|
Yeah champion exos are super dangerous since they're faster and tougher than regular starships and not as specialized as spirecraft. Kind of like a bunch of miniature hunter/killers. Don't be surprised if you need a warhead or two to stop the later ones. Sindai fucked around with this message at 02:06 on Jul 21, 2019 |
#
?
Jul 21, 2019 02:04
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 17, 2024 11:53 |
|
|
Sindai posted:Yeah champion exos are super dangerous since they're faster and tougher than regular starships and not as specialized as spirecraft. A good solid lightning warhead can make a great door opener against hive zones.
|
|
#
?
Jul 21, 2019 05:29
|
|
|
I've thought about warheads but didn't think it was time yet. I may well end up using quite a few of them this run. Also … hive zones??
|
|
#
?
Jul 21, 2019 06:37
|
|
|
 Battleships Ahoy! I grab another system that puts us within reach of the Falcorum nebula and gives us a couple new toys to play with; the Mk V Space Tank and the Experimental Decoy Drone. The latter is basically just a ship that's good at sucking up enemy fire at the start of an engagement. This also was a necessary first step in order to take Rhea, which has more cool stuff, at a later date. It also puts us a lot closer to the other homeworld. As for the nebula mission itself, it was a big battle that turned out much easier than I expected, and I got the ultimate form of the Champion from it, the Battleship. I took the plunge and went with the HBC upgrades, going all-in on the Human form now mostly because I still haven't gotten the Photon Cannon :sadface: Up Next Lots off offscreen stuff to do, mostly anti-hybrid activities. I'm very curious what Akratic Method is hiding since I'm not sure what there is left to do in the nebula campaign with all that happened with the Battle that Raged in Falcorum. Being that it's off a Core World I'm expecting all categories of chaos. But I don't think I'm quite ready for that yet. Deciding exactly how much more territory to take before I start attacking the homeworlds needs to be done very soon. We only have four systems yet but a couple were added recently and more will be in the near future - in the distance we can now spot the endgame approaching.
|
|
#
?
Jul 24, 2019 07:00
|
|
|
Thotimx posted:I've thought about warheads but didn't think it was time yet. I may well end up using quite a few of them this run. Hives have a nasty habit if they build up of taking over a system and basically making it a zone of pain.
|
|
#
?
Jul 24, 2019 13:30
|
|
|
I'm glad you finally put some big guns on your champion. Watching you try to fight in nebulas with pea shooters was aggravating
|
|
#
?
Jul 24, 2019 17:56
|
|
|
Hmm … well I'm still not at all sure that it's overall better than a swarm of bombers which gives the enemy a lot more targets to shoot at and isn't that much worse in overall firepower. And I still don't like the fact that it locks me into the Human form.
|
|
#
?
Jul 24, 2019 21:11
|
|
|
This LP made me look at AI War 2 a couple weeks ago, which I've since come to think of as one of the best strategy games I've ever played. So thanks for doing this LP.
|
|
#
?
Jul 24, 2019 21:43
|
|
|
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.
|
|
#
?
Jul 25, 2019 06:46
|
|
|
AtomikKrab posted:Hives have a nasty habit if they build up of taking over a system and basically making it a zone of pain. Gotcha - thought you were referring to something else/more specific. I definitely experienced that 'joy' in the last run and am going far out of my way here to neuter the threat.
|
|
#
?
Jul 27, 2019 21:47
|
|
|
AI Masterstroke? The latest CPA brought with it an impressive AI tactic I've not seen before, and it took a bit of reloading to counter it effectively. Once that was dealt with, another system was seized and a workable endgame plan formulated. Now it's just a question if I can get there and pull it off before I'm overwhelmed. A question with an uncertain answer. Up Next Inch by inch, I creep towards the endgame.
|
|
#
?
Jul 28, 2019 09:17
|
|
|
Thotimx posted:
The Ai has so many tricks up its sleeve. Its really really a fun game because of them.
|
|
#
?
Jul 29, 2019 01:17
|
|
|
This might be turning into my most enjoyable run yet. It's dragging on a bit but there's a constant tension from the 'what the heck is going to happen next' and succeeding exos/CPA attacks aren't just annoyances to be swatted, but more like 'hmm, I THINK I'll survive this. I hope. Maybe not … ' so there's a lot of indirect pressure on everything I do. I think that means I'm close to playing at the appropriate difficulty for me.
|
|
#
?
