Galactic War: Pre-built AI Bases, Smooth AI Difficulty Progression, Modifiers?

Hello all! This is my first post here. I've been playing PA's Galactic War for some time now. (and what's not to say that's actually the feature I've been waiting for in getting PA in the first place, since I'm not particularly good at multiplayer (including Internet connectivity-wise))

I realize this is the first iteration of the Galactic War mode and I presume more layers of complexity will eventually be added onto the game. The following suggestions I'm about to make, I have no clue if they actually are already on Uber's list one way or the other but I think it's good to re-align by mentioning anyway if they do already exist.

At the moment, Galactic War definitely provides the basic experience of what it's supposed to be - hopping between systems, destroying opponents, whilst being limited by technological accessibility. The first iteration is definitely satisfactory but I also hope for it to delineate further from simply being a series of skirmish matches, which it often feels so.

I'd like to to bring up the following concepts.

Hostile AI's Begin with Already-Built Bases
This seems to be a minor assumption to bring up and I'm sure that's what many are thinking right now. However, I'd like to expand on this simple idea further to show what kind of depth such a mechanic could achieve - even though it might have some deliberation on how to actually implement it.

• AI's begin with bases already built. In this scenario, the AI already has a preliminary base built complete with production facilities, resources, and even fortifications and defenses. The size, number, and complexity of AI bases on the planet increases further the player comes close to a faction homeworld. The bases are structured and positioned in ways that encourage the player to adopt more tactics than simply whipping out an x-number of units at its wake. Rather than having one massive base engulfing most of the planet beyond the player's start point, however, the AI actually has major and minor bases with distinct anatomy to them - some bases are simply walled-off cages filled with power plants, some are fully-suited roll-out production bases, and some may be artillery firebases that need to be taken out by air units before ground units move into their proximity.
  
• The AI only gradually makes use of production capabilities. The AI has access to facilities that, within 10-seconds of the game, utterly destroy the player. EXCEPT, the AI does not use any of these features and simply slowly ramps up use of these to slowly counter the player's efforts, making it a very balanced encounter with the player. The AI matches its production speed with the player's over-all performance and then slowly steps up beyond if the player is not responding with a more appropriate response. This promotes a sense of choice and urgency to make the player's actions significant when he finally gets production rolling - should I head directly for the enemy base? How about that orbital launch site? How about that nearby factory base that keeps releasing harassing units?

Now why do I believe in this idea? The following reasons:

• The prospect of destroying bases procedurally gives further reason to actually order units around the map, forcing the player to choose where the battle group should go rather than simply ordering them to attack-move to the center of the AI's primary base. Should the player destroy this section of the AI's quarters filled with metal extractors? Or perhaps this orbital launch station? Or maybe a tightly-packed batch of air production facilities? Or how about directly at the commander's headquarters, his main base?
• Progression is promoted not only in the meta game but also inside the matches themselves. The player is incentivized to explore the planet and actually find specific weakpoints on the AI's defenses such as hitting inactive production facilities or disabling power-plants that one way or the other weaken the AI's capabilities.
• 5-minute steamroll matches no longer happen. Perhaps some people actually like this so maybe take it with a grain of salt. The idea of being unable to simply walk into the AI base and suicide-attack the commander directly forces the player to build-up a respectable force before engaging in antics regarding direct-to-commander attacks.
  
  The ideas above opens up a large number of avenues to make every single planet in Galactic War significant, flavorful, and memorable. Below are ideas on how bases are composed.
  
