategic Sage fucked around with this message at 15:17 on Apr 8, 2020 |
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Oct 31, 2018 09:50
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Beginner Walkthrough Beginner Walkthrough #1(Intro & Setup Options) I blather on a bit about my reasons for doing this series, and then we wade through the setup options. That's right, the first video is all about starting a game. Actual gameplay will begin in the next one.
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Oct 31, 2018 10:29
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Akratic Method posted:ultimately found it unplayably complicated without more effort than I want to put into a casual hobby I can't promise this won't happen again, but the first game is as stripped-down as it can be and still lay a reasonable foundation. StrixNebulosa posted:Teach me how to play, Thotimx, I am bad at deciphering it and I love Arcen games and want to play their most popular game. I'll do my best - there's a lot to absorb but step by step and all that. Sindai posted:Next game I recommend using moderate AI types (the easy ones tend to be boring and the hard ones just unfair) and turning on at least a couple extra factions, like golems. We'll get there, but that'd be a bit early for golems IMO. Second game I plan I doing with standard difficulty, moderate AI types, more ship types and the basic factions, but I won't be jumping in the deep end of the pool with stuff like that until later on. Walk before you run and all that. Next update in a day or two.
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Nov 1, 2018 21:06
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On that, I'd posit two points: ** Difficulty 5 isn't supposed to be much of a challenge. ** Things can feel like you're easily winning, and then you can lose all of a sudden. The normal sense in a typical RTS of just getting over the hump against your opponent and then it's downhill from there really doesn't apply to AI War, which is one reason why it's an acquired taste. Hopefully I'll explain the process well enough for you to decide whether or not this is a game worth your time. rchandra posted:Core Shield Generators were a great feature! Keep them on even on later plays. I might put them on every now and then, but there's a particular fairly-advanced strat(playing for particulary-low AIP, for those who know what that means) that you can't do with CSGs on. So I'm definitely not going to use them all of the time. If others want to see them more often, I could throw them in the rotation more than I planned though. lofi posted:Oh, it's you! Of course it is! drat, you're such a masochist, Thot. LOL. Thanks! I think. Strategic Sage fucked around with this message at 06:39 on Nov 2, 2018 |
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Nov 2, 2018 06:36
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 First Steps In which I conduct a tour of the key points of the interface & resources, blather on a bit about our primary goal and some fundamental AI War concepts, and set up beginner-level fixed defenses for our homeworld of Darkvin. Next up: actual shipbuilding and basic fleet operations, and leaving Darkvin for the first time at least for scouting purposes. Hostilities are quite likely. Strategic Sage fucked around with this message at 07:08 on Nov 3, 2018 |
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Nov 3, 2018 07:06
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lofi posted:I didn't even know AI war had a story beyond "AI bad, people good". What malkav said. The story is definitely not a major thing, and while I haven't seen most of it myself, it's not something where anyone's going to recommend the game for that based on what I've heard about it. But it's worth looking at what's there IMO, when I get to it. Also, a programming note: due to strong viewership(most of it coming from SA, so thanks!) I'm going to try and bump this to three uploads a week(T/Th/Sat). Ships & Scouting Basics I build some ships and spend some time showing a number of basic ways to select, divide, and move them around. I think this is a strong(and necessary) point in AI War's design; it's powerful and easy to use and needs to be given the scope of the game and how often you need to be doing this kind of thing. Then initial scouting begins including an intro to the Galaxy Map. Next Up We will definitely get to the first battle, such as it is, one way or the other. Also we'll take a look at some specifics at the planets that we're just scouted and talk more about stuff like Hacking and AI Progress.
