Make Empire Mode great again - take a look and give some thoughts

[coodav]

So I was sitting down to another Empire Mode game, and thinking about what could be done to make this system work, both now and in whatever comes next. And the good part about it is that there have been some really good thoughts lately:

Popular Galactic Empire Mode Loadouts
Empire Mode, Anomalous Sites, and balance gone wrong
Age of Wonder 4: what i would keep and trash from AOW3 and planetfall.
Adventure Mod

Which is great. Thing is, the system is really starting to show its limits, and there is a lot that can be done, simply with the systems that the computer currently has at its disposal. We should implement them as soon as it can.

So let me show you how fast this was, on the hardest settings, just so that you know. I started with this guy:

Going to this planet:

And landed here:

Also known as here:

Which really sucks. I will get precisely nothing from any of the landmarks or acquired terrain. This was about as bad as it could get, but either way, I began exactly like I always do: loading up with 3 scouts, and getting to work on killing everything near me.

Now since this was an "Imaging Satellites" planet, it was fully explored, so I knew EXACTLY where to go with those scouts to get maximum gain on these worlds. Can't lose there. And so that you know, here is the resources I got from sharing contact information with the other heroes:

20 cosmite +100 energy
20 cosmite +100 energy
20 cosmite +50 energy
20 cosmite +100 energy
20 cosmite +100 energy
30 cosmite
20 cosmite +100 energy
20 cosmite
20 cosmite
50 cosmite
--------
240 cosmite + 550 energy

Plus a decent number of pick-ups. Which allowed me to make a lot of these:

And load all my current units out like this:

Which was the best I could do because my starting tech was absolute garbage:

No weapon tech above Tier 4. SUUUPPPER lame. Didn't matter though. By turn 8, I was decked out, and blasting through the landmarks, with barely even a dent:

And yes, I mean I just smoke them now:

So that was that for the world threat. I just roll it now.

Which left the enemy nearest me. And the Dvar, a.k.a. "unfortunate victim," was building toward me:

And those units didn't have even the slightest chance.

Then it just left his capital city. Which was looking tough, but for some reason, the computer decided to throw the game hard:

Notice that one guy sticking out? It was just befuddling. What on earth was this? Stupid as it was, something like this happens scary often. He pulled his stacks into combat outside of his city and third main stack of 6 in the city center. SOOOOO stupid. Taking the invitation, I just annihilated him:

Then wiped out the last 6 units in the capital. Barely even lost a hit point on auto combat. Which left only this:

Which, take a look at the time on that. 14 total turns, starting at 8:11 PM, and ended at 10:12, which is almost exactly 2 hours real-world. And this was while writing this and taking tons and tons of photos.

Gains were also solid, even though I am maxed out:

Which is cool. But again, not exactly.

It was kind-of neat beating the computer with 6 turns to spare, and just rolling everything in the way. But, I am not really getting that challenging feeling. I knew exactly how this was going to go the second that I started the match. And believe me, it was fortunate for the computer that I didn't start with almost any usable technologies. This was the worst it could get for me, and it was still effortless. I mean every single combat was no-loss auto-combat effortless. And I don't think I lost a single unit the whole game. So what to do about this?

First, let's figure out what the problem is here exactly. Most significant, the game is starting with two major problems; a runaway resource problem, and a terrible lack of balance. Empire mode has few mechanisms for handling this, so you get these huge blow-outs that really don't make much sense.

Let's start with those resources. Notice the stack of units guarding this landmark:

Those units are unmodded. Mine are modded to the gills. Terrible technologies, but I know how to make the most of what I have. That fight was pretty much going to end this way no matter what.

And the computer's units weren't much better. Take a closer look:

Four of those units were completely unmodded. The others had T1 mods only. My units were T2 and T3 mods across the board. This must have a throttle to it, or the computer will certainly be unable to compete.

I had an advantage of incredible cosmite bonuses from exploration, i.e. 240 cosmite + 550 energy from selling introductions, plus about 200 cosmite from 5:1 energy purchases. This was enough to mod all of the units in the entire army with the best combination that I have. By way of comparison, I 'earned' exactly 70 cosmite from production, and found approximately 40 cosmite in the world. That is about 110 cosmite from all natural sources, compared to 440 from diplomacy. That is 4X the total, and the computer is clearly unable to keep up with the arms race. This must change, either to up the resource output, or to simply buff the AI, either way.

