Info about AI War 2: Official game description: Wishlist Our Upcoming Game! =========================== Join Our Discord Channel! ========================= New DLC! ======== About the Game ============== **AI War 2** is a grand strategy/RTS hybrid that reverses many of the conventions of both genres. Take territory without attracting attention, build your empire with care, and adapt to an ever-evolving galactic battleground. It's also "a sequel to \[Arcen's\] enormo-space RTS AI War, which we called **'one of this year's finest strategy games'** back in 2009" (Tom Sykes, PC Gamer) The most devious and acclaimed artificial intelligence in strategy gaming evolves. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Most recent is 2021's Paradigm Shift (which has overviews and tutorials in that link). Every year since 2018, this AI has become more devious -- and the factions facing it, subordinate to it, or simply neighbors with it grow more numerous and more lifelike. The premise is simple: you've already lost the war. The entire galaxy belongs to other factions, mostly the AI. You are starting with one small planet in a sea of hostile territory, and you must endeavor not to draw too much notice from the AI. Your job is to carefully evaluate targets, strategically expand your territory _just enough_ to run your fleets and defensive networks, and then strike at the heart of the AI(s) when you are ready. AI War 2 is meant to be both accessible and deep. Early 2021 has seen major improvements to make the midgame easier to get into for new players, plus a more forgiving Science system and a much more powerful Hacking system. Q3 2021 is going to introduce a new Expert mode for those who want the more extreme sort of challenge that comes from having elements of permanent loss, more reasons to hold disadvantageous positions, and so on. Which mode you choose to play will always remain a personal choice. Unexpected Technical Advancements --------------------------------- In the twelve years since we coded the first AI War, we've made a lot of improvements to our simulation engine, which is now running on top of the Unity 3D engine. However, AI War 2 has presented some truly unique technical challenges, mainly involving running insane amounts of AI and simulations in a massively parallel fashion. We've been able to harness the power of modern multi-core processors to a degree that most game simulations cannot, and our challenge from 2020 onward has been to bring that into the multiplayer realm. While multiplayer currently remains in beta, it is also a bit of a technical showcase. Mod support is heavily embraced by this game, and having mods be multiplayer-safe (or have deep access to change parts of the core simulation in general) is not typical for games as a whole, let alone this genre. We've managed to make multiplayer a self-repairing affair, which is beneficial both for playing with friends on different OSes and hardware, and for having most mod-code mistakes be corrected by the core game. The AI has dramatically improved in intelligence every year since 2018, and your framerate is also decoupled from your simulation performance. You can have a great machine with 120fps during heavy battles, and a friend at 30fps and you both stay in sync and the actually simulation doesn't slow down. You can speed up and slow down the simulation without any extra load on your CPU, which is very helpful to avoid any boring waiting around, and you can pause at will. The interface respects your time by automating things that you would do the same 95% of the time anyway. For that other 5% there are indeed advanced features such as placing spy nanites, tweaking or disabling the rules of automation, or redesigning your fleet compositions as much as you want. Hacking is one of the most interesting ways to customize your existing fleet leaders, as you can give them unusual upgrades or even transform them into new versions of their class. Streamlined, yet deeper. ------------------------ Sometimes when a sequel says it's "streamlined," it can really mean "dumbed down." And there are indeed fewer tiny choices to be made in some areas here: you don't have to decide how to wash each dish; you have a dishwasher. And it's a good thing you do, to be honest, because the rabbit hole of complex and confounding scenarios goes as deep as you want it to. If you want to play at a level approaching Expert, you'll need that spare brainpower to design your fleets, manage multiple fronts at once, juggle offense and defense, and continually revise your empire design to suit your needs as the campaign unfolds. If you want to play more casually, that is absolutely okay as well, and the game can be much more forgiving while still providing a lot of interesting macro choices. There's too much to memorize (but tooltips are always right there, anyway), and there's always an unfamiliar element. Clicking fast won't help you. To win the AI War, you'll have to improvise, adapt, and use your wits. As it should be. How About Some Highlights? -------------------------- * Many optional factions, each with their own goals and strategies, create a living galaxy. * The fleets system gives you tons of ships that can be organized and distributed with a minimum of fuss. * Science upgrades are simple to manage, but provide many options on how to approach any given campaign based on your preferences and what you find in the wild. * Hack the enemy, hack your allies, hack yourself. Hacking points are limited, but extremely powerful ways to get more ships or capabilities, directly weaken enemies, or even steal from enemies. * A ton