Alright, alright, you've made your point. The new AI is nails, engineered weapons are a pain and it's much harder to earn a living as an honest trader in this new and more dangerous update.I get it. I sympathise. I'll offer some advice if you want it.
But please, give it a rest with the constant complaining!
Things that are true:
- The AI reacts quicker and in a much smarter fashion than in previous patches.
- The AI is capable of very accurate, long range shots.
- The AI is very well armed and very well protected.
Things that are not true:
- The AI is not pulling 'impossible' manoeuvres. My friends fly better when we PvP and kill me quicker, using much less capable ships.
- The AI is not invincible. It's still much less capable than a decent human opponent.
- All AI opponents are not the same- lower ranked and weaker ships are still the majority of AI opponents if you fly mid range ships. If you insist in running around in an Anaconda or Corvette then you'll meet appropriate opponents.
FD have already toned down the more extreme abilities the new AI had- there are far fewer engineered weapons on them now and they've become much less aggressive. Let's not push for any further reduction in their abilities, people. NPC pirates and bounty hunters absolutely should be difficult to kill. They should put the fear into us the same way a hollow square does. We should be prepared to fight or flee as appropriate.
Embrace the change! If you like space trucking, think of this as more Mad Max than Ice Road Truckers. If you smuggle, you've finally got the opportunity to appreciate why Han and Chewie run from everything, in spite of the Falcon's impressive shields and guns.
This is a fun development! Think back to when you bought the game. It was all shooty stuff and big explosions in the promo videos, with DBOBE and the team bigging up the danger and excitement inherent in their vision. Well, they've taken a big step closer to that vision with this release. This is what they promised and be honest, it's what you originally wanted when you signed up, isn't it?
It's not game breaking. You can still enjoy a more sedate experience, you just have to be a bit more circumspect about it. There are many things you can do to avoid being interdicted in the first place. Learn what those are- most of them have come up in the numerous 'oh no!' AI threads that have been flying around this week. If you have a ship capable of tanking damage- an Anaconda, say- then it might be worth taking advantage of the new shipping lanes in safer systems. The system authority are amazingly quick in responding now. The shipping lane is the straight line between star and station, or between stations. When you're in one it flags in your left hand panel. No matter what you fly, invest in some basic defences. Decent shields, chaff and point defence as an absolute minimum.
Don't lose faith people. You can do everything that the new AI can, it just takes a little practice. Use the training levels to try out Flight Assist Off- a lot of posters don't seem to know how it actually works. It allows for some astonishing manoeuvres, well worth an hour learning how to pull them off. Bind your thrusters to something handy and get used to using them- practice every time you land or take off, it soon becomes second nature. Chose weapon fits that suit you- if you can't hit the side of a station with PAs then their impressive damage is useless to you; be honest about what you can use and run with that. You can always practice with newer weapons in lower risk settings- Lo RES and so forth- once you're more used to the new AI.
Above all, embrace this change! FD aren't going to revert to the way things were. They'll tone the more extreme elements back down, but our days of farming stupid as mud AI pinatas are gone. Let's all enjoy the new challenge for what it is, not lament it for what it isn't.
Fly dangerous, Commanders. I'll see you in the Black!