Discuss the AI here!

[the darkwalker]

this is weird. i expected that the ai itself got buffs,instead when i fought in a *LOW INTENSITY* combat zone, i saw an elite vulture that constantly tried to ram me. it was 15 minutes of this vulture constantly circling and ramming.
the fun stuff started when he finally hit me, shields melted, and my military reinforced hull got from 100% to 30% in less than 40 seconds. what the hell.
my vulture is A graded, i expected a fair fight instead they have buffed weapons and stuff...
also i don-t find it fun, to risk a 800K+ rebuy and to still earn 20k per kill when its so damn hard.
guess they still did not learn to balance their game...i quit 5 months ago, came here to see if things changed, but all this wait without updates...for this!? 120 bucks down the drain for sure!

 

[Tikigod]

The Mobius forums/FB group are hilarious right now. SO MANY TEARS! I'm betting the amount of combat logging against NPC's is going to skyrocket now

http://i.imgur.com/sC0C1Lg.jpg

It's Mobius what do you expect?

'Tis the place that attracts the kind of people that point at bounty hunters that killed them once because they were flying with a local system bounty and cry "They're griefing me for no reason! I demand actions with no consequences for I am precious!"

That isn't to say everyone on Mobius is like that... but it does attract a certain sort. *grins*

 

[CMDR Admiral Perses]

I was just one shotted by an NPC vulture in a combat zone. This wouldnt be that abnormal, except I was in an A rated Federal Corvette with more than 90% hull. My shields were down, and I was preparing to leave and re arm when my ship instantly exploded. 90% to 0% in one shot. I posted a thread on this but I'm new new here so it has to be reviewed before it is posted. I recorded the incident and any Xbox players that would like to see can view it in my captures. My gamer tag is Admiral Perses.

Anyone have any insight as to what happened here?

 

[DBCloggy]

Thanks for the cautionary tale. I'll get some missile defences.


This reminds me of the men who go to curry houses and and for the hottest thing on the menu, because they are men, you know, and they can take it.

My first mouthful of the new AI proved a little hot for me, but I only had time for a little taster as I had a few problems downloading the upgrade and it was quite late at night when I'd managed to get in. I'm going to give it a few days before I vote. I'm going to see what I can do do mitigate the spiciness of the action.

I can see an effect that spicy foods and spicy space fighting will have in common. In both cases my back end is going to be on fire.

Haha. Nice analogy, but you're making me feel hungry now.

Because I mistakenly thought I needed one for an earlier mission, I fitted a Frameshift Wake Scanner. I will be binning this in favour of a point defence turret as soon as I am able to!

As they say, you live and learn.

 

[CMDR GTR2014]

First flight in 2.1 trading profit 140.000 got burned away 4.4mil rebuy.

thanks FD, goodbye.
to bad I payed 120 EURO's

First run in 2.1 ,
killed 6 skimers , won 1.6M Cr.... (this is RIDICULOUS....)

Second run

Assassination mission 1.7M CR
Killed a FDL with a DBS...
65% hull left

It's all about knowledge...

If you're bad here you'll do bad anywhere...

 

[Marc_Hicks]

What I learned from my Beta testing:

1) High Security Systems now live up to their names. If you don't feel cut out for combat, then stick to these types of systems. Interdictions seem to be less common, & security forces will turn up sooner-& in greater numbers.

2) Interdictions overall seem to be scaled down. More of the combat you encounter will be combat that you choose-like RES's, Nav Beacons, USS's & Interdicting others.

3) If you're flying alone, I strongly recommend you stay away from Threat level 4 USS's. Even level 3 USS's can be tough going for a lone pilot. Similarly, with distress calls, be ready to flee at a moment's notice .

4) NPC encounters seem to be more scaled to your current combat rank. So, if you feel your current combat rank is no longer justified, then maybe ask support to lower you down 1 or 2 levels (I plan to start from scratch this weekend, so will entirely avoid this issue ).

So no, overall, I don't think the AI is too hard at all. It is about right (be thankful you're not up against the Beta 4 AI, that was borderline brutal ). You just have to fly & fight smart, & not expect combat to be a "fish in a barrel" experience anymore!