of map types, and with a lot of sub-options to make them even more varied. * Outguard can be hired as a way of deploying surprise mobile forces whever you need, and many factions can be allies. * Warden, Hunter, and Praetorian Guard sub-fleets of the AI provide for new challenges (and sometimes opportunities) in how both you and the AI interact with each other. * Crazy moddability, with many levers available in easily-accessible XML. A number of player-supported mods are shipped directly with the game (defaulting to off) so that you always have the latest version of them and don't have to hunt for them to download them. What's New Compared To The Original? ------------------------------------ * More approachable gameplay, but with a rabbit hole that goes as deep as ever. * More to do, in terms of moment to moment gameplay and choices. More to find, more to conquer or be conquered-by. * Polished gameplay mechanics, representing everything learned from first game’s six expansions (plus three years of development on this sequel). * Trimmed fat: repetitive boring tasks have been automated or streamlined, but more options than ever have been added for you to customize things when you want to. Our goal is never to waste your time, but always have an array of interesting challenges for you to pursue at once. * Redesigned UI that gives you a ton of information and power right when you need it. * 1.5 hours of new music added to the 4.5 hour included score from the original game. * Multithreading for modern performance, and a codebase that will not summon an elder god (recoded from the ground up for modern rigs). * Over 1900 lines of spoken dialogue from more than 25 actors. Release date: Oct 22, 2019 Categories: Grand Strategy, Real-time Strategy, 4X, Tower Defense, Mod Support, Multiplayer, Turn-based Strategy, Asymmetrical Multiplayer Feature scans: - Wiki: score 10; verdict: Positive with Minor Weaknesses; summary: The user feedback primarily highlights the comprehensive and accessible in-game wiki and tutorials, which are seen as major strengths. However, there is a noted weakness in the overall documentation. Additionally, the developers' efforts in balancing the game are appreciated. - Steam Deck: score 50; verdict: Tinkering Required; summary: The analysis of user feedback reveals significant issues with UI scaling, which negatively impacts the user experience. However, there is also strong positive feedback regarding Linux support and recent improvements in UI scaling options. The overall experience is marred by the need for users to adjust settings to make the game playable, indicating a level of friction that requires attention. - Hardware Profile: No data Feature extractions: - Community Price: No data - Playtime Metrics: No data - Time-to-fun: No data - Player Archetypes: No data Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category. Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews. What players like: - Adaptive and intelligent AI (weight 0.97): The AI in the game is highly praised for its ability to adapt to player behavior and make smart decisions. It provides a challenging and fair experience, with various personalities and playstyles. - High replayability and variety (weight 0.95): With a vast array of factions, ship types, and gameplay mechanics, the game ensures that no two playthroughs are the same. This variety, combined with randomized elements, offers high replay value. - Strategic depth and complexity (weight 0.92): The game offers a rich strategic experience with deep mechanics and complex systems. Players need to plan carefully and adapt to changing situations, making it a rewarding challenge. - Strong developer support (weight 0.59): The development team is highly responsive and engaged with the community, providing regular updates, patches, and support for modders. This ongoing commitment enhances the game's quality and longevity. - Improved UI and accessibility (weight 0.57): The game features a redesigned UI with powerful features and user-friendly elements. It includes helpful tutorials, detailed tooltips, and comprehensive in-game documentation, making it easier for players to understand and enjoy. - Customization and modding (weight 0.56): Players have a wide range of customization options, including difficulty settings, factions, and mods. The game's high moddability and accessible XML files allow for extensive personalization and community contributions. - Reduced micromanagement (weight 0.52): The game streamlines many repetitive tasks and reduces the need for micromanagement, allowing players to focus more on strategic decisions and less on mundane activities. - Unique and innovative gameplay (weight 0.51): The game stands out with its unique blend of RTS, 4X, and tower defense elements. It challenges conventional strategies and offers a fresh and innovative experience within the genre. - Optimized performance and graphics (weight 0.51): The game is well-optimized for performance on various systems, including low-end laptops. It features improved graphics and display options, ensuring a smooth and visually appealing experience. Common complaints: - Performance and stability issues (weight 0.39): The game suffers from various performance and stability issues, including crashes, lag, and bugs. These issues can make the game unplayable, especially in multiplayer mode. - Steep learning curve and complex UI (weight 0.38): The game has a steep learning curve and a complex, unintuitive UI that can be overwhelming for new players. The tutorials and manual are unhelpful and verbose, making it difficult for players to understand