https://wiki.arcengames.com/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=Histidine&feedformat=atomArcen Wiki - User contributions [en]2024-03-29T07:44:12ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.34.2https://wiki.arcengames.com/index.php?title=AI_War_2:Fallen_Spire&diff=38757AI War 2:Fallen Spire2020-04-16T09:08:02Z<p>Histidine: /* City Structures */ Add Buttress</p>
<hr />
<div>= Fallen Spire =<br />
<br />
The Fallen Spire are an optional faction that can be enabled via the Game Lobby, or by activating a beacon in game. The Fallen Spireare intended to satisfy the [https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/arcengames/ai-war-ii-0/posts/1746490 Spire] kickstarter goal, and draw further inspiration from the [[AI War:What Is The Fallen Spire Minor Faction|Fallen Spire Minor Faction]] from AIWC. <br />
<br />
=== Design Goals ===<br />
<br />
We wanted to overall keep the spirit of the Fallen Spire from AIWC, while doing some additional fun things that are possible/easier with the new AIW2 engine. This does not match what was in the Kickstarter. It is very similar to the AIWC version except there’s much more variety in the Relics Capture quests, a ton more city buildings, and more variety in the AI response. Also a number of minor factions have unique attributes that can only appear during the spire campaign.<br />
<br />
It's worth noting that as the game evolved a lot from the original kickstarter, the Spire goal that was originally laid out doesn't fit in the new context. But we also really wanted to modernize and expand on what was in the first game, taking inspiration from it without copying it wholesale. City buildings and units are different, and the entire flow is a completely new thing. The original was very sloooow, for instance.<br />
<br />
The core of the gameplay is Epic Battles to capture the relics, and Powerful Ships and Bases you get as a result. We think the Powerful Ships and Bases part was well done in AIWC, and we wanted to preserve most of that, though for the city placement and city design we wanted to expand that to a pretty huge degree.<br />
<br />
From this point forward we aren't going to keep back-referencing the first game, so please just try to forget the specifics of that one as you wrap your brain around this one. The number of differences will quickly compound until it's quite a new beast while still keeping the same spirit. (Hey, that sounds like we just described the entire concept of this sequel!)<br />
<br />
=== Lore ===<br />
<br />
The AI has crushed the Spire empire in their home galaxy. Some Spire units have landed in our galaxy and they can rebuild their empire and take revenge.<br />
<br />
Sometime in the last few hundred years, the AI detected the Spire, who had already colonized several nearby galaxies. They launched a surprise attack against the Spire homeworld. The Spire attempted to use their TransWarp technology to warp their full Imperial Fleet to their homeworld for defense. However, while in transit the AI sabotaged the Warp Transceiver on the homeworld, trapping the Spire Fleet in inter-dimensional space. Suddenly helpless, the Spire’s local defenses were no match for the AI and their Scourge allies.<br />
<br />
The AI has captured a lot of Spire reactors and is experimenting to harness their power in cloaked research laboratories. There are also some hidden spire relics scattered about the galaxy from past battles.<br />
<br />
The Spire are rock/crystalline creatures who feed on energy and can grow and reproduce very quickly with enough energy, so freeing those reactors will allow them to create cities and warships quickly. Each structure or warship IS a living spire -- like Zenith Golems, the spire are macroscopic life to an almost absurd degree. <br />
<br />
=== Primary Features ===<br />
<br />
* Give the player a way to get some Really Big Weapons that scare the mess out of the AI (not in an AI Progress sense, though).<br />
* Let the player build entire spire cities of various complexities and styles, which upgrade as you build more cities and more structures.<br />
* Give the AI a reason and ability to bring back extra-galactic forces from their mysterious "main war" to fight you and the spire openly.<br />
* Allow players the freedom to push all the way to an alternative victory condition via this faction, or to just build up one or more cities and make use of the extra firepower.<br />
* In general to allow players to experience the fallen spire on a gradient scale, doing some of it as they wish, not having to choose "completely fallen spire" or "completely not fallen spire."<br />
* Let us explore a bit more of the spire lore than we have in prior games.<br />
* Give players a chance to "smash the galaxy for fun and profit" by going for a mark 7 city, well above the mark 5 level that is needed for the alternative victory condition. At this point you're just rubbing it in, but it feels so satisfying to be the big one for a change.<br />
<br />
= How To Play =<br />
<br />
You can hack to find relics, and then once you have found one you need to go and give it orders of where to turn into a city. When it gets where you told it to go, it will become a city center that also includes a small (for the spire) flagship. You can then improve your city, build more cities in the same manner, and get absurd amounts of power. This scares the AI, of course, so a new arms race of superweapons begins. The "least" of your problems are targeted vicious exogalactic attacks on the relics and your cities. If you survive these odds, you'll have not only the sort of firepower you could never dream of elsewhere, but eventually might be able to do something to recover that lost Imperial Spire Fleet...<br />
<br />
== Find A Relic ==<br />
<br />
There are various ways of finding relics (see below). The first stage of getting a new spire city is to find a relic by one of those means. Once you have a relic, it's time to then turn it into a city.<br />
<br />
The very '''first''' relic is just out there somewhere, and you'll discover it and see right where it is. Go get it when you feel like it, or leave it alone.<br />
<br />
=== Scrap A Relic? ===<br />
<br />
Are you being hounded to death by Exos? You really won't survive? Don't worry, more relics will be available in the future. You can use the usual commands for scrapping units to scrap the relic and put yourself out of further misery.<br />
<br />
=== Getting Chased By The AI ===<br />
<br />
The AI really wants to destroy the relic before it turns into a citadel. It will send exogalactic waves (Exos) after the relic, and you really should have some sort of guard force fending that off. Unless you want to just build on the city you found the relic, in which case go ahead. Once a spire city has been established, it can be crippled or deactivated, but never fully destroyed.<br />
<br />
== Place A City ==<br />
<br />
=== Choosing A Location For Your Relic Once You Find It ===<br />
<br />
The relic doesn't belong to your faction, but you can still select it and give it a movement order. When you do so, it will confirm that the destination is where you would like your next city to be founded. You can choose planets controlled by the AI, but not AI homeworlds. You also can't place any spire city adjacent to an existing city.<br />
<br />
To fully go "all in" with the Fallen Spire and its alternative win condition, you will be constructing a bare minimum of two mark 1 cities, two mark 2, two mark 3, two mark 4, and one mark 5. So that's an absolute minimum of 9 cities if you do everything with perfect efficiency and pursue the entire fallen spire campaign to the bitter end. It's entirely possible for you to stop along the way and battle the AI to death with the mega-fleets you amass as you go.<br />
<br />
THAT said, you can push things even further if you're feeling inclined or somehow the AI is still too powerful for you. You can get up to a mark 7 city, and that will require an extra 4 total cities. You'll start having a ton of extra battleships, as well as some dreadnoughts, once you get to mark 6 with them. The only other way to see those in such numbers is with the Imperial Fleet.<br />
<br />
But it's worth noting these very basic city placement rules (compared to the first game), and the fact that you'll be having so many cities if you really want the max-power city structures.<br />
<br />
=== Full List Of City Placement Rules ===<br />
<br />
The rules are very simple, unlike in AIWC. In AIWC there were things like "must have at least two wormholes" and other complicated bits. Toss all that out! The rules in AIW2 are:<br />
<br />
* The planet can't be an AI homeworld.<br />
* The planet can't be adjacent to another spire city.<br />
* That's literally it.<br />
<br />
=== No Scrapping Cities ===<br />
<br />
Wishing you didn't put that city where you did? Well... that's a real shame, friend. You can't scrap city hubs or the flagships of cities. Once a city is founded, it's forever going to exist where you put it.<br />
<br />
The best thing to do in these circumstances is just abandon the city hub to the enemy, and take the flagship for basic use elsewhere. It can get repairs from other cities anytime it gets too damaged. <br />
<br />
Meanwhile, if the city hub you abandoned is crippled by taking too much damage, or is deactivated by no longer being on a planet you control, then enemies will start ignoring it and it will be just another piece of war debris sitting around in the galaxy. Worst case, maybe sometime in the future as your empire is growing, you choose to go back and recapture it and build up again.<br />
<br />
Be warned that dead and lost cities still contribute to the AI's exogalactic strike forces, however! After all, it knows you've still got a big Spire ship out somewhere in the galaxy...<br />
<br />
=== When You Don't Own The City A Planet Is On ===<br />
<br />
If you choose to build a city on a planet that isn't yours -- which is a ''totally valid thing to do'' -- or when you lose a planet, then the hub for that city will be inactive and you won't be able to build any spire structures on that city until you capture the planet. After that the city will function as normal. If the city hub gets damaged to the point of being crippled, then that has the same general effect as not controlling the planet at all. Get to repairing that expensive thing!<br />
<br />
It's worth noting that the mobile fleet portion of your spire city will all still be very much alive and well when the city hub is inactive or crippled. This means you can use the flagship right from the start to start vaporizing machines and aid in the conquest of the planet it is on.<br />
<br />
=== Your First City: Galactic Capitol ===<br />
<br />
The first city that you place will become the galactic capitol for the new group of cities that your spire control. The hub for these types of cities is called the Galactic Capitol and has a few stat buffs as well as having an extra two "building sockets" (more on that later) compared to all the other cities. So it's a bit easier to get this very first city off the ground, and it has a strong chance of being your strongest spire city throughout the game if you keep upgrading it. Most likely this would be the one to reach mark 7 first, but it doesn't have to be.<br />
<br />
Where you place this city is completely up to you:<br />
<br />
* You may want to use it as a choke point to guard your own human planets from attack, and focus on building many military structures.<br />
* You may prefer to shelter it behind your own human defenses and focus on making it an economic powerhouse or have it field a massive mobile fleet.<br />
* You may be super aggressive and place it way out in AI territory on its own, carving out the start of a new empire that is somewhat drawing attention away from your own main planets.<br />
<br />
=== More Cities ===<br />
<br />
You're going to need more cities than just the capitol -- a lot of them. In total if you want at least one mark 7 city, you'll need a minimum of 12 more cities in addition to the spire capitol. Spire cities can't be next to one another or on the AI homeworld, but beyond that it's up to you how you choose to place them, which ones you choose to mark up first/most, and what the general character of each city and its attendant fleet is.<br />
<br />
THAT said, to win the game with the fallen spire you don't need nearly so many cities. You can use them to buff you up a bit, then go kill the AI whenever you feel ready. The mark levels of your city don't really matter for that, it's all how you design them.<br />
<br />
To get the alternative victory condition involving the Imperial Fleet, you STILL don't even need 13 cities. You'd only need a mark 5 city, and so that would be a total of 9 cities to get there.<br />
<br />
== Build Up Your City ==<br />
<br />
=== Every City Is A Fleet And A City ===<br />
<br />
The most obvious part of the city at first is the hub, and the fact that you can then build a bunch of fixed-position structures from that hub. This is the city-portion, and you can see details on that by hovering over the hub itself.<br />
<br />
But there is also a mobile offensive/defensive fleet that is tied to the city, with a flagship that starts out as a "mere" cruiser, and eventually becomes a dreadnought if you level up your city enough. By constructing certain structures, you can grow your fleet of frigates and destroyers for that city, but you will also start getting a lot of mobile military ships simply by leveling the city up past a certain point.<br />
<br />
Depending on the city's nature, per your design choices and strategy, it may lean more towards supporting a larger mobile fleet or more towards spying on the enemy, producing economic gains, defending itself, or some mix.<br />
<br />
=== City Structures Require "Sockets" ===<br />
<br />
Each city hub has a certain number of sockets that are a part of it. Your galactic capitol starts with a whopping 4 sockets and then gains an additional 2 every time it levels up. All your other cities start with 2 and gain 2 per level up.<br />
<br />
Most buildings require either one or two sockets to construct. Note that sockets are a local planet-wide thing, so excess sockets in another city won't help the current planet. When you're in build mode, or when you hover over the city hub, you can easily see how many sockets you have left, and the tooltips for structures show how many sockets they require.<br />
<br />
As you unlock more advanced buildings at higher-mark cities, you may choose to scrap some of your existing buildings in order to free up existing sockets. That's a perfectly reasonable thing to do, and so spire cities will tend to be something that evolve and get revised over time.<br />
<br />
=== How To Level Up A City ===<br />
The rules are very simple:<br />
<br />
* All Sockets must be used.<br />
* The city must not be crippled or otherwise disabled.<br />
* The city must have at least 2 other cities of the same mark somewhere in the galaxy.<br />
* For each mark 2, 3 or 4 city you must control 1 additional planet in the galaxy somewhere without a spire city. Mark 5 cities require 2 additional planets. Mark 6 and 7 require 3 additional planets.<br />
** The city that was built first has priority.<br />
*** If the city with priority is currently incapable of marking up due to a prior reason, the next city will gain priority instead.<br />
<br />
Assuming all cities are leveled up as high as possible, you will have 1-2 cities of the highest available mark level, and 2 cities of each level below that. Having a Mark II city requires 3 cities in total, Mark III requires 5, Mark IV requires 7, and so on.<br />
<br />
== City Structures ==<br />
{| {{AIWarTableHeader}}<br />
! style="width: 10%" scope="col" | Name<br />
! style="width: 8%; text-align: center;" scope="col" | City mark level<br />
! style="width: 8%; text-align: center;" scope="col" | Sockets<br />
! style="width: 42%" scope="col" | Description<br />
! style="width: 32%" scope="col" | Notes<br />
|-<br />
|Spire City Hub<br />
|n/a<br />
|n/a<br />
|This facility doubles as the nerve center of a Spire City. It is responsible for the construction and coordination of the city's other structures. <br />
|At mark 3, your cruiser flagship becomes a battleship and you get +1 cruiser for every mark at or above 3. At mark 6, your battleship flagship becomes a dreadnought and you get +1 battleship for every mark at or above 6.<br />
|-<br />
|Spire Galactic Capitol<br />
|n/a<br />
|n/a<br />
|This facility serves as the central seat of government for all Spire settlements in a galaxy. It is responsible for the construction and coordination of the city's other structures.<br />
|It always has two more sockets than other cities of the same mark.<br />
At mark 3, your cruiser flagship becomes a battleship and you get +1 cruiser for every mark at or above 3. At mark 6, your battleship flagship becomes a dreadnought and you get +1 battleship for every mark at or above 6.<br />
|-<br />
|Shard Reactor<br />
|1<br />
|1<br />
|This facility produces the crystaline formations used as power cores in Spire reactors, generating a massive amount of energy in the process.<br />
|Generates 1M energy.<br />
|-<br />
|Mining Facility<br />
|1<br />
|1<br />
|Spire require massive amounts of metal to construct themselves, and they're excellent at mining for it.<br />
|Metal production increases with city mark level (but not any techs).<br />
|-<br />
|Shipyard<br />
|1<br />
|1<br />
|This facility is responsible for the construction and support of Spire craft, from escorts up to capital ships.<br />
|Builds Spire ships for Spire flagships on this and neighbouring planets.<br />
|-<br />
|Engineering Center<br />
|1<br />
|1<br />
|This facility provides rapid repair for friendly damaged ships.<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|Frigate Neural Net<br />
|1<br />
|1<br />
|This facility allows the city to build an extra two spire frigates.<br />
If the facility is destroyed, the extra frigate will also be destroyed. The city center must be functional for the cap to increase, but a nonfunctional city center won't decrease the cap.<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|Destroyer Neural Net<br />
|1<br />
|2<br />
|This facility allows the city to build an extra spire destroyer.<br />
If the facility is destroyed, the extra destroyer will also be destroyed. The city center must be functional for the cap to increase, but a nonfunctional city center won't decrease the cap.<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|Great-Shield Emitter<br />
|1<br />
|1<br />
|This immobile facility provides an incredibly massive forcefield to block all enemies. Uses a massive amount of energy and requires two local shard reactors.<br />
|Consumes 2M energy. Forcefield does ''not'' reduce damage of units firing out of it.<br />
|-<br />
|Lesser Spire Spy Cradle<br />
|2<br />
|1<br />
|This facility provides complete visibility on all planets up to two hops out. Uses a massive amount of energy and requires two local shard reactors.<br />
|Consumes 2M energy.<br />
|-<br />
|Greater Spire Spy Cradle<br />
|4<br />
|1<br />
|This facility provides complete visibility on all planets up to three hops out. Uses a massive amount of energy and requires two local shard reactors, AND requires an engineering station.<br />
|Consumes 2M energy.<br />
|-<br />
|Plasma Driver<br />
|1<br />
|1<br />
|Advanced spire weapon rapidly sends projectiles made of densely-packed plasma to deal heavy damage to higher mass targets, but does almost nothing to smaller ones.<br />
|Like an Orbital Mass Driver but with more DPS (2× at mark I, even more with higher mark levels).<br />
|-<br />
|Lesser Spire Fortress<br />
|3<br />
|2<br />
|Built for killing. Nothing more, nothing less. Also knocking enemies back. Uses a massive amount of energy and requires a local shard reactor and an engineering station.<br />
|Consumes 1M energy.<br />
|-<br />
|Greater Spire Fortress<br />
|5<br />
|4<br />
|Built for killing, and surpassingly good at it. Also knocking enemies back. Uses a massive amount of energy and requires two local shard reactors, AND requires an engineering station.<br />
|Consumes 2M energy.<br />
|-<br />
|Buttress<br />
|4<br />
|2<br />
|Protects the local command station from all harm while living (does not work on home command stations), slows most enemies anywhere on the planet and also traps them here. Uses a massive amount of energy and requires two local Shard Reactors, AND requires an Engineering Center.<br />
|Consumes 2M energy. Works like a Black Hole Machine.<br />
|-<br />
|Tranceiver<br />
|5<br />
|4<br />
|We're getting signals from somewhere very far away, but we can't understand them. Building this machine might just call in the cavalry, but also will intensely anger the AI.<br />
|Consumes 2M energy. Required for the Fallen Spire alternative victory condition.<br />
|-<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== Fleet Warships ==<br />
<br />
=== Flagships ===<br />
<br />
Every city starts out with a fleet flagship right away -- a cruiser. As you upgrade your city, your flagship gains marks and then eventually upgrade into stronger types.<br />
<br />
* At city mark 3, your flagship becomes a battleship.<br />
<br />
* At city mark 6, your flagship becomes a dreadnought.<br />
<br />
=== From City Mark ===<br />
<br />
A large part of the strength of your city fleet comes from your city's mark level itself. You still have to build these ships using spire factories (regular factories can't construct spire ships), but your ship cap of each type of spire ship goes up as your city mark level changes as follows:<br />
