[PvK]

Originally posted by Pax:
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I don't know why you're worried about AIs converting all their atmospheres. I know, given the chance and resources and time, as a human I would do so ... no hesitation! Getting a 400% increase in local facilities ... worth it, IMO.

Mind in proportions, it might be less of an issue. But still; if humans would convert atmospheres left and right, why not the AI, too?

No argument that it could be effective and that the AI should be allowed to use a technique that humans can.

As I expect you realize, it could also be good to balance the AI against humans, because a weakness of the AI is its lack of skill at matching colonists to atmospheres. It can also be harder to do in Proportions because it is so much more difficult to actually transplant an entire population.

In Proportions, I think this would be a powerful technique (as it is in the standard game), both because of the added facility slots, and because of the huge increase in planetary capacity on non-domed colonies in Proportions. Non-domed colonies can be made into major fortresses and staging areas in Proportions, given enough time, resources, and/or transports. The economic effects will be relatively less than in the standard game, because each planet only has one queue tied heavily to population, but it could still be important in the long term.

What I'm hmm-ing about is that I think I should double-check the research, deployment, and effect times and costs in Proportions. I think it makes sense as a long-term, high-tech, fairly expensive project. I just want to make sure the time and costs are significant enough to make it a strategic decision rather than something easy and powerful enough that anyone who doesn't do it as a high priority will be at a major disadvantage.

I think it would be most interesting if there were usually a long period in the early game where this is not ubiquitous, because if it is fairly easy to do, then other interesting game elements will lose importance and interest, such as the added value of naturally-own-atmosphere worlds, and the value of obtaining alien colonists native to other atmosphere types, and the possible decision to build cargo facilities on domed colonies to provide more deployment space for defenses.

It may very well actually be fine as is, but I'll want to test and consider.

PvK