the game mechanics. - Unimpressive graphics and audio (weight 0.37): The graphics are functional but not visually impressive, with simple animations and lack of effects. The audio can also be loud and muddled, especially during big battles. - Incomplete and unhelpful tutorials (weight 0.36): The tutorials are incomplete, unhelpful, and do not explain all mechanics well. This can leave players confused and struggling to understand the game systems. - Language and accessibility limitations (weight 0.3): The game is fully in English and requires reading the manual, which may deter some players. Additionally, the lack of UI scaling options can make the game less accessible. - Limited content and customization (weight 0.11): The game offers limited content and customization options. Players may feel restricted in terms of fleet composition and overall strategy. - Lack of engaging narrative (weight 0.05): The game lacks an engaging narrative or dynamic situations, which can make the gameplay feel less interesting and more like work. - Frequent updates and changes (weight 0.03): The game has undergone drastic changes multiple times after release, with frequent updates that alter or remove mechanics. This can be frustrating for players who have to adapt to new systems constantly. Gameplay feedback: - Deep strategic and tactical gameplay (weight 0.86): The game offers a rich strategic experience with careful planning and decision-making. Players must balance expansion, defense, and resource management while adapting to the AI's behavior and the randomized galaxy layouts. - Challenging and rewarding gameplay (weight 0.76): The game is designed to be challenging, with a steep learning curve and a relentless AI opponent. However, it is also highly rewarding, offering a sense of accomplishment for players who can outsmart the AI and achieve victory. - Complex hybrid of 4X, RTS, and tower defense (weight 0.64): The game combines elements from multiple genres, including 4X strategy, real-time strategy (RTS), and tower defense. Players manage resources, expand their empire, and defend against enemy attacks using a variety of defensive structures and fleet compositions. - High replayability and customization (weight 0.57): With a variety of factions, ship types, and customizable settings, the game provides a fresh experience each time. Players can adjust difficulty levels and AI behaviors to suit their preferences. - Unique economic and resource management (weight 0.51): The game features a complex economic system with multiple resource types, including a negative resource (AI Progress) that affects the AI's behavior. Players must carefully manage resources and make strategic decisions to succeed. - Fleet management and ship variety (weight 0.5): Players can manage and customize their fleets, with a wide variety of ship types and categories. However, fleet composition is not meta-driven, and ships are automatically constructed based on captured territories. - Asymmetric warfare against superior AI (weight 0.35): Players face an AI opponent that starts with a significant advantage, requiring strategic decision-making and guerrilla tactics to overcome. The AI adapts and evolves, making each playthrough unique and challenging. - Procedural generation and randomized elements (weight 0.14): The game features procedural generation of galaxies and randomized elements, such as planet layouts and aggression reductions. This adds to the replayability and unpredictability of each playthrough. Performance notes: - High CPU usage issues (weight 0.13): The game experiences high CPU usage, especially with large or complicated setups, leading to performance issues such as the game slowing to a crawl and the simulator chugging in late-game scenarios with large empires. - Optimized performance capabilities (weight 0.12): The game is optimized for modern devices, running smoothly with thousands of units and large-scale battles. It is stable and performs well on regular consumer CPUs and even low-end hardware. - Multiplayer crashes and desyncs (weight 0.05): Multiplayer mode is plagued with frequent crashing and desync issues, leading to a buggy experience. However, it also features self-healing capabilities to mitigate some of these problems. - Performance issues with excessive additions (weight 0.03): The game can become unstable and experience lag or FPS drops when there are too many additions, such as ships on the battlefield. - Future-proofed design (weight 0.01): The game is designed to be future-proof, ensuring it can take advantage of more powerful systems as they become available. - Co-op building issues (weight 0.01): There are specific issues in co-op mode where players are unable to build, affecting the gameplay experience. - Stuck in waiting for player (weight 0.01): Players sometimes get stuck in a 'waiting for player' state, which can disrupt the flow of the game. - Long battle durations (weight 0.01): Battles in the game can take several hours to complete, which might be seen as excessive by some players. - Interface scaling issues (weight 0.01): There are issues with interface scaling at lower resolutions, which can affect the user experience negatively. Recommendations: - Highly recommended for strategy fans (weight 0.29): The game is praised for its strategic depth and is highly recommended for fans of strategy games, including those who enjoy real-time strategy, tower defense, and logic puzzles. It offers a unique and challenging experience that is well worth the price, especially with the expansions. - Worth the price with expansions (weight 0.28): The game is considered