...but I don't see why the devs should take AI development in a totally different direction, just to satisfy the powergamers. |
Isn't that like saying, yes chess is a tough game, but this chess program, though easy to beat, seems okay to me (I can win by doing silly things like moving all my pawns up and the program is baffled by that). Why are they going to make it harder just for those who are good chess players?
Well, to make the game better? I also don't understand what you mean by "totally different direction." I thought the direction was to make AI improvements. I also don't understand "powergamer" as you use it. I don't see this as a powergamer game, but I do see that the AII becomes predictable, therefore eventually easy to beat. You want to see a powergamer game I suggest WoW or the other online games. Those are powergamer games. This is a stroll in the park, not that a stroll in the park is a bad thing.
You eat white bread, don't you? =D I tell you, hemp bread or sprout bread. That white bread has nothing in it but empty calories. But my nephew still eats white bread because the better breads are tougher to chew. Now "that's" lazy.
I don't "get" your post. I don't understand what you're trying to say, unless my first impression is correct and you're stomping your feet because you won't be able to move all your pawns up anymore and win. I understand that some people like the embassy way to win. That's great. I never tell a person what hand to use to wipe their behind. I don't expect them to tell me. I'm not at all suggesting that they ways to win be changed. But if I select a conquest victory I expect the AI to come and "conquest" me
Of course this is a difficult thing to do. That's a hard program to write. And there are the simple things that slip by, like you can no longer build the Galactic Stock Exchange because in the Tech tree.xml the Culture ID/ Display Name (I forget which is used) = "Advanced Trade" but in PlanetImprovements.xml the
AdvancedTrade
"AdvanvedTrade" doesn't have a space in it . How hard is that to change? White bread, white bread. Eat white bread. Easier to chew. Wonder Bread. We used to make spitballs out of it as kids.
So if it's taking the developement team a long time to put a space in a piece of code (you can do it yourself actually) what does that tell you? Frankly I'm not sure. Maybe they can't read this or other posts about it because there are so many posts. I know they want to succeed. There are more games to create, more money to be made if they succeed here. I have no problem with that. What if the AI is easier to beat because some races are going for an achievement they can never get, like, say, Galactic Stock Exchange? I suggest fixing the spaces first. Make sure the game works like it should right now, codewise anyway, then see what the AI can or cannot do.
But to the first poster, yes, I'm willing to plop down the extra bucks for "our" kind of AI--and that will be a tough thing to create--and I will plop down the bucks for multiplayer, all upfront too. The problem is that my bucks may not be enough bucks. And I understand that. Besides, I think Frogboy is secretly, slowly but surely, it takes time, working on his pet project and making improvements to it. Will it be Gal Civ 3 or a totally different game? I don't know. But he did make a reasonable game here and he knows it, despite my cleverly concealed whinning.