AI War 8.0 & Destroyer of Worlds Incoming

[RooksBailey]

I can think of no higher praise I can give a game than for me to purchase every expansion.  This is the case with me for AI War.  Purchased all five, and I am looking for more, so this is great news:

(I was surprised to see my review quoted in that vid.  I had forgotten I even did an official review!  LOL!)

August 18th for the new expansion!

Features Added In The Expansion

Nomad Planets introduces dynamic topology to AI War for the first time, giving the player new challenges and opportunities beyond the previously-static wormhole network.
One of the Nomads also holds a secret weapon of truly dire power (that gives the expansion its title, hint hint).
The Exodian Blade is a powerful alternate way-to-win, but getting there is a multi-stage journey with a great deal of desperate fighting once things get going.
8 new AI types, from the humorous/annoying “Kite Flier” and “Cowardly” to the monomaniacal “Starship Fanatic” to the aptly named “Brutal”. There’s also “Mime”. Never trust mimes.
A new “Encapsulated” map style.
4 new Bonus Ship Types, including the Neinzul Combat Carrier (with Beam Drones, Rail Drones, Spider Drones, and Grav Drones) and the Maw-gone-mad Powerslaver.
2 new AI Guardian types, including the Combat Carrier Guardian (so humans don’t get to have all the ludicrous-drone fun).
A new “Preemption” optional AI Plot that lets the AI start taking more direct action against you from the start.
More awesome music from Pablo Vega! (that’s still being worked on, but will be added for the official release)

Count me in!

[jomni]

I have it but don't play it. Maybe I should.

[Nefaro]

I have it but don't play it. Maybe I should.

I think it requires a lot of time to get the full effect.  Unfortunately, I don't think it's one of those strategy games you can save and come back to a couple weeks later and jump right back in.

It's a wonderful game for the unique strategy and mechanics but at the same time you must remember your master plan which may not be easy if there is a large stretch of time between sessions.  That said I certainly want to spend the time to finish a map sometime, for better or worse.  There is obviously a lot of replayability there, too.

[FarAway Sooner]

I have it but don't play it. Maybe I should.

It's an extraordinary title.  One of the most innovative games released in the last 5-10 years, using it's unique blend of 4x-meets-RTS tactical-meets-Tower Attack/Defense.  The asymmetrical play features (the AI is vastly more powerful than you, but not very nimble until it starts to recognize you as a true threat) are brilliant.

Even if you have the expansions, I'd strongly encourage you to play the base game a few times (or more than a few times) to get the hang of it.  In the expansions, the sheer volume of which-units-do-what-to-which-other-units can get a bit overwhelming, but the game play is awesome.

It's tempting to get sucked into micro-management of the battles, but as Nefaro says, keeping an eye on the big picture at all times is most important.

[Huw the Poo]

Undoubtedly Arcen Games's magnum opus.  It's an extremely good game.  In contrast to Rooks, I haven't bought any of the DLC because the base game has such an astonishing breadth of content that I really have no reason to.

Best played co-op but single player is awesome too.

By the way...you know how you can assign priorities to planets?  You have me to thank for that. ;)

[jomni]

I have it but don't play it. Maybe I should.

I think it requires a lot of time to get the full effect.  Unfortunately, I don't think it's one of those strategy games you can save and come back to a couple weeks later and jump right back in.

It's a wonderful game for the unique strategy and mechanics but at the same time you must remember your master plan which may not be easy if there is a large stretch of time between sessions.  That said I certainly want to spend the time to finish a map sometime, for better or worse.  There is obviously a lot of replayability there, too.

Yes. That's exactly how I feel.  Learning and re-learning is such a chore unless you play it all the time.

[RooksBailey]

Undoubtedly Arcen Games's magnum opus.  It's an extremely good game.  In contrast to Rooks, I haven't bought any of the DLC because the base game has such an astonishing breadth of content that I really have no reason to.