  AI Base Profiles/Templates
  • Main Headquarters - the AI commander's 'sleeping area'. Huge, extremely fortified and requires a respectable force to destroy, and the AI commander with it. Comes with a balanced array of defensive and production structures.
  • Resource Base - similiar idea to a mass of oilfields, this is a spread-out base dotted with metal extractors or energy plants serving the AI. Defended by walls and various hardpoint turrets.
  • Artillery Strongpoint - an artillery firebase situated in the map covering other AI bases but never appearing close to the player's starting point. Artillery firebases simply function as 'gateways' the player must resolve passage through of by destroying them one way or the other in order to allow larger forces to get by.
  • Defensive/Observation Strongpoint - defensive strongpoints are simply tightly grouped turrets, sensors and other static defenses placed around the map. They discourage easy discovery of AI bases since they naturally blow-up scouts and disturb the player's ability to move around the planet freely with any sort of unit, requiring a force with decent fighting capability to destroy them.
  • Production Base - this base may be a homogeneous grouping of production bases (such as 100% air, 100% orbital, 100% naval, etc.) or be a composed of a variety of others (land/air combo, etc.). The AI deploys harassing units from this and will continue to do so until they are taken out. Some of these are inactive when the player begins slowly ramping up production as the game proceeds.
  • Shringle - mostly devoid of any structures other than occasional turrets, shringles are simply long walls that behave like trenches - minor obstructions to player movement. Think Great Wall of China, having walls that snake here and there for the purpose of limiting player mobility (and generating layout on the planet's surface, aside from simply terrain.)
  • Superweapon Base - this base has an inactive superweapon in it! If the player is of sufficient threat and capability to the AI, the AI will announce a countdown (HOLY S*** moment) of using whatever superweapon is within this base against the player. Regardless of any time at all, the player may want to blow this base up before anything else!
  • Hybrid Bases - this base may specialize in multiple profiles prior. These are generally harder and rarer due to their mixed-use capabilities.
  
  Those example base profiles alone should give an idea of providing the player with a number of tactical choices. On the following list are base modifiers that alter the base's anatomy that may radically change the way the player reacts to them. Base modifiers can apply to any kind of base.
  • High-tech Base - this specific base is composed of structures of a higher tech level. The player may want to avoid these until he has a proper force to respond with. High-tech production bases, for example, don't activate until the AI believes the player is enough of a 'threat' to handle them but can be directly attacked anyway if the player has figured out a way to wipe them out quickly before they DO activate.
  • Labyrinthine Base - this base is spread out and protected by layers upon layers of walls that produce corridors between clusters of functional structures. The player is actually forced to move units across distances and that navigation is made slightly difficult by obstacles in this base's structure. They may have walls that limit mobility for the player.
  • Entrenched Base - this base has a more diverse defensive chemistry with turrets being more numerous and densely packed with a chance of double or even triple walls. The player may need to try using artillery or specific mobile units to soften it up before running a main force into it due to how entrenched it is.
  • Mobile Defense Base - this base is protected not by turrets but by a mess of mostly passive AI units that patrol the base's surroundings. These units only attack when they are actually provoked or the base they protect damaged. Units in this base may also actually attempt to patrol nearby bases but never go out to attack the player directly.
  • Orbital Defense Base - this base largely deals with planetside activities but, for some reason, is protected by orbital defense systems. Take those out first before riding whole-hog into this base! Probably never spawns at all until the player actually has *any* way to defeat it via unlocked technologies.
  
  These are just some ideas I had in mind to spice up Galactic War. As said before, I am not actually sure if I might really just be mentioning things already in plan - or if the game is actually going to work in a radically different direction. Any thoughts from others? I realize the scope of all of this is pretty heavy-weighted, so just some discussion over it is satisfactory for me.

I commend you my friend for such an elaborate and well thought-out post, but i fear the procedural nature of map generation, makes this (sadly) impossible...

If a planet's surface and features are only generated instances before the gameplay actually begins, i think that this idea is doomed to fail (once again: sadly, because i think you are right that, except faction leader battles, the AI is pretty 'helpless'). I feel a stronger AI is necessary first (and even a lot stronger when a player unlocks subcommanders), because SubComms play an even better game then your average Minion AI Commander.

But it really is a nice concept you've wrote down here! I hope they read up on it, because something like this that is coded into the AI can actually make order out of their chaotic basebuilding

You could give the AI like 2-5 minutes headstart of simulated building.

Or have the AI start with a higher resource rate for the first few min.

