"Storytelling" and combat difficulty

[Shurp]

After my experience with my latest colony... I wonder if Ludeon has actually struck the right balance here.  I decided this time around I would recruit *everyone* that winds up lying bleeding in my killbox.  And play without turrets.  And the result is... interesting.

I have a colony of complete misfits -- missing legs, psychite addicts (one was an alcoholic who spent a season unconscious while in withdrawal from both), missing eyes, pyromaniacs, wimps, all sorts of refuse.

And yet with this gang of clowns and some well prepared defenses I've been able to repel all of the pirates and tribals that have attacked me.  I never would have been able to accomplish this at top difficulty in 1.8.  So the reduced combat difficulty does create more incentive to employ less efficient game strategies.  I think this is genuinely working.

Anyway, now I have to go and put a peg leg on one of my colonists.  We had to beat her down because she was on a drug spree and wiping out our precious supply of psychite tea, and someone managed to rip her leg off in the process.  D'oh!

[AileTheAlien]

I had two pawns get in a fist-fight with each other, and somehow fingers got bitten off. "Social fight" indeed.

[zizard]

The "AI storyteller" is a set of dice and a rubberband.

[Shurp]

OK, I'll bite, what's the rubber band for?

[zizard]

Adjust raid strength based on downs/deaths.

[5thHorseman]

OK, I'll bite, what's the rubber band for?

Rubber-banding was first coined in arcade style racing games. It's a common practice (or at least it used to be I don't play any arcade racers anymore) to make the AI drivers slow down if they get too far ahead of you, and speed up if they get too far behind. It's as if they were attached to your car with a rubber band that kept them near you. If you don't realize it, it makes each race more exciting because you're never out of the race but never blowing away the competition. If you do realize it, the game gets really old really fast.

You could say the same about Rimworld but that's unfair IMO as Rimworld isn't a combat simulator with base building in it, it's a base building game with combat in it.

[bbqftw]

If you don't realize it, it makes each race more exciting because you're never out of the race but never blowing away the competition. If you do realize it, the game gets really old really fast.

exactly, once you shatter the illusion the game becomes very...different.

Then the true battle is tricking the game metrics into thinking you are a bad player. Entertaining in its own way, really!

Wimp is pretty good trait since it acts as one of the strongest market value negatives (wealth controlled), their mental breaks can be controlled easily (wimp+pyro? no problem, just punch them thrice), and their incidental disease related downings can be mitigated by correct apparel selection.

[zizard]

Rubber-banding was first coined in arcade style racing games. It's a common practice (or at least it used to be I don't play any arcade racers anymore) to make the AI drivers slow down if they get too far ahead of you, and speed up if they get too far behind. It's as if they were attached to your car with a rubber band that kept them near you. If you don't realize it, it makes each race more exciting because you're never out of the race but never blowing away the competition. If you do realize it, the game gets really old really fast.

You could say the same about Rimworld but that's unfair IMO as Rimworld isn't a combat simulator with base building in it, it's a base building game with combat in it.

I think the last line is non sequitir, would like to know why combat simulator vs base builder changes anything.

[5thHorseman]

I think the last line is non sequitir, would like to know why combat simulator vs base builder changes anything.

If the aliens in Sim City were stronger for a larger city and weaker for a smaller one, that would not (and for all I know does not. It's been a long time since I played a sim city game. Long enough that I don't even know if they still have alien attacks) really change people's enjoyment of it.

Now obviously combat is more prevalent in this game than in Sim City, but there is far less (compared to base building) in this than in - say - Command and Conquer. Again, the old ones because I've not played one in decades.

Somewhere between C&C and SimCity sits Rimworld. I don't know exactly where but it seems that a lot of people want it to be more of a tower defense kind of game than a city (village, whatever) builder. I'm perfectly happy with it where it is, though I can understand the frustrations for those who want more combat, considering there is a frustratingly complex armor/weapon system compared to - say - the options for decorating a room.

[vzoxz0]

Notice how he didn't specify difficulty. This is not how it works on Savage or Merciless.

[zizard]

If the aliens in Sim City were stronger for a larger city and weaker for a smaller one, that would not (and for all I know does not. It's been a long time since I played a sim city game. Long enough that I don't even know if they still have alien attacks) really change people's enjoyment of it.

Now obviously combat is more prevalent in this game than in Sim City, but there is far less (compared to base building) in this than in - say - Command and Conquer. Again, the old ones because I've not played one in decades.

Somewhere between C&C and SimCity sits Rimworld. I don't know exactly where but it seems that a lot of people want it to be more of a tower defense kind of game than a city (village, whatever) builder. I'm perfectly happy with it where it is, though I can understand the frustrations for those who want more combat, considering there is a frustratingly complex armor/weapon system compared to - say - the options for decorating a room.

Hmm, I think I get the general idea, which is that the rubber banding is mostly applied to only one part of the game's challenge. Thanks.

Notice how he didn't specify difficulty. This is not how it works on Savage or Merciless.

Wealth is already a rubber band. Adaptation on lower difficulties just turns it up to 11. It's still quite useful to periodically suicide a colonist on extreme btw.

[Shurp]

Notice how he didn't specify difficulty. This is not how it works on Savage or Merciless.

Well, I'm playing with Cassandra on Merciless. I don't know how much rubber-banding is going on, if any.  But 5thHorseman is right, at least on this style of play (accept all refugees no matter how worthless).  The challenge of keeping my colonists sane and fed is much greater than that of keeping them alive in firefights... and if some of them die, well, that's less mouths to feed!

[vzoxz0]

If you're playing Cassandra merciless without any mods, this all sounds very suspicious. I'm playing Savage and I nearly lose colonists every raid while trying to minimize value. Maybe Merciless is bugged?

[5thHorseman]

As the "He" mentioned above I'll say I basically always play on Cassandra Rough because I personally find it the most fun. I've won on Randy Savage (I needed a little excitement) but didn't find it fun. I found myself sacrificing enjoyment to beat the meta and I'd rather enjoy myself making a well defended base than play tricks on the AI and micromanage wealth. Though, I didn't actually have any problems on Savage mode until I actually turned the ship on.

Then everything went to pot in a hurry.

I've never played merciless and probably never will. Feel free to ignore my comments from here on out as I'm obviously a hopeless casual.

[ceofiofy]

Recruiting has become really worth it in my opinion. Either an extra colonist or a massive amount of steel to keep your machine gun turrets up and running, both raises value/wealth. Of course, there are downsides to this, but still, the colonist "surplus" is of big use in combat and colony development. I usually try to set up a 2nd base if I'm over 12 population in 4th year and exploit the surroundings and have a semi-permanent caravan, as the game favors a more dynamic play-style.

Combat is just for real men, not for dumb metal spray machines.