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Nov 6, 2018 06:09
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AI Planets & AI Progress A closer look at the AI defenses on the nearby planets, including one basic, low-level example of a good combo that will cause problems for us to solve. AI Progress/Hacking and the relationship between them is discussed as well as the first attack wave hitting our homeworld of Darkvin. Featured in this update are Core Shield Generators, Design Backup Servers, Guard Posts, and Tachyon Sentinels along with another ship type we haven't yet seen and so on. I noticed at the end that my test recordings appear to have been insufficient; effects volume is too loud so I'm going to knock that down considerably next time. Next Up I'll look at things to consider for handling the effects of attacks like the one we just endured, and then we'll put an eye towards starting to expand beyond Darkvin.
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Nov 8, 2018 07:20
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Good catch - a significant number of them are in fact from Tyrian.
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Nov 8, 2018 22:04
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I'll have to figure out how to do that, but sure. rchandra, if you're willing to share the solar system list, perhaps the best thing would be to make one list combining that with goons.
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Nov 9, 2018 06:10
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John Lee posted:Are you planning on doing the Spire campaign? That's the biggest chunk of story by far, and I think it's really worth doing. Definitely plan on doing that eventually. That's the third expansion IIRC so it'll be a fair while before I get to the point off adding that much stuff into the hopper, but it's definitely on the agenda. rchandra posted:I think I made it from solar system bodies sorted by size or mass, then added the biggest Star Wars ones at the end. Looks good, thanks! I'll plan on using a modified version of this with some goons added starting with the second game. That'll give me time to sort it all out, and you can't use it to change the names in an already-started campaign anyway.
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Nov 10, 2018 01:04
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Humanity Strikes Back After taking a brief look at the salvaging mechanic and a quick intro to the insanely complicated glory of the Controls screen, we take a planet from the AI for the first time. A wimpy one, but still it's a start. The colonization process features in this, and we 'create' our first threat ships. Also included is an explanation of the three command station types and a bit about our next strategic goals, now that we've comfortably secured Darkvin against initial attacking threats. Up Next We'll stay on the attack and 'liberate' more planets, seeking to establish that buffer zone around our home planet. Hacking, further scouting, and a closer look at our other starships may or may not be on the menu. Strategic Sage fucked around with this message at 19:18 on Nov 13, 2018 |
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Nov 10, 2018 05:56
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Hacking & AI Reinforcements A second 'buffer system' is taken, with a bit of a new wrinkle happening there. Then we do our first hacking task, downloading a new ship design from the DBS in Usmarur - in decidedly amateurish fashion. Up Next We'll take down Usmarur to complete our buffer around Darkvin, which should prove quite routine at this point. Then we'll do more in-depth scouting work, providing a chance to look at some new AI structures further out in the galaxy.
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Nov 13, 2018 19:18
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That's sort of the stage we're coming up on; there are almost always multiple things you can do. I also find it interesting that people fawn over Golems as much as they do, because I think they are a cool option but just that; an option. The way all the other stuff interacts once you start turning a stupid amount of stuff on is at least as worthwhile IMO.
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Nov 14, 2018 06:34
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Scouting Usmarur falls, fulfilling the immediate buffer need. The Missile Guard Post there encourages a different basic tactical approach that is useful in many situations. Then some more research unlocks are necessary, and I talk about a bit about the desirability of specializing when researching ship types, due to the to-be-shown-later way in which Mk. IV variants are acquired. I.e., you can't research them at the science lab. Then a scouting demonstration and exploration of all the planets that comprise our new perimeter or 'crust'. We encounter the Fortress, more Ion Cannon, and Barracks in the process. Up Next A more detailed look at the latest expanded scouting results, and formulation of a strategic plan for further expansion and exploitation based on those. It's time to start looking ahead more now.
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Nov 15, 2018 06:31
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The One and Only T posted:My current white whale is a mark III ARS planet with not one but two fortresses on it, and of course one of them is sitting right next to a missile guard post under a forcefield so I can't just throw bombers at it. And there's a Plasma Eye there too! Heh, that's a fun combo - and rather brutal for a 6/6 game! lofi posted:Anyone know the keyboard control to turn the display of shield health on or off? I don't think I've ever tried to do that, so beats me.