Aug 1, 2019 07:37
|
|
|
Raiding Tour of the Galaxy Faced with the need to save up metal and an exo-wave mounting, I decided it wasn't wise to begin any more major attacks. So I just went around pouncing on a bit of a threat, a bit of hybrids, and mostly a montage here of Mk IV planet hybrid facilities. That threat is pretty much down to the point where it isn't one now. I also discover that the nebula campaign is actually already over. Up Next Second Nemesis Exo-Wave. Assuming we survive it, I'll have to start poking the bear a little more severely after that.
|
|
#
?
Aug 1, 2019 07:40
|
|
|
Neptune's Folly The second exo turns out not to be as much trouble as the first - I'm a little more prepared and have a better handle on how to deal with them at this stage. After accidentally blowing up a Fortress - yes you read that correctly, it's time to start claiming the Archive systems. Neptune is the first core world I attempt to neuter, and it goes well at first. I'm learning that the Assault Transport is even better as an offensive weapon that I had previously thought. But the AI is not a fan of this, and eventually I'm forced to recalibrate my actions - particularly when the next CPA shows up. I could be at a bit of a tipping point here. Up Next A new plan for dealing with Neptune before continued to grab more territory. There's not a lot more to do, but none of the remaining obstacles are trivial.
|
|
#
?
Aug 4, 2019 06:20
|
|
|
Finishing the Job After some experimentation, I managed a beachhead capable of clearing out Neptune. Then Rhea and the annoying necessity of dealing with the slow travel there came up. Now though there are just a few more items to clear up before going SuperTerminal hunting. Up Next SuperTerminal hack, done the 'right way' this time. Also, I learn that warheads are no longer optional.
|
|
#
?
Aug 7, 2019 02:48
|
|
|
SuperTerminal, Part Deux I talk a bit about the new approach of defending key systems with warheads due to the combined exo-wave & CPA threat that we are periodically facing, and then it's off to the biggest beachhead I've ever built on MJ12 to face down the SuperTerminal. It goes well, but I do need to set off a few explosives to reach my goals there. Up Next I can no longer avoid the necessity of plunging into the AI Homeworlds. It's down to 'them or me' time.
|
|
#
?
Aug 10, 2019 20:26
|
|
|
Themis, Part I A couple of amusing misspeaking moments in this one. My favorite is me claiming that 'typhus is safe' meaning, but not actually saying, the Typhon system instead of the, you know, deadly infectious disease. In actually gameplay stuff, after repelling the lastest batch of AI aggression I move into the first and theoretically easier homeworld of Themis. The mandatory nature of warheads at this stage of things is easily seen, and eventually I do manage to clear out a good part of the system before being forced to defend. Things get a little hairier when they come for Rhea. A key part of this is managing to incinerate their MK V Emp Guardians. Having those on the loose would have been very, VERY bad. Up Next I need to finish off Themis before the exos mount further. I think I can I think I can I think I can …
|
|
#
?
Aug 14, 2019 02:55
|
|
|
Themis & The Aftermath Finishing off Themis didn't prove too troublesome, and then the next Nemesis exo/CPA combination arrived. We were equal to that task as well. Now it's down to Coruscant in a cage match to decide the fate of this galaxy. Up Next I hoped the next session would be the last one, but having experimented with a few things on Coruscant that will not be the case. This is going to be the hardest homeworld I've ever dealt with, and victory is far from assured … perhaps even unlikely. For the vets, the new obstacle that is the new bane of my existence is the Core Reactor Grav thingy. For those who haven't seen it, suffice to say that I hate it. I hate it very much.
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2019 21:08
|
|
|
Thotimx posted:
It is meant to be hated, it hates you back and loves hating you.
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2019 22:00
|
|
|
Gravity Reactors are one of the brutal core posts that'll make you really, really regret it if you're not playing with spirecraft penetrators
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2019 23:44
|
|
|
Coruscant: The Early Years I grabbed a couple more ships via hacking just because: the Stealth Battleship and Zenith Medic Frigate. Not going to be particularly useful for this situation, but we hadn't seen them before and I thought they might be of marginal use. First plunge into Coruscant did accomplish a couple of things, and I had a plan for dealing with the repercussions. Despite said plan though I wasn't able to handle the EMP Guardians effectively enough. We survived, but there's a lot of rebulding to do. Up Next I try to rebuild, and we see what happens next.
|
|
#
?
