Just as an experiment, I tried waiting until turn 70 to kick off the festivities. The result was that on turn 39 the computer attacked me and wiped me out. Ouch. That’s gonna leave a mark.
On what level of difficulty? Admiral? On my recent, successful game on Cadet, I went to Turn 72 and was never attacked once. My threat level didn’t even reach 100% until after Turn 30.
This phenomenon is part of my reasoning in calling for a more strategic AI. Here’s a suggestion:Rather than trying to build a complex AI layer on top of the existing code, I’m thinking that we/Cliffski could add an algorithm that increases the likelihood of attack after X turns of inactivity (movement) by the player. Or, if such a checkpoint already exists, an update could tweak the likelihood.
Now, one way to “beat” an inactivity check would be to take a single planet, then move a single unit back-and-forth every so often. But we could prevent that activity by better defining what is “inactivity”. Perhaps the flag would look for a number of turns without a conflict. Or without a conflict resulting in retreat (to prevent scout ships from beating the activity check).
I’d also like to see a function on Admiral level where planets could “rebel”. Essentially, planets with <100% Loyalty would have a chance to spontaneously flip sides if left unoccupied. It’s a page out of the old Civ games, but it makes sense and adds a level of insecurity that’s appropriate on Admiral level.