Full Demo Rundown

[Corey]

It's not gonna be in the demo, and probably cut from 2.2 as well. It doesn't feel like it's adding what we actually wanted out of it to the game yet.

[GreyStar]

That's unfortunate, I would appreciated the extra tactical depth.

[DarthRevansRevenge]

darn. with so many enemies, i would want a diplomacy system to take planets while staying behind the great golan wall

[Helix345]

I think there is a submod you can download

[Corey]

We released a test build for base FoC, it's not a submod you can download for ICW.

[turtle225]

AI Changes:

• AI will properly stack fleets instead of sending waves of smaller fleets. Also higher fleet and ground force requirements for attacks to occur.

Many awesome things to look forward to, but this one might be what actually interests me the most. Nothing kills my motivation to play than the feeling of invulnerability because the ai is too stupid to coordinate attacks properly.

Something else you might want to consider looking at is the AI's tendency to retreat wounded ships in an attempt to save them. While it makes sense to try and save dying ships, sometimes it ends up in a scenario where the ai is running loops with a fleet of half dead ships that aren't very threatening and basically trickling in after the initial wave is beaten back. As an example, in the current campaign with Han and Rogriss where the Hapans are hostile, I had them attack me at your capital planet with a ridiculous stack of battle dragons and the other ship (something like 200 pop iirc, but it's been awhile) and I defeated them with just Han, Rogriss, the golans, an ion cannon, a level 3 station, and whatever other starting units you get there. I don't think this would have been possible if they just brute forced into me but they kept turning around. Maybe the actual problem is infinite unit spawns out of space stations. Idk, something to think about, but maybe not worth bothering with.

Anyway, thanks for the new info and for the work you guys do. This update is sounding better and better with each post.

[Mr.Puerto]

What's the status of diplomacy for the demo? And 2.2?

It's not going to be in the demo or 2.2 but hopefully the next version.

[yutpaeksi]

Hey TR Team!

It's been a long time, glad to see the mod is still going strong. Looking forward to the fun-sounding new elements of 2.2.

You guys always excel, and the community certainly appreciates it.

[c7x8z4]

I remember in a post a while back that the team was changing how Z-layers work for capital ships jumping in. Will that be in the beta? 2.2?
(From what I remember, each new ship jumps in on different layers, so you could potentially have ISDII's jumping in on top of each other...?)

Could you elaborate on these 3 new battle events and how they will work?
[At least 3 other battle events and styles planned for the full release.]

Also, could you elaborate on how this system/mechanic would work? Will the cost for all units be the same? What happens if your treasury runs to 0 credits? ...etc
[Testing a unit upkeep cost mechanic, provided it doesn't reduce AI desire to build ships (has to work just as well in large scenarios like Art of War, as well as smaller starts like FTGU, so may not last).]

Lastly, is there a possibility of establishing a rally point system in game (in galactic map view)? E.g. I am assembling a fleet over Kuat, so all ships produced at Coruscant automatically moves to Kuat immediately after production?

Thanks,

[Corey]

I remember in a post a while back that the team was changing how Z-layers work for capital ships jumping in. Will that be in the beta? 2.2?
(From what I remember, each new ship jumps in on different layers, so you could potentially have ISDII's jumping in on top of each other...?)

That will be in the demo, for most ships. You wouldn't really have ISDs jumping in directly on top of each other; the ship is still assigned a Z-layer, but as each instance of that ship jumps in, it's assigned one of three variations on that.

Could you elaborate on these 3 new battle events and how they will work?
[At least 3 other battle events and styles planned for the full release.]

We don't like to say too much about things until they're finished. Basically, we're trying to do some different stuff to shake up how battles sometimes play.

Also, could you elaborate on how this system/mechanic would work? Will the cost for all units be the same? What happens if your treasury runs to 0 credits? ...etc

As it stands, you buy a ship, then every week it costs a certain amount of credits to maintain. Each ship is different. I don't think the game lets you run to negative credits; you just can't buy new things. Whether or not this stays in the game depends on a few factors. Primarily, we need to make sure it doesn't hurt the AI. Secondly, we need to make sure it does what we want it to (make credits an actual factor) without doing something we don't (cripple earlygame, low-planet GCs)

Lastly, is there a possibility of establishing a rally point system in game (in galactic map view)? E.g. I am assembling a fleet over Kuat, so all ships produced at Coruscant automatically moves to Kuat immediately after production?

Maybe it could be scripted, I'm not sure. It would probably get pretty laggy though.

[c7x8z4]

Awesome; I look forward to the demo.

I also wanted to ask about improving orbital bombardments and bombing runs.

