Before 1.5 we were used to start with one Defense Army on our home world. Now with 1.5. there are five of them.
What for?
Unless you start with Caste System there will be no Unrest at the start of the game and it is quite unlikely that there will ever be on your Capital World (Capital World modifier includes -10 Unrest anyway btw).
So all these five Defense Armies are doing is costing a total of 0.75 energy maintenance per month. Which is quite significant early on, so experienced players will disband these Defense Armies immediately while it stays an income drain for new players and the AI.
This problem is not limited to the capital world, but present everywhere. Look around inside an AI empire and you will see happy planets stuffed with lots and lots of Defense Armies.
But these Defense Armies are defending this happy empire against evil conquerers you say? No, they are not. Wars are decided in space, Defense Armies only delay the inevitable when you have a smaller fleet. The invader will always win eventually because he has +100% Damage bonus when planetary fortifications are down and he can bring unlimited Assault Armies while the Defense Armies are limited in number and won't regenerate. So the smart move is to invest your resources in a bigger fleet in the first place.
But what about 'planet sniping' by enemy armies without fleet support if you have no Defense Armies around? That's a very theoretical danger. There are still the spaceport, the garrison armies and the planetary fortifications (which reduce damage by 98% if not cleared) defending the planet.
Defense Armies are also part of the reason why AI vs. AI wars seem to drag on forever even when one side is largely favored due to AI's bad ability to gather enough Assault Armies at the target. So the obsession with Defense Armies is again limiting the AI's capabitlity to compete with the player in the long run.
If you see the problem in AI empires, you can bet it will also appear in the sector AI in your own empire. And indeed, the first thing a new sector often wants to build is a Defense Army:
Already slightly negative energy income and a mineral balance of only +1? Maybe build a power plant and then a mine to start a self-sufficient economy? Nope, a freaking Defense Army it is!
The whole army system is unnecessary micro management anyway and need to be scrapped / redone in the in the medium term. For 1.6 I suggest:
1. No starting Defense Armies on the Capital World unless using Caste System.
2. Teach the AI to build Defense Armies only in response to Unrest (and to disband them once no longer needed).
What for?
Unless you start with Caste System there will be no Unrest at the start of the game and it is quite unlikely that there will ever be on your Capital World (Capital World modifier includes -10 Unrest anyway btw).
So all these five Defense Armies are doing is costing a total of 0.75 energy maintenance per month. Which is quite significant early on, so experienced players will disband these Defense Armies immediately while it stays an income drain for new players and the AI.
This problem is not limited to the capital world, but present everywhere. Look around inside an AI empire and you will see happy planets stuffed with lots and lots of Defense Armies.
But these Defense Armies are defending this happy empire against evil conquerers you say? No, they are not. Wars are decided in space, Defense Armies only delay the inevitable when you have a smaller fleet. The invader will always win eventually because he has +100% Damage bonus when planetary fortifications are down and he can bring unlimited Assault Armies while the Defense Armies are limited in number and won't regenerate. So the smart move is to invest your resources in a bigger fleet in the first place.
But what about 'planet sniping' by enemy armies without fleet support if you have no Defense Armies around? That's a very theoretical danger. There are still the spaceport, the garrison armies and the planetary fortifications (which reduce damage by 98% if not cleared) defending the planet.
Defense Armies are also part of the reason why AI vs. AI wars seem to drag on forever even when one side is largely favored due to AI's bad ability to gather enough Assault Armies at the target. So the obsession with Defense Armies is again limiting the AI's capabitlity to compete with the player in the long run.
If you see the problem in AI empires, you can bet it will also appear in the sector AI in your own empire. And indeed, the first thing a new sector often wants to build is a Defense Army:
Already slightly negative energy income and a mineral balance of only +1? Maybe build a power plant and then a mine to start a self-sufficient economy? Nope, a freaking Defense Army it is!
The whole army system is unnecessary micro management anyway and need to be scrapped / redone in the in the medium term. For 1.6 I suggest:
1. No starting Defense Armies on the Capital World unless using Caste System.
2. Teach the AI to build Defense Armies only in response to Unrest (and to disband them once no longer needed).
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