Which brings me to balance.

The best balance in this game probably comes with Shakarn campaign 1 and 2, using hardest settings.

In Shakarn 1, you start here:

Which is fine. And they start here:

Obviously a lot more 'fine.' But that isn't all. There is some modification that gives them incredible production bonuses, which I believe means that they can produce a full 6-stack of units every turn if their cities are not conquered. Once you start taking their cities, their production drops like a rock, but until you are endgame strong, you are going to be completely defensive, constantly struggling to take back cities they move into when you move away. This works with the game's goals which appears to require you to stay stealthy, and use the operations and bonuses of the Shakarn to have a chance. On the hardest settings, the balance is really good. You need to stay in stealth a long time, build up as far as you can, before being pulled onto the battlefield. The first few times I did this, it felt really satisfying.

And the second map was even worse. They start with crazy amounts of territory:

And there are FIVE of these players, against you and your extremely sorry ally who turns on you as soon as the invasion begins. Further, the production advantage that they have on you is so stark, it is hard to believe. That is due to starting with the standard 3-pop colony:

Fortunately, you have something that they don't:

Everyone who knows about that loadout knows exactly how crazy it is. And you need it. There are stacks like this in all four of the computer's cities:

Yeah, that is T4 units on turn 1. And with them, the combination of massive numbers, large territories, and huge production advantages effectively balances the whole thing. You genuinely need everything you have, because they have 10X your numbers, and start moving in early.

On balance, it is remarkably close. I actually got bogged down the first few times I played and had to restart. Yes, that map is REALLY tight, all the way up to the invasion. You are literally fighting hundreds of units with a meager rag-tag bunch.

Empire Mode needs this badly. I am not entirely sure how it would be applied to a random map, but there are some strategies that are instantly workable with these commanders:

1. Give the AI players a MAJOR production bonus, above and beyond what they currently have, increasing to Shakarn 1, and maybe beyond;
2. Give the AI players a lot of starting sectors, including landmarks;
3. Give the AI players a potentially limitless number of starting units; and
4. Start the map units with mods, and sometimes good ones.

All of this is something that is already done in many cases. All it needs is a bit of tuning, and scale.

This also means that you can balance it even further. And this is where things go terribly wrong. The effectiveness of well-modded units following a high strategy is almost impossible to explain, other than just being able to stomp your enemies into dust. My unit / tech synergies were incredible that game. And this is going to be everpresent most matchups. I really leaned into it hard, and these are the repeatable results.

But there are ways to counter this, partially. The entire world should START relative to Turn 25 or 50, where the units upgrade and get mods. Further, the entire starting stack of the computer, or stacks, begin with equivalent mods. That would be a huge improvement in the game's current one-sidedness.

And if you start with high-tech units on your side and theirs, then it only makes sense to have the computer start with them too. Which would have two effects:

1. it would demolish any sense of early game progression; and
2. your heroes can be tricked out even higher, possibly opening the door to maintaining hero gear between maps.

Which means that early-game can be terribly sacrificed. But this can also be tailored. For instance, there is a balance in every single campaign world, where you carry over the gear from the first campaign to the second. Which really force you to make the most of the early map. Plus, you have to think about how the hero will level as you go on. So here are a few suggestions there:

1. Allow heroes to carry over ALL bonuses, including the exact gear from whatever map they most recently won (includes earned T4 weapons / mounts);
2. Carry over hero skills and levels EXACTLY like they were on the last map, making each hero unique, not just 1 re-specced level per game that hero was in;
3. Make any skill re-specs EXTREMELY difficult, adding consequences to bad hero development;
4. Allow anomalous site bonuses to carry with heroes - this would give reason to do them;
5. Allow an 'elite' set of units to be carried between maps. Basically start with modded units, or enough resources to mod them out (basically skip early-game altogether);
6. I suggest making every campaign hero an actual Empire-Mode hero. So if you complete each campaign, you can use the hero you played through on.

