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Thanks all for your well-wishes. Just a quick-ish update here; it looks like everything will eventually be fine after what was a pretty darn miserable few days. Modern antibiotics were deployed in time to prevent any damage to the eye … and a lot more than that. A century ago something like this might well have been the end of me, so the main thing I'm feeling just about now is a mix of gratitude and relief. Gradually things have cleared up through the combined force of the medication and also gravity - in this case working in my favor as the infection sought a way to drain downwards. Among those who work with me at my real-life job, there were three leading theories as to what happened on Saturday when I returned to work (badly, in sleep-deprived zombie mode): ** I had a stroke (thankfully NO) ** I had a bad allergic reaction ** Somebody picked up the desk and hit me with it in the side of the face All wrong of course, but perhaps they paint a bit of a picture as to what I looked like comparatively. I've still got extraction of the offending teeth to come later this week and all but definitely on the path back to normalcy and I expect to be no worse for the wear. Plan for now is: ** Train my brain to sleep again. After a few days of rarely being able to do so for more than an hour at a time (and generally waking up in considerable pain in those cases), I still can't sleep for more 2-3 hours yet without my brain trying to get me up. ** Keep the darned area clear and unaggravated and whatnot so I don't have to do this crap again. If it's on your bucket list, please scratch it off. It's not worth doing. ** Work my way back into living 'normally'. I find myself bemused that before this happened, a generalized health-motivated lifestyle adjustment I was making was going fantastically with much better than expected results. So I want to get back on all that stuff. ** Assuming no other problems, resume this here hobby thing I do bit by bit over the course of the next week. I'm definitely considering every peaceful breath I take now to be an increased blessing.
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Sep 23, 2019 10:15
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| # ? Jun 7, 2024 00:54 |
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Thank goodness.
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Sep 26, 2019 12:43
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 Over the Hump? Starting to expand more quickly now. The Mk IV Scout traverses the galaxy as a backdrop task, while Philomela and eventually Tethys (with the aid of Mk III & IV Sentinel Frigates) fall to our growing power. Energy is still an issue but we have enough metal income now that Matter Converters handle that fairly easily. And we find that Core Turret Controllers are rather more OP than I even expected - due to them having a 50% higher (at least with the Missile one) - per-planet cap than the standard version on top of already being more powerful for the same energy maintenance cost. Yeah, we'll be building a crapton of those eventually. With two more Spire Civilian Leaders in tow, we now have a negative per-hour AIP balance. Still want to deal with the rest of them one way or another, and we're a little above the current floor right now, but a nice corner to turn. And our first Dire Guardian (Spider) version shows itself. Appears that each Lair generates one every hour and a half, which isn't as bad as I thought. And you get a warning when it's close. Up Next Taking a look at the rest of everything in the galaxy, and making plans for how much to take and how to get to the remaining Showdown systems. Didn't talk about it in the video, but in the long run there is another Core Reactor Grav post on at least one of the homeworlds, so that'll be 'fun' … but much remains to happen before that. Hoping to make some more hay before the Hunter group reconstitutes.
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Sep 28, 2019 21:34
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Glad you are better. Getting a net positive on spire leaders is a nice thing to have.
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Sep 28, 2019 22:06
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Showdown Snippet (22:56) We take a look at the galaxy and figure out what do about it. A little more raiding, including an Inter-Planetary Munitions Booster that was going to be a pain in the rear, and a couple more systems join. One of them, MShadowy is the first of the Showdown planets. I didn't know they had attached story blurbs. The first one doesn't tell us a lot, but it does make me curious. Up Next If things go according to plan, snagging a ZPG will give me the resources to do some more aggressive things. It's probably also time to start investing some of our built-up knowledge now that a vague plan for getting to the Showdown is in place.
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Oct 2, 2019 06:14
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Generally any majorly impacting expansion feature has at least some fluff with it.
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Oct 2, 2019 13:42
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Thotimx posted:MShadowy is the first of the Showdown planets. Maybe a bit confrontational of me; sorry about that.
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Oct 3, 2019 19:53
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Eh that's ok - we've had worse. Take what Slaan did in my first loss *grumblegrumble*.
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Oct 6, 2019 09:30
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Another Piece of the Puzzle (19:10) Did a bunch of tech unlocks - finally got the new mine types, first couple tiers of HBC, Mk III Engineers which we'll need eventually, and a couple of hardened FF upgrades. Definitely starting to snowball now … Cybele was the next Showdown location and also beachheaded in Europa. It wasn't totally painless - see; reasons why Munitions Guard Posts suck, particulary when in range of other guard posts - but we got the job done and with the ZPG in tow our energy woes are a fading memory. Langstrom says we are getting a better handle on the Showdown Devices, and it basically seems that they allow for interfering with the AI's warp grid so they can't reinforce from outside the galaxy. Which is great … but I have a feeling when we pull the trigger on this they aren't going to send over an offer of peace or shower us with gifts. Up Next Second CPA, this one much larger than the first. If that goes well, more stomping.
