Since 1.6/2.1 launched, the reaction to the "improved" AI has ranged from "hate it" to "love it" with most players hanging out at either extremes.
There has been talk about dynamically-adjusting AI depending on how hard the player fights back, but given the number of bugs the AI is already experiencing, adding on that additional layer of complexity is sure to result in unintended consequences.
Instead, how about we make AI difficulty the player's choice? Each CMDR can set their own difficulty, with increasing rewards for each level of difficulty.
For example:
Standard - Pre-1.6/2.1 AI; 1x payout for kills;
Challenging - 33% strength of 1.6/2.1 AI without any engineer modifiers; 5x payout for kills;
Very Challenging - 50% strength of 1.6/2.1 AI with engineer modifiers; 10x payout for kills;
Dangerous - 100% strength of 1.6/2.1 AI without any engineer modifiers; 15x payout for kills;
Elite - 100% strength of 1.6/2.1 AI with engineer modifiers; 20x payout for kills.
The casual players among us can play how they played before the patch, and the more hardcore among us can take on the additional challenge with additional incentive...because nothing sucks more than getting 90k worth of ship damage for a 192cr bounty on a Dangerous Anaconda (true story).
There has been talk about dynamically-adjusting AI depending on how hard the player fights back, but given the number of bugs the AI is already experiencing, adding on that additional layer of complexity is sure to result in unintended consequences.
Instead, how about we make AI difficulty the player's choice? Each CMDR can set their own difficulty, with increasing rewards for each level of difficulty.
For example:
Standard - Pre-1.6/2.1 AI; 1x payout for kills;
Challenging - 33% strength of 1.6/2.1 AI without any engineer modifiers; 5x payout for kills;
Very Challenging - 50% strength of 1.6/2.1 AI with engineer modifiers; 10x payout for kills;
Dangerous - 100% strength of 1.6/2.1 AI without any engineer modifiers; 15x payout for kills;
Elite - 100% strength of 1.6/2.1 AI with engineer modifiers; 20x payout for kills.
The casual players among us can play how they played before the patch, and the more hardcore among us can take on the additional challenge with additional incentive...because nothing sucks more than getting 90k worth of ship damage for a 192cr bounty on a Dangerous Anaconda (true story).