For now, let me stop with this. Expect a bit more later. Thoughts so far?

 

[Sandman25DCSSS]

Well, I explained it in one of previous threads.
1) empire mode makes the game easier
2) enabled diplomacy makes the game easier
3) victory conditions make the game easier
4) water makes the game easier
It is up to you to decide how you want to play the game but I found that even the hardest AI mods like "more stronger AI" or "adventure" don't result in challenging games without respecting those 4 bullets.

 

[atord/Nordos]

First of all, you are playing the Empire Mode with the exact way to break it, and then complain its too easy. Yes, of course it would be too easy. If you dedicate everything to achieve one of the alternate objectives, you are bound to win easily. Rushing an AI has always been a useful tactic.
Also note how you got a lucky renown objective, even allowing you to buy out valuable mods and doctrines very early.

I mean, I can understand that you want something more challenging, but it comes across puz zling when you demand it while min maxing with the load out you found best, with a modifier you know how to beat and using the stupidity of the AI. Instead of taking the victory right there, you could have just played further, for example, trying to win the old way around.

Empire Mode will never be fully balanced. Some modifiers are easier, some are harder, you can get lucky with your start position, your race could have an advantage/disadvantage, etc. At some point you will always find the way to break the AI. Sure, you could advocate for 10+ settings, with most of them needing insane loadouts to even compete.

On that matter, if you find the mobs too easy, try a thrallworld for example. Don't pick the world you are comfortable with, don't pick the race you know how to loadout. Try something new, and you will be surprised how difficult it can be once again if you have no clue how to pilot the faction you picked.

 

[coodav]

Well, I explained it in one of previous threads

Yeah, I think I posted the link earlier...

1) empire mode makes the game easier
2) enabled diplomacy makes the game easier
3) victory conditions make the game easier
4) water makes the game easier

Well, yeah... but... well...

1. Regarding 3), this is a 20-turn victory, which can be notoriously hard, particularly if you don't include 1) and 2).
2. I didn't use water once. If you are referring to volcanic, then yeah, that can be a lot harder. Hasn't been lately, but it can be.

Still though, the point of this is the balance. I think you made a decent shot at explaining the whole "more stronger AI" thing, and I explained how it went with Shakarn I and II. Flagship will put that dial on that jacks this WAY up, or I will stop playing after I find a few more of these combination sweet-spots.

First of all, you are playing the Empire Mode with the exact way to break it, and then complain its too easy. Yes, of course it would be too easy. If you dedicate everything to achieve one of the alternate objectives, you are bound to win easily. Rushing an AI has always been a useful tactic.

Ok. Tell me how to make it harder. Just one button I can push. Did you see the post?

For all of you listening, I am telling you that you will have this effect every single time after a point. The ENTIRE point of this is to show how Empire Mode can be expanded IN WAYS THAT ALREADY EXIST IN CAMPAIGN / MODS to massively challenge players, so long as the right levers are pulled. I sincerely hope that everyone is still with me at this point. I get that the first part can feel braggy, but it isn't. You will certainly do the same exact thing in this system, once you get maxed out.

Also note how you got a lucky renown objective, even allowing you to buy out valuable mods and doctrines very early.

Lucky. Ok, I am going to do you a favor, and show you the first FIVE worlds that have 4 objectives and "Swift Action," like I just used. Ready... boom:

Please tell me how to separate the "lucky" renown objective from "Swift Action." Please do. No, go ahead and try, and post how I can separate that renown objective from this game type. I will wait, no rush.

For the rest of you, please note that "Swift Action" ALWAYS comes with "Imaging Satellites," just like the other game objectives, such as "Capable Pets" always comes with the Psi-Fish, and always ends with you defeating two of their domains. They are inseparable. I believe it is the game's way of allowing you to find the closest enemy within the time limit. I guarantee you though, it is not "lucky."

I mean, I can understand that you want something more challenging, but it comes across puz zling when you demand it while min maxing with the load out you found best, with a modifier you know how to beat and using the stupidity of the AI. Instead of taking the victory right there, you could have just played further, for example, trying to win the old way around.