<br />
* Starting at city mark 3, you get one extra cruiser per level.<br />
** So by city mark 5, you would have three cruisers in additional to your battleship flagship.<br />
** At city mark 7, you'd have the maximum number of cruisers: 5.<br />
<br />
* Starting at city mark 6, you get one extra battleship per level.<br />
** So at city mark 6, you would have four cruisers and one battleship in additional to your dreadnought flagship.<br />
** At city mark 7, you'd have those 5 cruisers as well as two battleships and your dreadnought flagship.<br />
<br />
=== From Neural Nets ===<br />
<br />
Your "smaller" (and that term is purely relative) spire ships are also constructed by spire factories, but you don't normally have any ship cap for them. To get additional ships available for your fleet, you need to build "neural net" buildings.<br />
<br />
* A "Destroyer Neural Net" will let you have a single additional spire destroyer at whatever the mark level of the city is.<br />
<br />
* A "Frigate Neural Net" will let you have two more spire frigates at whatever the mark level of the city is.<br />
<br />
=== What Do These Ships Do? ===<br />
<br />
That is up to how you customize their loadout (CHRIS NOTES: upcoming). Each individual frigate, destroyer, cruiser, or battleship can be given one of several optional loadouts to perform different functions. We'll detail those here as they are implemented. You can switch loadouts on a given ship at any time, with no penalty.<br />
<br />
Also note that the Destroyer has a unique 3× damage bonus against units with mass >= 7 tX, making them particularly effective against the extra-galactic units you can expect to see a lot of in a Fallen Spire game.<br />
<br />
== How To Find Relics ==<br />
<br />
There are a number of ways to find relics.<br />
<br />
=== Known Location, Then Hack ===<br />
<br />
This is the same approach from AIWC; you know where the Relic is, then you do a Hack on that planet to get the Relic. Your first relic is always like this.<br />
<br />
=== Search-And-Hack ===<br />
<br />
Instead of knowing exactly where a relic will be, you will get a Notification that tells you "There is a relic in the galaxy". You can hack any planet to check how far it is from the relic. When you hack a planet without the relic, you are told "Your relic is in another castle ... err on a planet X hops away". The hovertext for the Notification will also keep track of all the planets you've searched. When you do hack the relic planet you find the Relic, and you do the usual Relic Chase (major AI forces spawn, you protect Relic and transform it to a city).<br />
<br />
Each planet you hack that doesn't have the relic on it slightly increases the eventual AI response for that relic chase.<br />
<br />
=== AI Research Lab ===<br />
<br />
One of these is seeded on the map at game start time. Destroying this structure will grant you a Relic that must build on the planet with the research lab.<br />
<br />
=== Relic Transport (Train Robbery) ===<br />
<br />
Every so often an AI Relic Transport will appear. It will wander the map similarly to the Astro Trains, then head for the AI Overlord. If you destroy the train then you get a Relic. If the train gets to the Overlord then it gives the AI a single high-tier Spire unit to use against you. This will happen regardless of whether astro trains are enabled. <br />
<br />
=== AI Citadel ===<br />
<br />
One of these is seeded on the map at game start time. It’s extra tanky. Destroying it grants you a relic with a very easy escort mission (currently 10% strength of a normal relic chase).<br />
<br />
== Alpha Testers ==<br />
<br />
Big thanks to the Alpha testers, including Astillious, Rocket Assisted Puffin, ZeusAlmighty, Ovalcircle and Democracy.</div>Histidinehttps://wiki.arcengames.com/index.php?title=AI_War_2:Fallen_Spire&diff=38659AI War 2:Fallen Spire2020-03-25T14:56:10Z<p>Histidine: /* No Scrapping Cities */</p>
<hr />
<div>= Fallen Spire =<br />
<br />
The Fallen Spire are an optional faction that can be enabled via the Game Lobby, or by activating a beacon in game. The Fallen Spireare intended to satisfy the [https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/arcengames/ai-war-ii-0/posts/1746490 Spire] kickstarter goal, and draw further inspiration from the [[AI War:What Is The Fallen Spire Minor Faction|Fallen Spire Minor Faction]] from AIWC. <br />
<br />
=== Design Goals ===<br />
<br />
We wanted to overall keep the spirit of the Fallen Spire from AIWC, while doing some additional fun things that are possible/easier with the new AIW2 engine. This does not match what was in the Kickstarter. It is very similar to the AIWC version except there’s much more variety in the Relics Capture quests, a ton more city buildings, and more variety in the AI response. Also a number of minor factions have unique attributes that can only appear during the spire campaign.<br />
<br />
It's worth noting that as the game evolved a lot from the original kickstarter, the Spire goal that was originally laid out doesn't fit in the new context. But we also really wanted to modernize and expand on what was in the first game, taking inspiration from it without copying it wholesale. City buildings and units are different, and the entire flow is a completely new thing. The original was very sloooow, for instance.<br />
<br />
The core of the gameplay is Epic Battles to capture the relics, and Powerful Ships and Bases you get as a result. We think the Powerful Ships and Bases part was well done in AIWC, and we wanted to preserve most of that, though for the city placement and city design we wanted to expand that to a pretty huge degree.<br />
<br />
From this point forward we aren't going to keep back-referencing the first game, so please just try to forget the specifics of that one as you wrap your brain around this one. The number of differences will quickly compound until it's quite a new beast while still keeping the same spirit. (Hey, that sounds like we just described the entire concept of this sequel!)<br />
<br />
=== Lore ===<br />
<br />
The AI has crushed the Spire empire in their home galaxy. Some Spire units have landed in our galaxy and they can rebuild their empire and take revenge.<br />
<br />
Sometime in the last few hundred years, the AI detected the Spire, who had already colonized several nearby galaxies. They launched a surprise attack against the Spire homeworld. The Spire attempted to use their TransWarp technology to warp their full Imperial Fleet to their homeworld for defense. However, while in transit the AI sabotaged the Warp Transceiver on the homeworld, trapping the Spire Fleet in inter-dimensional space. Suddenly helpless, the Spire’s local defenses were no match for the AI and their Scourge allies.<br />
<br />
The AI has captured a lot of Spire reactors and is experimenting to harness their power in cloaked research laboratories. There are also some hidden spire relics scattered about the galaxy from past battles.<br />
<br />
The Spire are rock/crystalline creatures who feed on energy and can grow and reproduce very quickly with enough energy, so freeing those reactors will allow them to create cities and warships quickly. Each structure or warship IS a living spire -- like Zenith Golems, the spire are macroscopic life to an almost absurd degree. <br />
<br />
=== Primary Features ===<br />
<br />
* Give the player a way to get some Really Big Weapons that scare the mess out of the AI (not in an AI Progress sense, though).<br />
* Let the player build entire spire cities of various complexities and styles, which upgrade as you build more cities and more structures.<br />
* Give the AI a reason and ability to bring back extra-galactic forces from their mysterious "main war" to fight you and the spire openly.<br />
* Allow players the freedom to push all the way to an alternative victory condition via this faction, or to just build up one or more cities and make use of the extra firepower.<br />
* In general to allow players to experience the fallen spire on a gradient scale, doing some of it as they wish, not having to choose "completely fallen spire" or "completely not fallen spire."<br />
* Let us explore a bit more of the spire lore than we have in prior games.<br />
* Give players a chance to "smash the galaxy for fun and profit" by going for a mark 7 city, well above the mark 5 level that is needed for the alternative victory condition. At this point you're just rubbing it in, but it feels so satisfying to be the big one for a change.<br />
<br />
= How To Play =<br />
<br />
You can hack to find relics, and then once you have found one you need to go and give it orders of where to turn into a city. When it gets where you told it to go, it will become a city center that also includes a small (for the spire) flagship. You can then improve your city, build more cities in the same manner, and get absurd amounts of power. This scares the AI, of course, so a new arms race of superweapons begins. The "least" of your problems are targeted vicious exogalactic attacks on the relics and your cities. If you survive these odds, you'll have not only the sort of firepower you could never dream of elsewhere, but eventually might be able to do something to recover that lost Imperial Spire Fleet...<br />
<br />
== Find A Relic ==<br />
<br />
There are various ways of finding relics (see below). The first stage of getting a new spire city is to find a relic by one of those means. Once you have a relic, it's time to then turn it into a city.<br />
<br />
The very '''first''' relic is just out there somewhere, and you'll discover it and see right where it is. Go get it when you feel like it, or leave it alone.<br />
<br />
=== Scrap A Relic? ===<br />
<br />
Are you being hounded to death by Exos? You really won't survive? Don't worry, more relics will be available in the future. You can use the usual commands for scrapping units to scrap the relic and put yourself out of further misery.<br />
<br />
=== Getting Chased By The AI ===<br />
<br />
The AI really wants to destroy the relic before it turns into a citadel. It will send exogalactic waves (Exos) after the relic, and you really should have some sort of guard force fending that off. Unless you want to just build on the city you found the relic, in which case go ahead. Once a spire city has been established, it can be crippled or deactivated, but never fully destroyed.<br />
<br />
== Place A City ==<br />
<br />
=== Choosing A Location For Your Relic Once You Find It ===<br />
<br />
The relic doesn't belong to your faction, but you can still select it and give it a movement order. When you do so, it will confirm that the destination is where you would like your next city to be founded. You can choose planets controlled by the AI, but not AI homeworlds. You also can't place any spire city adjacent to an existing city.<br />
<br />
To fully go "all in" with the Fallen Spire and its alternative win condition, you will be constructing a bare minimum of two mark 1 cities, two mark 2, two mark 3, two mark 4, and one mark 5. So that's an absolute minimum of 9 cities if you do everything with perfect efficiency and pursue the entire fallen spire campaign to the bitter end. It's entirely possible for you to stop along the way and battle the AI to death with the mega-fleets you amass as you go.<br />
<br />
THAT said, you can push things even further if you're feeling inclined or somehow the AI is still too powerful for you. You can get up to a mark 7 city, and that will require an extra 4 total cities. You'll start having a ton of extra battleships, as well as some dreadnoughts, once you get to mark 6 with them. The only other way to see those in such numbers is with the Imperial Fleet.<br />
<br />
But it's worth noting these very basic city placement rules (compared to the first game), and the fact that you'll be having so many cities if you really want the max-power city structures.<br />
<br />
=== Full List Of City Placement Rules ===<br />
<br />
The rules are very simple, unlike in AIWC. In AIWC there were things like "must have at least two wormholes" and other complicated bits. Toss all that out! The rules in AIW2 are:<br />
<br />
* The planet can't be an AI homeworld.<br />
* The planet can't be adjacent to another spire city.<br />
* That's literally it.<br />
<br />
=== No Scrapping Cities ===<br />
<br />
Wishing you didn't put that city where you did? Well... that's a real shame, friend. You can't scrap city hubs or the flagships of cities. Once a city is founded, it's forever going to exist where you put it.<br />
<br />
The best thing to do in these circumstances is just abandon the city hub to the enemy, and take the flagship for basic use elsewhere. It can get repairs from other cities anytime it gets too damaged. <br />
<br />
Meanwhile, if the city hub you abandoned is crippled by taking too much damage, or is deactivated by no longer being on a planet you control, then enemies will start ignoring it and it will be just another piece of war debris sitting around in the galaxy. Worst case, maybe sometime in the future as your empire is growing, you choose to go back and recapture it and build up again.<br />
<br />
Be warned that dead and lost cities still contribute to the AI's exogalactic strike forces, however! After all, it knows you've still got a big Spire ship out somewhere in the galaxy...<br />
<br />
=== When You Don't Own The City A Planet Is On ===<br />
<br />
If you choose to build a city on a planet that isn't yours -- which is a ''totally valid thing to do'' -- or when you lose a planet, then the hub for that city will be inactive and you won't be able to build any spire structures on that city until you capture the planet. After that the city will function as normal. If the city hub gets damaged to the point of being crippled, then that has the same general effect as not controlling the planet at all. Get to repairing that expensive thing!<br />
<br />
It's worth noting that the mobile fleet portion of your spire city will all still be very much alive and well when the city hub is inactive or crippled. This means you can use the flagship right from the start to start vaporizing machines and aid in the conquest of the planet it is on.<br />
<br />
=== Your First City: Galactic Capitol ===<br />
<br />
The first city that you place will become the galactic capitol for the new group of cities that your spire control. The hub for these types of cities is called the Galactic Capitol and has a few stat buffs as well as having an extra two "building sockets" (more on that later) compared to all the other cities. So it's a bit easier to get this very first city off the ground, and it has a strong chance of being your strongest spire city throughout the game if you keep upgrading it. Most likely this would be the one to reach mark 7 first, but it doesn't have to be.<br />
<br />
Where you place this city is completely up to you:<br />
<br />
* You may want to use it as a choke point to guard your own human planets from attack, and focus on building many military structures.<br />
* You may prefer to shelter it behind your own human defenses and focus on making it an economic powerhouse or have it field a massive mobile fleet.<br />
* You may be super aggressive and place it way out in AI territory on its own, carving out the start of a new empire that is somewhat drawing attention away from your own main planets.<br />
<br />
=== More Cities ===<br />
<br />
You're going to need more cities than just the capitol -- a lot of them. In total if you want at least one mark 7 city, you'll need a minimum of 12 more cities in addition to the spire capitol. Spire cities can't be next to one another or on the AI homeworld, but beyond that it's up to you how you choose to place them, which ones you choose to mark up first/most, and what the general character of each city and its attendant fleet is.<br />
<br />
THAT said, to win the game with the fallen spire you don't need nearly so many cities. You can use them to buff you up a bit, then go kill the AI whenever you feel ready. The mark levels of your city don't really matter for that, it's all how you design them.<br />
<br />
To get the alternative victory condition involving the Imperial Fleet, you STILL don't even need 13 cities. You'd only need a mark 5 city, and so that would be a total of 9 cities to get there.<br />
<br />
== Build Up Your City ==<br />
<br />
=== Every City Is A Fleet And A City ===<br />
<br />
The most obvious part of the city at first is the hub, and the fact that you can then build a bunch of fixed-position structures from that hub. This is the city-portion, and you can see details on that by hovering over the hub itself.<br />
<br />
But there is also a mobile offensive/defensive fleet that is tied to the city, with a flagship that starts out as a "mere" cruiser, and eventually becomes a dreadnought if you level up your city enough. By constructing certain structures, you can grow your fleet of frigates and destroyers for that city, but you will also start getting a lot of mobile military ships simply by leveling the city up past a certain point.<br />
<br />
Depending on the city's nature, per your design choices and strategy, it may lean more towards supporting a larger mobile fleet or more towards spying on the enemy, producing economic gains, defending itself, or some mix.<br />
<br />
=== City Structures Require "Sockets" ===<br />
<br />
Each city hub has a certain number of sockets that are a part of it. Your galactic capitol starts with a whopping 4 sockets and then gains an additional 2 every time it levels up. All your other cities start with 2 and gain 2 per level up.<br />
<br />
Most buildings require either one or two sockets to construct. Note that sockets are a local planet-wide thing, so excess sockets in another city won't help the current planet. When you're in build mode, or when you hover over the city hub, you can easily see how many sockets you have left, and the tooltips for structures show how many sockets they require.<br />
<br />
As you unlock more advanced buildings at higher-mark cities, you may choose to scrap some of your existing buildings in order to free up existing sockets. That's a perfectly reasonable thing to do, and so spire cities will tend to be something that evolve and get revised over time.<br />
<br />
=== How To Level Up A City ===<br />
The rules are very simple:<br />
<br />
* All Sockets must be used.<br />
* The city must not be crippled or otherwise disabled.<br />
* The city must have at least 2 other cities of the same mark somewhere in the galaxy.<br />
* For each mark 2, 3 or 4 city you must control 1 additional planet in the galaxy somewhere without a spire city. Mark 5 cities require 2 additional planets. Mark 6 and 7 require 3 additional planets.<br />
** The city that was built first has priority.<br />
*** If the city with priority is currently incapable of marking up due to a prior reason, the next city will gain priority instead.<br />
<br />
Assuming all cities are leveled up as high as possible, you will have 1-2 cities of the highest available mark level, and 2 cities of each level below that. Having a Mark II city requires 3 cities in total, Mark III requires 5, Mark IV requires 7, and so on.<br />
<br />
== City Structures ==<br />
{| {{AIWarTableHeader}}<br />
! style="width: 10%" scope="col" | Name<br />
! style="width: 8%; text-align: center;" scope="col" | City mark level<br />
! style="width: 8%; text-align: center;" scope="col" | Sockets<br />
! style="width: 42%" scope="col" | Description<br />
! style="width: 32%" scope="col" | Notes<br />
|-<br />
|Spire City Hub<br />
|n/a<br />
|n/a<br />
|This facility doubles as the nerve center of a Spire City. It is responsible for the construction and coordination of the city's other structures. <br />
|At mark 3, your cruiser flagship becomes a battleship and you get +1 cruiser for every mark at or above 3. At mark 6, your battleship flagship becomes a dreadnought and you get +1 battleship for every mark at or above 6.<br />
|-<br />
|Spire Galactic Capitol<br />
|n/a<br />
|n/a<br />
|This facility serves as the central seat of government for all Spire settlements in a galaxy. It is responsible for the construction and coordination of the city's other structures.<br />
|It always has two more sockets than other cities of the same mark.<br />
At mark 3, your cruiser flagship becomes a battleship and you get +1 cruiser for every mark at or above 3. At mark 6, your battleship flagship becomes a dreadnought and you get +1 battleship for every mark at or above 6.<br />
|-<br />
|Shard Reactor<br />
|1<br />
|1<br />
|This facility produces the crystaline formations used as power cores in Spire reactors, generating a massive amount of energy in the process.<br />
|Generates 1M energy.<br />
|-<br />
|Mining Facility<br />
|1<br />
|1<br />
|Spire require massive amounts of metal to construct themselves, and they're excellent at mining for it.<br />
|Metal production increases with city mark level (but not any techs).<br />
|-<br />
|Shipyard<br />
|1<br />
|1<br />
|This facility is responsible for the construction and support of Spire craft, from escorts up to capital ships.<br />
|Builds Spire ships for Spire flagships on this and neighbouring planets.<br />
|-<br />
|Engineering Center<br />
|1<br />
|1<br />
|This facility provides rapid repair for friendly damaged ships.<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|Frigate Neural Net<br />
|1<br />
|1<br />
|This facility allows the city to build an extra two spire frigates.<br />
