Can a player take over a Neutral AI Empire?
 

I'm hosting a PBEW simultaneous game and another player wants to jump in. I have several Neutral AI empires so I gave him one to run. Logged on as HOST, I unchecked the PLAYERS list for Computer Controlled Empires.
The player has taken over with no problems until he tries to leave and colonize other systems. Can he (as the Neutral Empire) leave his system at all or just not colonize elsewhere?
What is change-able to make his empire play as close to a player designed empire and what is not in this situation?
Thanks!

Re: Can a player take over a Neutral AI Empire?
 

Neutral empires have no actual physical restrictions on where they can go and what they can do. The neutral AI just never orders it's ships to warp out of the home system. However, if you gift a ship to them elsewhere, or an event moves a ship outside of their home system, that ship will be able to act and travel freely.

How you want a player to handle taking over a neutral empire is up to you and house rules. The player will be able to send ships wherever s/he wants, as well as colonize anywhere in the galaxy.

Re: Can a player take over a Neutral AI Empire?
 

I believe this player will be able to move around as any other Empire: the limit for neutral Empires is set in the files to the best of my knowledge, not to the Empire itself. I do not see what could prevent him from moving around either; colonising outside his system will work, if he can get there.

Re: Can a player take over a Neutral AI Empire?
 

A neutral empire is restricted to one system by the fact that its ships are quite incapable of using warp points. If he somehow acquires a ship elsewhere, I don't think that ship would be able to leave the system it happened to be in at the time, though it's possible that neutral-owned ships built by other empires might be able to warp, but I haven't tested that.

Re: Can a player take over a Neutral AI Empire?
 

Indeed, it appears I was mistaken, though at least I wasn't alone in my misconception. Thanks Douglas for the correction.

Re: Can a player take over a Neutral AI Empire?
 

The ships are perfectly capable of warping. The neutral AI just does not warp any ships it owns out of it's home system. It will warp them around if the ship is located elsewhere in the galaxy, either by an event or from a gift, as any other AI would.

Re: Can a player take over a Neutral AI Empire?
 

In both non-simultaneous and simultaneous test games, I have been unable to warp with neutral ships, even after the ministers were shot down. It might be something set at game start, though I am not sure how it would work for neutrals created in the course of the game.

Re: Can a player take over a Neutral AI Empire?
 

Nope Fyron, you are quite incorrect here. The Neutral doesn't just not choose to warp, he is physically prevented from doing so. Ships gifted to an AI player in other systems will work fine in those systems, but will not be able to travel through a warp point. You can verify this by taking over for a neutral player. You will see that you cannot warp. The game just wont let you do it.

But it's not a restriction of the ship. If the neutral player gifts a ship to a non-neutral player, the non-neutral player can use it like any other ship. It's only the neutral player that is prevented from warping.

Geoschmo

Re: Can a player take over a Neutral AI Empire?
 

This is why "Taking over for a Neutral Race" is so high up on the "Ways to make SE4 more challenging" list http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

Re: Can a player take over a Neutral AI Empire?
 

I guess they just need to wait for spatial ruptures to conquer the galaxy, or an ally to gift them shipyards in other systems.

Hmm. I wonder if their drones can use attack warp point?

Hmm. Hmm. Can they just not use the Warp command? What if you give them a Move To order to a destination in another system which they already have a map of?

PvK