Or when they get the ability to reload games and play them from any time point, maybe they could use that info to get the AI in GW to have a base up and running.

I don't see why procedurally generated planets could not be procedurally generated with pre-designed base layouts.

Welcome to the forums, very nice post.

Another case that could mix things up is have multiple enemy commanders more often. Right now those are reserved for the boss fights, but they would still be quite appropriate even on the smaller maps.

or 3 or 4 way wars, or being stuck in the middle of 2 enemy commies attacking eachother and surviving for 15 mins, or stealing the bacon cannon tech...the ideas are endless

Playing the Devil's Advocate here, we don't know if the AI is adaptable enough to do something like this. Based on previous posts by Sorian, the AI's difficulty is based off of a series of "values" which can be "modified", so it's not outside the realm of possibility.

Subjectively, I feel like causing the AI to "ramp-up" is a bit strange. We are playing as supercomputing killing machines thousands of years in the future, I feel like someone would have thought to have them ignore the shower, tea and muffins when they woke up and get right to the supercomputing and killing. I'm not entirely refuting your idea though; I just think it needs a little nudge towards the Planetary part of Planetary Annihilation.

I have no idea if Asteroid Belts will be a thing, they seem to be on the backburner as large amounts of small moons suffice just as well, even if the game gets a bit laggy and chaotic after 5+ planets; but an Asteroid Belt would be an ideal place for a staging ground. When the game starts, the AI starts combing through outlying planets and asteroid belts with orbital fighters and radars, giving the player ~10-20 minutes to build up and prepare. When the AI finds the player, it will launch an all-out attack on their base, using nearby teleporters, dropping Fabbers and platoons, and in the future using Unit Cannons to assault. The player can either end up fending off the AI and counterattacking, retreating to another position in the solar system and starting the process over again, or dying.

But my suggestion is more about consistency with lore than actual gameplay, I do enjoy OP's ideas.

It's just a thought, but i think terrain features could become a painstake to take into account for setting up bases like this... On a round moon-type planet, all is well, here this can be easily done. A desert planet with rocky surface and cliffs can hinder the placement of these types of setups.

I mean: I'm all in for stuff like this (pre-made bases and so on) but I think this already comes with a tougher AI. Even your current subcommanders build bigger bases than the Opponent AI...

You could prevent rushing by implementing an option to have an extremely powerful turret powered by a battery in your starting area. Any enemy that enters the turret's range is destroyed. After a set amount of time the battery runs out and the turret self destructs. This gives both players the chance to build a base while expanding across the surface of the planet and into space.

The size of most planets prevents rushing, as does the current wall turret combo.

We are working with nano-lathes here people, not construction crews, stuff is built within minutes.

I would love to see games like this on huuuuuge planets!!! Normal planets like we have now tend to have 1 or 2 bases. But no a big planet which the AI might have controlled for centuries it would also make sense if the AI had a big base already.

Also new here! I was waiting for the singleplayer element to arrive. I was hoping for a campaign more than galactic war but now that GW is here I like the idea of it as campaigns do become stale.

Think these ideas are great. i think GW definitely needs to give you more 'meaningful' encounters.

Invading pre-built systems is a good idea, though you could make any number of scenarios too? Defend a stronghold, destroy planet, use air vehicles only, be unable to build and have to take over a moon, face 2 enemies. Lots of ideas could become scripted templates on these lines. The AI would need to be rebuilt for some of these I imagine but it would make the experiences more interesting and differentiate the gameplay.

I do like the 'acquiring tech' mechanic - but the above might create issues? E.g. procedurally generated scenarios that are 'unwinnable'! If though it flipped on it's head and the tech was given at the start of the mission it could be interesting?

An AI that 'ramps up' is definitely needed, certainly at each new jump. I played 10 games that were all - 5 minutes build, rush enemy, dead. Not good! 4 of those i had a subcomm who did it for me!

Looking forward to GW v2, 3, 4 etc!

You can already run into not winnable scenarios if you don't have orbital tech or air/naval units on some planets.