First, I don't recall demanding anything. And the point of this was to show that the hardest possible objective is a complete joke. And I hope that everyone sees this too. There are like 10 ways of doing this, and if the point of Empire Mode ISN'T to balance the worlds against your growing power, then why do they already have difficulty levels? Why is there a little "Total Multiplier" icon at the bottom, and a "Complexity: Nightmarish (70)" at the top?

Empire Mode will never be fully balanced.

I hope you are wrong. You are incredibly sure of something I don't recall them saying, but I hope you are wrong. If you are right, then I can stop posting now, and just uninstall the game. Isn't much point in exploring this if this is as bad as it will ever get.

On that matter, if you find the mobs too easy, try a thrallworld for example. Don't pick the world you are comfortable with, don't pick the race you know how to loadout. Try something new, and you will be surprised how difficult it can be once again if you have no clue how to pilot the faction you picked.

Look, here is the deal. This system is using carry-over heroes and carry-over tech from earlier games, which is cool, but not as cool as the original campaign carry-over system. Then, they got the balance all wrong. They didn't go nearly as far, or allow nearly as much flexibility as they do in campaign. I am telling them how to do this with tools and systems they already have. I just want them to use the best parts of the systems they already use. If they would just let the computer spawn with a Shakarn I reactor core (a lot like "more harder AI") and a lot more cities (like campaign mode), then this would largely solve itself, and I wouldn't have to find creative ways of tying my hands behind my back.

I also like the idea of one-shot heroes. The hero levels only though gameplay, like in campaign, and you carry over everything. But they keep what they earned. That is a cool effect of the original system. I could give 10 ways to build on that, a.k.a. an "inventory" and progression system from any role-playing game, but those don't exist yet in this game. I tried to keep it to just what I saw.

 

[Sandman25DCSSS]

As water I meant AI is unable to invade properly across water, it should be 100% land for AI to have a chance. My whole post was an attempt to help those who want to have challenge vs AI. Violate just 1 rule, any of them, and you will not have a challenging game, you will get bored and will abandon the map. It is quite clear at this point devs are not going to change empire mode.

 

[coodav]

As water I meant AI is unable to invade properly across water, it should be 100% land for AI to have a chance.

Not exactly. You can also put teleporters on high. That typically functions more-or-less the same - and sometimes even better, particularly for distant computer opponents. Either way though, you do have to give the computer maximum access, or it will simply flounder. Complex invasions are clearly past its programming.

Violate just 1 rule, any of them, and you will not have a challenging game, you will get bored and will abandon the map. It is quite clear at this point devs are not going to change empire mode.

Sigh.....

Yeah... it seems that way. To make the game hard now you have to do EVERYTHING right. You have to go WAAAAAAYYYYY beyond the normal programming to give yourself any semblance of challenge. I don't think that was what they were looking for in this 'infinite dungeon' sort of system they are creating. They really need the 'infinite' part of 'infinite dungeon,' or why do this?

 

[atord/Nordos]

The very first screenshot you showed already has it.
Hand that takes means razing colonies, you probably ain't gonna go out of your way to attack a settlement before taking down the AI, and even if you do, you won't be able to use the renown just as easily.
Poweful allies needs you to get Integration with the Paragon. Again. Not gonaa happen, because at this point the alternate condition is already met.
Avenging the Past is similar, needing to kill specific AIs.

To compare, the second one is a joke. Ghost Busting is one of the easies ways to get renown.

Also, there is another 'turn 20 rush' coming with the affix of 'Low Maintenance'. Yes. It has no Imaging Satellites.


I admit, I don't know the future of this mode, but I stand by my opinion: This mode can't be balanced. Only a very few things are balan ced, even chess has a d istinction of whetever you begin or not - and it is one of the most balanced games there is.
Your suggestions, for example, may or may not help either. I do like to adapt my leaders for every new misison, though I do often skill the same way. That is especially true for my secondary heroes, though. I don't say that they shouldn't c hange the mode, nor that it is perfect (which is even more impossible than finding true balance), but I am not quite in agreement with your presented points. For alot of them it feels like a mod would be more to you liking, because I really doubt they will completely revamp their system. I do agree that there are imbalances, that should be adressed (one being that thrallworld is far harder than mutated fauna, for example, or that Ghost Busting is so damn easy), but posting over and over does not seem the right way to try to gain attention. It does have the tendency to react derisively towards your ideas and proposals, and makes you seem salty/tilted/imbecile.