worth the price, particularly when including the expansions. It offers infinite replayability and a rich experience for strategy enthusiasts. - Recommended for 4X and RTS fans (weight 0.06): The game is recommended for fans of 4X and RTS games. It is enjoyable for those who appreciate deep strategy games and is highly recommended for RTS lovers. - Start with lower difficulty (weight 0.06): New players are advised to start with a lower difficulty setting, preferably with a single AI at 2-3 difficulty. This helps in gradually understanding the game mechanics and improving the learning curve. - Enjoyable for fans of deep game systems (weight 0.04): The game is recommended for those who enjoy deep and complex game systems. It is particularly enjoyable for fans of unique and challenging strategy games. - Positive player experiences (weight 0.02): Players report having a blast playing the game, indicating a highly enjoyable and engaging experience. Some players suggest it is a game for life, highlighting its long-term appeal. - Take it slow with changes (weight 0.01): Players are advised to take it slow when making changes in the game. This approach helps in better understanding and adapting to the game mechanics. - Read detailed tool tips (weight 0.01): The game is recommended for players who read detailed tool tips. This helps in understanding the intricate game systems and improving the overall gaming experience. - Superior class management system (weight 0.01): The game features a class management system that is considered far superior and more balanced. This adds to the strategic depth and overall enjoyment of the game. Other player notes: - Extensive Modding Support (weight 0.03): The game offers extensive modding capabilities, allowing players to customize and enhance their gameplay experience significantly. - Rich Voice Dialogue (weight 0.02): The game features a vast array of voice dialogue with over 25 actors recording more than 1900 lines, adding depth and immersion to the gameplay. - Unexpected Technical Advances (weight 0.01): The game includes surprising technical advancements that enhance the overall gaming experience, setting it apart from other games in its genre. Emotions: - Frustration (weight 0.15): Players are frustrated primarily due to the game's steep learning curve, unintuitive UI, and lack of clear instructions. Multiplayer issues, frequent bugs, crashes, and performance problems also contribute significantly to this frustration. Additionally, the repetitive gameplay and lack of engaging narrative further exacerbate the players' negative experiences. - Enjoyment (weight 0.14): Players enjoy the game due to its high replayability, strategic depth, and engaging gameplay. The variety of ships, improved UI, and challenging AI combat scenarios are also highlighted as key factors contributing to their enjoyment. - Excitement (weight 0.13): The game's variety of ship types, factions, and strategic depth generate excitement among players. The epic scale, unique premise, and the potential future of RTS games are also significant contributors to this emotion. Players are particularly excited about the game's unique features and future updates. - Satisfaction (weight 0.1): Players feel satisfied with the game's depth, customization options, and fair AI. The improved UI and graphics, along with the game's unique features and intelligent AI, also contribute to their satisfaction. - Appreciation (weight 0.09): Players appreciate the game's well-designed 3D graphics, variety of units, and streamlined management. The developer's responsiveness, dedication, and the game's unique mechanics are also highly valued. - Disappointment (weight 0.07): Players feel disappointed due to the game not meeting their expectations, with issues such as boring and messy gameplay, lack of building mechanics, and UI problems. The game's poor realization of its concept and frequent crashes also contribute to this disappointment. - Love (weight 0.05): Players love the game's mechanics, design, and the diversity of enemies, weapons, and strategies. The challenging and engaging gameplay, along with the game being seen as the best strategy game ever played by some, contributes to this strong emotional connection. - Admiration (weight 0.05): Players admire the game's originality, the developer's dedication, and their commitment to the community. The strategic depth and the developer's responsiveness are also key factors in this admiration. - Interest (weight 0.05): Players are interested in the game's unique approach to the genre and its strategic decisions. The premise of expanding cautiously to avoid the AI's attention and the game's tactical solutions are particularly intriguing. - Engagement (weight 0.02): Players are engaged by the game's complex systems and the challenge of outthinking a relentless opponent. The strategic gameplay keeps them deeply involved. - Challenge (weight 0.02): Players find the game challenging due to its massive learning curve and the consistent challenge posed by the AI. The high difficulty level keeps them engaged and tested. - Enthusiasm (weight 0.02): Players are enthusiastic about the game's unique features and depth. The varied challenges and engaging gameplay contribute to their excitement. - Respect (weight 0.02): Players respect the game's complex and strategic gameplay, as well as its concept and coding. The game's depth and strategic elements are highly regarded. - Immersed (weight 0.02): Players feel immersed in the game due to its unique and intense experience. The game's depth and strategic elements contribute to this immersive feeling.}