 

[CMDR GTR2014]

Also, if you're looking for a cheap shot... just nail 4 heatseekers on the drive and you'll have a stationary target.

 

[Rinzler o7o7o7]

Every carebear in this game right now

[video=youtube;rY0WxgSXdEE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rY0WxgSXdEE[/video]

 

[Insane4un]

It just very good. It could be even better. I want it to be even better. And for whiners i can say only.. well you know.

GID GUD

 

[Euphrat]

Yes, mommy... ahem, auntie...

Moved from a closed thread:

First of all, I was quite suspicious of the danger posed by the new AI and unparked my Clipper with a bit of concern. Equipped (and needed!) point defense and large multi cannons. Went to a Navigation Beacon to test and especially hoping to find some material. I was in Wolf 47 and encountered quite a mix of NPCs, from Mostly Harmless to Deadly (I am "Dangerous").

First off, I was somewhat handicapped by not having my usual X-52 Pro setup available (broken again, replaced under warranty, but parcel will take another 5 days to arrive), so I am playing with an older Saitek Cyborg Evo joystick - unfamiliar to me and no good throttle. But still, I did not find the AI too hard, if somewhat challenging. Would have been quite a bit easier for me with my HOTAS. Only real hairy moment was against a dangerous FGS with no assistance by Security, that cost me two SCBs.

I flew out with a ton of materials, a million in bounty vouchers and 100% hull. I would not consider myself a particularly good combat pilot, but I have a lot of experience with the game and know how to manage my pips and throttle.

However, I can see that a casual player with mediocre skills would be quite put off by the challenge they now face. This would include the (relative) newbies that just farmed credits and rank with easy AI kills and Robigo runs. While I assume that the first reaction of the hardcore community would be a shrug and "git gud" message, I ask you to think again. ED already has not the greatest reputation for being accessible to newbies and casuals - and that reputation is probably going to take another hit. As a consequence, sales to new players and season pass sales to casuals may suffer. This, in turn, might greatly hurt FDev's bottom line and in consequence endanger the long term viability of the game.

Thus, FDev (and we) should listen to the complaints about the UI. Maybe a NPC difficulty slider would be appropriate, with harder settings giving better combat-related rewards (military rank, combat rating, credits, materials etc) and possibly a trade bonus. This might reconcile the casuals without taking the fun away from the "hardcore" players.

TL;DR: new AI is nice, but maybe too much for casuals and less skilled players. This might hurt sales and thus future development. A difficulty slider adjusting AI challenge and rewards might help to reconcile this.

Hi CMDRs,

I have the same concern about new players, I remember how long it took me to get a nice ship in the begining. I understand that the fact the NPCs have been lvled up is a good thing for players that already have bigger, and well armed ships, but new players will probably see this nice lvl up more as a wall they ll be hitting on. I found it long to be able at last to buy a nice ship and feel that new players will have to wait twice the time I had to wait myself. I fear a lot of new players will simply move away from Elite, finding that the progress curve is just too hard. I wouldn't like the galaxy to end up empty and only populated with large ships of the "first age" CMDRs..

 

[HazardousMatt]

Was it a normal nav beacon or a compromised one? Did you have any cargo on board? Are you pledged in powerplay? Do you have a hostile reputation with that faction? I've never been attacked on sight by pirates if my hold was empty or unless I        off their faction too much. That shouldn't normally happen. Compromised nav beacon is the HazRes of nav beacons though, if it was one then all bets are off.

It was a normal beacon, no cargo, I'm pledged and it was her system, not hostile.

 

[Verax]

So dank.

 

[Euphrat]

It just very good. It could be even better. I want it to be even better. And for whiners i can say only.. well you know.

GID GUD

Sry mate, but U can't simply consider that ppl that don't agree ur point of view are whiners. It's just an easy way not to listen to other's ppl opinions.... grow up please ^^

 

[hunvagy]

It was a normal beacon, no cargo, I'm pledged and it was her system, not hostile.

Weird, then it shouldn't happen unless the pirates were actually from a rival power. I did notice an increase of Kumo Crew and etc in imperial nav beacons. Those would engage you on sight.

