Custom Map #504: The Langstrom AI. By: Exodus Legate

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This topic is for discussion of map #504: The Langstrom AI


Author: Exodus Legate
Size: 480x270

Desc:
At last, the AI's core control center is within our grasp. But sometimes the last few steps are the hardest. This map took some loving inspiration from AI War, and is my first- I hope i've got both the difficulty and enjoyment about right. Please note: Spire ships are strong, but use a lot of energy. The map might run a bit slow unless you've got a pretty decent computer- there's a lot going on here. Advice: I wouldn't take too long if I were you... the AI isn't going to play nice forever. You've got a w

[Exodus Legate]

To continue the truncated briefing:

You've got a while before it really gets annoyed, but once it does...

Information: CST- Constructor (3 Lathes, 3 Dischargers). FF- Frigate. DR-Director- energy relay, discharger and grabber. TD- Tanker. HTD- Heavy Tanker. DD- Destroyer. CR- Cruiser (1 Mk7). BS- Battleship (1 Mk 7). DN- Dreadnaught (3 Mk 7's).



And a note on the aesthetics: The spire ships were inspired by AI war 2's concept for the spire, not the original, since I simply cannot get the original aesthetic to be a decent ship and not look awful in particle fleet. The AI's hunter killers and mother ship came out a bit more recognisable (Though if you see the mothership, you've probably already lost...)

[ColonelSandersLite]

Ambitious.  Maybe a little too ambitious.

General thoughts:
The author warns of lag unless you have a powerful machine.  Users should heed that warning.  I did finish the mission, but it was quite laggy on my end.  The ship designs are good overall, but tend to have power consumption problems.  As a general thought, personally, I would prefer a faster paced more lethal engagement at the end of the level.

I did have fun on this level, but honestly this map was too laggy on this machine for me to feel that I can give it a fair rating.  That being said, if you have a good strong computer, you should check it out.  There is definitely a lot to this one, and I would say it's a strong first showing.

My time:
42:34 (first run)

I know I can get that time much lower now that I know the solution to the level, but I'm not going to run it again.  At least not soon.

Difficulty:
Hard

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Definitely power issues. I'm producing 563 energy and have storage of 4000 yet most of my ships are starved for energy. It's kind of a frustrating experience to have all the firepower and energy in the world, but I somehow can't deliver it to my ships.

[Exodus Legate]

Thank you both for your feedback- I appreciate it!

The power consumption issues on the larger ships are actually intentional, to see if the extra factor it created was interesting or frustrating- I think to be honest it's probably fallen on the frustrating side, so if I use those ships again it'll need to be rethought. The final encounter dragging on too long without feeling threatening and just being a slog- okay, noted for improvement, and the same for the lag.

:)

[D0m0nik]

Yeah the lag is so bad for me I am 9 mins in and been playing for over an hour, have to quit I'm afraid, may try again as it is a fantastic level and has a lot to offer.

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More feedback for you:

For me I love games that cause you to have to build up a force and then attack a final foe. This map was exactly the kind of map that I love. The plentiful land offers resources and enemies that can be attacked early to gain an early advantage. That first half of the game was just perfect.

I really enjoyed going from corner to corner, capturing these resources and conquering the map little by little. The enemy was squeezed into the center where the final assault was made. I think if the final assault wasn't such a grind, this would have been a 10/10 map.

[Exodus Legate]

Would anyone who wants to play it but is having the lag be a problem be up for a quick second version designed for a bit less lag by the simple expedient of halving the particle counts while doubling the health, and removing a few bits and bobs that are non-core to the level? If I dump a totem at the start for you to disable and play properly, it's no trouble. Obviously it makes the times a farce, but...

[ColonelSandersLite]

As for the power issues:
I notice that the ships have a lot of energy storage.  I think the intent was for you to pull a ship back and charge it while a fresh ship with full tanks takes over on the front line.  I think that you are also meant to actually manage weapons on specific ships by, for example, disabling particle cannons and setting the mk7s to dop_ship, unless you have a specific mission in mind for that ship to set it in a different way.  Assuming that's right, there's a couple of issues with that design philosophy.

First, I'm under the general impression that most people don't know that a ship can only pull 30 energy/second as this never really comes up in the stock missions.  I think the default assumption for most people that haven't trawled the forums for this sort of detail (probably the vast majority) is that ships pull as much energy as they need from the nearest mine (so long as there's enough to go around).  To put it another way, I don't think it's obvious to most people that those tripple mk7s on an amped dreadnought can pull more energy than the ship is capable of drawing from the mine, and that's before you throw in all the other stuff.

Second, even if you know that and go to the effort to manage your power in this way, it does have an effect on the pacing of the map.  This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it is something that should be kept in mind.

I will say that I think it's a little much that every ship in the arsenal has the same energy problem, from the ff all the way to the SDN.


As for the idea of a reduced particle count map:
I would be happy to try it out, but I suspect that it won't do all that much good.  The particle count is significant, but I think that the number of dopples, turrets, ships and ship turrets are the real problem.  Still, I could be wrong and even if I'm right, it might push some people over the threshold from unplayable to playable.

If you where to give it a try though, I suggest you don't actually do it on the same uploaded mission.  Instead, I suggest that you handle it in the same way that yum234 handled Random Enemy and Random Enemy Hard.  The main reason being to preserve the scoreboards.

[Exodus Legate]

As for the power issues:
I notice that the ships have a lot of energy storage.  I think the intent was for you to pull a ship back and charge it while a fresh ship with full tanks takes over on the front line.  I think that you are also meant to actually manage weapons on specific ships by, for example, disabling particle cannons and setting the mk7s to dop_ship, unless you have a specific mission in mind for that ship to set it in a different way.  Assuming that's right, there's a couple of issues with that design philosophy.

First, I'm under the general impression that most people don't know that a ship can only pull 30 energy/second as this never really comes up in the stock missions.  I think the default assumption for most people that haven't trawled the forums for this sort of detail (probably the vast majority) is that ships pull as much energy as they need from the nearest mine (so long as there's enough to go around).  To put it another way, I don't think it's obvious to most people that those tripple mk7s on an amped dreadnought can pull more energy than the ship is capable of drawing from the mine, and that's before you throw in all the other stuff.

Second, even if you know that and go to the effort to manage your power in this way, it does have an effect on the pacing of the map.  This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it is something that should be kept in mind.

I will say that I think it's a little much that every ship in the arsenal has the same energy problem, from the ff all the way to the SDN.


As for the idea of a reduced particle count map:
I would be happy to try it out, but I suspect that it won't do all that much good.  The particle count is significant, but I think that the number of dopples, turrets, ships and ship turrets are the real problem.  Still, I could be wrong and even if I'm right, it might push some people over the threshold from unplayable to playable.

If you where to give it a try though, I suggest you don't actually do it on the same uploaded mission.  Instead, I suggest that you handle it in the same way that yum234 handled Random Enemy and Random Enemy Hard.  The main reason being to preserve the scoreboards.

You're quite correct as to the intention on the energy, but I also agree with your points. As to the map... okay, fair point on the doppels, etc, so i'll have a look at that as well first. Don't worry, it'll be a different upload, for the exact reason you said.

More feedback for you:

For me I love games that cause you to have to build up a force and then attack a final foe. This map was exactly the kind of map that I love. The plentiful land offers resources and enemies that can be attacked early to gain an early advantage. That first half of the game was just perfect.

I really enjoyed going from corner to corner, capturing these resources and conquering the map little by little. The enemy was squeezed into the center where the final assault was made. I think if the final assault wasn't such a grind, this would have been a 10/10 map.

Thanks!