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Oct 6, 2019 09:38
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HBC is my favorite turret. they can really pay off on wiping large/strong waves of ai units.
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Oct 6, 2019 14:51
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I really like them also. I can't give them clear first place though. Probably 1B to the Spider's 1A - I like being able to immobilize ships before they even get in range, and being able to keep them from escaping is also a nice perk.
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Oct 8, 2019 12:49
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Also, just a bit of a thread teaser here. If he's lurking out here anywhere, update after next will heavily feature Sindai. 'His' system in this game presented a challenge I've not yet seen before. Planetary Subcommanders can be jerks.
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Oct 8, 2019 12:55
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I was always underwhelmed with the low damage on spider turrets, but fair point.
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Oct 8, 2019 16:38
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Shredding the Opposition (28:20) Viral Shredders take center stage here as we finally complete the upper-galaxy expansion after brushing aside the CPA - this is the first time I've really taken them out for a spin and at one point here they multiplied to about 50% above the cap. And our first Dire Guardian Lair is taken down, with ease by this point. They're not so tough when you kill them before they can get into firing range. Up Next I try to finish off the Civilian Leaders, but that turns out more complicated than I hoped.
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Oct 9, 2019 06:41
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Outmaneuvering Sindai (30:06) As mentioned, Sindai causes a new challenge in expanding to our third Showdown system, and when we finally do succeed the Vengeful AI throws itself a freaking fit. But we do have what appears to be a complete set of marching orders now for the Showdown itself. Up Next I discover there's still one more civilian leader I missed, and that there's a little more left to do than I had thought. Snagging more Core Turret Controllers is the main thing on the agenda, along with carving a path to the final Showdown planet. .
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Oct 12, 2019 21:22
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I'm really good at building defenses. That is a pretty nasty subcommander if it happens to get an eye and another good example of something that could be mostly negated by spirecraft penetrators or rams if you could afford them. 
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Oct 12, 2019 21:36
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Thotimx posted:You're welcome! I'm planning on jumping into the sequel once it hits 1.0. I've heard good and bad from AI War 1 vets - seems to be that it depends on how attached you were to some of the things they changed. I wasn't attached to some of the things they changed, in fact I quite like how they streamlined the micromanagement of fleets so that you can focus on where you want your mass of ships without having to fuss about with waypoints and build orders and all that nonsense. Really lets you focus on the big picture without worrying about whether you've made some little clerical error that'll hose you down the line.
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Oct 15, 2019 16:40
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Welp, an announcement to make here. Regarding what El Spamo just said, I'll get to find that out sooner than later. I have a bit of egg on my face here because I thought I had a lot longer until AI War 2 comes out. That was based on the fact that it took them about a year to go from version 0.8 to 0.9. Then yesterday, just before I recorded and uploaded a channel update video in which among other things I said it looked to me like mid-late 2020 it'd be done, Arcen announced the first press build and that 1.0 would be ready in a week after some minor bug-fixing, meaning that the lifespan of 0.9x is literally only going to be 11 days. Didn't see that coming. That *THUD* sound you just heard was your LPer hitting the floor. So this thread will be suspended after a couple of more updates whilst I do some AI War 2 stuff (and take a serious crash course on it myself in the next week). I will return to it because I want to finish up this run and delve into Destroyer of Worlds (the last expansion). I'm not super-pleased about doing that just as we approach the climax of the Showdown but this caught me totally by surprise.
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Oct 15, 2019 21:19
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Pathway to Coruscant (18:57) Plans are made for expanding into the right side of the galaxy and approaching the final Showdown planet in Coruscant. For now, we snag a couple more Core Turret Controllers (I'm particularly a fan of the Flak's increased range), and eliminate a Data Center/Civilian Leader - last one for sure there this time. Now there's a full complement of the short-ranged versions, but still a few more systems need to fall before I'm ready to light this fire. Up Next Sniper and Spider controllers remain outstanding, and I really should do something about that Hunter group which I think is now bigger than it's ever been in this game. Sort of a victim of my own pace of attacking success in that regard. I don't want it popping in at several-times strength while I'm pounding on a core world/homeworld or something.
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Oct 15, 2019 21:26
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Ah good I will get to indulge in ai war 2 now.
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Oct 15, 2019 21:38
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I got into AI War 2 because of this thread. It kind of spoiled all other strategy games for me, with how good most of it's design choices are.
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Oct 16, 2019 18:52
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My guess for the reason the DG timer starts and stops randomly is that it reacts to all hostile forces that come too close, not just the player, so in this case it's probably the devourer that's triggering it. Other forces like the dyson gatlings and dark spire could do it if they were in the game. I believe most structures triggered by hostile activity work this way. There might be exceptions in cases where the reaction could cause a rapid game over instead of just some irritation, like raid engines.