If the facility is destroyed, the extra frigate will also be destroyed. The city center must be functional for the cap to increase, but a nonfunctional city center won't decrease the cap.<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|Destroyer Neural Net<br />
|1<br />
|2<br />
|This facility allows the city to build an extra spire destroyer.<br />
If the facility is destroyed, the extra destroyer will also be destroyed. The city center must be functional for the cap to increase, but a nonfunctional city center won't decrease the cap.<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|Great-Shield Emitter<br />
|1<br />
|1<br />
|This immobile facility provides an incredibly massive forcefield to block all enemies. Uses a massive amount of energy and requires two local shard reactors.<br />
|Consumes 2M energy. Forcefield does ''not'' reduce damage of units firing out of it.<br />
|-<br />
|Lesser Spire Spy Cradle<br />
|2<br />
|1<br />
|This facility provides complete visibility on all planets up to two hops out. Uses a massive amount of energy and requires two local shard reactors.<br />
|Consumes 2M energy.<br />
|-<br />
|Greater Spire Spy Cradle<br />
|4<br />
|1<br />
|This facility provides complete visibility on all planets up to three hops out. Uses a massive amount of energy and requires two local shard reactors, AND requires an engineering station.<br />
|Consumes 2M energy.<br />
|-<br />
|Plasma Driver<br />
|1<br />
|1<br />
|Advanced spire weapon rapidly sends projectiles made of densely-packed plasma to deal heavy damage to higher mass targets, but does almost nothing to smaller ones.<br />
|Like an Orbital Mass Driver but with more DPS (2× at mark I, even more with higher mark levels).<br />
|-<br />
|Lesser Spire Fortress<br />
|3<br />
|2<br />
|Built for killing. Nothing more, nothing less. Also knocking enemies back. Uses a massive amount of energy and requires a local shard reactor and an engineering station.<br />
|Consumes 1M energy.<br />
|-<br />
|Greater Spire Fortress<br />
|5<br />
|4<br />
|Built for killing, and surpassingly good at it. Also knocking enemies back. Uses a massive amount of energy and requires two local shard reactors, AND requires an engineering station.<br />
|Consumes 2M energy.<br />
|-<br />
|Tranceiver<br />
|5<br />
|4<br />
|We're getting signals from somewhere very far away, but we can't understand them. Building this machine might just call in the cavalry, but also will intensely anger the AI.<br />
|Consumes 2M energy. Required for the Fallen Spire alternative victory condition.<br />
|-<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== Fleet Warships ==<br />
<br />
=== Flagships ===<br />
<br />
Every city starts out with a fleet flagship right away -- a cruiser. As you upgrade your city, your flagship gains marks and then eventually upgrade into stronger types.<br />
<br />
* At city mark 3, your flagship becomes a battleship.<br />
<br />
* At city mark 6, your flagship becomes a dreadnought.<br />
<br />
=== From City Mark ===<br />
<br />
A large part of the strength of your city fleet comes from your city's mark level itself. You still have to build these ships using spire factories (regular factories can't construct spire ships), but your ship cap of each type of spire ship goes up as your city mark level changes as follows:<br />
<br />
* Starting at city mark 3, you get one extra cruiser per level.<br />
** So by city mark 5, you would have three cruisers in additional to your battleship flagship.<br />
** At city mark 7, you'd have the maximum number of cruisers: 5.<br />
<br />
* Starting at city mark 6, you get one extra battleship per level.<br />
** So at city mark 6, you would have four cruisers and one battleship in additional to your dreadnought flagship.<br />
** At city mark 7, you'd have those 5 cruisers as well as two battleships and your dreadnought flagship.<br />
<br />
=== From Neural Nets ===<br />
<br />
Your "smaller" (and that term is purely relative) spire ships are also constructed by spire factories, but you don't normally have any ship cap for them. To get additional ships available for your fleet, you need to build "neural net" buildings.<br />
<br />
* A "Destroyer Neural Net" will let you have a single additional spire destroyer at whatever the mark level of the city is.<br />
<br />
* A "Frigate Neural Net" will let you have two more spire frigates at whatever the mark level of the city is.<br />
<br />
=== What Do These Ships Do? ===<br />
<br />
That is up to how you customize their loadout (CHRIS NOTES: upcoming). Each individual frigate, destroyer, cruiser, or battleship can be given one of several optional loadouts to perform different functions. We'll detail those here as they are implemented. You can switch loadouts on a given ship at any time, with no penalty.<br />
<br />
Also note that the Destroyer has a unique 3× damage bonus against units with mass >= 7 tX, making them particularly effective against the extra-galactic units you can expect to see a lot of in a Fallen Spire game.<br />
<br />
== How To Find Relics ==<br />
<br />
There are a number of ways to find relics.<br />
<br />
=== Known Location, Then Hack ===<br />
<br />
This is the same approach from AIWC; you know where the Relic is, then you do a Hack on that planet to get the Relic. Your first relic is always like this.<br />
<br />
=== Search-And-Hack ===<br />
<br />
Instead of knowing exactly where a relic will be, you will get a Notification that tells you "There is a relic in the galaxy". You can hack any planet to check how far it is from the relic. When you hack a planet without the relic, you are told "Your relic is in another castle ... err on a planet X hops away". The hovertext for the Notification will also keep track of all the planets you've searched. When you do hack the relic planet you find the Relic, and you do the usual Relic Chase (major AI forces spawn, you protect Relic and transform it to a city).<br />
<br />
Each planet you hack that doesn't have the relic on it slightly increases the eventual AI response for that relic chase.<br />
<br />
=== AI Research Lab ===<br />
<br />
One of these is seeded on the map at game start time. Destroying this structure will grant you a Relic that must build on the planet with the research lab.<br />
<br />
=== Relic Transport (Train Robbery) ===<br />
<br />
Every so often an AI Relic Transport will appear. It will wander the map similarly to the Astro Trains, then head for the AI Overlord. If you destroy the train then you get a Relic. If the train gets to the Overlord then it gives the AI a single high-tier Spire unit to use against you. This will happen regardless of whether astro trains are enabled. <br />
<br />
=== AI Citadel ===<br />
<br />
One of these is seeded on the map at game start time. It’s extra tanky. Destroying it grants you a relic with a very easy escort mission (currently 10% strength of a normal relic chase).<br />
<br />
== Alpha Testers ==<br />
<br />
Big thanks to the Alpha testers, including Astillious, Rocket Assisted Puffin, ZeusAlmighty, Ovalcircle and Democracy.</div>Histidinehttps://wiki.arcengames.com/index.php?title=AI_War_2:Hacking&diff=38236AI War 2:Hacking2020-03-09T07:03:13Z<p>Histidine: /* Basics */</p>
<hr />
<div>'''Hacking''' is a fairly useful mechanic, involving the use of a flagship to expend Hacking Points to perform various acts on neutral or AI-controlled planets and affect certain Factions, such as the Dyson Sphere or the Nanocaust, and here it's explained a bit more in depth.<br />
<br />
NOTE: This is partly outdated following version 0.900: The Arrival Of Fleets, and will have to be updated. Apologies!<br />
<br />
== Basics ==<br />
Hacking consumes ''Hacking Points'', which can only be gathered normally from player-controlled planets. Build a command station on the planet and it will rapidly gather the Hacking Points there. Each planet has 30 points. A few units such as Astro Trains and the AI Overlord will also give hacking points when killed.<br />
<br />
Hacking is performed by flagships. When viewing a particular planet, the relevant Hacks available will be shown in the Hacking sidebar to the left, with the effect and cost of each Hack is listed. Not all ships can perform all hacks; e.g. a Lone Wolf cannot hack an ARS.<br />
<br />
While a Hack is in progress, the hacking flagship's speed is greatly reduced and it cannot leave the planet. The remaining time left is displayed on the top in a similar fashion to Wave Warnings. If the hacker is destroyed mid-way, the hack is cancelled and must be restarted. The hack can also be aborted by clicking on the notification, but hacking points will ''not'' be refunded. When multiple flagships are present on a planet, the one closest to the target is selected for the hack.<br />
<br />
== Hacking Response ==<br />
Nearly every Hack causes some form of response against you - groups of units spawned from the target unit to try and stop the Hack. The faction that responds is usually the one that controls the thing you are hacking (i.e an AI Command Station will respond with AI units, but hacking the Nanocaust responds with a very scary response of entirely Nanocaust units). [[AI War 2:Outguard|Outguard Beacons]] are an oddity, and will cause an AI response instead. The Dark Spire do not respond normally, but the force that the Provoked Vengeance Strike spawns somewhat acts like it.<br />
<br />
Generally, there are both small, frequent "pulses" of units spawned during a Hack, as well as less frequent and larger pulses. In addition, actually completing the Hack fully has an extra response at the end as well.<br />
<br />
== Hack Options ==<br />
:''Not all hacking options are listed here.<br />
{| {{AIWarTableHeader}}<br />
! style="width: 10%" scope="col" | Hack Name<br />
! style="width: 10%" scope="col" | Target Unit<br />
! style="width: 10%" scope="col" | Hacking Point Cost<br />
! style="width: 10%" scope="col" | Duration (Seconds)<br />
! style="width: 60%" scope="col" | Description<br />
|-<br />
| Weaken AI Turrets<br />
| Planet, Mk VI or lower<br />
| 1<br />
| 2 <br />
| Hacking into the local AI network will reduce the range of AI turrets to 25% of their normal values, and their damage output to 50% of normal. Only works on planets of mark 6 or lower.<br />
|-<br />
| Weaken AI Guard Posts<br />
| Planet, Mk VI or lower<br />
| 5<br />
| 2 <br />
| Hacking into the local AI network will reduce the range of AI guard posts to 50% of their normal values, and their damage output to 75% of normal. Only works on planets of mark 6 or lower.<br />
|-<br />
|Covert Science Extraction<br />
|AI Command Station<br />
|30 for 2000 Science<br />
|200 for 2000 Science<br />
|This device hacks into the AI surveillance net and data archives in the local planetary system to obtain Science, up to the normal amount. It costs 30 hacking points to fully complete. Be prepared for an AI response against your units.<br />
|-<br />
|Neutral Planet Science Extraction<br />
|AI Command Station<br />
|10<br />
|10<br />
|This device scans the wreckage of the AI structures on the planet to obtain Science, up to the normal amount. If you have not paid the AIP cost for this planet, AIP will go up by 5.<br />
|-<br />
| Watch Planet<br />
| Planet<br />
| 10<br />
| 2<br />
| This hack deploys spy nanites that will grant you permanent vision on this planet. Can be done remotely without a hacker present.<br />
|-<br />
| Watch Planet (local)<br />
| Planet<br />
| 2<br />
| 2<br />
| This hack deploys spy nanites that will grant you vision of the planet until the AI reconquers it. Only for planets without defenders. ''Must destroy all hostile combatants on the planet.'' Can be done remotely without a hacker present.<br />
|- <br />
| Double Ship Line Cap<br />
| Fleet Capacity Extender<br />
| 15<br />
| 30<br />
| This will allow the player to double the cap of one of the ship lines of the hacking Flagship. After this hack is completed, the AI will launch a counterattack against you. <br />
|-<br />
|Grant Ship Line<br />
|Advanced Research Station<br />
|15<br />
|45<br />
|Grants a new ship line to the hacking flagship. Each ARS has a choice of five ship lines to pick from.<br />
|-<br />
|Reroll ARS contents<br />
|Advanced Research Station<br />
|15<br />
|30<br />
|This will change the ships you can get from the ARS.<br />
|-<br />
|Convert ARS to Science<br />
|Advanced Research Station<br />
|20<br />
|45<br />
|You can disassemble the ARS in order to figure out how it works. This grants some (1,500) science but you won't get the ship line.<br />
|-<br />
|Grant Technology<br />
|Technology Vault<br />
|30<br />
|90<br />
|This will allow the player to unlock a new Tech. Unlocking a Tech this way does not increase the cost of doing it with Science. If the contained Tech is already maxed out, the hack is wasted.<br />
|-<br />
|Convert Tech Vault to Science<br />
|Technology Vault<br />
|10<br />
|30<br />
|You can disassemble the Tech Vault in order to figure out how it works. This grants some science (1,500) but you won't get a Tech.<br />
|-<br />
|Reroll Tech Vault Contents<br />
|Technology Vault<br />
|20<br />
|50<br />
|This will change the Tech Line you get from this Tech Vault.<br />
|-<br />
|Spire Archive Extraction<br />
|Spire Archive<br />
|60<br />
|300<br />
|Hacking this Spire Archive will grant you a large amount of Science, but it takes a long time. Be prepared for an extreme AI response against your units. If this hack is cancelled or interrupted, AIP will go up by 80.<br />
|-<br />
|Subvert Super Terminal<br />
|Super Terminal<br />
|1 Per Second<br />
|Until Halted<br />
|The longer you hold on, the more you'll reduce (AIP), but you'll also cause a massive incursion of AI forces while doing it, some of which will head directly to your homeworld as an Exo-Galactic Strike. Careful not to kill yourself by holding on too long. You only get one shot at this hack before the AI adapts, so make it count.<br />
|- <br />
|Access Outguard Beacon<br />
|Mercenary Beacon<br />
|10<br />
|225<br />
|Hacking this beacon will allow you to contact some of the [[AI War 2:Outguard|Outguard]] -- remnant anti-AI forces that can come to your aid. Since the Outguard are subverting the AI communication channels, expect some extremely heavy AI response to this. Upon completion, your AIP will increase by 10.<br />
|- <br />
|Hack Ion Cannon<br />
|Planet<br />
|20<br />
|2<br />
|Permanently take control of all Ion Cannons on the planet.<br />
|-<br />
|Hack Mass Driver<br />
|Planet<br />
|23<br />
|2<br />
|Permanently take control of all Orbital Mass Drivers on the planet.<br />
|-<br />
|Sabotage AI defenses<br />
|Varies<br />
|15<br />
|22<br />
|Kills a certain powerful AI structure on the planet. Works on things like Raid Engines, Eyes, Alarm Posts, and Orbital Mass Drivers. Does not trigger any AIP increase on death that the structure normally has.<br />
|-<br />
|Provoke Vengeance Strike<br />
|Dark Spire Vengeance Generator<br />
|20<br />
|300<br />
|Finishing this Hack will cause the Dark Spire to launch a Vengeance Strike, wherein every Vengeance Generator will simultaneously launch a fleet to attack, well, everything.<br />
|- <br />
|Download Dark Spire Ship Design<br />
|Dark Spire Vengeance Generator<br />
|20<br />
|300<br />
|Hacking this Vengeance Generator will give you access to one of the Dark Spire's ship designs. But it might have devastating consequences; are you willing to set a fire upon the deep?<br />
|-<br />
|Render Vengeance Generator Vulnerable<br />
|Dark Spire Vengeance Generator<br />
|60<br />
|300<br />
|Hacking this Vengeance Generator will make it vulnerable to conventional weaponry. This is likely to provoke an extremely strong Dark Spire response<br />
|-<br />
|Download Dyson Ship<br />
|Dyson Sphere<br />
|20<br />
|300<br />
|Hacking the Dyson sphere will give you access to one of the Dyson Sphere's ship designs, but it will make the Dyson Sphere very unhappy with you.<br />
|-<br />
|Increase Dyson Max Strength<br />
|Dyson Sphere<br />
|20<br />
|300<br />
|This Hack will increase this Dyson Sphere's max strength. It will definitely make the Dyson Sphere unhappy with you as well.<br />
|-<br />
|Increase Dyson Production<br />
|Dyson Sphere<br />
|20<br />
|300<br />
|This Hack will improve Dyson unit production. It will definitely make the Dyson Sphere unhappy with you as well.<br />
|- <br />
|Decrease Dyson Production<br />
|Dyson Sphere<br />
|20<br />
|300<br />
|This Hack will diminish Dyson unit production. It will definitely make the Dyson unhappy with you as well.<br />
|- <br />
|Decode Nanobots<br />
|Nanobot Hive<br />
|20<br />
|600<br />
|Hack the core Nanobot Hive in order to subvert them into being your allies. From then on, the hive will devote all of its energy to destroying the AI.<br />
|- <br />
|Tame Macrophage Tellium<br />
|Macrophage Tellium<br />
|60<br />
|300<br />
|Hack the mindset of a Telium on this planet, converting it to your cause. Expect it to defend itself harshly.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== Opinions And More Detail ==<br />
<br />
=== Covert Science Extraction ===<br />
<br />
This one is very useful, allowing you to gain the Science from a planet without raising AI Progress for it. It costs more than most Hacks however, so overdoing it can limit your options elsewhere, but in general it has a universally useful reward.<br />
<br />
=== Subvert Super Terminal ===<br />
<br />
A very strange hack! This one only ends when either the Hacker dies, or you run out of Points to do it with. Each second you pay 1 Point to reduce the AI Progress by 0.5. Each time the AI sends a response pulse, the next pulse will be stronger, so this can get very scary if done long enough. This can only be done once, and it is very pricey, but in effect you are reducing the AIs power overall, which could be very well worth the expenditure.<br />
<br />
=== Access Mercenary Beacon ===<br />
<br />
Very cheap and very quick relative to the others. This lets you hire the Mercenary groups listed in the Beacon description. Mercenaries can be a handy temporary power boost, to help win a difficult fight, or be a distraction elsewhere. However, each group also costs some Hacking Points of varying amounts, so the cost can be a bit deceiving. Group power scales with the current AI Progress, so this is something you can have prepared for later.<br />
<br />
=== Provoke Vengeance Strike ===<br />
<br />
A very sneaky hack. As each spawn a Generator does causes it to get nastier, this lets you "feed" a particular Generator to absurd levels. The Dark Spire can be useful in defeating the AI, but can also cause you a lot of bother yourself, so be careful about poking them with this. If you intend to use them in that way, this can be a very useful Hack.<br />
<br />
=== Download Dark Spire Ship Design ===<br />
<br />
This gives you the Wraith unit as a fleetship. This is one of the cheapest ways currently of gaining a new, guaranteed ship type via Hacking, but it has dire consequences for the galaxy. Once completed, the Dark Spire will begin gaining energy over time, even with no combat near Vengeance Generators. Like above, this can be useful in having the Dark Spire do your work for you, but it can get very much out of hand, and you can't stop the effect.<br />
<br />
=== Download Dyson Ship ===<br />
<br />
This will give you the Dyson Defender unit as a fleetship. This is also one of the cheapest ways currently of gaining a new, guaranteed ship type via Hacking, but the response is terrifying. Even starting this causes every ship controlled by that Dyson Sphere to revert to hostile and attack you, anywhere in the galaxy. Completing it is even worse, as the Sphere will become Antagonised, and spawn ships at an incredible rate, all of whom are very very angry at you, for a few minutes. In terms of what you pay and what you get, this is pretty good...but it can easily be game ending. Sentient stars are not to be messed with.<br />
<br />
=== Increase Dyson Production ===<br />
<br />
Simply put, this makes that Sphere start spawning ships at a faster rate overall. You can keep doing this to stack the effects, which can make the Sphere rather strong, but the response to each Hack is the same as above, and the Sphere usually spreads its ships out, and is capped by the current AI Progress, so unless it's in a useful area, and not for instance stuck in a corner of the galaxy, this won't be super worthwhile.<br />
<br />
=== Diminish Dyson Production ===<br />
<br />
The opposite to the above one. If for some reason (such as controlling the Spheres territory, which angers it) you want to make the Sphere weaker, this is how you do it. It's a pretty niche thing, but it's there. In future, the AI can Antagonise the Sphere intentionally, so if you have that possibility on the horizon, preparing for it with this Hack may be a wise choice.<br />
<br />
=== Decode Nanobots ===<br />
<br />
The longest duration Hack in the game currently, other than a ludicrously long Super Terminal, taking 600 seconds to complete, with a terrifying response. In return though, that Nanocaust faction will immediately ally with you. You can now go through all the planets it has captured, hoover up all the Science and Hacking Points lying around, and generally have a very safe area to operate in, not to mention all the firepower they can bring. This is usually *very* difficult, but the reward can be incredible. Should be noted, that while Factions that are allied to you in game setup increase your AI Progress instead of their own, a hacked Nanocaust will not, so you are not penalised for this Hack.</div>Histidinehttps://wiki.arcengames.com/index.php?title=AI_War_2:Hacking&diff=38235AI War 2:Hacking2020-03-09T03:38:32Z<p>Histidine: /* Hack Options */ Note on sabotage defenses hack</p>