But the expansions add so much content!  For example, the game-changing Gollums, the Spire quest missions, and now special ships for the humans that can explore nebulae and level-up! 

By the way...you know how you can assign priorities to planets?  You have me to thank for that. ;)

Really?  That was a great idea!

Yes. That's exactly how I feel.  Learning and re-learning is such a chore unless you play it all the time.

For me, the gameplay is pretty easy to pick up even after a lengthy pause.  The hard part for me are the set-up options.  After a long layoff I find I need to re-read the descriptions for the bazillion set-up options for a campaign.   :)  I've never ever encountered a game with so many different toggles!

It's an extraordinary title.  One of the most innovative games released in the last 5-10 years, using it's unique blend of 4x-meets-RTS tactical-meets-Tower Attack/Defense.  The asymmetrical play features (the AI is vastly more powerful than you, but not very nimble until it starts to recognize you as a true threat) are brilliant.

Even if you have the expansions, I'd strongly encourage you to play the base game a few times (or more than a few times) to get the hang of it.  In the expansions, the sheer volume of which-units-do-what-to-which-other-units can get a bit overwhelming, but the game play is awesome.

It's tempting to get sucked into micro-management of the battles, but as Nefaro says, keeping an eye on the big picture at all times is most important.

Exactly right.   I am always amazed by the detailed stats each unit has in this game.  At times it less reminds me of a typical rock-paper-scissors 4X game and more like a deep naval wargame. 

That said I certainly want to spend the time to finish a map sometime, for better or worse.  There is obviously a lot of replayability there, too.

I actually finished my first campaign earlier in the year.  First time I ever won the game (I had to set the AI to low 3/4 difficulty level to do it).  It was an epic fight (you can read about part of it here) but I finally finished it.  I wanted to do a complete AAR but I never got around to it.   >:(  Criminal.

[JasonPratt]

My installed AI War on Steam did an auto-update today, so that seems like a good sign.  :D

[RooksBailey]

My installed AI War on Steam did an auto-update today, so that seems like a good sign.  :D

Yup, they rolled out another update.  And it looks like another is in the works.  Nine more days until 8.0 and the expansion!

Started a new campaign today and had a random encounter with this guy:



That's a "Devourer Golem".  It eats all ships under Class V.  It wandered into my home planet at precisely the wrong time.  I had a 200+ fleet preparing to launch an attack on an AI system.  It ate them all!  And then left.

Had to rebuild the entire fleet.   ;D

A great game, even after all these years.  The only downside is that whenever I play this game I always want to read another Fred Saberhagen Berserker novel.   :)

[Nefaro]

I'd like to get a Co-Op game going at some point.  But my inexperience and the time commitment for a campaign tells me that it's not likely to happen anytime soon.

[Huw the Poo]

Nef I'd be glad to, if our respective timezones permit it.  After so many changes to the game I'm pretty much a noob again myself.  You don't have to worry about the length of a campaign; the setup for each game is configurable as hell so we could make it a small universe.

[Nefaro]

Nef I'd be glad to, if our respective timezones permit it.  After so many changes to the game I'm pretty much a noob again myself.  You don't have to worry about the length of a campaign; the setup for each game is configurable as hell so we could make it a small universe.

I may take you up on that sometime, when I get back around to it.

Is 8.0 a free upgrade or do we need to purchase the expansion to get it?  I'm not too worried about it, as their prices have always been very affordable.  Just wondering if it's a requirement.

[Cougar_DK]

I'm pretty sure everybody will get the 8.0 update since its a core change the expansions is "just icing on the cake" ;)

The AI is brutal in A.I. War. Played a couple of coop games with at good friend a month ago. And even though we own every expansion we only played with base game units and stuff. Its unbelievable how many units and options there are in this game :D

And yes we lost both games against to level 6 AI's...

[Nefaro]

And yes we lost both games against to level 6 AI's...

Think I was only doing level 3 or 4 AI when I was learning it.  Never finished though.

[JasonPratt]

Yep, another incremental update patched in this afternoon.