Steelhive Faction feedback/balancing

[Zerovirus]

If I want to move some units at the top, I add "a" to their ids. It works for me.

Oh, and it turns out the alphabetic sorting is done automatically by Wesnoth, probably by unit id.

I'mma gonna bring this up again, and ask Melinath to implement ordered recruit list. I'd do this myself but I'm not really sure if I can do it without screwing up the cfg links and stuff.

[melinath]

Oh... right. Good idea. Changed it. Resists still not done - let me know if you get to it first.

EDIT:: I should note that I uploaded the changed version.

[Zerovirus]

Hrm. Why is it that 1.7 says that there's not addons on this server anymore?

[melinath]

I dunno. Try updating to 1.8beta3.

[Zerovirus]

Um.

Lightshifter seems broken, can't get it to change to any units. All I can do with it is give it a leadercrown, and that's not really useful.

And whenever the AI plays, it has a bit of a problem seen below. I think it's trying to recruit a lightshifter but some paths in the cfgs are broken or whatever.

[melinath]

Whoops. I missed a few type id changes in lightshifter.cfg. Fixed now! (Even playtested it for once :-p)

[fog_of_gold]

I've got an idea to let te ai think, a light shifter is a leader:
Later, I'll form my words into a code, but here's the idea:
Every ai turn, all leaders and shifted-into-leaders that sees this ai will be stored. Then a random stored unit should be select and will be the leader. Before this, we should save the real leader. A variable, maybe named ai_finished, should get the value yes. When a fakeleader gets less_than_equal_to=0 hitpoints in an event named attack end, another leader wil be select. There's a nested side turn(first_time_only=yes), which asks, if ai_finished=yes. If so, the real leader will get canrecruit=yes. Then ai_finished=no.

[Zerovirus]

>.>

Right. I have no clue what you just said. So I'll let Melinath translate.

[fog_of_gold]

>.>

Right. I have no clue what you just said. So I'll let Melinath translate.

No as I said:

I'll form my words into a code

[melinath]

If you can and want to code that, feel free, but I'd like to point out that the ai still won't approximate a human, since a human would notice which leaders are fake - but if I understand your suggestion right, the ai will always assume that whatever looks like a leader is one.

[fog_of_gold]

@melinath:

since a human would notice which leaders are fake

I really don't know. Are you sure we can see, who the leader is? -Just because of the feeling I'd choose the form like the leader. But if you think, I'd make diffrents, I could ask, if the lightshifter was seen by an enemy while shifting to a leader and ask, if ai allready knows, who the leader is. Also I could ask, if the ai sawed the fake-leader shifting into a lightshfter (while combating). But it looks very difficult.

but if I understand your suggestion right, the ai will always assume that whatever looks like a leader is one.

Yes, like nearly humans would do. Humans would watch the behavior of leaders, which is nearly impossible to tell the ai.

Other suggestions:
-When I finished this code, the lightshifter will be too strong for 8-gold units. Increase their cost and upper their movementpoints. If the unit shift, it should lower it's movement.

-In the theory, you are able to look after lightshifter and see when they shift, if there isn't shroud or fog. I'd suggest to make them invisible while they aren't seen by an enemy.

-If you are motivated enough to balance more, I've got some suggestions for the advancement of the sentient:
-increase memory: decrease the current experience points by 60%
-increase repairingskills: gets +1 repair and +1 selfrepair
-forge: increase pierce, blade and crush resistences by some points (will have to be a special formula because at the strat, it will be to weak, and in the end, it will be too strong, if we make it with a linear formula)
@Zerovirus:
If you don't want to make the steel hive, feel free to post your ideas about it and I'll do it maybe.

[Zerovirus]

If you'd help with Steelhive, that would more than optimal. At this point there's a few animations that haven't been put in, as well as the newest Bladewhirler baseframe. And, of course, the omni-present changes to terrain def and movecosts that we still need to get done.

Perhaps the Sentient should gain stat boosts as relating to the number of enemies it kills or the number of times it fights or something, not the number of times it gains AMLA.

[fog_of_gold]

If you'd help with Steelhive, that would more than optimal. At this point there's a few animations that haven't been put in, as well as the newest Bladewhirler baseframe. And, of course, the omni-present changes to terrain def and movecosts that we still need to get done.

I know, 'Steel hive' was misunderstoodable, since you 'removed' this name. I was taking about your queen hive.

Perhaps the Sentient should gain stat boosts as relating to the number of enemies it kills or the number of times it fights or something, not the number of times it gains AMLA.

It don't do very much and the sentients aren't too strong in 30% experience. You need tactics to stop this, which the ai doesn't have. Because of this, they looked very strong while testing. But I think, it would help, if we increase their power and their experience points.


About my suggestions:
They are a little bit too strong. Here are they now, better balanced:

-increase repairskills:
Only 8 times avalable

-increase memory:
-50%

-forge:
fullheal and no +20% experience. (Because else, they would become too strong against fighter)

Edit:
It would be nice, if you explain the lightshifter with a ability named "shifter"

[Major]

The scout gets an invisibility bonus when on swamp villages but not on mer-men villages.

[wesfreak]

I just saw an ageless era game where a steel sentinal got 950 hp. Maybe to avoid super powerfull sentinal spam in low xp high gold settings we could make it add at least 1 xp and a certain percentage? So that way even in low xp games the amount of xp required to level goes up by at least one.