<hr />
<div>'''Hacking''' is a fairly useful mechanic, involving the use of a flagship to expend Hacking Points to perform various acts on neutral or AI-controlled planets and affect certain Factions, such as the Dyson Sphere or the Nanocaust, and here it's explained a bit more in depth.<br />
<br />
NOTE: This is partly outdated following version 0.900: The Arrival Of Fleets, and will have to be updated. Apologies!<br />
<br />
== Basics ==<br />
Hacking consumes ''Hacking Points'', which can only be gathered normally from player-controlled planets. Build a command station on the planet and it will rapidly gather the Hacking Points there. Each planet has 30 points. A few units such as Astro Trains and the AI Overlord will also give hacking points when killed.<br />
<br />
Hacking is performed by flagships. When viewing a particular planet, the relevant Hacks available will be shown in the Hacking sidebar to the left, with the effect and cost of each Hack is listed. Not all ships can perform all hacks; e.g. a Lone Wolf cannot hack an ARS.<br />
<br />
While a Hack is in progress, the hacking flagship's speed is greatly reduced and it cannot leave the planet. The remaining time left is displayed on the top in a similar fashion to Wave Warnings. If the hacker is destroyed mid-way, the hack is cancelled and must be restarted. The hack can also be aborted by clicking on the notification, but hacking points will ''not'' be refunded. When multiple flagships are present on a planet, the one closest to the target planet is selected for the hack.<br />
<br />
== Hacking Response ==<br />
Nearly every Hack causes some form of response against you - groups of units spawned from the target unit to try and stop the Hack. The faction that responds is usually the one that controls the thing you are hacking (i.e an AI Command Station will respond with AI units, but hacking the Nanocaust responds with a very scary response of entirely Nanocaust units). [[AI War 2:Outguard|Outguard Beacons]] are an oddity, and will cause an AI response instead. The Dark Spire do not respond normally, but the force that the Provoked Vengeance Strike spawns somewhat acts like it.<br />
<br />
Generally, there are both small, frequent "pulses" of units spawned during a Hack, as well as less frequent and larger pulses. In addition, actually completing the Hack fully has an extra response at the end as well.<br />
<br />
== Hack Options ==<br />
:''Not all hacking options are listed here.<br />
{| {{AIWarTableHeader}}<br />
! style="width: 10%" scope="col" | Hack Name<br />
! style="width: 10%" scope="col" | Target Unit<br />
! style="width: 10%" scope="col" | Hacking Point Cost<br />
! style="width: 10%" scope="col" | Duration (Seconds)<br />
! style="width: 60%" scope="col" | Description<br />
|-<br />
| Weaken AI Turrets<br />
| Planet, Mk VI or lower<br />
| 1<br />
| 2 <br />
| Hacking into the local AI network will reduce the range of AI turrets to 25% of their normal values, and their damage output to 50% of normal. Only works on planets of mark 6 or lower.<br />
|-<br />
| Weaken AI Guard Posts<br />
| Planet, Mk VI or lower<br />
| 5<br />
| 2 <br />
| Hacking into the local AI network will reduce the range of AI guard posts to 50% of their normal values, and their damage output to 75% of normal. Only works on planets of mark 6 or lower.<br />
|-<br />
|Covert Science Extraction<br />
|AI Command Station<br />
|30 for 2000 Science<br />
|200 for 2000 Science<br />
|This device hacks into the AI surveillance net and data archives in the local planetary system to obtain Science, up to the normal amount. It costs 30 hacking points to fully complete. Be prepared for an AI response against your units.<br />
|-<br />
|Neutral Planet Science Extraction<br />
|AI Command Station<br />
|10<br />
|10<br />
|This device scans the wreckage of the AI structures on the planet to obtain Science, up to the normal amount. If you have not paid the AIP cost for this planet, AIP will go up by 5.<br />
|-<br />
| Watch Planet<br />
| Planet<br />
| 10<br />
| 2<br />
| This hack deploys spy nanites that will grant you permanent vision on this planet. Can be done remotely without a hacker present.<br />
|-<br />
| Watch Planet (local)<br />
| Planet<br />
| 2<br />
| 2<br />
| This hack deploys spy nanites that will grant you vision of the planet until the AI reconquers it. Only for planets without defenders. ''Must destroy all hostile combatants on the planet.'' Can be done remotely without a hacker present.<br />
|- <br />
| Double Ship Line Cap<br />
| Fleet Capacity Extender<br />
| 15<br />
| 30<br />
| This will allow the player to double the cap of one of the ship lines of the hacking Flagship. After this hack is completed, the AI will launch a counterattack against you. <br />
|-<br />
|Grant Ship Line<br />
|Advanced Research Station<br />
|15<br />
|45<br />
|Grants a new ship line to the hacking flagship. Each ARS has a choice of five ship lines to pick from.<br />
|-<br />
|Reroll ARS contents<br />
|Advanced Research Station<br />
|15<br />
|30<br />
|This will change the ships you can get from the ARS.<br />
|-<br />
|Convert ARS to Science<br />
|Advanced Research Station<br />
|20<br />
|45<br />
|You can disassemble the ARS in order to figure out how it works. This grants some (1,500) science but you won't get the ship line.<br />
|-<br />
|Grant Technology<br />
|Technology Vault<br />
|30<br />
|90<br />
|This will allow the player to unlock a new Tech. Unlocking a Tech this way does not increase the cost of doing it with Science. If the contained Tech is already maxed out, the hack is wasted.<br />
|-<br />
|Convert Tech Vault to Science<br />
|Technology Vault<br />
|10<br />
|30<br />
|You can disassemble the Tech Vault in order to figure out how it works. This grants some science (1,500) but you won't get a Tech.<br />
|-<br />
|Reroll Tech Vault Contents<br />
|Technology Vault<br />
|20<br />
|50<br />
|This will change the Tech Line you get from this Tech Vault.<br />
|-<br />
|Spire Archive Extraction<br />
|Spire Archive<br />
|60<br />
|300<br />
|Hacking this Spire Archive will grant you a large amount of Science, but it takes a long time. Be prepared for an extreme AI response against your units. If this hack is cancelled or interrupted, AIP will go up by 80.<br />
|-<br />
|Subvert Super Terminal<br />
|Super Terminal<br />
|1 Per Second<br />
|Until Halted<br />
|The longer you hold on, the more you'll reduce (AIP), but you'll also cause a massive incursion of AI forces while doing it, some of which will head directly to your homeworld as an Exo-Galactic Strike. Careful not to kill yourself by holding on too long. You only get one shot at this hack before the AI adapts, so make it count.<br />
|- <br />
|Access Outguard Beacon<br />
|Mercenary Beacon<br />
|10<br />
|225<br />
|Hacking this beacon will allow you to contact some of the [[AI War 2:Outguard|Outguard]] -- remnant anti-AI forces that can come to your aid. Since the Outguard are subverting the AI communication channels, expect some extremely heavy AI response to this. Upon completion, your AIP will increase by 10.<br />
|- <br />
|Hack Ion Cannon<br />
|Planet<br />
|20<br />
|2<br />
|Permanently take control of all Ion Cannons on the planet.<br />
|-<br />
|Hack Mass Driver<br />
|Planet<br />
|23<br />
|2<br />
|Permanently take control of all Orbital Mass Drivers on the planet.<br />
|-<br />
|Sabotage AI defenses<br />
|Varies<br />
|15<br />
|22<br />
|Kills a certain powerful AI structure on the planet. Works on things like Raid Engines, Eyes, Alarm Posts, and Orbital Mass Drivers. Does not trigger any AIP increase on death that the structure normally has.<br />
|-<br />
|Provoke Vengeance Strike<br />
|Dark Spire Vengeance Generator<br />
|20<br />
|300<br />
|Finishing this Hack will cause the Dark Spire to launch a Vengeance Strike, wherein every Vengeance Generator will simultaneously launch a fleet to attack, well, everything.<br />
|- <br />
|Download Dark Spire Ship Design<br />
|Dark Spire Vengeance Generator<br />
|20<br />
|300<br />
|Hacking this Vengeance Generator will give you access to one of the Dark Spire's ship designs. But it might have devastating consequences; are you willing to set a fire upon the deep?<br />
|-<br />
|Render Vengeance Generator Vulnerable<br />
|Dark Spire Vengeance Generator<br />
|60<br />
|300<br />
|Hacking this Vengeance Generator will make it vulnerable to conventional weaponry. This is likely to provoke an extremely strong Dark Spire response<br />
|-<br />
|Download Dyson Ship<br />
|Dyson Sphere<br />
|20<br />
|300<br />
|Hacking the Dyson sphere will give you access to one of the Dyson Sphere's ship designs, but it will make the Dyson Sphere very unhappy with you.<br />
|-<br />
|Increase Dyson Max Strength<br />
|Dyson Sphere<br />
|20<br />
|300<br />
|This Hack will increase this Dyson Sphere's max strength. It will definitely make the Dyson Sphere unhappy with you as well.<br />
|-<br />
|Increase Dyson Production<br />
|Dyson Sphere<br />
|20<br />
|300<br />
|This Hack will improve Dyson unit production. It will definitely make the Dyson Sphere unhappy with you as well.<br />
|- <br />
|Decrease Dyson Production<br />
|Dyson Sphere<br />
|20<br />
|300<br />
|This Hack will diminish Dyson unit production. It will definitely make the Dyson unhappy with you as well.<br />
|- <br />
|Decode Nanobots<br />
|Nanobot Hive<br />
|20<br />
|600<br />
|Hack the core Nanobot Hive in order to subvert them into being your allies. From then on, the hive will devote all of its energy to destroying the AI.<br />
|- <br />
|Tame Macrophage Tellium<br />
|Macrophage Tellium<br />
|60<br />
|300<br />
|Hack the mindset of a Telium on this planet, converting it to your cause. Expect it to defend itself harshly.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== Opinions And More Detail ==<br />
<br />
=== Covert Science Extraction ===<br />
<br />
This one is very useful, allowing you to gain the Science from a planet without raising AI Progress for it. It costs more than most Hacks however, so overdoing it can limit your options elsewhere, but in general it has a universally useful reward.<br />
<br />
=== Subvert Super Terminal ===<br />
<br />
A very strange hack! This one only ends when either the Hacker dies, or you run out of Points to do it with. Each second you pay 1 Point to reduce the AI Progress by 0.5. Each time the AI sends a response pulse, the next pulse will be stronger, so this can get very scary if done long enough. This can only be done once, and it is very pricey, but in effect you are reducing the AIs power overall, which could be very well worth the expenditure.<br />
<br />
=== Access Mercenary Beacon ===<br />
<br />
Very cheap and very quick relative to the others. This lets you hire the Mercenary groups listed in the Beacon description. Mercenaries can be a handy temporary power boost, to help win a difficult fight, or be a distraction elsewhere. However, each group also costs some Hacking Points of varying amounts, so the cost can be a bit deceiving. Group power scales with the current AI Progress, so this is something you can have prepared for later.<br />
<br />
=== Provoke Vengeance Strike ===<br />
<br />
A very sneaky hack. As each spawn a Generator does causes it to get nastier, this lets you "feed" a particular Generator to absurd levels. The Dark Spire can be useful in defeating the AI, but can also cause you a lot of bother yourself, so be careful about poking them with this. If you intend to use them in that way, this can be a very useful Hack.<br />
<br />
=== Download Dark Spire Ship Design ===<br />
<br />
This gives you the Wraith unit as a fleetship. This is one of the cheapest ways currently of gaining a new, guaranteed ship type via Hacking, but it has dire consequences for the galaxy. Once completed, the Dark Spire will begin gaining energy over time, even with no combat near Vengeance Generators. Like above, this can be useful in having the Dark Spire do your work for you, but it can get very much out of hand, and you can't stop the effect.<br />
<br />
=== Download Dyson Ship ===<br />
<br />
This will give you the Dyson Defender unit as a fleetship. This is also one of the cheapest ways currently of gaining a new, guaranteed ship type via Hacking, but the response is terrifying. Even starting this causes every ship controlled by that Dyson Sphere to revert to hostile and attack you, anywhere in the galaxy. Completing it is even worse, as the Sphere will become Antagonised, and spawn ships at an incredible rate, all of whom are very very angry at you, for a few minutes. In terms of what you pay and what you get, this is pretty good...but it can easily be game ending. Sentient stars are not to be messed with.<br />
<br />
=== Increase Dyson Production ===<br />
<br />
Simply put, this makes that Sphere start spawning ships at a faster rate overall. You can keep doing this to stack the effects, which can make the Sphere rather strong, but the response to each Hack is the same as above, and the Sphere usually spreads its ships out, and is capped by the current AI Progress, so unless it's in a useful area, and not for instance stuck in a corner of the galaxy, this won't be super worthwhile.<br />
<br />
=== Diminish Dyson Production ===<br />
<br />
The opposite to the above one. If for some reason (such as controlling the Spheres territory, which angers it) you want to make the Sphere weaker, this is how you do it. It's a pretty niche thing, but it's there. In future, the AI can Antagonise the Sphere intentionally, so if you have that possibility on the horizon, preparing for it with this Hack may be a wise choice.<br />
<br />
=== Decode Nanobots ===<br />
<br />
The longest duration Hack in the game currently, other than a ludicrously long Super Terminal, taking 600 seconds to complete, with a terrifying response. In return though, that Nanocaust faction will immediately ally with you. You can now go through all the planets it has captured, hoover up all the Science and Hacking Points lying around, and generally have a very safe area to operate in, not to mention all the firepower they can bring. This is usually *very* difficult, but the reward can be incredible. Should be noted, that while Factions that are allied to you in game setup increase your AI Progress instead of their own, a hacked Nanocaust will not, so you are not penalised for this Hack.</div>Histidinehttps://wiki.arcengames.com/index.php?title=AI_War_2:Fallen_Spire&diff=38233AI War 2:Fallen Spire2020-03-09T02:40:08Z<p>Histidine: /* City Structures */</p>
<hr />
<div>= Fallen Spire =<br />
<br />
The Fallen Spire are an optional faction that can be enabled via the Game Lobby, or by activating a beacon in game. The Fallen Spireare intended to satisfy the [https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/arcengames/ai-war-ii-0/posts/1746490 Spire] kickstarter goal, and draw further inspiration from the [[AI War:What Is The Fallen Spire Minor Faction|Fallen Spire Minor Faction]] from AIWC. <br />
<br />
=== Design Goals ===<br />
<br />
We wanted to overall keep the spirit of the Fallen Spire from AIWC, while doing some additional fun things that are possible/easier with the new AIW2 engine. This does not match what was in the Kickstarter. It is very similar to the AIWC version except there’s much more variety in the Relics Capture quests, a ton more city buildings, and more variety in the AI response. Also a number of minor factions have unique attributes that can only appear during the spire campaign.<br />
<br />
It's worth noting that as the game evolved a lot from the original kickstarter, the Spire goal that was originally laid out doesn't fit in the new context. But we also really wanted to modernize and expand on what was in the first game, taking inspiration from it without copying it wholesale. City buildings and units are different, and the entire flow is a completely new thing. The original was very sloooow, for instance.<br />
<br />
The core of the gameplay is Epic Battles to capture the relics, and Powerful Ships and Bases you get as a result. We think the Powerful Ships and Bases part was well done in AIWC, and we wanted to preserve most of that, though for the city placement and city design we wanted to expand that to a pretty huge degree.<br />
<br />
From this point forward we aren't going to keep back-referencing the first game, so please just try to forget the specifics of that one as you wrap your brain around this one. The number of differences will quickly compound until it's quite a new beast while still keeping the same spirit. (Hey, that sounds like we just described the entire concept of this sequel!)<br />
<br />
=== Lore ===<br />
<br />
The AI has crushed the Spire empire in their home galaxy. Some Spire units have landed in our galaxy and they can rebuild their empire and take revenge.<br />
<br />
Sometime in the last few hundred years, the AI detected the Spire, who had already colonized several nearby galaxies. They launched a surprise attack against the Spire homeworld. The Spire attempted to use their TransWarp technology to warp their full Imperial Fleet to their homeworld for defense. However, while in transit the AI sabotaged the Warp Transceiver on the homeworld, trapping the Spire Fleet in inter-dimensional space. Suddenly helpless, the Spire’s local defenses were no match for the AI and their Scourge allies.<br />
<br />
The AI has captured a lot of Spire reactors and is experimenting to harness their power in cloaked research laboratories. There are also some hidden spire relics scattered about the galaxy from past battles.<br />
<br />
The Spire are rock/crystalline creatures who feed on energy and can grow and reproduce very quickly with enough energy, so freeing those reactors will allow them to create cities and warships quickly. Each structure or warship IS a living spire -- like Zenith Golems, the spire are macroscopic life to an almost absurd degree. <br />
<br />
=== Primary Features ===<br />
<br />
* Give the player a way to get some Really Big Weapons that scare the mess out of the AI (not in an AI Progress sense, though).<br />
* Let the player build entire spire cities of various complexities and styles, which upgrade as you build more cities and more structures.<br />
* Give the AI a reason and ability to bring back extra-galactic forces from their mysterious "main war" to fight you and the spire openly.<br />
* Allow players the freedom to push all the way to an alternative victory condition via this faction, or to just build up one or more cities and make use of the extra firepower.<br />
* In general to allow players to experience the fallen spire on a gradient scale, doing some of it as they wish, not having to choose "completely fallen spire" or "completely not fallen spire."<br />
* Let us explore a bit more of the spire lore than we have in prior games.<br />
* Give players a chance to "smash the galaxy for fun and profit" by going for a mark 7 city, well above the mark 5 level that is needed for the alternative victory condition. At this point you're just rubbing it in, but it feels so satisfying to be the big one for a change.<br />
<br />
= How To Play =<br />
<br />
You can hack to find relics, and then once you have found one you need to go and give it orders of where to turn into a city. When it gets where you told it to go, it will become a city center that also includes a small (for the spire) flagship. You can then improve your city, build more cities in the same manner, and get absurd amounts of power. This scares the AI, of course, so a new arms race of superweapons begins. The "least" of your problems are targeted vicious exogalactic attacks on the relics and your cities. If you survive these odds, you'll have not only the sort of firepower you could never dream of elsewhere, but eventually might be able to do something to recover that lost Imperial Spire Fleet...<br />
<br />
== Find A Relic ==<br />
<br />
There are various ways of finding relics (see below). The first stage of getting a new spire city is to find a relic by one of those means. Once you have a relic, it's time to then turn it into a city.<br />
<br />
The very '''first''' relic is just out there somewhere, and you'll discover it and see right where it is. Go get it when you feel like it, or leave it alone.<br />
<br />
=== Scrap A Relic? ===<br />
<br />
Are you being hounded to death by Exos? You really won't survive? Don't worry, more relics will be available in the future. You can use the usual commands for scrapping units to scrap the relic and put yourself out of further misery.<br />
<br />
=== Getting Chased By The AI ===<br />
<br />
The AI really wants to destroy the relic before it turns into a citadel. It will send exogalactic waves (Exos) after the relic, and you really should have some sort of guard force fending that off. Unless you want to just build on the city you found the relic, in which case go ahead. Once a spire city has been established, it can be crippled or deactivated, but never fully destroyed.<br />
<br />
== Place A City ==<br />
<br />
=== Choosing A Location For Your Relic Once You Find It ===<br />
<br />
The relic doesn't belong to your faction, but you can still select it and give it a movement order. When you do so, it will confirm that the destination is where you would like your next city to be founded. You can choose planets controlled by the AI, but not AI homeworlds. You also can't place any spire city adjacent to an existing city.<br />
<br />