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Oct 19, 2019 21:18
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Cliffhanger (19:16) The biggest surprise to me this session was that the Hunter group is now apparently afraid of us … which will make it more annoying to keep them in check as they are probably going to keep growing. More toys are acquired including the Sniper & Spider Core Turret Controllers, and the third CPA dealt with. A temperamental DG Lair in Venus can't decide what it wants to do as well. Sindai's explanation is definitely plausible, but the thing is it says it's only activated by going on alert - I thought only human activity could put an AI planet on alert? I.e. I'm pretty sure Dark Spire stuff etc. didn't care whether it was on alert, that was all about how many ships died on the planet. Anyway. Up Next Breaking now for AI War 2 but when we return it'll be time to do final preparations on my defenses and trigger the Showdown. So that should be action-packed no matter what happens, and when the time comes it may well require multiple attempts and experimentation. Strategic Sage fucked around with this message at 04:58 on Oct 22, 2019 |
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Oct 20, 2019 10:41
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Planning on getting this rolling again in a couple weeks, sooner if I can. The Showdown must commence!
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Nov 4, 2019 13:05
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Showdown Suprises (20:12) I wasn't too impressed with the resistance at first from the AI once triggering the Showdown confrontation. I was wrong. I was VERY wrong. The turret defenses have performed admirably … but neither they nor the Martyrs I prepared will be able to stop the final phase of the AI's fit-throwing. Up Next We see just what a 'mobilized' AI looks like. It's not a pretty sight.
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Nov 16, 2019 21:59
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Honestly it seems like Showdown Devices are poorly balanced in general but the sheer "no, gently caress you player" of the finale is hilarious. I'm pretty sure it's hands-down the hardest way to end the game.
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Nov 17, 2019 10:12
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Bizarre Showdown Finale (22:44) We start off by seeing why Sindai says what he does, looking at the real enemy; it's not the 25k threat that spawned. No, that's just a diversion to distract you from the Galactic Control Ships, aka the mobilized versions AI Command Stations. Obscenely powerful and immune to many things including all forms of WMDs, they nonetheless have a couple of chinks in their armor that can be exploited. During the ending many normal rules get thrown out the window due to the Showdown effects on the galaxy. . Earlier in this game I tried using Spirecraft against the Hunters … who by the way never showed back up anytime during the end sequence which is really weird. It didn't work then, but this was the right time for it. If indeed this is the hardest way to end a run then I'm satisfied with only failing it once before coming up with a solution. This run was challenging and a lot of fun, but still ended in victory … what more can I ask for? Up Next The final expansion. I'm really looking forward to the last bits of AI War Classic lore, and diving into the last set of options the game has to explore.
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Nov 25, 2019 22:08
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Oh, I forgot about spirecraft rams. I wonder if a max cap of armored warheads is enough to kill both GCSs.
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Nov 25, 2019 23:51
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Probably not, since they are immune to Warhead/Martyr damage 
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Nov 26, 2019 00:52
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I was thinking about the ending of the last couple of games and how extreme the effect of having certain options on or off can be. Here Spirecraft obviously made the end a lot less painful than it would have been otherwhise; the other plan was to use sniper turrets, spider turrets, and sentinel frigates. Sentinels though were just a fortunate pickup and might well not have been available also. On the opposite side, no spirecraft hurt a lot in dealing with the core reactor grav posts in the previous game, I didn't really have anything that could deal with them well - still think I probably should have gone nuclear but I think I would have lost anyway. And the core turret controllers were obviously a huge help in dealing with the Showdown also. The swings from all that stuff strike me as esp. massive, because the game's not designed (intentionally so) to limit them.
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Nov 29, 2019 13:32
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Exodian Blade Intro (13:04) On to Destroyer of Worlds then. Nomad Planets, the Exodian Blade, new AI types including the (in)famous Quadratic AI … this should be FUN. I also turned on Unexplored Planets again, mostly because I want to see how it interacts with the Nomad planets. I may regret some of these decisions. In the initial bit we discover there is a second Exile, aka the Exodian Blade, and that we need to do some early hacking to progress the plot along. Up Next The usual starting-out routine and hopefully some early expansion and finding out more about the mysterious Exodian Blade plot.
