Internal Playtest – Meta Gunship Rushes the AI

http://www.twitch.tv/metabolical/b/506538171

There’s really nothing to say about this internal playtest. Meta Gunship rushed the AI and won in nothing flat.

• At the start of the match Meta is getting a solid 60 fps, the sim is at 10, and the client at 30
• Meta went for a hardcore Advanced Air rush. So they know of the balance issues with Advanced Air – particularly on large planets. So hopefully Gamma will have fixes for Air.

Also meta did a test to see if he could figure out at a glance why desert planets eat up so much memory and if it's consistent on all computers (his computer didn't seem to get this problem, mine on the other hand froze and locked up).

That might explain the occasional spikes I get while playing - every 7 or 8 games PA starts sucking RAM till there is none left.

Interesting

Also, Thank GOD.

Just upping Adv Air in price would help, but all aircraft need nerfed imho.

Well my problem already starts when loading up. I can play on desert planets only if they are the only planet present and they don't exceed Radius 1000.

It's likely the RAM that's killing you. The game can be a memory hog.

Yea I know, but still: If this doesn't happen with other planets then it shouldn't happen with desert, right? I can play normally on system with up to 5 celestial bodies (since the last patch, including lava planets). Also what's odd is the fact that I'm not sure, but I think I managed to crash the server when I was trying to figure out which planet is the memory hog. My friend reported a server crash at the exact same moment my game froze after my fourth attempt.

If you guys want more details I've made a post in bug tracker as well as in the beta issues and bugs topic.

Yeah. I hope the Advanced Air Factory cost gets increased to be inline with the Bot/Vehicle.

It used to be that way due to the huge drawback in air fabricators. But now that air fabbers are more inline with bot/vehicle fabricators, air factories should be too.

Considering that it's almost as effective to mass assist a factory, and that positioning makes zero difference to the air game and therefore you only need one, I doubt a price hike on the factory will make much of a difference. It will delay the rush by a minute or two, nothing more.

While I do agree that it will not fix air, it will however allow you to go for any T2 factory to set up flak and go air rather than forcing you to go air directly. In some (very rare) cases I have been caught without an air fabber or with another t2 factory in production when I saw the enemy switch to T2 air. Obviously in that case they were in advantage since their factory completed earlier. With the same cost you can drop down/finnish any T2 factory and then switch to air rather than being outright forced into air.

On it's own, adjusting the air factory won't change much.

But it'll balance out the validity to the four advanced factories.

Nerfing air will be needed.

All air units should probably have a speed reduction and a health reduction while all ground AA gets a range boost.

I think doing a range increase AND a speed reduction would be a mistake. You'd be hitting the same issue twice.

But you must do it carefully because air should still be able to punch a hole through defenses and go after high-priority targets. Air support and raids must still be useful.

I know. It's a big issue.

Yes. But ground AA must not be pointless.

Right now pretty much all ground AA take out incoming aircraft right about the time they drop their bombs. Meaning air always has the advantage in the exchange.

Yeah, I know. I just don't want gunships and bombers becoming useless.

Completely agree with you.

I love air superiority and I love gunships in particular.

We just can't kill the game for the sake of air.

Very true.

i don't think ground defences should be buffed, imo static air defences should be the last line of defence and mostly used to help your fighters already in the air

I disagree. I think a mixture should be used along the lines of fighters are more powerful but ground responds instantly since it's already there.

Fighters are more powerful than ground defenses due to their mobility. The danger of having fighters way more powerful than ground defenses is that now PA is "whoever builds the most fighters wins" – which is something we've been struggling with for a while.