To fully go "all in" with the Fallen Spire and its alternative win condition, you will be constructing a bare minimum of two mark 1 cities, two mark 2, two mark 3, two mark 4, and one mark 5. So that's an absolute minimum of 9 cities if you do everything with perfect efficiency and pursue the entire fallen spire campaign to the bitter end. It's entirely possible for you to stop along the way and battle the AI to death with the mega-fleets you amass as you go.<br />
<br />
THAT said, you can push things even further if you're feeling inclined or somehow the AI is still too powerful for you. You can get up to a mark 7 city, and that will require an extra 4 total cities. You'll start having a ton of extra battleships, as well as some dreadnoughts, once you get to mark 6 with them. The only other way to see those in such numbers is with the Imperial Fleet.<br />
<br />
But it's worth noting these very basic city placement rules (compared to the first game), and the fact that you'll be having so many cities if you really want the max-power city structures.<br />
<br />
=== Full List Of City Placement Rules ===<br />
<br />
The rules are very simple, unlike in AIWC. In AIWC there were things like "must have at least two wormholes" and other complicated bits. Toss all that out! The rules in AIW2 are:<br />
<br />
* The planet can't be an AI homeworld.<br />
* The planet can't be adjacent to another spire city.<br />
* That's literally it.<br />
<br />
=== No Scrapping Cities ===<br />
<br />
Wishing you didn't put that city where you did? Well... that's a real shame, friend. You can't scrap city hubs or the flagships of cities. Once a city is founded, it's forever going to exist where you put it.<br />
<br />
The best thing to do in these circumstances is just abandon the city hub to the enemy, and take the flagship for basic use elsewhere. It can get repairs from other cities anytime it gets too damaged. <br />
<br />
Meanwhile, if the city hub you abandoned is crippled by taking too much damage, or is deactivated by no longer being on a planet you control, then enemies will start ignoring it and it will be just another piece of war debris sitting around in the galaxy. Worst case, maybe sometime in the future as your empire is growing, you choose to go back and recapture it and build up again.<br />
<br />
=== When You Don't Own The City A Planet Is On ===<br />
<br />
If you choose to build a city on a planet that isn't yours -- which is a ''totally valid thing to do'' -- or when you lose a planet, then the hub for that city will be inactive and you won't be able to build any spire structures on that city until you capture the planet. After that the city will function as normal. If the city hub gets damaged to the point of being crippled, then that has the same general effect as not controlling the planet at all. Get to repairing that expensive thing!<br />
<br />
It's worth noting that the mobile fleet portion of your spire city will all still be very much alive and well when the city hub is inactive or crippled. This means you can use the flagship right from the start to start vaporizing machines and aid in the conquest of the planet it is on.<br />
<br />
=== Your First City: Galactic Capitol ===<br />
<br />
The first city that you place will become the galactic capitol for the new group of cities that your spire control. The hub for these types of cities is called the Galactic Capitol and has a few stat buffs as well as having an extra two "building sockets" (more on that later) compared to all the other cities. So it's a bit easier to get this very first city off the ground, and it has a strong chance of being your strongest spire city throughout the game if you keep upgrading it. Most likely this would be the one to reach mark 7 first, but it doesn't have to be.<br />
<br />
Where you place this city is completely up to you:<br />
<br />
* You may want to use it as a choke point to guard your own human planets from attack, and focus on building many military structures.<br />
* You may prefer to shelter it behind your own human defenses and focus on making it an economic powerhouse or have it field a massive mobile fleet.<br />
* You may be super aggressive and place it way out in AI territory on its own, carving out the start of a new empire that is somewhat drawing attention away from your own main planets.<br />
<br />
=== More Cities ===<br />
<br />
You're going to need more cities than just the capitol -- a lot of them. In total if you want at least one mark 7 city, you'll need a minimum of 12 more cities in addition to the spire capitol. Spire cities can't be next to one another or on the AI homeworld, but beyond that it's up to you how you choose to place them, which ones you choose to mark up first/most, and what the general character of each city and its attendant fleet is.<br />
<br />
THAT said, to win the game with the fallen spire you don't need nearly so many cities. You can use them to buff you up a bit, then go kill the AI whenever you feel ready. The mark levels of your city don't really matter for that, it's all how you design them.<br />
<br />
To get the alternative victory condition involving the Imperial Fleet, you STILL don't even need 13 cities. You'd only need a mark 5 city, and so that would be a total of 9 cities to get there.<br />
<br />
== Build Up Your City ==<br />
<br />
=== Every City Is A Fleet And A City ===<br />
<br />
The most obvious part of the city at first is the hub, and the fact that you can then build a bunch of fixed-position structures from that hub. This is the city-portion, and you can see details on that by hovering over the hub itself.<br />
<br />
But there is also a mobile offensive/defensive fleet that is tied to the city, with a flagship that starts out as a "mere" cruiser, and eventually becomes a dreadnought if you level up your city enough. By constructing certain structures, you can grow your fleet of frigates and destroyers for that city, but you will also start getting a lot of mobile military ships simply by leveling the city up past a certain point.<br />
<br />
Depending on the city's nature, per your design choices and strategy, it may lean more towards supporting a larger mobile fleet or more towards spying on the enemy, producing economic gains, defending itself, or some mix.<br />
<br />
=== City Structures Require "Sockets" ===<br />
<br />
Each city hub has a certain number of sockets that are a part of it. Your galactic capitol starts with a whopping 4 sockets and then gains an additional 2 every time it levels up. All your other cities start with 2 and gain 2 per level up.<br />
<br />
Most buildings require either one or two sockets to construct. Note that sockets are a local planet-wide thing, so excess sockets in another city won't help the current planet. When you're in build mode, or when you hover over the city hub, you can easily see how many sockets you have left, and the tooltips for structures show how many sockets they require.<br />
<br />
As you unlock more advanced buildings at higher-mark cities, you may choose to scrap some of your existing buildings in order to free up existing sockets. That's a perfectly reasonable thing to do, and so spire cities will tend to be something that evolve and get revised over time.<br />
<br />
=== How To Level Up A City ===<br />
The rules are very simple:<br />
<br />
* All Sockets must be used.<br />
* The city must not be crippled or otherwise disabled.<br />
* The city must have at least 2 other cities of the same mark somewhere in the galaxy.<br />
* For each mark 2, 3 or 4 city you must control 1 additional planet in the galaxy somewhere without a spire city. Mark 5 cities require 2 additional planets. Mark 6 and 7 require 3 additional planets.<br />
** The city that was built first has priority.<br />
*** If the city with priority is currently incapable of marking up due to a prior reason, the next city will gain priority instead.<br />
<br />
Assuming all cities are leveled up as high as possible, you will have 1-2 cities of the highest available mark level, and 2 cities of each level below that. Having a Mark II city requires 3 cities in total, Mark III requires 5, Mark IV requires 7, and so on.<br />
<br />
== City Structures ==<br />
{| {{AIWarTableHeader}}<br />
! style="width: 10%" scope="col" | Name<br />
! style="width: 8%; text-align: center;" scope="col" | City mark level<br />
! style="width: 8%; text-align: center;" scope="col" | Sockets<br />
! style="width: 42%" scope="col" | Description<br />
! style="width: 32%" scope="col" | Notes<br />
|-<br />
|Spire City Hub<br />
|n/a<br />
|n/a<br />
|This facility doubles as the nerve center of a Spire City. It is responsible for the construction and coordination of the city's other structures. <br />
|At mark 3, your cruiser flagship becomes a battleship and you get +1 cruiser for every mark at or above 3. At mark 6, your battleship flagship becomes a dreadnought and you get +1 battleship for every mark at or above 6.<br />
|-<br />
|Spire Galactic Capitol<br />
|n/a<br />
|n/a<br />
|This facility serves as the central seat of government for all Spire settlements in a galaxy. It is responsible for the construction and coordination of the city's other structures.<br />
|It always has two more sockets than other cities of the same mark.<br />
At mark 3, your cruiser flagship becomes a battleship and you get +1 cruiser for every mark at or above 3. At mark 6, your battleship flagship becomes a dreadnought and you get +1 battleship for every mark at or above 6.<br />
|-<br />
|Shard Reactor<br />
|1<br />
|1<br />
|This facility produces the crystaline formations used as power cores in Spire reactors, generating a massive amount of energy in the process.<br />
|Generates 1M energy.<br />
|-<br />
|Mining Facility<br />
|1<br />
|1<br />
|Spire require massive amounts of metal to construct themselves, and they're excellent at mining for it.<br />
|Metal production increases with city mark level (but not any techs).<br />
|-<br />
|Shipyard<br />
|1<br />
|1<br />
|This facility is responsible for the construction and support of Spire craft, from escorts up to capital ships.<br />
|Builds Spire ships for Spire flagships on this and neighbouring planets.<br />
|-<br />
|Engineering Center<br />
|1<br />
|1<br />
|This facility provides rapid repair for friendly damaged ships.<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|Frigate Neural Net<br />
|1<br />
|1<br />
|This facility allows the city to build an extra two spire frigates.<br />
If the facility is destroyed, the extra frigate will also be destroyed. The city center must be functional for the cap to increase, but a nonfunctional city center won't decrease the cap.<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|Destroyer Neural Net<br />
|1<br />
|2<br />
|This facility allows the city to build an extra spire destroyer.<br />
If the facility is destroyed, the extra destroyer will also be destroyed. The city center must be functional for the cap to increase, but a nonfunctional city center won't decrease the cap.<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|Great-Shield Emitter<br />
|1<br />
|1<br />
|This immobile facility provides an incredibly massive forcefield to block all enemies. Uses a massive amount of energy and requires two local shard reactors.<br />
|Consumes 2M energy. Forcefield does ''not'' reduce damage of units firing out of it.<br />
|-<br />
|Lesser Spire Spy Cradle<br />
|2<br />
|1<br />
|This facility provides complete visibility on all planets up to two hops out. Uses a massive amount of energy and requires two local shard reactors.<br />
|Consumes 2M energy.<br />
|-<br />
|Greater Spire Spy Cradle<br />
|4<br />
|1<br />
|This facility provides complete visibility on all planets up to three hops out. Uses a massive amount of energy and requires two local shard reactors, AND requires an engineering station.<br />
|Consumes 2M energy.<br />
|-<br />
|Plasma Driver<br />
|1<br />
|1<br />
|Advanced spire weapon rapidly sends projectiles made of densely-packed plasma to deal heavy damage to higher mass targets, but does almost nothing to smaller ones.<br />
|Like an Orbital Mass Driver but with more DPS (2× at mark I, even more with higher mark levels).<br />
|-<br />
|Lesser Spire Fortress<br />
|3<br />
|2<br />
|Built for killing. Nothing more, nothing less. Also knocking enemies back. Uses a massive amount of energy and requires a local shard reactor and an engineering station.<br />
|Consumes 1M energy.<br />
|-<br />
|Greater Spire Fortress<br />
|5<br />
|4<br />
|Built for killing, and surpassingly good at it. Also knocking enemies back. Uses a massive amount of energy and requires two local shard reactors, AND requires an engineering station.<br />
|Consumes 2M energy.<br />
|-<br />
|Tranceiver<br />
|5<br />
|4<br />
|We're getting signals from somewhere very far away, but we can't understand them. Building this machine might just call in the cavalry, but also will intensely anger the AI.<br />
|Consumes 2M energy. Required for the Fallen Spire alternative victory condition.<br />
|-<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== Fleet Warships ==<br />
<br />
=== Flagships ===<br />
<br />
Every city starts out with a fleet flagship right away -- a cruiser. As you upgrade your city, your flagship gains marks and then eventually upgrade into stronger types.<br />
<br />
* At city mark 3, your flagship becomes a battleship.<br />
<br />
* At city mark 6, your flagship becomes a dreadnought.<br />
<br />
=== From City Mark ===<br />
<br />
A large part of the strength of your city fleet comes from your city's mark level itself. You still have to build these ships using spire factories (regular factories can't construct spire ships), but your ship cap of each type of spire ship goes up as your city mark level changes as follows:<br />
<br />
* Starting at city mark 3, you get one extra cruiser per level.<br />
** So by city mark 5, you would have three cruisers in additional to your battleship flagship.<br />
** At city mark 7, you'd have the maximum number of cruisers: 5.<br />
<br />
* Starting at city mark 6, you get one extra battleship per level.<br />
** So at city mark 6, you would have four cruisers and one battleship in additional to your dreadnought flagship.<br />
** At city mark 7, you'd have those 5 cruisers as well as two battleships and your dreadnought flagship.<br />
<br />
=== From Neural Nets ===<br />
<br />
Your "smaller" (and that term is purely relative) spire ships are also constructed by spire factories, but you don't normally have any ship cap for them. To get additional ships available for your fleet, you need to build "neural net" buildings.<br />
<br />
* A "Destroyer Neural Net" will let you have a single additional spire destroyer at whatever the mark level of the city is.<br />
<br />
* A "Frigate Neural Net" will let you have two more spire frigates at whatever the mark level of the city is.<br />
<br />
=== What Do These Ships Do? ===<br />
<br />
That is up to how you customize their loadout (CHRIS NOTES: upcoming). Each individual frigate, destroyer, cruiser, or battleship can be given one of several optional loadouts to perform different functions. We'll detail those here as they are implemented. You can switch loadouts on a given ship at any time, with no penalty.<br />
<br />
Also note that the Destroyer has a unique 3× damage bonus against units with mass >= 7 tX, making them particularly effective against the extra-galactic units you can expect to see a lot of in a Fallen Spire game.<br />
<br />
== How To Find Relics ==<br />
<br />
There are a number of ways to find relics.<br />
<br />
=== Known Location, Then Hack ===<br />
<br />
This is the same approach from AIWC; you know where the Relic is, then you do a Hack on that planet to get the Relic. Your first relic is always like this.<br />
<br />
=== Search-And-Hack ===<br />
<br />
Instead of knowing exactly where a relic will be, you will get a Notification that tells you "There is a relic in the galaxy". You can hack any planet to check how far it is from the relic. When you hack a planet without the relic, you are told "Your relic is in another castle ... err on a planet X hops away". The hovertext for the Notification will also keep track of all the planets you've searched. When you do hack the relic planet you find the Relic, and you do the usual Relic Chase (major AI forces spawn, you protect Relic and transform it to a city).<br />
<br />
Each planet you hack that doesn't have the relic on it slightly increases the eventual AI response for that relic chase.<br />
<br />
=== AI Research Lab ===<br />
<br />
One of these is seeded on the map at game start time. Destroying this structure will grant you a Relic that must build on the planet with the research lab.<br />
<br />
=== Relic Transport (Train Robbery) ===<br />
<br />
Every so often an AI Relic Transport will appear. It will wander the map similarly to the Astro Trains, then head for the AI Overlord. If you destroy the train then you get a Relic. If the train gets to the Overlord then it gives the AI a single high-tier Spire unit to use against you. This will happen regardless of whether astro trains are enabled. <br />
<br />
=== AI Citadel ===<br />
<br />
One of these is seeded on the map at game start time. It’s extra tanky. Destroying it grants you a relic with a very easy escort mission (currently 10% strength of a normal relic chase).<br />
<br />
== Alpha Testers ==<br />
<br />
Big thanks to the Alpha testers, including Astillious, Rocket Assisted Puffin, ZeusAlmighty, Ovalcircle and Democracy.</div>Histidinehttps://wiki.arcengames.com/index.php?title=AI_War_2:Hacking&diff=38232AI War 2:Hacking2020-03-09T02:10:18Z<p>Histidine: /* Basics */</p>
<hr />
<div>'''Hacking''' is a fairly useful mechanic, involving the use of a flagship to expend Hacking Points to perform various acts on neutral or AI-controlled planets and affect certain Factions, such as the Dyson Sphere or the Nanocaust, and here it's explained a bit more in depth.<br />
<br />
NOTE: This is partly outdated following version 0.900: The Arrival Of Fleets, and will have to be updated. Apologies!<br />
<br />
== Basics ==<br />
Hacking consumes ''Hacking Points'', which can only be gathered normally from player-controlled planets. Build a command station on the planet and it will rapidly gather the Hacking Points there. Each planet has 30 points. A few units such as Astro Trains and the AI Overlord will also give hacking points when killed.<br />
<br />
Hacking is performed by flagships. When viewing a particular planet, the relevant Hacks available will be shown in the Hacking sidebar to the left, with the effect and cost of each Hack is listed. Not all ships can perform all hacks; e.g. a Lone Wolf cannot hack an ARS.<br />
<br />
While a Hack is in progress, the hacking flagship's speed is greatly reduced and it cannot leave the planet. The remaining time left is displayed on the top in a similar fashion to Wave Warnings. If the hacker is destroyed mid-way, the hack is cancelled and must be restarted. The hack can also be aborted by clicking on the notification, but hacking points will ''not'' be refunded. When multiple flagships are present on a planet, the one closest to the target planet is selected for the hack.<br />
<br />
== Hacking Response ==<br />
Nearly every Hack causes some form of response against you - groups of units spawned from the target unit to try and stop the Hack. The faction that responds is usually the one that controls the thing you are hacking (i.e an AI Command Station will respond with AI units, but hacking the Nanocaust responds with a very scary response of entirely Nanocaust units). [[AI War 2:Outguard|Outguard Beacons]] are an oddity, and will cause an AI response instead. The Dark Spire do not respond normally, but the force that the Provoked Vengeance Strike spawns somewhat acts like it.<br />
<br />
Generally, there are both small, frequent "pulses" of units spawned during a Hack, as well as less frequent and larger pulses. In addition, actually completing the Hack fully has an extra response at the end as well.<br />
<br />
== Hack Options ==<br />
:''Not all hacking options are listed here.<br />
{| {{AIWarTableHeader}}<br />
! style="width: 10%" scope="col" | Hack Name<br />
! style="width: 10%" scope="col" | Target Unit<br />
! style="width: 10%" scope="col" | Hacking Point Cost<br />
! style="width: 10%" scope="col" | Duration (Seconds)<br />
! style="width: 60%" scope="col" | Description<br />
|-<br />
| Weaken AI Turrets<br />
| Planet, Mk VI or lower<br />
| 1<br />
| 2 <br />
| Hacking into the local AI network will reduce the range of AI turrets to 25% of their normal values, and their damage output to 50% of normal. Only works on planets of mark 6 or lower.<br />
|-<br />
| Weaken AI Guard Posts<br />
| Planet, Mk VI or lower<br />
| 5<br />
| 2 <br />
| Hacking into the local AI network will reduce the range of AI guard posts to 50% of their normal values, and their damage output to 75% of normal. Only works on planets of mark 6 or lower.<br />
|-<br />
|Covert Science Extraction<br />
|AI Command Station<br />
|30 for 2000 Science<br />
|200 for 2000 Science<br />
|This device hacks into the AI surveillance net and data archives in the local planetary system to obtain Science, up to the normal amount. It costs 30 hacking points to fully complete. Be prepared for an AI response against your units.<br />
|-<br />
|Neutral Planet Science Extraction<br />
|AI Command Station<br />
|10<br />
|10<br />
|This device scans the wreckage of the AI structures on the planet to obtain Science, up to the normal amount. If you have not paid the AIP cost for this planet, AIP will go up by 5.<br />
|-<br />
| Watch Planet<br />
| Planet<br />
| 10<br />
| 2<br />