For orbital bombardments, as it currently is, I feel that it is too weak.
Currently, the orbital bombardments don't seem to do too much damage, and worse, the shots are quite spread out and "diluted" instead of concentrated in one spot.
Compare the following 2 videos:
@13:35 mark;
@18:25 mark;
In the first video, there are only a few shots and those shots are somewhat randomly all over the place (it does not even destroy the building), whereas in the second video, there is a constant stream of shots concentrated in one spot. The bombardment in the 2nd video is also much more visually impressive, with shock waves and smoke, whereas in the first video, the shots seem to just disappear into the ground...

Secondly, is there any way to increase the damage and area of effect for a bombing run?
@19:22
In this video, the enemy bunkers survive the bombing run...Any way to increase the damage and strike area?

Thanks,

[Corey]

That was done intentionally. You'll notice it actually still does destroy that building at 13:37, the light vehicle factory. It leaves the heavy vehicle factory heavily damaged. The damage it does is basically the same, it's just, as you've said, spread around. There's really nothing that distinguishes between bombing runs and OBs in the base game; you pick the area, and the visuals are different, but it's basically "I want that one target destroyed." The way we currently have it, you either pick the bombing run for targeted destruction, or the Orbital Bombardment for a wider range potential area and lots of stuff is going to die, but you're not guaranteed to hit the single specific building or unit you may have wanted (if you want that, you use a bombing run). It's also way too easily to just get a scout, typically an air unit, and only ever use bombing runs and OBs with no need to actually use any ground units.

With those bunkers not being destroyed, that's more to do with bunkers being particularly strong and those ones being particularly high (not all the bombs which would hit them on a lower, flatter surface actually hit them there) as opposed to bombers being weaker than they've been before or in other places.

[DarthRevansRevenge]

ah, thanks. Executors must be hard to support

[Aeradom]

Lots of great stuff in it, particularly be nice to not have the enemy fleet running to the fortresses like it's raining outside and they want to be under a roof... before it collapses? (It's a flawed metaphor but let me have it). The one thing that has me nervous is that thing about upkeep. I've never played a game where I found the upkeep really added to my enjoyment and didn't just make things tedious. I understand why it's in there, but at some point, you have to sacrifice realism for fun. Not really sure what you mean that credits aren't important; While it's true in the later parts of the game it doesn't really matter that much, at that point I want to be battling massive fleets so I'm fine with that.

I'll try out the beta and give my thoughts further once I played it.

[Corey]

The reasons behind putting in upkeep have nothing to do with realism actually. It's an extra cost meant to address the fact that after the first little bit of a campaign, you never really have to worry much about production costs, especially towards the end, and the other factions can't put up anything near a fight. You're not fighting massive fleet against massive fleet, you're fighting tiny dregs with your own massive fleet, and this is part of an attempt to fix (one end of) this issue. We're not aiming to reduce the amount of ships you have, we're aiming to make it so if you lose those ships, that actually means something and you can't immediately rebuild. I don't think it would get tedious, considering you're not really required to take any extra action.

[DarthRevansRevenge]

humm... i don't know... you were getting really stomped by Zsinj until EP 35 in the Maldrood, so...

[StarBornMichaelh165]

humm... i don't know... you were getting really stomped by Zsinj until EP 35 in the Maldrood, so...

  Yes Corey did until Episode 35 .

[Corey]

humm... i don't know... you were getting really stomped by Zsinj until EP 35 in the Maldrood, so...

Even then, credits were rarely the issue, and the AI behaviour is very different in that from how it is now. The second you get ahead, it's not a challenge. This ideally contributes to delaying that moment and keeping more of the GC a challenge, and also, in certain GCs if we can do everything we plan, will be part of planning for certain "endgame" events if we're able to do them.

[StarBornMichaelh165]

Even then, credits were rarely the issue, and the AI behaviour is very different in that from how it is now. The second you get ahead, it's not a challenge. This ideally contributes to delaying that moment and keeping more of the GC a challenge, and also, in certain GCs if we can do everything we plan, will be part of planning for certain "endgame" events if we're able to do them.

OH What kind of Endgame Events.

[Revanchist]

Even then, credits were rarely the issue, and the AI behaviour is very different in that from how it is now. The second you get ahead, it's not a challenge. This ideally contributes to delaying that moment and keeping more of the GC a challenge, and also, in certain GCs if we can do everything we plan, will be part of planning for certain "endgame" events if we're able to do them.

I'm wondering if this will include the "endgame event" that was originally planned for the end of Final Imperial Push. If so that would be quite fantastic.