Aug 20, 2019 20:47
|
|
|
Coruscant Continued The Battle of Coruscant rages on throughout the galaxy, just not at Coruscant itself. Two more exos are faced down, the second one bringing Golems to the scene, and I gradually rebuild. Too gradually, but I see few useful alternatives. Up Next We have not yet given up, but the odds remain definitely against pulling this off.
|
|
#
?
Aug 25, 2019 09:15
|
|
|
Submission Barely made it back to Coruscant after dealing with the latest Super Hybrid - barely got there in time, far across the galaxy - but that was enough to prove to me that it was hopeless. Whether through Armored Warheads or ships for the fleet, the cost of dealing with the escalating attacks doesn't leave enough resources or time for an attrition battle. On a long enough timeline it would be possible with enough determination, except for the escalation which means I don't nearly have that time. So the Grav post ends up being the singular cause of failure here. Post Mortem Accomplished what I wanted to do with this run anyway - dealing the special forces via raiding and the beachhead in Neptune, learned more about how to deal with Hybrids and the Dyson Sphere Golem, completed the Champion's nebula campaign and investigated most of the upgrade options for it. Still sad about no Photon Cannon but whatevs. I've also decided to do the next couple of runs at 8.0 difficulty for purposes of being able - I hope - to get through the alternate victory conditions on the first attempt. Think I need to have a good picture of what's coming, not be learning a bunch of new stuff, to handle the higher levels. Clearly I need to find a better way to deal with Mr. Grav … or else just get luckier with its placement. The useful-but-inadequate for dealing with the EMP Guardians going off better would have helped as well. I also could have taken more systems - I had 'extra' AIP reduction so all I would have had to worry about is the floor going up. Still a few things I could have improved on. Up Next Expansion five out of six begins. As previously promised, Spirecraft will feature prominently. Lots of new fun - and horrifying - stuff is yet to come, and this last one was quite intense and frankly exhausting. Whee!!!! AtomikKrab posted:It is meant to be hated, it hates you back and loves hating you. Apparently. Strategic Sage fucked around with this message at 08:38 on Aug 28, 2019 |
|
#
?
Aug 28, 2019 08:29
|
|
|
Haven't played AIwar since 2013 and never got that far myself, but as someone who has spent an embarrassing amount of time on strategy games a couple of things stood out to me when watching this series. You seem to have overlooked that the Mk4 scout can escort a cloaked ship to make them both immune to detection. Does the AI home station bypass that, or could you have used your scout to sneak a single unit into the system? I searched the arcen forums and nobody seems to have mentioned the possibility ever so maybe there's a really obvious mechanical reason why this doesn't work. It would be cool if that worked for an armored warhead or a transport, but it also sounds like the kind of thing that would make devs add some other kind of hard-counter. But either way if you can kill the interceptor... if you then wait until the next exo wave spawns and nuke the AI home system it seems like that would drastically reduce the amount of bullshit you have to fight through. The AI gets 50 progress and will still have a lot of ships and all the key targets are nukeproof but if I'm reading correctly it removes supply for both you and the AI which permanently disables all stationary structures except command stations. So even though all the "core" defense buildings survive the blast they're just a harmless pile of HP afterward? Or do they have immunity to that as well? And if you can't kill the interceptor but nukes do disable the annoying buildings, the Mk2 nuke is designed to be used in adjacent core system as an all-or-nothing play... so if it doesn't disable structures then it's even more useless than the Mk3 joke item? silentsnack fucked around with this message at 00:59 on Aug 30, 2019 |
|
#
?
Aug 30, 2019 00:53
|
|
|
silentsnack posted:You seem to have overlooked that the Mk4 scout can escort a cloaked ship to make them both immune to detection. Thanks for the ideas. At first I read this and was like 'no I can't' … but after reading up on the details I don't see any reason why that shouldn't work. If so, I could definitely have won that last game by this method. Without the interceptor it would have been nearly trivial to take Coruscant. I no longer have the saves to try it out, but I absolutely must conduct SCIENCE on this as soon as reasonably possible. Actually a really good idea, so far as I understand the cloaking mechanics. Definitely never occurred to me to use the uber-scout this way. silentsnack posted:Mk2 nuke is designed to be used in adjacent core system as an all-or-nothing play. Another idea that didn't occur to me. I was just like can't kill the interceptor ergo can't use warheads on the homeworld planet. Another thing that was definitely worth trying. Again, we must conduct SCIENCE. I'll plan on looking into the feasibility of these concepts, hopefully during this run. Excellent! Strategic Sage fucked around with this message at 07:48 on Aug 30, 2019 |
|
#
?