And ramping up the difficulty does seem to be the wrong way to adress it to me personally. I do would like way more parameters to tune than the ones currently there, though. Especially since the Mode, if you really want to, is extremly easy anyway, and due to it not being competetive, I don't care if someone abuses said settings to make it even more easier.
Still, rather than waiting for a change that may or may not come, I personally would prefer to look for mods or even make my own to fit my needs.

 

[coodav]

The very first screenshot you showed already has it.
Hand that takes means razing colonies, you probably ain't gonna go out of your way to attack a settlement before taking down the AI, and even if you do, you won't be able to use the renown just as easily.
Poweful allies needs you to get Integration with the Paragon. Again. Not gonaa happen, because at this point the alternate condition is already met.
Avenging the Past is similar, needing to kill specific AIs.

Sure, it is possible to have harder renown quests. Mine were:

1. Making Connections (contact 4 commanders)
2. Swift Action (kill anyone by turn 20)
3. Service Provisions (annex broadcast towers); and
4. Naval Dominance (water sector improvements)

Three of these could not possibly help, Swift Action (only rewards you if you after you win), Service Provisions (only one tower was anywhere near me), and Naval Dominance (I could not get the population or tech to take advantage of it by the end). But yes, Making Connections was relatively easy. Rewards for that quest are terrible, but yes, it was enough to get a few things. So you know though, I didn't even look before I started it. I was absolutely certain that this would happen no matter what went there. I just picked the first one with "Swift Action" with a full slot, and started the game. One quest went my way, three (or two if you exclude Swift Action itself) didn't.

I am telling everyone here though: it wouldn't matter. This wouldn't have ended differently no matter the quests. Try it out yourself. Try this combination, with basically any race, on any random "Swift Action," and you will see. You will also see that it is impossible to make it meaningfully harder - there are just no dials past this.

I admit, I don't know the future of this mode, but I stand by my opinion: This mode can't be balanced.

You keep saying that, but there are a soooooo many options. And even the word 'balanced' isn't exactly what we need. Drive it into 'impossible' if you want. I think it is fine to keep hammering on worlds that are basically unbeatable. Sometimes it is enough to just get really far on a mission that cannot be finished. The distance you get is a measure itself.

But what if the things that I just mentioned were added in? Say that meant a full set of mods on the units I went against. At a minimum I would have taken losses. Or if not, I am convinced that auto-combat would have been out of the question. I mean, anything would help. Just give me the dials, and let me at it, I'll get there, I promise.

Your suggestions, for example, may or may not help either. I do like to adapt my leaders for every new misison, though I do often skill the same way. That is especially true for my secondary heroes, though. I don't say that they shouldn't c hange the mode, nor that it is perfect (which is even more impossible than finding true balance), but I am not quite in agreement with your presented points.

Sure. The only reason I put it there is because it felt better the way they had it before. The systems in campaign and mods do things way better, and they are playable today. I am pretty sure this would be a welcome change though. I mean, we can see what it did and all... and it kind-of worked. Just... not smoothly.

but posting over and over does not seem the right way to try to gain attention. It does have the tendency to react derisively towards your ideas and proposals, and makes you seem salty/tilted/imbecile.

Ooof, man. I gotta say, going at you like I did earlier was kind-of dumb. The whole "I will wait" thing was almost guaranteed to bring something like this. So my bad. I'll back off if you will. Truce?

And ramping up the difficulty does seem to be the wrong way to adress it to me personally. I do would like way more parameters to tune than the ones currently there, though. Especially since the Mode, if you really want to, is extremly easy anyway, and due to it not being competetive, I don't care if someone abuses said settings to make it even more easier.
Still, rather than waiting for a change that may or may not come, I personally would prefer to look for mods or even make my own to fit my needs.

