Turrets and AI

posted on December 13th, 2010, 12:36 pm

Perhaps this has been covered....

but

When playing against humans, turrets are utterly useless - they don't survive, or fire enough.

AI?  well, that's just a joke.  The AI needs to build a fleet BEFORE it sends the ships to battle...

That's my peace.

Data.

posted on December 13th, 2010, 1:11 pm

Humans know the weak points of turrets, and how to kill them fastest. They're intended only as a diversion or to deter early-game raids, something they do well.

What AI do you play against? Because I always get around 70 or so ships hanging around each expansion, and about 50 more when attacking.

posted on December 13th, 2010, 1:43 pm

Instant Action.  I am Feds - Raynor.  AI is Dom Hard.
It is just a steady stream of ships coming up to my base...near constant flow.  But, it's two, to five ships.  Easily defended by fleet.

I would like to see the AI create a full fleet, then send it out, rather than a steady stream of vessels coming to my base.  It is just too easy.

As for humans vs turrets - ya, I guess that makes sense...was hoping they could be made a little more useful, although not critical.

posted on December 13th, 2010, 1:52 pm

By AI Hard, do you mean the hardest difficulty or the one called Hard ingame? They're seperate in FO; the game calls medium difficulty 'hard' and the hard one 'merciless'. On merciless, I often get fleets many times the size of my own attacking.

The Dominion Perimeter is rather useful; artillery range, upgradable like a Starbase, shreds fleets easily, ect. Though, it causes friendly-fire.

posted on December 13th, 2010, 2:04 pm

not merciless...
you pick "AI - Hard" from the dropdown.

[Tyler]

posted on December 13th, 2010, 2:08 pm

Last edited by Tyler on December 13th, 2010, 2:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Try playing merciless fo a while, that one shouldn't be as 'toned-down'.

posted on December 13th, 2010, 3:02 pm

Wait a minute, turrets are early game only?  I'd like to see that changed.

By the way, AI will only focus on turrets if you build a wall of them to block your base.

posted on December 13th, 2010, 3:03 pm

Try playing merciless fo a while, that one shouldn't be as 'toned-down'.

It's the standard for me in 2vs2 or 3vs1 matches. That match up is usually beatable on unlimited resources. 3 Borg can be a pain in the rear though. Even the toughest defence sighs when there's a dozen spheres converging on your position.

posted on December 13th, 2010, 3:14 pm

Wait a minute, turrets are early game only?  I'd like to see that changed.

That's not their only use, just when they're at their best. Early game ships tend to be weaker and fleets are smaller.

[086gf]

posted on December 13th, 2010, 6:02 pm

Last edited by 086gf on December 13th, 2010, 6:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Instant Action.  I am Feds - Raynor.  AI is Dom Hard.
It is just a steady stream of ships coming up to my base...near constant flow.  But, it's two, to five ships.  Easily defended by fleet.

I would like to see the AI create a full fleet, then send it out, rather than a steady stream of vessels coming to my base.  It is just too easy.

As for humans vs turrets - ya, I guess that makes sense...was hoping they could be made a little more useful, although not critical.

Are you playing 3.1.4? Because every game i've played since 3.1.4 came out all the ai has done is send its ships all in a single wave once they have the numbers they need. I never get a constant stream not even in 3.1.3.

After an hour on normal the ai sends about a dozen or so ships.
After an hour on hard the ai sends about three dozen or so ships.
After an hour on merciless the ai sends about six dozen or so ships.

posted on December 13th, 2010, 11:15 pm

Ya!  3.1.4.  I will try to make a video of it to show you.  But seriously - it is just a stream of vessels coming in.  I play on the "Holiday's at Risa" map.  I put the enemy in the bottom right, and I take the top left...

Sometimes the AI will send a SMALL contingent - 5 to 8 vessels...but never a full fleet - not even half a fleet.

posted on December 13th, 2010, 11:19 pm

Are you playing with altered costs/other settings?

posted on December 13th, 2010, 11:26 pm

Negative.  No other mods.  Just the FO3 v3.1.4 mod.  No advanced setting changes - all defaults (except, i turn off non playing race)...

posted on December 13th, 2010, 11:58 pm

As far as turrets vs humans, they're meant to be backed up by a defensive fleet in larger actions.  An offensive fleet attacking an expansion that has to go up against a defensive fleet PLUS turrets will have a hard time cracking it.  Especially if there's a repair yard nearby.

Turrets are generally not meant to be stand alone units.  They need some support as well.

posted on December 14th, 2010, 12:52 am

Yup, like Mal said:  Turrets are meant to be a deterrent.  In Multiplayer they do this very effectively.

  Think of it like, "You can harass my miners, but do it forever and my turrets will eat you "