Aug 30, 2019 07:44
|
|
|
 Vengeance of the Machine is the next expansion. Frankly, I admit I'm looking forward more to the last one at this point, which apparently has more mysterious lore coming our way, but I'm definitely not giving this one short shrift. It does the usual stuff - map types, ship types, music, etc. all get just more because the game wasn't complicated enough. I'm particularly terrified by merely the idea of the Hunter-Killer Factory Core Guard Post … that name frankly is enough to make any self-respecting player search for their security blanket. Then we have Dual AI Types so that even more insanity can be crammed into a game, Planetary Subcommanders to add extra spicyness to those core/MK IV target systems, Dire Guardians *whimper in anticipation*, and of course the Showdown alternate win condition as the centerpiece. Spirecraft Showdown We get things started using four of the five new AI types, activating the Showdown, and focusing on the Spirecraft for this run as our extra thing. Auto-AIP off again as I think I'll have plenty of issues dealing with all the new stuff, I've never seen dire guardians either so bye-bye to hybrids etc. We have a good home system setup, but I'm not amused by having a couple of the bordering ones essentially off-limits to us at the start. Up Next Trying to expand which I'm not going to be so careful about here - I plan on going for a relatively middling number of systems in preparation for the Showdown, and with Civilian Leaders in play once again scouting will take on major importance early and encourage me to grab more territory as well.
|
|
#
?
Sep 1, 2019 10:38
|
|
|
Teeth of the Tigers Title is a reference to the Youngling Tigers, who I was prodded into deploying by higher-than-expected resistance in the second system I took with the initial expansion here. They ended up doing better than I thought, and with polycrystal hulls they are useful in pretty much all the same situations that bombers are. We get to see our first Exotic mini-exo waves and how the Vengeful AI reacts when you blow up it's stuff. Up Next Time for some more extended scouting and pushing out further into the galaxy.
|
|
#
?
Sep 3, 2019 21:37
|
|
|
Ohhhhh you turned on the Hunter plot. Yeah. That adds a hunter/killer to the special forces every so often, so they'll show up every time you attack. imho it's really dumb that the description doesn't actually tell you what it does because that's way beyond "interesting." Luckily rams and penetrators are both great counters to them so it shouldn't be too bad with this setup. Sentinel frigates are countered by anti sniper fields despite not having the sniper ammo type because they'd be even more ridiculously overpowered otherwise. Sindai fucked around with this message at 21:00 on Sep 7, 2019 |
|
#
?
Sep 7, 2019 20:53
|
|
|
I HATE HKs. Why are there HKs? So I basically figured out what Sindai posted partly at the end of this session, and partly afterwards. You might get a kick out of the last few minutes of the video, in which I look at spirecraft and basically conclude that Rams are the best option by far - the listed damage for penetrators compared to their energy cost didn't seem worth it by comparison. A search of the Arcen forums concluded that the Hunter plot also adds Disassembler Guardians and Missile Guardians, which I naturally won't care about nearly as much. Oh, and due to bizarreness of the RNG, I have no idea where any of the Showdown stuff is yet after scouting approaching half the galaxy, but I did find ALL of the AI Co-Processors so I went ahead and took them out early. But yeah it was a real what the heck moment when they showed up. I don't think the counter-sniper turrets are doing a darn thing to the Sentinel Frigates though - the big reprisal late in this session sure didn't appear that way. Up Next I'd like to get back to Quaoar(sp?) but I have some HK business to attend to before I can do that. Getting a couple more systems to increase energy is all the more important now that I must contend with them. It could be … interesting. Sindai posted:imho it's really dumb that the description doesn't actually tell you what it does Yeah I expected special aggressive SF behavior … but despite the Hunter name I didn't expect THAT. Tis pretty extreme. Might have been better if it was just high-mark starships/guardians or whatever unless you turned the plot up high or something, but it is what it is. These last couple expansion runs (hopefully, if I don't faceplant on this one) are mostly about showing off the new stuff so I'm still glad I turned it on … but not glad I didn't know what it did. Almost for sure I would have said 'yeah, let's go back down to diff 7' or whatever if I'd known.
|
|
#
?