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Nov 16, 2018 19:19
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Strategic Assessment We take a look at the important systems to be scouted in the last update, including an introduction to Data Centers and Mark V Fabricators along with discovery of more grades of CSGs. Armed with that information, a plan is hatched and begins with an investment in defensive bolstering, and continues with the acquisiton of our first Advanced Research Station(ARS). Up Next Continuation of the strategic plan developed in this session, and revision of it based on new information.
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Nov 17, 2018 07:02
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I think the Turtle is only restricted from sending normal waves. They definitely did send a Reprisal, though they took their time about it. That'll feature in the next update. I do definitely agree that the Turtle AI personality does result in a game where you are more free to do what you want and don't get harassed by the AI as much. That's exactly why I picked them for this run. But I would also say it's unfair to judge the AI on sub-7 difficulty. And jack that difficulty number up high enough, and the great majority of players would still have issues even with both AIs on turtles. So like most things in AI War, I think the answer is 'it depends on other factors XYZPDQ'.
Strategic Sage fucked around with this message at 19:09 on Nov 20, 2018 |
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Nov 17, 2018 10:44
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End of the Beginning We say good-bye to the early game and move into the mid-game, having established our core systems. This video is on the long side as I underestimated how much time the last part of it would take. A hair more scouting allows us to firm up what the next several moves are likely to be, and two more planets fall to our expansion. Transports and colony-hopping are introduced, a bit more research and some planet-specific orders on the CTRL screen, and those reprisal waves that I mentioned are swatted away. Up Next We'll continue through the 'strategic targets of opportunity' mentioned in this update, as we are now firmly in the phase of enhancing our ability to attack and working our way through the galaxy to get closer to the AI homeworlds.
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Nov 20, 2018 19:14
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Fixed, thanks. It was just set to Private.
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Nov 20, 2018 19:42
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Fabricators & Tachyon Raiding We get our first Mk V ship from the Fabricator in Orxunu, and use the new top-quality Raptors to go on a Tachyon Raid to free up scouting lanes. Wasn't planning on doing one of those this game, but the ship is perfect for it and this was a great example of a situation where it's very worth doing. This proves fruitful, as exploring the right wing of the galaxy reveals examples of the last two basic capturables, the Advanced Factory and the Advanced Starship Constructor. We've got a good amount of the CSGs out of the way now as well. Up Next It's time to start getting more aggressive and going after bigger fish. We'll very likely be tangling with our first Mk. IV planet in Fenape next, and if that goes well the expansion could well accelerate. The weaker planet conquests will probably be done mostly off-screen for the rest of this game, as there really isn't much more to show from them. Also, Happy Thanksgiving!!
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Nov 22, 2018 09:07
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Can't help you there. It appears to be similar from what I've seen, but the key is going to be what they've changed. There are some things different, but I haven't doven into them. Given that it's still in Early Access - and hasn't been for very long - I don't plan on really looking at it in much detail for a while yet.
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Nov 23, 2018 01:10
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I can sort of see that one both ways. It is the middle of the number scale, but on the other hand it does say 'Easy', the tutorial - which I'm far from the only person to have lost the first time - is set at 1 difficulty, and so on. I think it'd probably be better by getting rid of most of the lower ones, and having say the current 5 be a 2 or a 3, with 8 the highest level or whatever
but I can't really get upset about it.
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Nov 24, 2018 10:20
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Upping the Ante Two more planets to fall to our expansion. In between, the AI sends a CPA our way. That's Cross-Planet Attack, not Certified Public Accountant. After swatting that, we take the second of the two planets, Mk. IV Fenape. The AI raises stronger objections than before, but is overruled. And after securing it, we get a useful new ship for our efforts, the Anti-Armor design, and discover to my surprise that we are now within striking distance of one of the AI homeworlds! We take a tour of that system, which is relatively wimpy on 5 difficulty but still has some super-fun things by our current standards to contend with. However, there are more CSGs out there so we can't attack it just yet. A few more research unlocks are also invested in. Up Next With a main attack fleet of almost a thousand ships, we will set our sights on the right side of the galaxy next, and acquisition of the advanced construction facilities.
