So ive been trying to work out a method of making the a.i competitive in the campaign. Essentially the biggest flaw is their total inability to assault your defenses when you set up a base. They haven't a chance as it stands so here's my two different suggestions for mechanics to solve this problem.


1. When invading and sliding the money counter to attack, you should be able to set up an assault team with your brain and send that down for equivalent cost. Plus orbital bombardment. For 500.

This is a common solution and i think it works pretty well, however its flaw is in anti air placed around the map. Same scenario as current one, just mulching the brains dropship before it causes any problems. But you do need attacking options so i started thinking about endless skirmish mode.

2. This is my more elegant solution... (i think )

No brains when your assaulting just raw cash up front.

For 1000 you get exactly 1 minute of spawning attackers. Just like in endless skirmish defense the ai will keep landing in your troops (customisable in a loadout screen in the meta menu)

For 10 grand? You get ten minutes and the ai do the same. That way when your defending your base you know that faced with a five grand assault youll have to survive a five minute onslaught and then you win. Simple.

And the same goes for attacking bases, you spend the money up front and you dont have to worry about micro managing buying and selling or looking after your brain. Nor can you assasinate theirs and end the assault.

Once you clear the base it becomes neutral and you take it next turn orrrrr you can spawn a brain at the tail end of your attackers and if youv'e cleared the way cool if you havent then its suicidal full frontal assault.

This means that the ai doesnt need a complex fix. It just needs to follow the endless skirmish modes code. And if its on a timer you can create quite a flexible system. Shall i amass my army for the full five minutes over the ridge for a full masssive assault or do drips and drabs? Etc.

What do u guys think?

I've been thinking about something quite similar to your second suggestion. What I think would work great, would be when deciding to attack you can choose a number of different drops that drops up to 1 minute after each other (though the player can decide himself). When the scenario starts the drops will commence, but you would be able to use additional gold through the buying menu as you please, though 10 minutes after the last wave the attackers would lose automatically.

The brain should then have a bit of a different role. I think the role should act like the king in chess, meaning that you only have one, though you can move it to any bunker you want, or be placed in super units or robots, though they should all have some sort of escape rocket for the brain so you won't lose the game if your brain bot dies in combat, at least if you are not inside.

Sorry that I am rambling right now

I suppose this is a general suggestion thread now.

The enemy AI should start mining when their base is attacked, because if they run out of money, invading the base gets pretty easy. (if you manage to fend off the counterattack)

The base auto-build often spawns engineers inside the bunker, maybe they should be doing this?

What about massive maps? Surely if the map took 10 minutes to cross the base building strategy would be a little more long term and important.

As it stands the meta game is too easy and too hard at the same time. Most of the maps will mean a half decent base will shoot down the ai on entry almost every time. I find the mountain scene, with the large cliff always has the best encounters because they're a little bit more drawn out. But on a basic level a base with two anti air turrets spread evenly on most of the maps will shoot down the a.i 95% of the time, every time. And when its your turn to invade, chances are youl have a choice of landing on the left of their base under fire, or the right of their base, under fire.

Double the map sizes!

the campaign NEEDS a total domination mode were all of the gold sites are available from the start. mostly to aid the AI cause it gets so annoying because you capture all the available gold sites and then next gold site shows up but you are making more income than all the other people who are getting no income, making it so you are the instant winner. so basically a 4 player game is like a 4 gold sites game cause you will not be able to really fight on the other ones