Sep 8, 2019 09:36
|
|
|
Oh, you're on spirecraft moderate. On easy or hard penetrators would be good since they're reusable and you could mass enough to blap the H/Ks every time they show up, but on moderate the energy cost of keeping them around is prohibitive.
|
|
#
?
Sep 8, 2019 18:14
|
|
|
Spoiler for the next episode which makes this even more fun: Spirecraft Rams have two attack modifiers. One is that they do a thousandth (0.001) of their normal damage against Command-Grade hull types. Hunter-Killers have Command-Grade Hulls. *slams face into desk repeatedly*
|
|
#
?
Sep 10, 2019 04:37
|
|
|
Oops. Easy to forget about all the implicit immunities of command-grade since they're the only combat ship that uses it Uhhhhhh...implosion artillery and bombers?
|
|
#
?
Sep 10, 2019 19:05
|
|
|
Ramming Speed!! … or Not Most of this is demonstrating the uselessness of Rams against the HKs … and then I just said screw it and went with the armored warhead approach. One good thing is it's not hard to tick off the Hunter group and make them come to you - another is that, when properly used I guess, this works better than I remember the armored warheads working last time I tried them. Whether I can sustain the cost long-term in both AIP and metal is a very open question, but for now I don't think I have a useful alternative. Conventional ships at this point in the game at least just isn't going to cut it, and I have a feeling the AI will escalate at least as fast I can. Up Next I try expanding again. Hopefully before more HKs are generated.
|
|
#
?
Sep 10, 2019 21:10
|
|
|
Aahahahaha I feel you I do F--- H/Ks.
|
|
#
?
Sep 11, 2019 14:10
|
|
|
Return to Quaoar So we finally expand some, but still find ourselves butting into various non-HK defensive tricks of the AI. After picking up a couple more systems including Quaoar finally, we find ourselves stymied when attempting to push further into a lucrative area at the top of the galaxy. Also, we've found the first of the Showdown Devices … which have all the appearance of a dormant porcupine. For now they are simply mysterious. Starting to fight back against the Spire Civilian Leaders as well, and keeping a sharp eye on AIP. Oh, and we meet the Dire Guardians for the first time. They suck too. Up Next I have lots of long-term ideas, less certain though on a clear plan to get over the hump and reach the point where I can enact them.
|
|
#
?
Sep 15, 2019 10:21
|
|
|
Deploy the Sentinels! The HKs return … it seems that at current levels of what-the-heck-ever triggers them they will show up about every hour and a half. Meanwhile, after some consideration I decided that it was worth doing an 'early' hack for Sentinel Frigates. The logic here is that we have to deal with Disassembler Guardians basically constantly, and one thing I didn't realize is that higher-mark ones aren't just tougher, they swallow more ships (one per mark). So even a smallish group of them is going to overwhelm any starship group I throw together. Combine that with fairly high prevalence of high-mark Ion Cannons and having fleet ships that are immune to being insta-killed seems to be a really high priority in this setup. Also got the first CPA, and eventually conquered wiegieman which gives us a foothold in that upper zone and access to a Mk IV Factory. Up Next Scouting the galaxy and trying to work our way gradually up to hitting more and more well-defended targets. I also need to keep a sharp eye on the dire guardians and civilian leaders.
|
|
#
?
Sep 18, 2019 08:45
|
|
|
PSA: Suspending all my LPs indefinitely - hopefully not for long - due to a new health issue that's worse than I initially thought. TLDR version is that a tooth got infected earlier this week, infection spread very rapidly, and it would not have ended well without the age of modern medicine. As it is there's still a (small) chance of it permanently damaging vision in my left eye, and I'm pretty much incapacitated until I get the situation under control. Hope to be back soon.
|
|
#
?
Sep 20, 2019 18:54
|
|
|
Get well soon man
|
|
#
?
Sep 20, 2019 19:04
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 17, 2024 11:53 |
|
|
Thotimx posted:PSA: Suspending all my LPs indefinitely - hopefully not for long - due to a new health issue that's worse than I initially thought. TLDR version is that a tooth got infected earlier this week, infection spread very rapidly, and it would not have ended well without the age of modern medicine. As it is there's still a (small) chance of it permanently damaging vision in my left eye, and I'm pretty much incapacitated until I get the situation under control. Hope to be back soon. Holy poo poo take care. Rest as much as you can!
|
|
#
?
Sep 20, 2019 19:08
|
|