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Nov 24, 2018 20:31
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Arcturas posted:Made the mistake of working on a Super Terminal without my whole fleet there, not realizing that you need to be able to get ships to it to kill it to stop the respawning. Welp, there goes that game. Time to try another! Many's the player who has fallen to that. It even bit RockyB a bit in the first LP of this game. So your misery has lots of company.
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Nov 26, 2018 05:27
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Advanced Facilities Multiple new systems join the human rebellion, which is fairly sizable at this point. We face down our largest incoming wave yet - though that's relatively speaking. The Advanced Factory gives us access to Mk. IV fleet ships, Advanced Starship Constructor allows us to grab Mk. IV starships, and we also get a couple more Fabricators; Heavy Bomber Starships and Armor Ships. Add all that in together and we not only have a bigger fleet of over a thousand vessels now, but much more powerful ones. From a sheer firepower standpoint, I have little question we could take down that first homeworld right now. At least as important though is that we now, by virtue of having already unlocked the first three versions of, it have access to the Ultimate Infoweapon; the Mark IV Scout. As discussed in the video, this ship is literally undetectable, able to ignore the planetary tachyon coverage of home command stations, and all the efforts of those Tachyon Sentinels are in vain. We can only build one of them, but the secrets of the galaxy are now to be revealed to us as I send the slow, but unstoppable new scout on a misson via the Auto-Explore mechanic. Up Next It's time to begin closing the net around our foe. We know what is at every system in the galaxy. There are yet a couple of CSGs to go down before we are actually allowed to attack the AI homeworlds, and this being a beginner-level game I'm still going to take far more systems than I really need to or even should. But our fleet is now strong enough that we need fear no non-homeworld AI planet or its defenses, and probably not even those at these settings. Colony-hopping through the galaxy and smashing strategic targets to grow even stronger is next, with our gaze fixed firmly on the enemy strongholds. We know where they are. They can no longer hide from us - and soon they will wish they could. The endgame is not yet here, but we can see it fast approaching. Strategic Sage fucked around with this message at 03:55 on Nov 28, 2018 |
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Nov 27, 2018 09:46
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That's a good question, and I think the answer is as follows; it appears that the response level is more dynamic than I had originally thought to be the case based on my reading on the game from time. I think this is actually a good thing. AI War wiki says the number in parentheses isn't the definite mark level of the ship that you get - which was my impression - but rather just the minimum level. I.e, right now I'm theorizing that the closer you get to the Mark II threshold - 250 AIP in this case - the more likely you are to get that instead of Mark I. As another example, at 500 or so AIP, which I don't ever intend to reach of course, it would probably be roughly equal that we'd see a Mark II or a Mark III wave, but never lower than that. I'd read about people wanting to make sure they kept just below whatever the Mark II threshold was, but I'm thinking that was either A) an ill-informed strategy or B) a dated writing based on a much earlier version of the game. Others more experienced with the game can confirm, or else I'll just keep observing what happens and we'll see where the truth lies over time. !SCIENCE! I do now that AI Progress does impact the frequency of waves, size of CPAs, and so on as well, so it does a bunch of things.
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Nov 28, 2018 07:24
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rchandra posted:I also need to give in and actually conquer my homeworld-adjacent planets rather than just neutering them when they hold nothing and/or are adjacent to IVs. The AI was happy to use one to build up 1000 threat, and I lost a spirecraft vessel when I went in to clean them out. There can be times when it's not the best idea, but you definitely have to be careful if you don't take them. I do for-sure recommend always getting all the scouts though.
