View Issue Details
| ID | Project | Category | Date Submitted | Last Update | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0022319 | AI War 2 | Suggestion | Dec 6, 2019 4:48 pm | Dec 7, 2019 5:58 am | |
| Reporter | Peter Ebbesen | Assigned To | |||
| Severity | minor | ||||
| Status | new | Resolution | open | ||
| Product Version | 1.012 Hotfix | ||||
| Summary | 0022319: Make MDCs more of a temptation/delayed gratification device than huge AIP reduction up front | ||||
| Description | Currently there's a huge attraction to staying at low AIP - even staying at mark 1 - and this is greatly supported by the wealth of AIP reducers and the shrinking of the galaxy by swift movement. One structure in particular can make a huge difference if the map is favourably inclined: The MDC. And there are two of them. I love them to bits, but they are perhaps too good and definitely too good at holding off advancing to mark 2 if you have one close to your homeworld. A recent change introduced the curious spectacle of holding MDCs incurring exo strikes, i.e. taking something that reduces threat will in practice increase overall threat to the player unless his defenses are strong enough or he progresses slower and spend more time rebuilding between offensives. I'm not sure this will actually make players hold off from taking MDCs early, though, as each MDC means another 3 planets worth of goodies before mark increase, so it may end up more frustrating than effective. I can't help wonder whether treating the player to a "do you feel greedy?" opportunity rather than "do you feel lucky?" would be better. Example: make them worth MORE AIP reduction if delay capturing them until later than when captured earlier. Seed the map with the first stage MDC, the "Peaceful MDC", and let them progress as the player does. "Peaceful MDC": Provides -20 AIP if controlled, +30 AIP if destroyed. Has flavour text stating that "The AI currently considers you insignificant so this MDC is operating in peacetime mode and responsible for limited processing. If you capture it, it will continue to operate at this level." At AIP mark 3, all "Peaceful MDCs" on the map that are unclaimed and have an active AI command station are replaced by: "Hunter MDC": Provides -40 AIP if controlled, +60 AIP if destroyed as currently. Has flavour text saying that "The AI is devoting increased processing to the elimination of human pests. If you capture it, it will continue to operate at this level." At AIP mark 4 (or 5?), all "Hunter MDCs" on the map that are unclaimed and have an active AI command station are replaced by: "Warfare MDC": Provides -60 AIP if controlled, +90 AIP if destroyed as currently. Has flavour text saying that "The MDC devotes maximum effort to the eradication of human pests. If you capture it, it will continue to operate at this level." | ||||
| Tags | No tags attached. | ||||
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I agree that the exos seem like a strange way to nerf an AIP reducer, and don't really like it. This seems like a decent idea to me, and it does create an interesting strategic choice between whether you need it more now or later when it gives greater AIP reduction. The similar alternative, if the devs don't think that choice is one they want to include, would be to give them AIP of max(-60, 0.1*total AIP), with that updating as long as the MDC is alive. |
| Date Modified | Username | Field | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 6, 2019 4:48 pm | Peter Ebbesen | New Issue | |
| Dec 6, 2019 9:05 pm | Astilious | Note Added: 0054876 | |
| Dec 7, 2019 5:58 am | Peter Ebbesen | Description Updated |