Well, the mods would do exactly that. Or the ones bouncing around now do anyway. But you are right. The 'right' answer is to make the machine smarter. Make it SO DAMN SMART that you have to cheat in order to win. But, as we can clearly see, that isn't going to happen today. Sooo... just give me some Sharkarn uber-cheating reactors for the AI in the meantime. That will suffice until our terminator overlords become smarter than us.

 

[Sandman25DCSSS]

By the way, did you try empire mode with Adventure mod? It limits number of mod slots to 1 for inexperienced faction units and multiplies mod costs for NPC units by 50% so it is quite hard to create unstoppable armies this early even if you got lots of cosmite from diplomacy. And then you will have energy problems because experienced units have much higher upkeep. Pick vanguard, it has happiness penalties for all terrain types which generate energy and production

 

[coodav]

By the way, did you try empire mode with Adventure mod? It limits number of mod slots to 1 for inexperienced faction units and multiplies mod costs for NPC units by 50% so it is quite hard to create unstoppable armies this early even if you got lots of cosmite from diplomacy. And then you will have energy problems because experienced units have much higher upkeep. Pick vanguard, it has happiness penalties for all terrain types which generate energy and production

Not yet. I think this will be my next step. This and the 'stronger AI' mod you keep talking about.

 

[atord/Nordos]

the Adventure mode does seem fun, but I have the inkling that Assembly has an edge. Sure, ruins means few food sectors, but if you can tech fast enough to have total deassamble ( or w/e the last doctrine tech is called), you get enough production and food to cover that.
Ruins giving knowledge makes it quite feasible to tech fast, no waiting time for requipping mods is especially useful for your adventurous units and the arc tree stilll feels pretty OP You often already have the reassambler unlocked, and only need to get the stun tech + advanced constructs. At the time you got these, your early reassembler should have reached elite and being able to equip the advanced construct mod and the stun/arc ones.
Add in the fact that the arcing means that the AA construct can shoot the air and still arc to a ground unit.... Well, I found it powerful personally ^^

Sorry for being so harsh earlier, coodav. Don't even know what exactly ticked me off to begin with :S I do fear that the development is quite slow, so me percievin you imaptient may have been a part of that. But I still stand by my opinion that mods will be the most integral thing to change the way the Empire mode plays out. If one gets enough popularity, there may even be a slim chance that it gets adapted or at least taken into account.
I have played AoW 3, and it had a lot of mods and was relatively easy to mod ( for smaller scales at least), and seeing the slew of mods that completely overhauled the game, I do have hope that we will be gettin g similar mods for Planetfall as well. I especially have high hopes for the adventure mod, to be honest, because I really liked the mods from DerMentat for AoE 3

 

[coodav]

But I still stand by my opinion that mods will be the most integral thing to change the way the Empire mode plays out. If one gets enough popularity, there may even be a slim chance that it gets adapted or at least taken into account.

Ok then, great, cease-fire in effect.

But you don't think that this is the beginning to a big "Adventure Mode" mod of their own? It seems like this is the natural beginning of a role-playing 4X system. Why on Earth would you put so much energy into the system if it was just going to be a flash in the pan?

Going back to the meager notes on the last patch and expansion:

Age of Wonders: Planetfall - Star Kings Expansion & Triceratops Overview

It seems that there is some commitment to the system. Super unclear though. That said, why else do it?

 

[Hamster1810]

on the 2nd thought. I 'rather stay out of this

 

[Ephafn]

Is it me, or is the problem here is the lack of high difficulty planet modifiers? Going to a 25 difficulty planet when all your heroes are level 20 and you have a bunch of free techs should be a walk in the park, even at the highest AI difficulty setting. Empire mode should be about conquering planets that are harder and harder, as you get stronger at the same time.
Additionnally, there is a big lack of planet mods which make the AI stronger. There are a bunch of them which give them starting alliances, and that's pretty much it. Most of the other modifiers are just as much harder for the player than they are for the AI. Adding AI buffs planet modifiers feels like the most straightforward improvement I can think of for Empire mode. Things like:
- Elite force: One AI get +20% damage and +10 health on all of its units.
- Library custodians: One AI starts with all technologies researched from the start.
- Large cryoship: One AI starts with +20 population + all happiness buildings in its capital.
- Rival empires: All AI get free random units from time to time.
- Veteran commanders: All AI commanders are level 20.
And so on... It isn't very hard to brainstorm ideas of that sort. Not sure how hard it would be to implement however.