| This hack deploys spy nanites that will grant you permanent vision on this planet. Can be done remotely without a hacker present.<br />
|-<br />
| Watch Planet (local)<br />
| Planet<br />
| 2<br />
| 2<br />
| This hack deploys spy nanites that will grant you vision of the planet until the AI reconquers it. Only for planets without defenders. ''Must destroy all hostile combatants on the planet.'' Can be done remotely without a hacker present.<br />
|- <br />
| Double Ship Line Cap<br />
| Fleet Capacity Extender<br />
| 15<br />
| 30<br />
| This will allow the player to double the cap of one of the ship lines of the hacking Flagship. After this hack is completed, the AI will launch a counterattack against you. <br />
|-<br />
|Grant Ship Line<br />
|Advanced Research Station<br />
|15<br />
|45<br />
|Grants a new ship line to the hacking flagship. Each ARS has a choice of five ship lines to pick from.<br />
|-<br />
|Reroll ARS contents<br />
|Advanced Research Station<br />
|15<br />
|30<br />
|This will change the ships you can get from the ARS.<br />
|-<br />
|Convert ARS to Science<br />
|Advanced Research Station<br />
|20<br />
|45<br />
|You can disassemble the ARS in order to figure out how it works. This grants some (1,500) science but you won't get the ship line.<br />
|-<br />
|Grant Technology<br />
|Technology Vault<br />
|30<br />
|90<br />
|This will allow the player to unlock a new Tech. Unlocking a Tech this way does not increase the cost of doing it with Science. If the contained Tech is already maxed out, the hack is wasted.<br />
|-<br />
|Convert Tech Vault to Science<br />
|Technology Vault<br />
|10<br />
|30<br />
|You can disassemble the Tech Vault in order to figure out how it works. This grants some science (1,500) but you won't get a Tech.<br />
|-<br />
|Reroll Tech Vault Contents<br />
|Technology Vault<br />
|20<br />
|50<br />
|This will change the Tech Line you get from this Tech Vault.<br />
|-<br />
|Spire Archive Extraction<br />
|Spire Archive<br />
|60<br />
|300<br />
|Hacking this Spire Archive will grant you a large amount of Science, but it takes a long time. Be prepared for an extreme AI response against your units. If this hack is cancelled or interrupted, AIP will go up by 80.<br />
|-<br />
|Subvert Super Terminal<br />
|Super Terminal<br />
|1 Per Second<br />
|Until Halted<br />
|The longer you hold on, the more you'll reduce (AIP), but you'll also cause a massive incursion of AI forces while doing it, some of which will head directly to your homeworld as an Exo-Galactic Strike. Careful not to kill yourself by holding on too long. You only get one shot at this hack before the AI adapts, so make it count.<br />
|- <br />
|Access Outguard Beacon<br />
|Mercenary Beacon<br />
|10<br />
|225<br />
|Hacking this beacon will allow you to contact some of the [[AI War 2:Outguard|Outguard]] -- remnant anti-AI forces that can come to your aid. Since the Outguard are subverting the AI communication channels, expect some extremely heavy AI response to this. Upon completion, your AIP will increase by 10.<br />
|- <br />
|Hack Ion Cannon<br />
|Planet<br />
|20<br />
|2<br />
|Permanently take control of all Ion Cannons on the planet.<br />
|-<br />
|Hack Mass Driver<br />
|Planet<br />
|23<br />
|2<br />
|Permanently take control of all Orbital Mass Drivers on the planet.<br />
|-<br />
|Sabotage AI defenses<br />
|Varies<br />
|15<br />
|22<br />
|Kills a certain powerful AI structure on the planet. Works on things like Raid Engines, Eyes, Alarm Posts, and Orbital Mass Drivers.<br />
|-<br />
|Provoke Vengeance Strike<br />
|Dark Spire Vengeance Generator<br />
|20<br />
|300<br />
|Finishing this Hack will cause the Dark Spire to launch a Vengeance Strike, wherein every Vengeance Generator will simultaneously launch a fleet to attack, well, everything.<br />
|- <br />
|Download Dark Spire Ship Design<br />
|Dark Spire Vengeance Generator<br />
|20<br />
|300<br />
|Hacking this Vengeance Generator will give you access to one of the Dark Spire's ship designs. But it might have devastating consequences; are you willing to set a fire upon the deep?<br />
|-<br />
|Render Vengeance Generator Vulnerable<br />
|Dark Spire Vengeance Generator<br />
|60<br />
|300<br />
|Hacking this Vengeance Generator will make it vulnerable to conventional weaponry. This is likely to provoke an extremely strong Dark Spire response<br />
|-<br />
|Download Dyson Ship<br />
|Dyson Sphere<br />
|20<br />
|300<br />
|Hacking the Dyson sphere will give you access to one of the Dyson Sphere's ship designs, but it will make the Dyson Sphere very unhappy with you.<br />
|-<br />
|Increase Dyson Max Strength<br />
|Dyson Sphere<br />
|20<br />
|300<br />
|This Hack will increase this Dyson Sphere's max strength. It will definitely make the Dyson Sphere unhappy with you as well.<br />
|-<br />
|Increase Dyson Production<br />
|Dyson Sphere<br />
|20<br />
|300<br />
|This Hack will improve Dyson unit production. It will definitely make the Dyson Sphere unhappy with you as well.<br />
|- <br />
|Decrease Dyson Production<br />
|Dyson Sphere<br />
|20<br />
|300<br />
|This Hack will diminish Dyson unit production. It will definitely make the Dyson unhappy with you as well.<br />
|- <br />
|Decode Nanobots<br />
|Nanobot Hive<br />
|20<br />
|600<br />
|Hack the core Nanobot Hive in order to subvert them into being your allies. From then on, the hive will devote all of its energy to destroying the AI.<br />
|- <br />
|Tame Macrophage Tellium<br />
|Macrophage Tellium<br />
|60<br />
|300<br />
|Hack the mindset of a Telium on this planet, converting it to your cause. Expect it to defend itself harshly.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== Opinions And More Detail ==<br />
<br />
=== Covert Science Extraction ===<br />
<br />
This one is very useful, allowing you to gain the Science from a planet without raising AI Progress for it. It costs more than most Hacks however, so overdoing it can limit your options elsewhere, but in general it has a universally useful reward.<br />
<br />
=== Subvert Super Terminal ===<br />
<br />
A very strange hack! This one only ends when either the Hacker dies, or you run out of Points to do it with. Each second you pay 1 Point to reduce the AI Progress by 0.5. Each time the AI sends a response pulse, the next pulse will be stronger, so this can get very scary if done long enough. This can only be done once, and it is very pricey, but in effect you are reducing the AIs power overall, which could be very well worth the expenditure.<br />
<br />
=== Access Mercenary Beacon ===<br />
<br />
Very cheap and very quick relative to the others. This lets you hire the Mercenary groups listed in the Beacon description. Mercenaries can be a handy temporary power boost, to help win a difficult fight, or be a distraction elsewhere. However, each group also costs some Hacking Points of varying amounts, so the cost can be a bit deceiving. Group power scales with the current AI Progress, so this is something you can have prepared for later.<br />
<br />
=== Provoke Vengeance Strike ===<br />
<br />
A very sneaky hack. As each spawn a Generator does causes it to get nastier, this lets you "feed" a particular Generator to absurd levels. The Dark Spire can be useful in defeating the AI, but can also cause you a lot of bother yourself, so be careful about poking them with this. If you intend to use them in that way, this can be a very useful Hack.<br />
<br />
=== Download Dark Spire Ship Design ===<br />
<br />
This gives you the Wraith unit as a fleetship. This is one of the cheapest ways currently of gaining a new, guaranteed ship type via Hacking, but it has dire consequences for the galaxy. Once completed, the Dark Spire will begin gaining energy over time, even with no combat near Vengeance Generators. Like above, this can be useful in having the Dark Spire do your work for you, but it can get very much out of hand, and you can't stop the effect.<br />
<br />
=== Download Dyson Ship ===<br />
<br />
This will give you the Dyson Defender unit as a fleetship. This is also one of the cheapest ways currently of gaining a new, guaranteed ship type via Hacking, but the response is terrifying. Even starting this causes every ship controlled by that Dyson Sphere to revert to hostile and attack you, anywhere in the galaxy. Completing it is even worse, as the Sphere will become Antagonised, and spawn ships at an incredible rate, all of whom are very very angry at you, for a few minutes. In terms of what you pay and what you get, this is pretty good...but it can easily be game ending. Sentient stars are not to be messed with.<br />
<br />
=== Increase Dyson Production ===<br />
<br />
Simply put, this makes that Sphere start spawning ships at a faster rate overall. You can keep doing this to stack the effects, which can make the Sphere rather strong, but the response to each Hack is the same as above, and the Sphere usually spreads its ships out, and is capped by the current AI Progress, so unless it's in a useful area, and not for instance stuck in a corner of the galaxy, this won't be super worthwhile.<br />
<br />
=== Diminish Dyson Production ===<br />
<br />
The opposite to the above one. If for some reason (such as controlling the Spheres territory, which angers it) you want to make the Sphere weaker, this is how you do it. It's a pretty niche thing, but it's there. In future, the AI can Antagonise the Sphere intentionally, so if you have that possibility on the horizon, preparing for it with this Hack may be a wise choice.<br />
<br />
=== Decode Nanobots ===<br />
<br />
The longest duration Hack in the game currently, other than a ludicrously long Super Terminal, taking 600 seconds to complete, with a terrifying response. In return though, that Nanocaust faction will immediately ally with you. You can now go through all the planets it has captured, hoover up all the Science and Hacking Points lying around, and generally have a very safe area to operate in, not to mention all the firepower they can bring. This is usually *very* difficult, but the reward can be incredible. Should be noted, that while Factions that are allied to you in game setup increase your AI Progress instead of their own, a hacked Nanocaust will not, so you are not penalised for this Hack.</div>Histidinehttps://wiki.arcengames.com/index.php?title=AI_War_2:Hacking&diff=38159AI War 2:Hacking2020-03-08T09:39:13Z<p>Histidine: </p>
<hr />
<div>'''Hacking''' is a fairly useful mechanic, involving the use of a flagship to expend Hacking Points to perform various acts on neutral or AI-controlled planets and affect certain Factions, such as the Dyson Sphere or the Nanocaust, and here it's explained a bit more in depth.<br />
<br />
NOTE: This is partly outdated following version 0.900: The Arrival Of Fleets, and will have to be updated. Apologies!<br />
<br />
== Basics ==<br />
<br />
Hacking consumes ''Hacking Points'', which can only be gathered normally from player-controlled planet. Build a command station on the planet and it will rapidly gather the Hacking Points there. Each planet has 30 points. A few units such as Astro Trains and the AI Overlord will also give hacking points when killed.<br />
<br />
Hacking is performed by flagships. When viewing a particular planet, the relevant Hacks available will be shown in the Hacking sidebar to the left, with the effect and cost of each Hack is listed. Not all ships can perform all hacks; e.g. a Lone Wolf cannot hack an ARS.<br />
<br />
When a Hack is in progress, the hacking flagship's speed is greatly reduced and it cannot leave the planet. The remaining time left is displayed on the top in a similar fashion to Wave Warnings. If the hacker is destroyed mid-way, the hack is cancelled and must be restarted. The hack can also be aborted by clicking on the notification, but hacking points will _not_ be refunded. When multiple flagships are present on a planet, the one closest to the target planet is selected for the hack.<br />
<br />
== Hacking Response ==<br />
Nearly every Hack causes some form of response against you - groups of units spawned from the target unit to try and stop the Hack. The faction that responds is usually the one that controls the thing you are hacking (i.e an AI Command Station will respond with AI units, but hacking the Nanocaust responds with a very scary response of entirely Nanocaust units). [[AI War 2:Outguard|Outguard Beacons]] are an oddity, and will cause an AI response instead. The Dark Spire do not respond normally, but the force that the Provoked Vengeance Strike spawns somewhat acts like it.<br />
<br />
Generally, there are both small, frequent "pulses" of units spawned during a Hack, as well as less frequent and larger pulses. In addition, actually completing the Hack fully has an extra response at the end as well.<br />
<br />
== Hack Options ==<br />
:''Not all hacking options are listed here.<br />
{| {{AIWarTableHeader}}<br />
! style="width: 10%" scope="col" | Hack Name<br />
! style="width: 10%" scope="col" | Target Unit<br />
! style="width: 10%" scope="col" | Hacking Point Cost<br />
! style="width: 10%" scope="col" | Duration (Seconds)<br />
! style="width: 60%" scope="col" | Description<br />
|-<br />
| Weaken AI Turrets<br />
| Planet, Mk VI or lower<br />
| 1<br />
| 2 <br />
| Hacking into the local AI network will reduce the range of AI turrets to 25% of their normal values, and their damage output to 50% of normal. Only works on planets of mark 6 or lower.<br />
|-<br />
| Weaken AI Guard Posts<br />
| Planet, Mk VI or lower<br />
| 5<br />
| 2 <br />
| Hacking into the local AI network will reduce the range of AI guard posts to 50% of their normal values, and their damage output to 75% of normal. Only works on planets of mark 6 or lower.<br />
|-<br />
|Covert Science Extraction<br />
|AI Command Station<br />
|30 for 2000 Science<br />
|200 for 2000 Science<br />
|This device hacks into the AI surveillance net and data archives in the local planetary system to obtain Science, up to the normal amount. It costs 30 hacking points to fully complete. Be prepared for an AI response against your units.<br />
|-<br />
|Neutral Planet Science Extraction<br />
|AI Command Station<br />
|10<br />
|10<br />
|This device scans the wreckage of the AI structures on the planet to obtain Science, up to the normal amount. If you have not paid the AIP cost for this planet, AIP will go up by 5.<br />
|-<br />
| Watch Planet<br />
| Planet<br />
| 10<br />
| 2<br />
| This hack deploys spy nanites that will grant you permanent vision on this planet. Can be done remotely without a hacker present.<br />
|-<br />
| Watch Planet (local)<br />
| Planet<br />
| 2<br />
| 2<br />
| This hack deploys spy nanites that will grant you vision of the planet until the AI reconquers it. Only for planets without defenders. ''Must destroy all hostile combatants on the planet.'' Can be done remotely without a hacker present.<br />
|- <br />
| Double Ship Line Cap<br />
| Fleet Capacity Extender<br />
| 15<br />
| 30<br />
| This will allow the player to double the cap of one of the ship lines of the hacking Flagship. After this hack is completed, the AI will launch a counterattack against you. <br />
|-<br />
|Grant Ship Line<br />
|Advanced Research Station<br />
|15<br />
|45<br />
|Grants a new ship line to the hacking flagship. Each ARS has a choice of five ship lines to pick from.<br />
|-<br />
|Reroll ARS contents<br />
|Advanced Research Station<br />
|15<br />
|30<br />
|This will change the ships you can get from the ARS.<br />
|-<br />
|Convert ARS to Science<br />
|Advanced Research Station<br />
|20<br />
|45<br />
|You can disassemble the ARS in order to figure out how it works. This grants some (1,500) science but you won't get the ship line.<br />
|-<br />
|Grant Technology<br />
|Technology Vault<br />
|30<br />
|90<br />
|This will allow the player to unlock a new Tech. Unlocking a Tech this way does not increase the cost of doing it with Science. If the contained Tech is already maxed out, the hack is wasted.<br />
|-<br />
|Convert Tech Vault to Science<br />
|Technology Vault<br />
|10<br />
|30<br />
|You can disassemble the Tech Vault in order to figure out how it works. This grants some science (1,500) but you won't get a Tech.<br />
|-<br />
|Reroll Tech Vault Contents<br />
|Technology Vault<br />
|20<br />
|50<br />
|This will change the Tech Line you get from this Tech Vault.<br />
|-<br />
|Spire Archive Extraction<br />
|Spire Archive<br />
|60<br />
|300<br />
|Hacking this Spire Archive will grant you a large amount of Science, but it takes a long time. Be prepared for an extreme AI response against your units. If this hack is cancelled or interrupted, AIP will go up by 80.<br />
|-<br />
|Subvert Super Terminal<br />
|Super Terminal<br />
|1 Per Second<br />
|Until Halted<br />
|The longer you hold on, the more you'll reduce (AIP), but you'll also cause a massive incursion of AI forces while doing it, some of which will head directly to your homeworld as an Exo-Galactic Strike. Careful not to kill yourself by holding on too long. You only get one shot at this hack before the AI adapts, so make it count.<br />
|- <br />
|Access Outguard Beacon<br />
|Mercenary Beacon<br />
|10<br />
|225<br />
|Hacking this beacon will allow you to contact some of the [[AI War 2:Outguard|Outguard]] -- remnant anti-AI forces that can come to your aid. Since the Outguard are subverting the AI communication channels, expect some extremely heavy AI response to this. Upon completion, your AIP will increase by 10.<br />
|- <br />
|Hack Ion Cannon<br />
|Planet<br />
|20<br />
|2<br />
|Permanently take control of all Ion Cannons on the planet.<br />
|-<br />
|Hack Mass Driver<br />
|Planet<br />
|23<br />
|2<br />
|Permanently take control of all Orbital Mass Drivers on the planet.<br />
|-<br />
|Sabotage AI defenses<br />
|Varies<br />
|15<br />
|22<br />
|Kills a certain powerful AI structure on the planet. Works on things like Raid Engines, Eyes, Alarm Posts, and Orbital Mass Drivers.<br />
|-<br />
|Provoke Vengeance Strike<br />
|Dark Spire Vengeance Generator<br />
|20<br />
|300<br />
|Finishing this Hack will cause the Dark Spire to launch a Vengeance Strike, wherein every Vengeance Generator will simultaneously launch a fleet to attack, well, everything.<br />
|- <br />
|Download Dark Spire Ship Design<br />
|Dark Spire Vengeance Generator<br />
|20<br />
|300<br />
|Hacking this Vengeance Generator will give you access to one of the Dark Spire's ship designs. But it might have devastating consequences; are you willing to set a fire upon the deep?<br />
|-<br />
|Render Vengeance Generator Vulnerable<br />
|Dark Spire Vengeance Generator<br />
|60<br />
|300<br />
|Hacking this Vengeance Generator will make it vulnerable to conventional weaponry. This is likely to provoke an extremely strong Dark Spire response<br />
|-<br />
|Download Dyson Ship<br />
|Dyson Sphere<br />
|20<br />
|300<br />
|Hacking the Dyson sphere will give you access to one of the Dyson Sphere's ship designs, but it will make the Dyson Sphere very unhappy with you.<br />
|-<br />
|Increase Dyson Max Strength<br />
|Dyson Sphere<br />
|20<br />
|300<br />
|This Hack will increase this Dyson Sphere's max strength. It will definitely make the Dyson Sphere unhappy with you as well.<br />
|-<br />
|Increase Dyson Production<br />
|Dyson Sphere<br />
|20<br />
|300<br />
|This Hack will improve Dyson unit production. It will definitely make the Dyson Sphere unhappy with you as well.<br />
|- <br />
|Decrease Dyson Production<br />
|Dyson Sphere<br />
|20<br />
|300<br />
|This Hack will diminish Dyson unit production. It will definitely make the Dyson unhappy with you as well.<br />
|- <br />
|Decode Nanobots<br />
|Nanobot Hive<br />
|20<br />
|600<br />
|Hack the core Nanobot Hive in order to subvert them into being your allies. From then on, the hive will devote all of its energy to destroying the AI.<br />
|- <br />
|Tame Macrophage Tellium<br />
|Macrophage Tellium<br />
|60<br />
|300<br />
|Hack the mindset of a Telium on this planet, converting it to your cause. Expect it to defend itself harshly.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== Opinions And More Detail ==<br />
<br />
=== Covert Science Extraction ===<br />
<br />
This one is very useful, allowing you to gain the Science from a planet without raising AI Progress for it. It costs more than most Hacks however, so overdoing it can limit your options elsewhere, but in general it has a universally useful reward.<br />
<br />
=== Subvert Super Terminal ===<br />
<br />
A very strange hack! This one only ends when either the Hacker dies, or you run out of Points to do it with. Each second you pay 1 Point to reduce the AI Progress by 0.5. Each time the AI sends a response pulse, the next pulse will be stronger, so this can get very scary if done long enough. This can only be done once, and it is very pricey, but in effect you are reducing the AIs power overall, which could be very well worth the expenditure.<br />
<br />
=== Access Mercenary Beacon ===<br />
<br />
Very cheap and very quick relative to the others. This lets you hire the Mercenary groups listed in the Beacon description. Mercenaries can be a handy temporary power boost, to help win a difficult fight, or be a distraction elsewhere. However, each group also costs some Hacking Points of varying amounts, so the cost can be a bit deceiving. Group power scales with the current AI Progress, so this is something you can have prepared for later.<br />
<br />
=== Provoke Vengeance Strike ===<br />
<br />