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Nov 30, 2019 22:41
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Nomad Meeting & Shopping Spree (16:21) We've found a couple of Nomad planets, which are drifting around the galaxy and providing an extra connection to the homeworld that I'm not particularly a fan of. I'm going to have to keep a sharp eye on them, esp. until I find the other two. I can only imagine what it would be like to seed a galaxy with ten of them *shudder*. Scouting happens and we grab a couple of systems, with plans for more. A nearby nexus and the fact that the SuperTerminal is next to our homeworld will limit easy pickings though. The Zenith Trader also shows up, and unlike the first time I met it I've got a better idea on the value of it's wares. I grab one of most things to be built later. I hope I'm not doing a ton of defending on the homeworld in this game, but if I am I'll be much more prepared for it. I'll definitely not want to be wasting metal any more than necessary. The different types of enemy waves with the AI combinations we have here are also quite interesting. Up Next Dione should provide us with the keys to scouting the galaxy if the plan goes as I hope, and I'm keen to get some more productive acquisitions so we can start down the Exodian Blade path.
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Dec 9, 2019 07:22
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Guardian Grind (25:58) This is looking like the kind of game where I might have bitten off more than I can chew. The combination of AI types here is fairly severe, in ways I didn't fully anticipate. The goal of capturing the factory on Dione doesn't come to fruition, but a switch to a starship-only fleet does yield benefits against the Guardian, and careful hit-and-run tactics eventually allow neutering of the surrounding planets and eliminating a couple of data centers. It's been a very slow start here, but the ZPG is coming along and once that's in place our fighting force should improve significantly. There will be a price of the delays though, esp. with Quadratic AI, but I don't see a useful alternative. I feel this is the kind of run that I'll definitely need to pull out all the stops to have a chance at winning. Up Next First CPA, there seems little choice now but to find a way to hit Dione which I have some ideas about, and working on Trader Toys more.
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Dec 18, 2019 22:24
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Combining hard AI types can get really mean really fast, since the game generally tries to keep the stronger parts of both.
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Dec 19, 2019 04:39
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Yeah I've had mixed luck with that overall I think. Some of the combos have worked how I expected, some haven't been painful at all, and others … yeah. They cause issues.
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Dec 20, 2019 07:32
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Reprocessing Pain (29:18) Progress is made for a while; Dione falls, galaxy scouting is complete, etc. And then the Overreactive AI decides to unlock Zenith Reprocessors. That's just evil. And it's even worse than I initially thought here - it was almost a run-ender. Even better, they aren't available in any of the Backup Design Servers, which means I have no way to prevent them from being regularly used. Up Next We see the power of an Overreactive Reprocessor loop … and how it mandated savescumming to keep humanity's hopes alive.
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Dec 26, 2019 12:50
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Deceptive Danger (27:54) The Reprocessors threaten to create an unstoppable snowball of reprisals, and some experimenting was necessary to keep that from happening. It's also getting more tricky to deal with neutering the Guardian systems. I do eventually get by these hurdles though, and one of the Zenith toys that I've never used before - the Counter-Spy - might prove useful against that threat. By the end of this session we have the initiative again and are working on expanding once more. I continue to greatly fear the idea of attacking Fat Samurai, who possesses not one but two of the fearsome HK Factories. But that's a problem for much later in this struggle, if we manage to get there. Up Next Finishing off Typhon and hopefully moving on to the next target.
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Dec 28, 2019 20:45
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PSA: Recently a kind soul on the Arcen discord took it upon themselves to inform me that the first four letters of my previous name were ... unfortunate. I was unaware of the derogatory term/slur I was implying, and so today I am undergoing a 'rebranding', if you will. Henceforth I shall be identifying on teh internets as Strategic Sage which I hope will prove simultaneously more descriptive of my particular schtick as well as less offensive. Also, specific to this project; I did something really stupid. I failed to back up my files for this campaign when switching to the new PC. Computer's working fine, but I've just today managed to get around to beginning the surreal process of recreating this run. It'll probably take a bit to get back to roughly the point where I left off, but I have no intention of leaving this unfinished. It will continue … eventually.
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Jan 18, 2020 13:35
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Edit: nvm. Technical issues resolved.
Strategic Sage fucked around with this message at 10:06 on Jan 26, 2020 |
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Jan 26, 2020 09:23
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Back on the Exodian Trail (23:25) It took just over a month, but we're back in action. After a fairly long pondering, I've decided it's time to pursue the Exodian Blade 'story' path now, or at least get it started. I realized I'd reached a point where I didn't know what to research next, because I didn't know what I needed, didn't know if I for sure really wanted to go after the SuperTerminal because I don't know how much hacking stuff would take … I just need more information. So most of this session was about dealing with Dire Guardian Lairs and Data Centers, but towards the end we did our first hack to try and find the Exile. Which told us little more than it's basically in one of the corners of the galaxy. More hacks, I'm not sure how many, will be needed. I imagine this would be harder to nail down on the larger map sizes. Up Next More hacking to find the Exile. I don't know how much it's going to take. Math will be required to grab it in the most efficient manner (and without using any more hacking that I have to). And then … something? I'm looking forward to getting this final bit of plot rolling.
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Feb 3, 2020 11:25
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