 

[atord/Nordos]

I am pretty certain that the Veteran thingy is already there?
I remember facing a level 23 enemy hero when I rushed an AI down while having an extremly high Empire Level (Heroes were all between 18 and 20, nearly all factions except Dvar, Amazon and Sarkan were maxed), so I think its already kinda in there? needs an extreme AI maybe, though.

 

[Ephafn]

I am pretty certain that the Veteran thingy is already there?
I remember facing a level 23 enemy hero when I rushed an AI down while having an extremly high Empire Level (Heroes were all between 18 and 20, nearly all factions except Dvar, Amazon and Sarkan were maxed), so I think its already kinda in there? needs an extreme AI maybe, though.

Hum, that's good to know. All my heroes are still below level 10, so that must explain why I didn't spot that. This does lessen one of the way the player faction gets stronger than the AI factions.

 

[coodav]

Things like:
- Elite force: One AI get +20% damage and +10 health on all of its units.
- Library custodians: One AI starts with all technologies researched from the start.
- Large cryoship: One AI starts with +20 population + all happiness buildings in its capital.
- Rival empires: All AI get free random units from time to time.
- Veteran commanders: All AI commanders are level 20.

Or they start with one built-in mod, like tenant of healing or something. Or your units only have 2 mods max (3 for high-level heroes). Or your units are constantly under some storm they are immune to. Or they always get an additional unit or two, such as a repair drone that just proccs in the beginning of combat. Or literally an infinitude of things. I was just saying these things that were already in a game. But yes, that is absolutely something they can do with seemingly zero effort. And there is a limitless number of these things.

But yeah, any/all of these, put on a chart, and added to the game like with the Hades "punishment pact."

 

[atord/Nordos]

Another thing I would like to adress here in specific is the uneven distribution of experience.
Take this one for example:

I have so far played three factions with three different techs. One is quite obviously, because I played 5 out of 8 games with it (Assembly Voidtech), Syndicate I played twice and .... Kir'Ko once (though it was the first game, so not a big surprise only getting that much Exp).
So, what about Secret Techs? I already mentioned I played VoidTech, which also had quite a few objectives. but my second class wasn't Heritor. It wasn't Synthesis either. It was Celestial one game and Psynumbra two games.
I have yet to play Oathbound or Amazon either. Problem I have here is actually Dvar and Sharkan being so far down, because these were missing in my other Empire as well. A bit surprised Amazon is actually so far above, but I had the 'Mutated Fauna' tr ait twice, which, as far as I remember, does not occur past a certain complexity.

Heritor and Oathbound are far too easy to attain in my opinion, it were the two Techs/Faction I completed with the other Empire without even touching them and they were my 4rd and 5rd to be completed, partly because I actually had more or less only played certain faction combinations (Kir'Ko, Syndicate, Psynumbra and Xenoplague).
So, I would also like to see some experience rebalancing, personally. Not sure that this is actually objective, because I only played two different Empires, but both have a surprisingly high level of Heritor and Oathbound without me touching them.

 

[Ericridge]

Oathbound is quite easy to get, you just need to grow a city to specific size.

 

[coodav]

So, I would also like to see some experience rebalancing, personally. Not sure that this is actually objective, because I only played two different Empires, but both have a surprisingly high level of Heritor and Oathbound without me touching them.

I thought about this a long time, and think there may be a way to handle that; break the experience for each race in two. One set you can get from quests while playing any race, and one where you only get by playing it. Basically, you can get some freebies from the go, but can only fully max out by playing the race and winning. That would probably help a lot of this, and give some additional satisfaction to maxing a race.

And yes, I think the experience is kinda wonky. I almost always play with a map having spacers (or other NPC), 20-turn challenges, or such, as you can get 2-3 of the quests done in like 2-3 real-world hours, where it would take all night otherwise. Quick map solutions really alter game-play, and where some quests are always hidden behind game-long objectives makes them =undesirable.