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Dec 1, 2018 00:11
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Closing the Net The next section of several laughably-underdefended systems is taken, and we take a look at the second AI homeworld. It is much more well-defended than the first, unfortunately, and we get to see cool new things like the Zenith Bombard Post, Leech Guard Post, and the dastardly Plasma Eye as our introduction to the PITA that Eyes are in general. I decide it's time - past time actually - for some upgrades to our defenses, which occasions talking about what might be the biggest flaw in the mechanics/usability of AI War; no turret upgrade mechanic makes this process very tedious. We also get a reprisal wave and discuss the range display. Up Next It's almost time to put this first game to bed. The endgame is here, and I expect our first AI homeworld assault to feature in the next update after dealing with some final preparations.
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Dec 1, 2018 00:15
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Final Preparations It seems I spoke out of turn a bit; no homeworld assault quite yet. With the progression to AI tech level II on the AI Progress meter and a bunch of hacking, we see significantly increased resistance from the AI. Which is cool, if too little too late by a mile. Waves of a few hundred ships each are now commonplace, and a couple of them feature a new kind of ship; the Tachyon MicroFighter, which is kind of a better version of the laser gatling in a way. Another CPA shows up, I unlock a bunch of starships and a couple of other things, and a 'threat cleansing' and discussion of the need to be cautious and cover all your basis before homeworld-hunting ensues. Also featuring - briefly - Guardians, which are essentially an AI-only 'starship' thing that comes in multiple variants. Those have been spawning in higher frequency in response to our hacking efforts, so I also looked at a few of those types. Up Next There's nothing else to do now; attacking the first homeworld is definitely next. There are always consequences to that, and it's one of the most likely points to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. I'm confident of avoiding that given the care I've taken to establish a strong defensive presence, but there is no guarantee even on Easy that this will go smoothly. Strategic Sage fucked around with this message at 10:48 on Dec 2, 2018 |
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Dec 2, 2018 09:09
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Willie Tomg posted:My only completion to date was a botnet golem and flock of whatever the self-replicating buzzsaws are called damage racing an Avenger's Death Star as it flew implacably to my home planet, which owned massively. That does sound like a lot of fun.
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Dec 2, 2018 09:10
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vdate posted:I do have to thank you for reminding me how much fun even the base game was. I'm a few steps behind the LP in overall progress, but having somebody to remind me of the general roadmap was a nice aid to getting back in the saddle. My pleasure, glad you are enjoying it! The expansions are probably not going to come quite as fast as some more experienced players would like, but they are coming. Gonna walk before we run here - crawling is more appropriate for the current run, and barely that - because I think that makes more sense for those less experienced with the game. Also I'm going to be finalizing the new planet names file this week as we wrap up this Beginner Walkthrough run - assuming, that is, YouTube decides to stop rejecting my uploads for no good reason, putting me behind schedule in what was already a busy week, *grumblegrumble*. I'm going to use just the names of people in this thread, with the rest from rchandra's file filling in the rest. By posting in this thread, you automatically will be entered unless you request otherwhise. So if you want to appear, and haven't yet posted, do it soon or you won't make the cut for the second game. Strategic Sage fucked around with this message at 20:33 on Dec 3, 2018 |
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Dec 3, 2018 20:31
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First Homeworld Assault This is a little longer and more chaotic; I didn't edit out as much here because I thought most of it was important. Basically, AIs don't like being killed. Imagine that. They tend to pull out all the stops when you go after their homeworlds. I'm compelled to regroup, defend, and rebuild my fleet to get it done, but one AI is toast. Which just means the other AI takes over command of their stuff and a significant AI Progress boost. Contrary to what it intuitive from other games taking out one AI homeworld is one of the most dangerous times in the game. And I think this was a fair demonstration of that. I would have lost multiple systems at a minimum, and maybe the game, on a standard or higher difficulty. Level 5/Easy AI decisions are also on full display here. Up Next I set my sights on the toughest nut to crack on this map, and see if I can end this struggle and pass the 'entrance exam', so to speak, of this LP. We are down to the final target now.
