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IDProjectCategoryLast Update
0021615AI War 2SuggestionSep 13, 2019 9:51 am
ReporterAsteroid Assigned ToChris_McElligottPark  
Severityfeature 
Status consideringResolutionopen 
Product Version0.888 Astro Examination 
Summary0021615: Mini-bosses with Nemesis system (Generalized Horsemen/Dragons)
DescriptionINSPIRATION

As I play more AI War 1 & 2, I'm starting to draw more and more parallels to action-rpgs, particularly heavily procedurally-generated ones such as Path of Exile.

To keep the action interesting, those games regularly throw at you Hero units/Mini-bosses with increased stats and unusual abilities, that pose a significant challenge and offer good loot. They break up the flow of the game in the long stretches between bosses, and prevent monotony. The same technique can be used to improve AI War 2's mid-game.

CORE FEATURE

I think it would be very interesting to have AI Lieutenants that rule over small areas of the galactic map and have their own quirks and strategies. They'd basically be minor factions within their main AI faction, and bring in the secondary AI types from the first game, but only in a localized fashion. They wouldn't act much outside their territory, except maybe if you seriously aggravate them.

They could be a straight-up replacement for the current "co-processors". Instead of just blowing up a building, you get to fight a mini-Overlord and receive fat loot (strong fleet, rare building...).

Some details would need to be figured out, such as do we keep the global warden and hunter fleets, or perhaps each mini-boss has its own warden fleet and the hunter one stays global?

NEMESIS

The game Shadow of Mordor has this fascinating system whereby whenever a mini-boss beats you, it levels up and rises in the hierarchy of the Orcs. You really grow to hate that guy, and it gets personal pretty fast. Mini-bosses in AI War 2 could initially get an equal number of reinforcements to their planet, but as they kill player ships and cripple his fleets, destroy command stations and even take back planets, the main AI's algorithm would direct a greater portion of the resources toward the most efficient ones, shaping the galaxy map and the overall challenge dynamically. The player might be forced to create a diversion and tackle first another lieutenant whose resources were diminished in favour of the current champion(s).

Couple that with some taunting from mini-bosses, and I think it would make the mid-game quite lively.

RELATED SUGGESTIONS

My suggestion is geared more toward procedural generation of these challengers, but somewhat similar ideas with fixed designs have been proposed over here:
https://bugtracker.arcengames.com/view.php?id=21316
https://bugtracker.arcengames.com/view.php?id=21320

I guess my idea is more about a framework which would allow to easily add to the galaxy either randomized or hand-made minibosses. They could be a prerequisite to killing the Overlord, or simply a recommended stepping stone to acquire tech and to lower AIP once all of them are dead.
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Chris_McElligottPark

Sep 13, 2019 9:51 am

administrator   ~0053066

Sounds like fun expansion content!

Issue History

Date Modified Username Field Change
Sep 11, 2019 11:15 pm Asteroid New Issue
Sep 12, 2019 5:31 pm Asteroid Summary Mini-bosses with Nemesis system => Mini-bosses with Nemesis system (Generalized Horsemen/Dragons)
Sep 13, 2019 9:51 am Chris_McElligottPark Assigned To => Chris_McElligottPark
Sep 13, 2019 9:51 am Chris_McElligottPark Status new => considering
Sep 13, 2019 9:51 am Chris_McElligottPark Note Added: 0053066