Preamble:
This isn't a rehash of AI complaints, it's a look at the labeling primarily and proposes solutions to adjust the game going forward. If insufficiently different to the existing thread I'm sure the mods would shift it there. But hopefully we can move to the next stage of the discussion here?
Lets just specify:
AI = the instruction set, not the ship loadout.
Label = What the game calls us ( eg Master, Harmless etc.) and what it calls the NPC's as well.
It looks like there are 3 changes that apply to the new NPC's:
Combined, we have a problem that is unbalancing the game. This isn't a personal opinion. It's a poll result. See here:
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=254585
How could Frontier approach this?
Well, first they need to identify and fix the bugs. But that goes without saying as it's just normal SOP. What I'm thinking about is what happens after.
At the moment, we get labels on the NPC ships that are basically outdated. If we compare a "Competent" enemy today to a "Competent" enemy from last week, there's a lot of difference. And if we compare a modded "Competent" ship - whole other story.
The game engine is supposed to toss us enemies that roughly match our own labels. Hence the problem.
Solution 1:
The game needs to shift all the labels up a couple notches first to reflect the improved AI.
Enemy vessels that are called "Expert" but are actually actually "Dangerous" now should be labelled so, and ought to be applied to appropriately ranked players. Threat levels in USS sites need to reflect the increased danger. A LOT more ships are going to get ranked as "Deadly" and "Elite" - which is reasonable, given that they are.
NPC population spawn will have to be adjusted to compensate. IE: a LOT more low ranked ships with the better AI need to appear.
Solution 2:
Modded ships probably need to be identifiable.
I propose that modded ships ought to reflect that in their labels - eg: "Competent*" - with an asterisk or something. Or how about a Red coloured name instead? If there's a workable way of estimating the added threat posed by a Sidewinder with Lasers of Doom, maybe it could be quantified.
Solution 3:
Rescale AI itself
IF you take a supercharged vessel with ultra shields and nuclear powered multicannons, and hand it to a "Mostly Harmless" ranked AI, would that ship still be considered to be low ranked? The game says so now, and it's clearly wrong when the fight happens. If you want the ship to match the label, you have to downgrade the instruction set to compensate.
Solution 4:
Regionalize the threat zones.
I am happy that there are really tough ships to fight in the game. That's great.
It isn't great if half the player base leaves because they cannot cope. If we KNOW that there are going to be a LOT of modded monster AI ships in say a HAZRES - that would be fine. The skilled pilots can go there and fight, and not complain of a lack of challenge.
Some good places would be: Combat Zones, Anarchy Systems, Compromised Nav Beacons, Threat level 6 USS.
Solution 5:
Introduce intermediate level "training" NPC's
If the labeling and spawn is adjusted this will automatically happen. Players can encounter higher level AI in modestly outfitted ships, allowing them a chance to develop tactics vs smarter opponents.
I want the game to retain debugged AI, smarter AI, some dumb AI, and to continue to offer challenge in a range. But more importantly, I want it to retain a happy playerbase, and to grow that base. We probably need better ideas than mine to do that.
What do you think?
This isn't a rehash of AI complaints, it's a look at the labeling primarily and proposes solutions to adjust the game going forward. If insufficiently different to the existing thread I'm sure the mods would shift it there. But hopefully we can move to the next stage of the discussion here?
Lets just specify:
AI = the instruction set, not the ship loadout.
Label = What the game calls us ( eg Master, Harmless etc.) and what it calls the NPC's as well.
It looks like there are 3 changes that apply to the new NPC's:
- A few are bugged with weapons of Sudden Shield Killing
- Some of their ships have mods, some do not
- Overall the AI is improved
Combined, we have a problem that is unbalancing the game. This isn't a personal opinion. It's a poll result. See here:
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=254585
How could Frontier approach this?
Well, first they need to identify and fix the bugs. But that goes without saying as it's just normal SOP. What I'm thinking about is what happens after.
At the moment, we get labels on the NPC ships that are basically outdated. If we compare a "Competent" enemy today to a "Competent" enemy from last week, there's a lot of difference. And if we compare a modded "Competent" ship - whole other story.
The game engine is supposed to toss us enemies that roughly match our own labels. Hence the problem.
Solution 1:
The game needs to shift all the labels up a couple notches first to reflect the improved AI.
Enemy vessels that are called "Expert" but are actually actually "Dangerous" now should be labelled so, and ought to be applied to appropriately ranked players. Threat levels in USS sites need to reflect the increased danger. A LOT more ships are going to get ranked as "Deadly" and "Elite" - which is reasonable, given that they are.
NPC population spawn will have to be adjusted to compensate. IE: a LOT more low ranked ships with the better AI need to appear.
Solution 2:
Modded ships probably need to be identifiable.
I propose that modded ships ought to reflect that in their labels - eg: "Competent*" - with an asterisk or something. Or how about a Red coloured name instead? If there's a workable way of estimating the added threat posed by a Sidewinder with Lasers of Doom, maybe it could be quantified.
Solution 3:
Rescale AI itself
IF you take a supercharged vessel with ultra shields and nuclear powered multicannons, and hand it to a "Mostly Harmless" ranked AI, would that ship still be considered to be low ranked? The game says so now, and it's clearly wrong when the fight happens. If you want the ship to match the label, you have to downgrade the instruction set to compensate.
Solution 4:
Regionalize the threat zones.
I am happy that there are really tough ships to fight in the game. That's great.
It isn't great if half the player base leaves because they cannot cope. If we KNOW that there are going to be a LOT of modded monster AI ships in say a HAZRES - that would be fine. The skilled pilots can go there and fight, and not complain of a lack of challenge.
Some good places would be: Combat Zones, Anarchy Systems, Compromised Nav Beacons, Threat level 6 USS.
Solution 5:
Introduce intermediate level "training" NPC's
If the labeling and spawn is adjusted this will automatically happen. Players can encounter higher level AI in modestly outfitted ships, allowing them a chance to develop tactics vs smarter opponents.
I want the game to retain debugged AI, smarter AI, some dumb AI, and to continue to offer challenge in a range. But more importantly, I want it to retain a happy playerbase, and to grow that base. We probably need better ideas than mine to do that.
What do you think?
