quote:
I'd rather modify the AI research than the monolith's production. Hell, if you're going to change anything, reduce the production of the single-resource facilities before you increase the production of the monolith. It's already an abusively powerful harvesting unit, especially once those robominer facilities show up.
Well, I hear you there.
However, there are two problems with changing research only:
1) You will have to put monolith research before the standard extractor research and never reach level 3 with extractors, or AI will start building them instead of monoliths. This will put some heavy strain on AI research since he will have to go for stellar manipulation early in the game in order to improve his resource production (he will need level 2 in Stellar Manipulation to start building monoliths).
2) Monolith construction is very expensive (and they take long time to build) and if AI starts building them too early in the game he will eventually use up most (if not all) his resources and have serius problems with building fleets. In short, normal facilities are better choice for the start of the game untill resources start pumping up (they are MUCH cheaper). So AI should research level 2 and 3 of those facilities to boost his resource production.
And if he gets to level 3 he won't use monoliths.
The way to do it other way is to increase monolith production to 700,900 and 1100, so when they get researched they will have better single resource production then the normal facilities. Also the Stellar Manipulation research should go after the standard extraction research so AI won't strain its economy early in the game.
That is why I prefer second solution mentioned in my previous post. However, all options are still go, since they require some serious playtesting.
Re: AI planet usage
Hybrid Mode