 

[tawittle]

The AI turn too fast, its really annoying. They need to go a bit easier on the FA off.

Plus the lower combat ranked NPCs need to be turned down a bit. I'm not against hard AI but it's just unrealistic right now.

 

[_Fissure]

The new AI cheats!!! I have proof!!!!

 

[biohazard15]

Taking other threads and my own experience into account, I can still say that AI feels a bit too hard for Dangerous+ NPCs. The fact that the game doesn't really have a dedicated "low-level" place (LowRES is the closest thing you can get) doesn't help, like its desire to spam interdictions by high-level NPCs.
'
What really should be done is not AI nerfing, but NPC spawn nerfing.
- Make Dangerous NPC rare, Deadly even more rare, and Elite super-rare. They should be seen as "legendary" enemies that CAN and WILL kill you if you don't have enough experience and gear to deal with them. They may worth a HUGE amount of money (how about 500K or even 1M bounty for an Elite Anaconda?), but you have to find them. They are perfect target for assassination missions.
- Absolutely NO high-level NPCs in combat zones. Or maybe make them very rare spawn, like capital ships. The main fighting force of any army are regular soldiers, not special forces. Currently, it's basically a "suicide by CG".
- Absolutely NO high-level NPCs in LowRES and probably Nav Beacons.
- Moderate chance to meet Dangerous NPC and small chance to meet Deadly NPC in HiRES.
- Most NPCs in HazRES are Dangerous, moderate chance to meet Deadly, small chance to meet Elite.
- Interdictions are based on your combat rank. You shouldn't be ganked by Elite when you're Harmless. (Also, kindly stop the "crazy pirate" nonsense! I can't drop my cargo if I haven't any. Especially if I haven't any cargo racks!)
- Powerplay NPCs should be mostly mid- and high-level, starting with Master. Greenhorns doesn't get accepted into President's personal guard. This way, PP can even get an influx of participants, since this is a place where you can get some hard fights.
- Police should stay high-level (just like now), especially in high security systems.

 

[CMDR M Kozak]

Well... I can -in part- understand some of the tears. But I can't help the thought that they come from players that have been used to a broken game.

Its no human right to always win in a video game.
Its no human right to fly shieldless ships.
Its no human right to explore unarmed.
Etc.

My point is, you have the choice to face the opposition prepared. Its all about choice. No shields? No guns? Thats a choice you make - that should have possible consequences. Up until now there really haven't been any consequences, so it can feel like the sky is falling. Try to adapt.

Your ships, setups and responses are all pieces of the great puzzle of choice.

During the BETA I flew a Cobra MK4 and only got killed once while testing security response (that was intense btw). So I have killed my fair share of the new AI to not think its over powered.
They do however fly better. They will try to survive you - and they will try to kill you. I think thats fair.

They will also respond according to how their faction feel about you. So you will get hunted by those who consider you an enemy. That makes sense too.

That being said, its ok the leave the game if you really dont like it.
If its really not for you, its just not for you. I can relate to it. No argument there. Enjoyment is a great part of gaming.
I dont play COD/CS for the only reason that I dont enjoy them.

But expecting SJA to break the AI again, its not ok. If the game was "dying" prior to 2.1 (which I really dont think it was), then dumbing the AI down again wont change the curve.

A challenging AI encourages choice, a bit of thought and a huge sense of accomplishment when you beat them. For a guy like me, thats a great game.

 

[Noddie]

The only problem I would have would be if the AI had different rules. Like infinite heat, ammo, SCB, power etc.

Can't really have them running loadouts players can't. It's a combat simulation, not top trumps!

 

[Krait_79]

Ah the everyone must win mentality of the modern age! Seriously what is it with that? Oh but I've spent several thousand hours on this game and i don't want to risk my progress.... blah blah etc.

Well it's your own fault for deciding that progress is getting the biggest ship in the game.

Me? Well i just want to reach Elite whether it be in a sidewinder or Corvette. If i take a few set backs along the way then I'll dust myself off and carry on and enjoy the journey. I won't be coming on here complaining that the game doesn't let me win all the time.