Bug Post 1.06 Patch Bug List - Page 2

spillblood · #1 April 26th, 2011, 04:42 AM

Hey, thanks for these detailed first impressions of the new patches, JCrowe. I played one game with big detailed map so far. I started it in V 1.07 and about midway installed 1.08. I immediately noticed differences between the two versions. The game had one big continent in the east in two smaller ones in the west. I managed to conquer most of the big continent in the first session, installed V 1.08 and conquered the rest of the world. With 1.08 one of the AIs was able to mount an invasion of the big continent that was already under my control and used a captured factory to build some more troops. Never saw that in the previous versions. I also saw one of the AI players bombard a neutral territory with a nuke and take it. The AI also knows how to use carriers now. They loaded a bunch of planes on a carrier one time and attacked one my fleets with them. In previous versions the AI never attacked fleets with planes. Planes now seem to be more effective against ships, but pretty useless against subs.
I was nuked occasionally, but never to such an extent than my own nuclear attacks. My favourite tactic is to build around 20 or 30 nukes and wipe everything in reach clean to take it easily. There really should be some anti-nuke system to prevent such a tactic 'cause the AI simply can't defend against a massive nuclear assault. Another option would be to increase buying costs or better, maintenance costs of nukes to prevent players from buying massive nuclear arsenals.
It also still tends to go against weaker players or neutrals instead of mounting successful counter offensives. It was pretty easy to conquer the remaining two continents in the west.
The AI needs to employ more tactics, effectively prepare attacks with nuclear or cruiser fire and it should try to counter offensives with the appropriate troops. That would make the game more challenging. I'll play another game to how I fare in a game that was started in 1.08.
Hehe, by the way, I also wondered what this iniative bar was for earlier, but someone in the forum told me that it's showing the turn order of units in combat.

spillblood · #2 April 26th, 2011, 04:47 AM

Anyway, congrats to Aaron. The game is definitely moving in the right direction.

JCrowe · #3 April 28th, 2011, 03:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spillblood

I was nuked occasionally, but never to such an extent than my own nuclear attacks. My favourite tactic is to build around 20 or 30 nukes and wipe everything in reach clean to take it easily. There really should be some anti-nuke system to prevent such a tactic 'cause the AI simply can't defend against a massive nuclear assault.

... And can you imagine what might happen if two opposing teams BOTH decided to play this same 'Bomb Card', and built a mass arsenal of warheads, and then starting chucking away at one another with raw abandon? It would be a nuclear firestorm of radioactive fury that would devour the heart of the world ... and spit it up as an overdone 'burger. Seriously - how could anyone make progress? Some dude sneezes, a mouse twitches, and BAM! BAM! BAM! Cooked, fried, Nuked. Forget invading. (Although subs, for some reason (?) get a nuclear "pass" in game versions 1.07 & 1.08. But you can't claim turf with those pearl-divers, so you end up in the same place anyway - stalemate.)

In The Great Manifesto, Chapters 3 and 9, subsections 7 and 49, I brought up the need to nerf the nukes in some way. In verses 24-38 of the Great Book, I outlined two possible suggestions for blunting the nuclear impact without actually turning them into watered-down CHEESE SAUCE.

1.) "Star Wars" Option. Or think "Patriot Missile".

Basically, give AAA units the capacity to intercept inbound ballistic missiles. AA emplacements, for example, might have a 10% chance of shooting down any nuke targeting their territory OR AN ADJACENT TERRITORY. The ability would be cumulative, with two emplacements granting a 20% chance, 3 emplacements = 30%, etc. up to some pre-determined cap. Maybe 60 or 70%. That way, there's a decent probability of dodging a couple hits, but never so much that nukes become effectively impotent.

Missile defense could extend to cover against ballistic strikes from subs and mobile launchers, too. Mobile AA units, just like the fixed emplacements, might also possess an intercept capability - although far less in scope. Maybe they can only cover the territory in which they are located (minimal umbrella) and only provide a 5% chance of intercept per unit, up to a lower [pre-determined maximum limit.

2.) "International Opprobium"

Basically, using nukes makes the player a "bad guy", which is to say that it paints a huge bulls-eye on your backside. There are a couple layers to this, but in simple terms ...

DETECTION - If the AI detects the presence of nukes, it automatically arms up with missiles and spreads them out, so that it will not be caught flat-footed by a nuclear attack - nor will it potentially lose its own entire store of nukes in a single strike. MAD don't work when only one side's got The Bomb. Everyone needs a little atomic love to play, so when the nukes start to spring forth on one side, the other teams need to arm up or they're just sitting ducks.

CASTIGATION - If someone actually uses a nuke, that fact is broadcast to all players in the game, and the first-strike user becomes a "marked man". Basically, we know EXACTLY what 'you did last summer', and we expect nothing but the same next time around. So ... we aren't waiting for the encore; we're going to beat you to the punch. If Red Team nuked Blue, then Green Team (who has not yet encountered Red) arms up with nukes, and when Green eventually meets Red, Green gets prejudicial with the plutonium.

This way, using nukes carries real repercussions. You immediately become a target for nuclear attack, and other parties will be much less reticent to open fire than they would have been otherwise. So while bombing a beachhead or wiping the slate clean on an unfriendly continent might be a great first move, the player now has to deal with the fact that everyone and his PLAID CHAIR granny will be tossing A-bombs in his backyard, too. And it ain't nearly so much fun to be on the receiving end as it is to be on the delivering.