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Dec 5, 2018 04:30
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Arcturas posted:the controls preference pane isnt terribly helpful. That/Google is what I use when I want to figure out how to do something. There's a pocket-reference card PDF that somebody made, but it's from quite an old version so it's not really that useful now. I could put all the stuff in View Controls into the OP or something, so it is all in one place instead of spread out over several tabs; but there's just a lot of it and I don't know how useful that would be. With stuff like this I think the game is sort of a victim of its own controls complexity. TheOneAndOnlyT posted:Can I also request that you turn on the option to make planet names always visible in the galaxy map? Late in the game it can be difficult to remember which planet is which, especially with all the skipping over tedium that you do. On starting in the next video. Probably would have been a lot more useful for this last one, but it was already recorded when I saw this. I find it makes the galaxy map pretty cluttered, but you do have an excellent point here. In related news, this would also be a good time for suggestions, if any, on what people what like to see more of/less of going forward.
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Dec 5, 2018 04:36
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rchandra posted:You can always hold CTRL on the map to toggle it. Yeah I'll probably do that if I need it off briefly, but default to on instead of off which is my usual bent. Manxome Bromide posted:YESSSSSS ENDLESS BLOODSHED (oilshed?) Metalshed, actually. Canonically the AI ships have no blood, and I don't think anything runs on oil. Even for the human ships, only the starships are actually crewed I think - fleet ships are just remote-controlled drones rather than having actual human pilots. Hence the AI and humans having totally different types of starship thingies, but using the same fleet ship designs, and so on. Manxome Bromide posted:Is AI War intrinsically ironman Nope. The current game has a stupid amount of save files - dozens - just in case I did something especially dumb and had to revert. I'd feel particularly silly if I lost the Beginner Walkthrough! You can save and load at any point - though annoyingly you have to go back out to the main menu to load, you can't just do it from the save menu because whoknowswhy. Starting with the next game I'll be on the 'honorman' system. Manxome Bromide posted:does the fact that it's the Turtle make the mid-assault reprisal less worrisome? Good questions, esp. this one. Given the inconsistent behavior I've seen from the Turtle, the answer to the first is a qualified maybe. On the second, I'm 90%+ sure but not certain that they can only be ships they already know about. I think of it as an SOS that they send out, and the massive AI factories somewhere else in the universe churn out a bunch of ships that the in-galaxy commanders know how to use, instead of waiting to properly 'download and install upgraded subroutines' or what-have-you. Basically a 'we need reinforcements NOW' deal and since time is of the essence, we'll take whatever useful stuff you can send us.
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Dec 6, 2018 08:17
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Well done! It is still a win, no matter how it was earned. On the targeting thing, I think Sindai is probably right. The better AI would probably have come more into play in facing more resistance in getting that far - both at the homeworld itself and on the way - and the AI deciding better on where and when to attack, both in terms of what systems to target and what to go after in those systems when it arrives. Once you're in a fire-fight though, what it shoots at is I think down to the ship/post/whatever itself and they tend to go for things that they perceive as a being the most favorable engagement.
