First off, I have to say that I'm a long time fan of Stars! and MOO2 (like most everyone else here probably), but have never played any of the previous SE games prior to this latest incarnation. It's generally lots of fun, but I feel like it's not totally complete in the AI department. I've been reading through the Posts here and have noticed that most people seem to think that many aspects of the AI need "tweaking". I agree, though most of the criticisms seem a little understated. Please forgive me if this sounds overly harsh, but IMO the AI is absolutely deplorable. That said, know that my intention is not to flame MM for a game that they obviously spent a lot of time and thought on. The tech/econ models are wonderful, the diplomacy system has lots of potential, and tactical combat is the best I've seen in a 4x game since MOO2. Not to mention the level of player customization that's possible. All in all, the first 10 hours of gametime on SEIV proved to me beyond a shadow of a doubt that it's an instant classic. However, I'm finding that the game's two major shortcomings combine to deal a potentially lethal blow to the game's longevity on my hard drive:
1.) Weak AI (I just watched the Praetorians fly 8 Battlecruisers straight into a black hole, and the list goes on...).
2.) Lack of more gratifying multiplayer features (PBEM just doesn't quite cut it these days with many players; TCP simul-turn with manual tac combat resolved at the end of each turn would be awesome).
Take away either one of these weaknesses, and you've got a near-perfect game. Add them both together and well... ouch.
I've read the great suggestions by everyone here on how to improve the challenge the AI presents (smaller quadrants, all AI vs. all Human, etc.). These are simple solutions and they tend to work the majority of the time, but I'm still left unsatisfied. I want huge galaxies, I want AI's who act like they should and attack the other AI's (as well as me!) without provocation. I want truly "bloodthirsty" AI's who wouldn't think twice about accepting an alliance with another empire, let alone offering one. I want to look at that Treaty Grid and see some red every once in a while! When I glass three Terran planets, I don't want them to still be AMIABLE towards me! When they glass one of mine, I don't want them to turn around and propose a trade alliance on the next turn! The AI just isn't very consistent at all, though one thing you can count on is that they'll want to be your pals until you get your score up to 500; and even the AI empires who decide to go to war end up throwing away the better part of their ships to minefields and suicide runs. I don't even use mines anymore, it's just not any fun.
Man, I really really REALLY want to love this game. It's so good in fact, that I'm sure I'll keep right on playing despite the hopeless AI. But I sure hope MM has some AI improvements in store for us. I hope too, that all of you guys making the excellent suggestions are e-mailing them to MM! I would offer my own constructive criticisms, but you guys have already covered everything I can think of. So you get nothing but useless rants out of me
. Here's to hoping that this good game someday becomes great.
Is there an "official" thread somewhere on these Boards that MM checks regularly for player recommendations?
My Final Verdict (until the next patch, that is...)
Threaded Mode