A very sneaky hack. As each spawn a Generator does causes it to get nastier, this lets you "feed" a particular Generator to absurd levels. The Dark Spire can be useful in defeating the AI, but can also cause you a lot of bother yourself, so be careful about poking them with this. If you intend to use them in that way, this can be a very useful Hack.<br />
<br />
=== Download Dark Spire Ship Design ===<br />
<br />
This gives you the Wraith unit as a fleetship. This is one of the cheapest ways currently of gaining a new, guaranteed ship type via Hacking, but it has dire consequences for the galaxy. Once completed, the Dark Spire will begin gaining energy over time, even with no combat near Vengeance Generators. Like above, this can be useful in having the Dark Spire do your work for you, but it can get very much out of hand, and you can't stop the effect.<br />
<br />
=== Download Dyson Ship ===<br />
<br />
This will give you the Dyson Defender unit as a fleetship. This is also one of the cheapest ways currently of gaining a new, guaranteed ship type via Hacking, but the response is terrifying. Even starting this causes every ship controlled by that Dyson Sphere to revert to hostile and attack you, anywhere in the galaxy. Completing it is even worse, as the Sphere will become Antagonised, and spawn ships at an incredible rate, all of whom are very very angry at you, for a few minutes. In terms of what you pay and what you get, this is pretty good...but it can easily be game ending. Sentient stars are not to be messed with.<br />
<br />
=== Increase Dyson Production ===<br />
<br />
Simply put, this makes that Sphere start spawning ships at a faster rate overall. You can keep doing this to stack the effects, which can make the Sphere rather strong, but the response to each Hack is the same as above, and the Sphere usually spreads its ships out, and is capped by the current AI Progress, so unless it's in a useful area, and not for instance stuck in a corner of the galaxy, this won't be super worthwhile.<br />
<br />
=== Diminish Dyson Production ===<br />
<br />
The opposite to the above one. If for some reason (such as controlling the Spheres territory, which angers it) you want to make the Sphere weaker, this is how you do it. It's a pretty niche thing, but it's there. In future, the AI can Antagonise the Sphere intentionally, so if you have that possibility on the horizon, preparing for it with this Hack may be a wise choice.<br />
<br />
=== Decode Nanobots ===<br />
<br />
The longest duration Hack in the game currently, other than a ludicrously long Super Terminal, taking 600 seconds to complete, with a terrifying response. In return though, that Nanocaust faction will immediately ally with you. You can now go through all the planets it has captured, hoover up all the Science and Hacking Points lying around, and generally have a very safe area to operate in, not to mention all the firepower they can bring. This is usually *very* difficult, but the reward can be incredible. Should be noted, that while Factions that are allied to you in game setup increase your AI Progress instead of their own, a hacked Nanocaust will not, so you are not penalised for this Hack.</div>Histidinehttps://wiki.arcengames.com/index.php?title=AI_War_2:Mercenaries&diff=38158AI War 2:Mercenaries2020-03-08T09:38:45Z<p>Histidine: Fix double redirect</p>
<hr />
<div>#REDIRECT [[AI War 2:Outguard]]</div>Histidinehttps://wiki.arcengames.com/index.php?title=AI_War_2:Outguard&diff=38156AI War 2:Outguard2020-03-08T09:38:28Z<p>Histidine: Histidine moved page AI War 2:Outguards to AI War 2:Outguard: The plural form isn't actually used</p>
<hr />
<div>'''Outguards''' are groups of usually temporary allies that you can hire on any planet. Obtaining Outguards requires [[AI War 2:Hacking|hacking]] the beacon they're on. Once obtained, they can be deployed infinite times for free (albeit with a cooldown). Here they're explained a bit more in depth.<br />
<br />
== Acquiring And Hiring == <br />
First, you have to find an Outguard Beacon, which show up on the Galaxy Map as an icon under the planet it's on. Then you must get a Hacker to that planet, and perform the [[AI_War_2:Hacking#Access_Outguard_Beacon|Access Outguard Beacon]] hack on it. Once completed, you then have access to the groups listed in the Beacon description. Each Beacon has two groups available from it.<br />
<br />
To hire a group, simply be looking at the planet you wish for them to spawn on, and click on the Group in the Hacking tab of the sidebar. Note that each group has a specified type of location (i.e AI controlled only) in their contract, and can only be hired if that requirement is met. Once activated, they will then spawn on the edge of the planets gravity well.<br />
<br />
Each group has a cooldown before it can be hired again, and a limited number of "charges" which regenerate over time. Charge capacity increases with AI Progress generated.<br />
<br />
== Behaviour ==<br />
Each group has different behaviours when they arrive:<br />
<br />
* Attack: Simply fights every enemy on the current planet, and when done, will move to another planet with enemies to keep fighting until either death or their time expires.<br />
* Defend Local Planet: Will remain on the planet they were hired on and defend it until either death or their time expires.<br />
* Patrol Adjacent Friendly Planets: Will roam this planet and nearby friendly ones, rushing to defend any if they come under attack until either death or their time expires.<br />
* Patrol Adjacent Friendly And Neutral Planets: Similar to the above, but also roams neutral planets.<br />
* Player Controlled: Are added to the players control permanently.<br />
<br />
Once spawned, outguards remain in the galaxy for 10 minutes before withdrawing, except where otherwise specified.<br />
<br />
== Available Groups ==<br />
There will be more in the future from Backers - until then, these are what are currently available to you.<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable" {{AIWarTableHeader}}<br />
! style="width: 13%" scope="col" | Group Name<br />
! style="width: 10%" scope="col" | Behaviour<br />
! style="width: 10%" scope="col" | Restriction<br />
! style="width: 15%" scope="col" | Units<br />
! style="width: 52%" scope="col" | Game's Description<br />
|- <br />
|Arnaud de Cervole<br />
|Patrol Adjacent Friendly Planets<br />
|Player Planets Only<br />
|Outguard Flagship<br/>Aggressor<br/>Paralyser<br />
|Arnaud became a safe and cautious leader after his family was eaten by AI-infested wombats. He leads a pack of Aggressors and Paralysers who will patrol nearby allied planets.<br />
|-<br />
|Lobar the Wolf<br />
|Attack<br />
|AI Planets Only<br />
|Outguard Flagship<br/>Vanguard<br/>Heavy Fusion Bomber<br />
|Lobar and his group hate the AI with a passion and will attack AI planets, using a mix of Vanguards and Heavy Fusion Bombers.<br />
|-<br />
|Xenophon<br />
|Attack<br />
|Any Planet<br />
|Outguard Flagship<br/>Porcupine<br/>MLRS Corvette<br />
|Xenophon and his men just want to get home again after each job, and as such will warp out after their first battle. They use a mix of Porcupines and MLRS Corvettes.<br />
|-<br />
|Prufrock's Partisans<br />
|Defend Local Planet<br />
|AI Planets Only<br />
|Outguard 'Distractor' Flagship<br/>Decoy Drone Carrier<br />
|Prufrock is an expert at distracting the AI with swarms of decoy drones.<br />
|-<br />
|Hereward the Wake<br />
|Patrol Adjacent Friendly And Neutral Planets<br />
|Not AI Planets<br />
|Outguard Flagship<br/>Velociraptor<br />
|A defensive specialist, Hereward will lead his group in patrolling nearby planets using a group of Velociraptors.<br />
|-<br />
|Kosciuszko Fortifications Inc<br />
|Defend Local Planet<br />
|Player Planets Only<br />
|Outguard Flagship<br/>Concussion Turret<br/>Spider Turret<br />
|Kosciuszko is a turret specialist, and brings his own defensive emplacements.<br />
|-<br />
|War Harvesters<br />
|Player Controlled<br />
|Any Planet<br />
|War Harvester<br />
|Purchase a group of War Harvester bots from a fellow resistance group. These bots harvest metal from their targets and grant it to you using their scrap cannons. These are put under your command permanently.<br />
|-<br />
|War Siegers<br />
|Player Controlled<br />
|Any Planet<br />
|War Sieger<br />
|Purchase a group of War Sieger bots from a fellow resistance group. These bots wield a rapid fire plasma cannon for long range devastation. These are put under your command permanently.<br />
|-<br />
|Automated Firesupport<br />
|Attack<br />
|Any Planet<br />
|Automated Sentinel Frigate<br/>Automated Sniper<br />
|A group of vagabonds have activated an abandoned drone factory, and are willing to supply you with a temporary force of Sniper and Sentinel Gunboat units.<br />
|-<br />
|Automated Shredders<br />
|Attack<br />
|Any Planet<br />
|Automated Metabolizing Gangsaw<br/>Automated Vampire Claw<br />
|A group of vagabonds have activated an abandoned drone factory, and are willing to supply you with a temporary force of Gangsaw and Vampire units.<br />
|-<br />
|Automated Construction Swarm<br />
|Attack<br />
|Any Planet<br />
|Automated Construction Bot<br />
|A group of vagabonds have activated an abandoned drone factory, and are willing to supply you with a temporary force of modified construction bots, that spawn smaller copies on death.<br />
|-<br />
|Anvil Securities<br />
|Patrol Adjacent Friendly And Neutral Planets<br />
|Not AI Planets<br />
|Anvil Securities Shield Starship<br/>Anvil Securities Spider<br />
|Before the current war, they used to be a defense contractor. Now, for a price they'll help defend nearby friendly and neutral planets with their Forcefield Frigates and Spiders.<br />
|-<br />
|Sabre Company<br />
|Attack<br />
|Any Planet<br />
|Outguard Flagship<br/>Sabre Company Pulsar Tank<br />
|This military company, gone rogue from the start of the war, will, for a price, send a group of Pulsar Tanks.<br />
|-<br />
|Spire Archivist<br />
|Defend Local Planet<br />
|Player Planets Only<br />
|Outguard Flagship<br/>Forcefield Generator<br/>Beam Cannon<br />
|After decades of silence, a rogue scientist has contacted us, offering potent spire technology to defend our planets. The power required to fuel these defenses is immense, however, and we can only keep them up for a limited time. Withdraws after 5 minutes.<br />
|-<br />
|Hydral Hobbyist<br />
|Attack<br />
|Any Planet<br />
|Hydran Outguard Flagship<br/>Hydran Outguard Flagship Major Head<br />
|We have recieved an offer of assistance by one who simply goes by Hydran. Their ship seems to be weak on offensive power, but is filled to the brim with paralyzing shots and redundancy systems.<br />
|-<br />
|Democratic Demolitionists<br />
|Defend Local Planet<br />
|Any Planet<br />
|Outguard Flagship<br/>Grenade Launcher Turret<br/>Grenade Launcher Corvette<br />
|The leader of this group was stuck with nothing but grenade launcher ship and turret schematics. He took the only logical conclusion and built hundreds of them.<br />
|-<br />
|}</div>Histidinehttps://wiki.arcengames.com/index.php?title=AI_War_2:Outguards&diff=38157AI War 2:Outguards2020-03-08T09:38:28Z<p>Histidine: Histidine moved page AI War 2:Outguards to AI War 2:Outguard: The plural form isn't actually used</p>
<hr />
<div>#REDIRECT [[AI War 2:Outguard]]</div>Histidinehttps://wiki.arcengames.com/index.php?title=AI_War_2:AI_War_2&diff=38155AI War 2:AI War 22020-03-08T09:38:03Z<p>Histidine: /* Gameplay */</p>
<hr />
<div>[[File:AIWar2.jpg|center|960px|AI War 2]]<br/><br />
''When Humanity found itself alone in the galaxy, it made the Machine...'' <br />
<br />
''The Machine learned at Humanity's side...'' <br />
<br />
''The Machine guided Humanity's missiles...'' <br />
<br />
''But the Machine would not stop when our enemies were shattered...'' <br />
<br />
''Now Man must turn back the metal tide, and bring an end to... '''AI WAR''' ''<br />
<br />
AI War II is the long awaited sequel to AI War: Fleet Command. AI War II is a grand strategy/RTS hybrid against an overwhelming, inhuman enemy who has conquered the galaxy. The enemy has made only a single error: underestimating you. You must steal as much technology as you can, and take enough territory to fortify your bases and launch your attacks. It was released on Early Access in October 15th, 2018, and was fully released on October 22nd, 2019. The AI has conquered the galaxy, but they made one mistake... Underestimating YOU. Build your Defenses, Mobilize your Forces, and Save Humanity. They believe you are insignificant. They believe you are alone. Use this to your advantage, strike carefully and avoid notice, and overcome the odds.<br />
<br />
*[https://blog.arcengames.com/category/ai-war-2/ Written Dev diaries]<br />
*[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc2dK5ROW0WBw47b5q2f_h0qB0a3Fgxhi Video Dev diaries]<br />
*[https://bugtracker.arcengames.com/view_all_bug_page.php Bugtracker/Suggestions]<br />
*[http://eepurl.com/clwAC5 Mailing List Sign Up]<br />
== Release History ==<br />
*In progress: [[AI War 2: Building Multiplayer]]<br />
*[[AI War 2: The Grand New AI]]<br />
*[[AI War 2: Pre-And-Post Launch Polish]]<br />
*[[AI War 2: The Refinement of Fleets]]<br />
*[[AI War 2: The Arrival of Fleets]]<br />
*[[AI War 2: Early Access Starts!]]<br />
*[[AI War 2: Pre-Early Access Polish]]<br />
*[[AI War 2: The Era of Discovery]]<br />
*[[AI War 2: The Pivot]]<br />
*[[AI War 2: Final Pre-Beta Checks]]<br />
*[[AI War 2: Making Alpha Fun]]<br />
*[[AI War 2:Earlier Than Early Alpha|Earlier Than Early Alpha]]<br />
<br />
== Supplemental Information ==<br />
*[[AI War 2: Special Mechanics| Special Mechanics]]<br />
*[[AI War 2: Units of Measurement| Units of Measurement]]<br />
<br />
== Lore ==<br />
*[[AI War 2: Zenith Lore Rambles| Zenith Lore Rambles]]<br />
<br />
== Expansion 1: The Spire Rises ==<br />
*[[AI War 2: The Scourge| The Scourge]]<br />
*[[AI War 2: Fallen Spire| Fallen Spire]]<br />
<br />
== Modder Instructions ==<br />
*[[AI War 2:Earlier Than Earlier Alpha Modding Instructions| Earlier Than Earlier Alpha Modding Instructions]]<br />
*[[AI War 2: Test Chamber|Test Chamber]]<br />
*[[AI War 2: Basic Stat Modding|Basic Stat Modding]]<br />
*[[AI War 2: Modding Special Mechanics| Modding Special Mechanics]]<br />
*[[AI War 2: Modding Sub-Nodes Of Entities| Modding Sub-Nodes Of Entities]]<br />
*[[AI War 2: Making Quick Starts | Making Quick Starts]]<br />
*[[AI War 2: Defining your own planet names | Defining your own planet names]]<br />
*[[Basic XML modding]] (WIP)<br />
<br />
=== Advanced ===<br />
*[[AI War 2: Serialization Gates|Serialization Gates]]<br />
<br />
*[[AI War 2: Granting Techs|Granting Techs]]<br />
<br />
*[[AI War 2: Partial Records and Mod Execution Order]]<br />
<br />
*[[AI War 2: Journal Entries]]<br />
<br />
*[[AI War 2: Checking For Dead Entities]]<br />
<br />
*[[AI War 2: Threading Model]]<br />
<br />
*[[AI War 2: Adding Factions]] (Mostly Complete: needs some additions)<br />
<br />
=== References ===<br />
<br />
*[[AI War 2: SpecialEntityType]]<br />
*[[AI War 2: Tutorial Step Conditions]]<br />
<br />
==Links==<br />
*[https://store.steampowered.com/app/573410/AI_War_2/ Steam store page]<br />
*[https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/arcengames/ai-war-ii-0/ Kickstarter (closed) for the game]<br />
*[https://aiwar2.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders Backerkit for late orders]<br />
<br />
==Gameplay==<br />
*[[Getting Started]]<br />
*[[AI War 2:Economy|Economy]]<br />
*[[AI_War_2:_Techs|Techs]]<br />
*[[AI War 2:Hacking|Hacking]]<br />
*[[AI War 2:Strategy|Strategy]]<br />
*[[AI War 2:Factions|Factions]]<br />
*[[AI War 2:Outguard|Outguard]]<br />
*[[AI War 2:AI Mechanisms|AI Mechanisms]]<br />
*[[:Category:AI War 2: Unit List| Unit List]]<br />
<br />
[[Category:AI War 2]]</div>Histidinehttps://wiki.arcengames.com/index.php?title=AI_War_2:AI_War_2&diff=38154AI War 2:AI War 22020-03-08T09:36:22Z<p>Histidine: /* Gameplay */ Rename Mercenaries to Outguards</p>
<hr />
<div>[[File:AIWar2.jpg|center|960px|AI War 2]]<br/><br />
''When Humanity found itself alone in the galaxy, it made the Machine...'' <br />
<br />
''The Machine learned at Humanity's side...'' <br />
<br />
''The Machine guided Humanity's missiles...'' <br />
<br />
''But the Machine would not stop when our enemies were shattered...'' <br />
<br />
''Now Man must turn back the metal tide, and bring an end to... '''AI WAR''' ''<br />
<br />
AI War II is the long awaited sequel to AI War: Fleet Command. AI War II is a grand strategy/RTS hybrid against an overwhelming, inhuman enemy who has conquered the galaxy. The enemy has made only a single error: underestimating you. You must steal as much technology as you can, and take enough territory to fortify your bases and launch your attacks. It was released on Early Access in October 15th, 2018, and was fully released on October 22nd, 2019. The AI has conquered the galaxy, but they made one mistake... Underestimating YOU. Build your Defenses, Mobilize your Forces, and Save Humanity. They believe you are insignificant. They believe you are alone. Use this to your advantage, strike carefully and avoid notice, and overcome the odds.<br />
<br />
*[https://blog.arcengames.com/category/ai-war-2/ Written Dev diaries]<br />
*[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc2dK5ROW0WBw47b5q2f_h0qB0a3Fgxhi Video Dev diaries]<br />
*[https://bugtracker.arcengames.com/view_all_bug_page.php Bugtracker/Suggestions]<br />
*[http://eepurl.com/clwAC5 Mailing List Sign Up]<br />
== Release History ==<br />
*In progress: [[AI War 2: Building Multiplayer]]<br />
*[[AI War 2: The Grand New AI]]<br />
*[[AI War 2: Pre-And-Post Launch Polish]]<br />
*[[AI War 2: The Refinement of Fleets]]<br />
*[[AI War 2: The Arrival of Fleets]]<br />
*[[AI War 2: Early Access Starts!]]<br />
*[[AI War 2: Pre-Early Access Polish]]<br />
*[[AI War 2: The Era of Discovery]]<br />
*[[AI War 2: The Pivot]]<br />
*[[AI War 2: Final Pre-Beta Checks]]<br />
*[[AI War 2: Making Alpha Fun]]<br />
*[[AI War 2:Earlier Than Early Alpha|Earlier Than Early Alpha]]<br />
<br />
== Supplemental Information ==<br />
*[[AI War 2: Special Mechanics| Special Mechanics]]<br />
*[[AI War 2: Units of Measurement| Units of Measurement]]<br />
<br />
== Lore ==<br />
*[[AI War 2: Zenith Lore Rambles| Zenith Lore Rambles]]<br />
<br />
== Expansion 1: The Spire Rises ==<br />
*[[AI War 2: The Scourge| The Scourge]]<br />
*[[AI War 2: Fallen Spire| Fallen Spire]]<br />
<br />
== Modder Instructions ==<br />
*[[AI War 2:Earlier Than Earlier Alpha Modding Instructions| Earlier Than Earlier Alpha Modding Instructions]]<br />
*[[AI War 2: Test Chamber|Test Chamber]]<br />
*[[AI War 2: Basic Stat Modding|Basic Stat Modding]]<br />
*[[AI War 2: Modding Special Mechanics| Modding Special Mechanics]]<br />
*[[AI War 2: Modding Sub-Nodes Of Entities| Modding Sub-Nodes Of Entities]]<br />
*[[AI War 2: Making Quick Starts | Making Quick Starts]]<br />
*[[AI War 2: Defining your own planet names | Defining your own planet names]]<br />
*[[Basic XML modding]] (WIP)<br />
<br />
=== Advanced ===<br />
*[[AI War 2: Serialization Gates|Serialization Gates]]<br />
<br />
*[[AI War 2: Granting Techs|Granting Techs]]<br />
<br />
*[[AI War 2: Partial Records and Mod Execution Order]]<br />
<br />
*[[AI War 2: Journal Entries]]<br />
<br />
*[[AI War 2: Checking For Dead Entities]]<br />
<br />
*[[AI War 2: Threading Model]]<br />
<br />
*[[AI War 2: Adding Factions]] (Mostly Complete: needs some additions)<br />
<br />
=== References ===<br />
<br />
*[[AI War 2: SpecialEntityType]]<br />
*[[AI War 2: Tutorial Step Conditions]]<br />
<br />
==Links==<br />
*[https://store.steampowered.com/app/573410/AI_War_2/ Steam store page]<br />
*[https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/arcengames/ai-war-ii-0/ Kickstarter (closed) for the game]<br />
*[https://aiwar2.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders Backerkit for late orders]<br />
<br />
==Gameplay==<br />
*[[Getting Started]]<br />
*[[AI War 2:Economy|Economy]]<br />
*[[AI_War_2:_Techs|Techs]]<br />
*[[AI War 2:Hacking|Hacking]]<br />
*[[AI War 2:Strategy|Strategy]]<br />
*[[AI War 2:Factions|Factions]]<br />
*[[AI War 2:Outguards|Outguards]]<br />
*[[AI War 2:AI Mechanisms|AI Mechanisms]]<br />
*[[:Category:AI War 2: Unit List| Unit List]]<br />
<br />
[[Category:AI War 2]]</div>Histidinehttps://wiki.arcengames.com/index.php?title=AI_War_2:Outguard&diff=38152AI War 2:Outguard2020-03-08T09:35:46Z<p>Histidine: Histidine moved page AI War 2:Mercenaries to AI War 2:Outguards: Reflect current name</p>
<hr />
<div>'''Outguards''' are groups of usually temporary allies that you can hire on any planet. Obtaining Outguards requires [[AI War 2:Hacking|hacking]] the beacon they're on. Once obtained, they can be deployed infinite times for free (albeit with a cooldown). Here they're explained a bit more in depth.<br />
<br />
== Acquiring And Hiring == <br />
First, you have to find an Outguard Beacon, which show up on the Galaxy Map as an icon under the planet it's on. Then you must get a Hacker to that planet, and perform the [[AI_War_2:Hacking#Access_Outguard_Beacon|Access Outguard Beacon]] hack on it. Once completed, you then have access to the groups listed in the Beacon description. Each Beacon has two groups available from it.<br />
<br />
To hire a group, simply be looking at the planet you wish for them to spawn on, and click on the Group in the Hacking tab of the sidebar. Note that each group has a specified type of location (i.e AI controlled only) in their contract, and can only be hired if that requirement is met. Once activated, they will then spawn on the edge of the planets gravity well.<br />
<br />
Each group has a cooldown before it can be hired again, and a limited number of "charges" which regenerate over time. Charge capacity increases with AI Progress generated.<br />
