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A Question of Balance II
This was discussed recently ( and surely last year ), but I think it's a good thing to expose from time to time the unbalancing elements - just to remind the Firaxis team some ideas they can implement within future plans for the SMAC engine ( Well, maybe they won't. Is SMAC a dead engine not worth upgrading ??? ).
Of course everybody knows the effects brought by the CV or a strong pop boom, and also the choppers, all after mid-game. Many experts prefer talking about the overall AI programming as the main guilty element, but it was proven that the AI can adjust and is within the good standards for a '99 release.
More precisely, the vendettas can be worked to be more severe. Then the exponential power surge occuring in an advanced game should be negated at least partially. Since pop boom & choppers are there to stay, I think the vendetta/truce/integrity engine is a key to upgrade a promising challenge leading to boredom at the end.
Vendettas in my recent games were more abundant than before ( smacx v2 upgraded this or not? ), especially playing the Caretakers and Pirates. Playing as an alien is fun and entertaining, still on the easy side. However Svensgaard is the hardest choice next to Miriam in my mind ( among the 14 proposed factions ): you must be careful, you'll be attacked pretty soon if you're a pacifist builder ( unless playing on a huge map ). Yhe weakier you are, the more eager the AI will be to launch a surprise attack. That always existed with conflicting SE choices; meanwhile we can expect surprise vendettas upon military strenghts also, and the Artificial Idiot WAS TWEAKED THAT WAY along the patches released after the original SMAC.
My point is: if they've done that, they can upgrade the vendetta/truce mechanics much more. I'm thinking of 3 steps:
1-JUST BEFORE MID-GAME. Vendettas are too swift; therefore it should be more difficult to make a truce. A war is a war, you should not be able to declare one and then making truce within the same turn just when conquering an enemy base or two. Vendettas should last longer ( at least 10 turns, maybe more upon atrocities ). However not permanently at this stage of the game - I agree that truces shall remain.
2-AFTER MID-GAME. When becoming twice as powerful as the next AI in the dominance chart, the remaining opponents should combine forces against you ( unless Pacts ) for several years.
3-THE END IS NEAR... When you begin the final steps unto your victory goal ( other than conquest ), the remaining factions should combine forces against you ( unless Pacts ) PERMANENTLY until the end. That means lots of missile attacks = now the FDS and GSP should be more useful than esoteric.
Again, if only Firaxis has some serious plans to upgrade the game ( maybe after the Civ III release ? )...
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The art of mastering:"la Maîtrise des caprices du subconscient avant tout".
Of course everybody knows the effects brought by the CV or a strong pop boom, and also the choppers, all after mid-game. Many experts prefer talking about the overall AI programming as the main guilty element, but it was proven that the AI can adjust and is within the good standards for a '99 release.
More precisely, the vendettas can be worked to be more severe. Then the exponential power surge occuring in an advanced game should be negated at least partially. Since pop boom & choppers are there to stay, I think the vendetta/truce/integrity engine is a key to upgrade a promising challenge leading to boredom at the end.
Vendettas in my recent games were more abundant than before ( smacx v2 upgraded this or not? ), especially playing the Caretakers and Pirates. Playing as an alien is fun and entertaining, still on the easy side. However Svensgaard is the hardest choice next to Miriam in my mind ( among the 14 proposed factions ): you must be careful, you'll be attacked pretty soon if you're a pacifist builder ( unless playing on a huge map ). Yhe weakier you are, the more eager the AI will be to launch a surprise attack. That always existed with conflicting SE choices; meanwhile we can expect surprise vendettas upon military strenghts also, and the Artificial Idiot WAS TWEAKED THAT WAY along the patches released after the original SMAC.
My point is: if they've done that, they can upgrade the vendetta/truce mechanics much more. I'm thinking of 3 steps:
1-JUST BEFORE MID-GAME. Vendettas are too swift; therefore it should be more difficult to make a truce. A war is a war, you should not be able to declare one and then making truce within the same turn just when conquering an enemy base or two. Vendettas should last longer ( at least 10 turns, maybe more upon atrocities ). However not permanently at this stage of the game - I agree that truces shall remain.
2-AFTER MID-GAME. When becoming twice as powerful as the next AI in the dominance chart, the remaining opponents should combine forces against you ( unless Pacts ) for several years.
3-THE END IS NEAR... When you begin the final steps unto your victory goal ( other than conquest ), the remaining factions should combine forces against you ( unless Pacts ) PERMANENTLY until the end. That means lots of missile attacks = now the FDS and GSP should be more useful than esoteric.
Again, if only Firaxis has some serious plans to upgrade the game ( maybe after the Civ III release ? )...
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The art of mastering:"la Maîtrise des caprices du subconscient avant tout".
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