Give & Take and Strategic Warfare

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Mezmorki, Dec 20, 2017.

  1. Mezmorki

    Mezmorki Ensign

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    So over at explorminate we had a pretty cool (I think, since I moderated it!) podcast episode on what makes for interesting strategic warfare.

    https://explorminate.net/2017/12/18/strategic-expanse-31-strategic-warfare-part-1/

    We talked about a bunch of stuff but one of them has to do with the viability of raiding and back and forth battles. And observation we discussed is that in games where assets (planets, outposts, etc.?) can change change hands quickly and provide a means to effectively raid an opponent, the gameplay becomes more interesting and dynamic.

    In ISG, I've been impressed with the AI's ability to find a weakly defended spot and jump on it. Maybe stealing an outpost or even a colony for a few turns until I can take it back. This is a really cool dynamic.

    And so I'm preeptively worried about invasion mechanics and especially starbases. By making it take multiple turns on capture a planet, or the presence of a starbase requiring a concentrated fleet to effectively destroy, we might lose this nimbleness and opportunity for effective raiding. This would be a big blow to the gameplay IMHO.

    Any thoughts on this?
     
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  2. Adam Solo

    Adam Solo Developer Administrator Grand Admiral

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    I'm currently listening to it. Interesting discussion. Terrain is really difficult to tackle in a space 4X game. As you know, in the strategic layer, we're going with nebulae that slow down ships and dark nebulae to block travelling, at least temporarily. There will probably also be effects during the tactical combat.

    As for the AI ability on raiding, I also like that aspect. To the point that we'll probably invest even more on that aspect of the game going forward. We'll probably enhance the AI's to seek opportunities to do actually hit and run attacks (e.g. try and capture a leader, steal some tech), do some bombing damage, as also to do blockades (which a Star base cannot prevent).

    So, there will be full scale invasions now, with bombardment and ground assault requirements, and star bases protecting some colonies, but we'll also be looking into creating hit and run raiding and bombing AI behaviors as well for the next builds, that may not include the need to take over colonies. Also, remember that it will only take you a simple unspecialized fleet to occupy outposts, and these will not have star bases, only colonies will. Also, star bases will take another building slot and cost maintenance, so, in principle, you should not be able or want to have one everywhere, or at least not right away.

    We're close to having all of this implemented. And soon we'll be all playing the new build with the new invasion mechanics and starbases. So, don't worry as we'll do our best to allow people to go with star bases to boost protection if they wish, as to enhance the AI's behavior to exploit the player's weak spots even further as we go forward.
     
    Last edited: Dec 20, 2017
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  3. Konstantine

    Konstantine Grand Admiral

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    I like the idea of bombing raids. A hit and fade. Picture a force taking a quick strafing run and warping away quickly... of course I want to be able to do it as well, not just the AI;)
    100% agree, and I love the side effects it causes. Having to leave smaller units covering all my assets that are in range of the AI, coupled with a good balance of speed and range... means no phookin doomstacks. Wars consisting of multiple battles are far better than the single battle affairs of MoO2

    Share your apprehension as well and want to see how the AI will be affected by having to further scatter its efforts by researching/building defenses and all the other new goodies. This too may have an impact and could require some adjustments.
     
  4. Wodzu

    Wodzu Lieutenant

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    I've experienced this in my game as well. Multiple small ships (in 9RC2) attacked my outposts and colonies and managed to take over a few. Excellent, that is exactly how it should be if you are not building your defenses.
     
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