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Dec 8, 2018 08:56
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Victory! Thus concludes our introductory, Beginner Walkthrough game. As it turns out, the Turtle Homeworld of Aokal didn't prove to be quite as tough as I expected. I think the Heavy Bomber Starships I added made a significant difference. It also really helped to catch the exo-galactic attack 'on the way out' and smash most of it at a very convenient time. I think the Core Neinzul Melee Guard Post is an interesting idea as well. More heavily escorted that could have been a real pain in the arse. At any rate, there's a brief post-mortem afterwards. As mentioned there, this is a good time for those new to the game to ask questions. For those in that category, you should by now, if you've been keeping up this game, know the following: ** Where to build stuff (Command Station, Starship Constructor, Space Dock for the most part) ** How to manage your fleets, attack, use the galaxy map, basics of CTRL screen, etc. - key interface elements ** Know the basics of the economy; what metal, energy, knowledge, and hacking are and how to use them, and of course how AI Progress works ** The basic attack-and-counterattack flow with salvaging and enemy waves ** Basic mechanics of how to construct and deploy turrets ** How to research and unlock new things ** Mechanics of colonizing new systems you've conquered ** Middle-game concepts around scouting and the key capturables; advanced factories, advanced starship constructors, MK V Fabricators to a lesser degree, and of course advanced research stations ** How, in general, AI homeworlds & core worlds around them will react to being threatened - i.e., violently and with extreme prejudice. ** The key factors to look for in assessing an unfamiliar ship/structure. It's not nearly as important to know exactly what a Missile Guard Post, MLRS Guard Post, Missile Frigate, or whatever does at is to know how to read the detailed tool-tips. If you can decipher the costs, special abilities and/or immunities, attack multipliers, hull type, attack type/damage/rate of fire, and so on from these then you have the tools to make an intelligent decision. If there's anything in the above list that seems unclear or that I haven't sufficiently addressed, fire away. Otherwhise you should now understand the basic structure of an AI War game. Up Next It's time to take a few steps deeper into the rabbit hole. For the next game we're going to take the training wheels off, and take a look at what will be a generally standard vanilla game. That's going to go both ways, as I will attempt to play as reasonably close to optimally as I can. We'll look at more tactics & units that I skipped over, and there will be a lot more available as well with not much excluded from the shipset. The Easy/Difficulty 5 game was the pushover that it was meant to be; it's time to wave good-bye to that level of ease, and pit myself against the 'default' challenge. Feel free to take the gloves off at this point and make whatever assessments/criticisms you may feel are warranted of both my play and the AI tactics at this stage.
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Dec 8, 2018 23:52
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SIGSEGV posted:I guess that as the expansions add stuff into the game, time to completion of a game increases? I think increased difficulty level does that more than expansions, as in general it lowers your margins both economically and militarily, forcing you to spend more time with each conquest. As for expansions, they add mostly new ship types, new AI structures, new AI personalities, new optional minor factions & AI plots (none of those were on this time), things of that nature. I would say they add more complexity and choices, but not necessarily more time - deciding where to go and what to do next will become less straightforward or at least have more considerations involved in it when we get into those.
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Dec 9, 2018 02:22
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Unfortunately I don't have a list. All I can tell you is what I remember: ** Both Metal Harvesters ** MK II Military Command Stations ** All MK III types of the turrets you start with ** Raptors, Armor, Bombers all unlocked ** MK II Anti-Armor ** Almost all starship types - Riot Control is the only one I didn't get more of. ** Assault Transports ** All of the Scouts There are probably more than I don't recall off-hand.
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Dec 9, 2018 21:08
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Setup Scouting The new adventure begins. Worth noting here are the changes to the setup; aside from direct difficulty stuff, there's the recommended Auto-AIP settings, AI Plots, and minor factions added on along with the 'normal' shipset. I get a quite unfortunate draw, revealing what one of the AI personalities is. It's not fun - in fact it's rather a notorious one. We are also gifted a few starting structures that we didn't see last time at these settings, so those are introduced; Human Settlements, Cryogenic Pods, and the Mercenary Space Dock. Immediate scouting of the surrounding planets occurs - named using a modified version of rchandra's file, thanks! - and a few minutes in I've decided on our first target planet for expansion. Up Next A quick operation to take down our first target planet and setting up initial defenses in more or less the 'right way' is planned.
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Dec 10, 2018 19:55
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[pedantic]Irregardless actually is a word, according to Oxford, Merriam-Webster, etc. - it's just not proper to use it because it means the same thing as regardless, and so on, and so forth. Which means I shouldn't say it, but probably will continue to do so because bad habits etc.[/pedantic]SIGSEGV posted:Does the presence of the direct attack wormhole mean that you don't feel as much pressure about securing the planets around your homeworld? Yes it does - there's not a whole lot of a point in establishing a buffer when the AIs can just bypass it whenever it darn well feels like it. Definitely throws a wrench in my preferred way of doing things.
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Dec 11, 2018 07:49
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