<br />
== Behaviour ==<br />
Each group has different behaviours when they arrive:<br />
<br />
* Attack: Simply fights every enemy on the current planet, and when done, will move to another planet with enemies to keep fighting until either death or their time expires.<br />
* Defend Local Planet: Will remain on the planet they were hired on and defend it until either death or their time expires.<br />
* Patrol Adjacent Friendly Planets: Will roam this planet and nearby friendly ones, rushing to defend any if they come under attack until either death or their time expires.<br />
* Patrol Adjacent Friendly And Neutral Planets: Similar to the above, but also roams neutral planets.<br />
* Player Controlled: Are added to the players control permanently.<br />
<br />
Once spawned, outguards remain in the galaxy for 10 minutes before withdrawing, except where otherwise specified.<br />
<br />
== Available Groups ==<br />
There will be more in the future from Backers - until then, these are what are currently available to you.<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable" {{AIWarTableHeader}}<br />
! style="width: 13%" scope="col" | Group Name<br />
! style="width: 10%" scope="col" | Behaviour<br />
! style="width: 10%" scope="col" | Restriction<br />
! style="width: 15%" scope="col" | Units<br />
! style="width: 52%" scope="col" | Game's Description<br />
|- <br />
|Arnaud de Cervole<br />
|Patrol Adjacent Friendly Planets<br />
|Player Planets Only<br />
|Outguard Flagship<br/>Aggressor<br/>Paralyser<br />
|Arnaud became a safe and cautious leader after his family was eaten by AI-infested wombats. He leads a pack of Aggressors and Paralysers who will patrol nearby allied planets.<br />
|-<br />
|Lobar the Wolf<br />
|Attack<br />
|AI Planets Only<br />
|Outguard Flagship<br/>Vanguard<br/>Heavy Fusion Bomber<br />
|Lobar and his group hate the AI with a passion and will attack AI planets, using a mix of Vanguards and Heavy Fusion Bombers.<br />
|-<br />
|Xenophon<br />
|Attack<br />
|Any Planet<br />
|Outguard Flagship<br/>Porcupine<br/>MLRS Corvette<br />
|Xenophon and his men just want to get home again after each job, and as such will warp out after their first battle. They use a mix of Porcupines and MLRS Corvettes.<br />
|-<br />
|Prufrock's Partisans<br />
|Defend Local Planet<br />
|AI Planets Only<br />
|Outguard 'Distractor' Flagship<br/>Decoy Drone Carrier<br />
|Prufrock is an expert at distracting the AI with swarms of decoy drones.<br />
|-<br />
|Hereward the Wake<br />
|Patrol Adjacent Friendly And Neutral Planets<br />
|Not AI Planets<br />
|Outguard Flagship<br/>Velociraptor<br />
|A defensive specialist, Hereward will lead his group in patrolling nearby planets using a group of Velociraptors.<br />
|-<br />
|Kosciuszko Fortifications Inc<br />
|Defend Local Planet<br />
|Player Planets Only<br />
|Outguard Flagship<br/>Concussion Turret<br/>Spider Turret<br />
|Kosciuszko is a turret specialist, and brings his own defensive emplacements.<br />
|-<br />
|War Harvesters<br />
|Player Controlled<br />
|Any Planet<br />
|War Harvester<br />
|Purchase a group of War Harvester bots from a fellow resistance group. These bots harvest metal from their targets and grant it to you using their scrap cannons. These are put under your command permanently.<br />
|-<br />
|War Siegers<br />
|Player Controlled<br />
|Any Planet<br />
|War Sieger<br />
|Purchase a group of War Sieger bots from a fellow resistance group. These bots wield a rapid fire plasma cannon for long range devastation. These are put under your command permanently.<br />
|-<br />
|Automated Firesupport<br />
|Attack<br />
|Any Planet<br />
|Automated Sentinel Frigate<br/>Automated Sniper<br />
|A group of vagabonds have activated an abandoned drone factory, and are willing to supply you with a temporary force of Sniper and Sentinel Gunboat units.<br />
|-<br />
|Automated Shredders<br />
|Attack<br />
|Any Planet<br />
|Automated Metabolizing Gangsaw<br/>Automated Vampire Claw<br />
|A group of vagabonds have activated an abandoned drone factory, and are willing to supply you with a temporary force of Gangsaw and Vampire units.<br />
|-<br />
|Automated Construction Swarm<br />
|Attack<br />
|Any Planet<br />
|Automated Construction Bot<br />
|A group of vagabonds have activated an abandoned drone factory, and are willing to supply you with a temporary force of modified construction bots, that spawn smaller copies on death.<br />
|-<br />
|Anvil Securities<br />
|Patrol Adjacent Friendly And Neutral Planets<br />
|Not AI Planets<br />
|Anvil Securities Shield Starship<br/>Anvil Securities Spider<br />
|Before the current war, they used to be a defense contractor. Now, for a price they'll help defend nearby friendly and neutral planets with their Forcefield Frigates and Spiders.<br />
|-<br />
|Sabre Company<br />
|Attack<br />
|Any Planet<br />
|Outguard Flagship<br/>Sabre Company Pulsar Tank<br />
|This military company, gone rogue from the start of the war, will, for a price, send a group of Pulsar Tanks.<br />
|-<br />
|Spire Archivist<br />
|Defend Local Planet<br />
|Player Planets Only<br />
|Outguard Flagship<br/>Forcefield Generator<br/>Beam Cannon<br />
|After decades of silence, a rogue scientist has contacted us, offering potent spire technology to defend our planets. The power required to fuel these defenses is immense, however, and we can only keep them up for a limited time. Withdraws after 5 minutes.<br />
|-<br />
|Hydral Hobbyist<br />
|Attack<br />
|Any Planet<br />
|Hydran Outguard Flagship<br/>Hydran Outguard Flagship Major Head<br />
|We have recieved an offer of assistance by one who simply goes by Hydran. Their ship seems to be weak on offensive power, but is filled to the brim with paralyzing shots and redundancy systems.<br />
|-<br />
|Democratic Demolitionists<br />
|Defend Local Planet<br />
|Any Planet<br />
|Outguard Flagship<br/>Grenade Launcher Turret<br/>Grenade Launcher Corvette<br />
|The leader of this group was stuck with nothing but grenade launcher ship and turret schematics. He took the only logical conclusion and built hundreds of them.<br />
|-<br />
|}</div>Histidinehttps://wiki.arcengames.com/index.php?title=AI_War_2:Mercenaries&diff=38153AI War 2:Mercenaries2020-03-08T09:35:46Z<p>Histidine: Histidine moved page AI War 2:Mercenaries to AI War 2:Outguards: Reflect current name</p>
<hr />
<div>#REDIRECT [[AI War 2:Outguards]]</div>Histidinehttps://wiki.arcengames.com/index.php?title=AI_War_2:Outguard&diff=38151AI War 2:Outguard2020-03-08T09:35:09Z<p>Histidine: Update</p>
<hr />
<div>'''Outguards''' are groups of usually temporary allies that you can hire on any planet. Obtaining Outguards requires [[AI War 2:Hacking|hacking]] the beacon they're on. Once obtained, they can be deployed infinite times for free (albeit with a cooldown). Here they're explained a bit more in depth.<br />
<br />
== Acquiring And Hiring == <br />
First, you have to find an Outguard Beacon, which show up on the Galaxy Map as an icon under the planet it's on. Then you must get a Hacker to that planet, and perform the [[AI_War_2:Hacking#Access_Outguard_Beacon|Access Outguard Beacon]] hack on it. Once completed, you then have access to the groups listed in the Beacon description. Each Beacon has two groups available from it.<br />
<br />
To hire a group, simply be looking at the planet you wish for them to spawn on, and click on the Group in the Hacking tab of the sidebar. Note that each group has a specified type of location (i.e AI controlled only) in their contract, and can only be hired if that requirement is met. Once activated, they will then spawn on the edge of the planets gravity well.<br />
<br />
Each group has a cooldown before it can be hired again, and a limited number of "charges" which regenerate over time. Charge capacity increases with AI Progress generated.<br />
<br />
== Behaviour ==<br />
Each group has different behaviours when they arrive:<br />
<br />
* Attack: Simply fights every enemy on the current planet, and when done, will move to another planet with enemies to keep fighting until either death or their time expires.<br />
* Defend Local Planet: Will remain on the planet they were hired on and defend it until either death or their time expires.<br />
* Patrol Adjacent Friendly Planets: Will roam this planet and nearby friendly ones, rushing to defend any if they come under attack until either death or their time expires.<br />
* Patrol Adjacent Friendly And Neutral Planets: Similar to the above, but also roams neutral planets.<br />
* Player Controlled: Are added to the players control permanently.<br />
<br />
Once spawned, outguards remain in the galaxy for 10 minutes before withdrawing, except where otherwise specified.<br />
<br />
== Available Groups ==<br />
There will be more in the future from Backers - until then, these are what are currently available to you.<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable" {{AIWarTableHeader}}<br />
! style="width: 13%" scope="col" | Group Name<br />
! style="width: 10%" scope="col" | Behaviour<br />
! style="width: 10%" scope="col" | Restriction<br />
! style="width: 15%" scope="col" | Units<br />
! style="width: 52%" scope="col" | Game's Description<br />
|- <br />
|Arnaud de Cervole<br />
|Patrol Adjacent Friendly Planets<br />
|Player Planets Only<br />
|Outguard Flagship<br/>Aggressor<br/>Paralyser<br />
|Arnaud became a safe and cautious leader after his family was eaten by AI-infested wombats. He leads a pack of Aggressors and Paralysers who will patrol nearby allied planets.<br />
|-<br />
|Lobar the Wolf<br />
|Attack<br />
|AI Planets Only<br />
|Outguard Flagship<br/>Vanguard<br/>Heavy Fusion Bomber<br />
|Lobar and his group hate the AI with a passion and will attack AI planets, using a mix of Vanguards and Heavy Fusion Bombers.<br />
|-<br />
|Xenophon<br />
|Attack<br />
|Any Planet<br />
|Outguard Flagship<br/>Porcupine<br/>MLRS Corvette<br />
|Xenophon and his men just want to get home again after each job, and as such will warp out after their first battle. They use a mix of Porcupines and MLRS Corvettes.<br />
|-<br />
|Prufrock's Partisans<br />
|Defend Local Planet<br />
|AI Planets Only<br />
|Outguard 'Distractor' Flagship<br/>Decoy Drone Carrier<br />
|Prufrock is an expert at distracting the AI with swarms of decoy drones.<br />
|-<br />
|Hereward the Wake<br />
|Patrol Adjacent Friendly And Neutral Planets<br />
|Not AI Planets<br />
|Outguard Flagship<br/>Velociraptor<br />
|A defensive specialist, Hereward will lead his group in patrolling nearby planets using a group of Velociraptors.<br />
|-<br />
|Kosciuszko Fortifications Inc<br />
|Defend Local Planet<br />
|Player Planets Only<br />
|Outguard Flagship<br/>Concussion Turret<br/>Spider Turret<br />
|Kosciuszko is a turret specialist, and brings his own defensive emplacements.<br />
|-<br />
|War Harvesters<br />
|Player Controlled<br />
|Any Planet<br />
|War Harvester<br />
|Purchase a group of War Harvester bots from a fellow resistance group. These bots harvest metal from their targets and grant it to you using their scrap cannons. These are put under your command permanently.<br />
|-<br />
|War Siegers<br />
|Player Controlled<br />
|Any Planet<br />
|War Sieger<br />
|Purchase a group of War Sieger bots from a fellow resistance group. These bots wield a rapid fire plasma cannon for long range devastation. These are put under your command permanently.<br />
|-<br />
|Automated Firesupport<br />
|Attack<br />
|Any Planet<br />
|Automated Sentinel Frigate<br/>Automated Sniper<br />
|A group of vagabonds have activated an abandoned drone factory, and are willing to supply you with a temporary force of Sniper and Sentinel Gunboat units.<br />
|-<br />
|Automated Shredders<br />
|Attack<br />
|Any Planet<br />
|Automated Metabolizing Gangsaw<br/>Automated Vampire Claw<br />
|A group of vagabonds have activated an abandoned drone factory, and are willing to supply you with a temporary force of Gangsaw and Vampire units.<br />
|-<br />
|Automated Construction Swarm<br />
|Attack<br />
|Any Planet<br />
|Automated Construction Bot<br />
|A group of vagabonds have activated an abandoned drone factory, and are willing to supply you with a temporary force of modified construction bots, that spawn smaller copies on death.<br />
|-<br />
|Anvil Securities<br />
|Patrol Adjacent Friendly And Neutral Planets<br />
|Not AI Planets<br />
|Anvil Securities Shield Starship<br/>Anvil Securities Spider<br />
|Before the current war, they used to be a defense contractor. Now, for a price they'll help defend nearby friendly and neutral planets with their Forcefield Frigates and Spiders.<br />
|-<br />
|Sabre Company<br />
|Attack<br />
|Any Planet<br />
|Outguard Flagship<br/>Sabre Company Pulsar Tank<br />
|This military company, gone rogue from the start of the war, will, for a price, send a group of Pulsar Tanks.<br />
|-<br />
|Spire Archivist<br />
|Defend Local Planet<br />
|Player Planets Only<br />
|Outguard Flagship<br/>Forcefield Generator<br/>Beam Cannon<br />
|After decades of silence, a rogue scientist has contacted us, offering potent spire technology to defend our planets. The power required to fuel these defenses is immense, however, and we can only keep them up for a limited time. Withdraws after 5 minutes.<br />
|-<br />
|Hydral Hobbyist<br />
|Attack<br />
|Any Planet<br />
|Hydran Outguard Flagship<br/>Hydran Outguard Flagship Major Head<br />
|We have recieved an offer of assistance by one who simply goes by Hydran. Their ship seems to be weak on offensive power, but is filled to the brim with paralyzing shots and redundancy systems.<br />
|-<br />
|Democratic Demolitionists<br />
|Defend Local Planet<br />
|Any Planet<br />
|Outguard Flagship<br/>Grenade Launcher Turret<br/>Grenade Launcher Corvette<br />
|The leader of this group was stuck with nothing but grenade launcher ship and turret schematics. He took the only logical conclusion and built hundreds of them.<br />
|-<br />
|}</div>Histidinehttps://wiki.arcengames.com/index.php?title=AI_War_2:Fallen_Spire&diff=38150AI War 2:Fallen Spire2020-03-08T08:54:40Z<p>Histidine: /* What Do These Ships Do? */</p>
<hr />
<div>= Fallen Spire =<br />
<br />
The Fallen Spire are an optional faction that can be enabled via the Game Lobby, or by activating a beacon in game. The Fallen Spireare intended to satisfy the [https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/arcengames/ai-war-ii-0/posts/1746490 Spire] kickstarter goal, and draw further inspiration from the [[AI War:What Is The Fallen Spire Minor Faction|Fallen Spire Minor Faction]] from AIWC. <br />
<br />
=== Design Goals ===<br />
<br />
We wanted to overall keep the spirit of the Fallen Spire from AIWC, while doing some additional fun things that are possible/easier with the new AIW2 engine. This does not match what was in the Kickstarter. It is very similar to the AIWC version except there’s much more variety in the Relics Capture quests, a ton more city buildings, and more variety in the AI response. Also a number of minor factions have unique attributes that can only appear during the spire campaign.<br />
<br />
It's worth noting that as the game evolved a lot from the original kickstarter, the Spire goal that was originally laid out doesn't fit in the new context. But we also really wanted to modernize and expand on what was in the first game, taking inspiration from it without copying it wholesale. City buildings and units are different, and the entire flow is a completely new thing. The original was very sloooow, for instance.<br />
<br />
The core of the gameplay is Epic Battles to capture the relics, and Powerful Ships and Bases you get as a result. We think the Powerful Ships and Bases part was well done in AIWC, and we wanted to preserve most of that, though for the city placement and city design we wanted to expand that to a pretty huge degree.<br />
<br />
From this point forward we aren't going to keep back-referencing the first game, so please just try to forget the specifics of that one as you wrap your brain around this one. The number of differences will quickly compound until it's quite a new beast while still keeping the same spirit. (Hey, that sounds like we just described the entire concept of this sequel!)<br />
<br />
=== Lore ===<br />
<br />
The AI has crushed the Spire empire in their home galaxy. Some Spire units have landed in our galaxy and they can rebuild their empire and take revenge.<br />
<br />
Sometime in the last few hundred years, the AI detected the Spire, who had already colonized several nearby galaxies. They launched a surprise attack against the Spire homeworld. The Spire attempted to use their TransWarp technology to warp their full Imperial Fleet to their homeworld for defense. However, while in transit the AI sabotaged the Warp Transceiver on the homeworld, trapping the Spire Fleet in inter-dimensional space. Suddenly helpless, the Spire’s local defenses were no match for the AI and their Scourge allies.<br />
<br />
The AI has captured a lot of Spire reactors and is experimenting to harness their power in cloaked research laboratories. There are also some hidden spire relics scattered about the galaxy from past battles.<br />
<br />
The Spire are rock/crystalline creatures who feed on energy and can grow and reproduce very quickly with enough energy, so freeing those reactors will allow them to create cities and warships quickly. Each structure or warship IS a living spire -- like Zenith Golems, the spire are macroscopic life to an almost absurd degree. <br />
<br />
=== Primary Features ===<br />
<br />
* Give the player a way to get some Really Big Weapons that scare the mess out of the AI (not in an AI Progress sense, though).<br />
* Let the player build entire spire cities of various complexities and styles, which upgrade as you build more cities and more structures.<br />
* Give the AI a reason and ability to bring back extra-galactic forces from their mysterious "main war" to fight you and the spire openly.<br />
* Allow players the freedom to push all the way to an alternative victory condition via this faction, or to just build up one or more cities and make use of the extra firepower.<br />
* In general to allow players to experience the fallen spire on a gradient scale, doing some of it as they wish, not having to choose "completely fallen spire" or "completely not fallen spire."<br />
* Let us explore a bit more of the spire lore than we have in prior games.<br />
* Give players a chance to "smash the galaxy for fun and profit" by going for a mark 7 city, well above the mark 5 level that is needed for the alternative victory condition. At this point you're just rubbing it in, but it feels so satisfying to be the big one for a change.<br />
<br />
= How To Play =<br />
<br />
You can hack to find relics, and then once you have found one you need to go and give it orders of where to turn into a city. When it gets where you told it to go, it will become a city center that also includes a small (for the spire) flagship. You can then improve your city, build more cities in the same manner, and get absurd amounts of power. This scares the AI, of course, so a new arms race of superweapons begins. The "least" of your problems are targeted vicious exogalactic attacks on the relics and your cities. If you survive these odds, you'll have not only the sort of firepower you could never dream of elsewhere, but eventually might be able to do something to recover that lost Imperial Spire Fleet...<br />
<br />
== Find A Relic ==<br />
<br />
There are various ways of finding relics (see below). The first stage of getting a new spire city is to find a relic by one of those means. Once you have a relic, it's time to then turn it into a city.<br />
<br />
The very '''first''' relic is just out there somewhere, and you'll discover it and see right where it is. Go get it when you feel like it, or leave it alone.<br />
<br />
=== Scrap A Relic? ===<br />
<br />
Are you being hounded to death by Exos? You really won't survive? Don't worry, more relics will be available in the future. You can use the usual commands for scrapping units to scrap the relic and put yourself out of further misery.<br />
<br />
=== Getting Chased By The AI ===<br />
<br />
The AI really wants to destroy the relic before it turns into a citadel. It will send exogalactic waves (Exos) after the relic, and you really should have some sort of guard force fending that off. Unless you want to just build on the city you found the relic, in which case go ahead. Once a spire city has been established, it can be crippled or deactivated, but never fully destroyed.<br />
<br />
== Place A City ==<br />
<br />
=== Choosing A Location For Your Relic Once You Find It ===<br />
<br />
The relic doesn't belong to your faction, but you can still select it and give it a movement order. When you do so, it will confirm that the destination is where you would like your next city to be founded. You can choose planets controlled by the AI, but not AI homeworlds. You also can't place any spire city adjacent to an existing city.<br />
<br />
To fully go "all in" with the Fallen Spire and its alternative win condition, you will be constructing a bare minimum of two mark 1 cities, two mark 2, two mark 3, two mark 4, and one mark 5. So that's an absolute minimum of 9 cities if you do everything with perfect efficiency and pursue the entire fallen spire campaign to the bitter end. It's entirely possible for you to stop along the way and battle the AI to death with the mega-fleets you amass as you go.<br />
<br />
THAT said, you can push things even further if you're feeling inclined or somehow the AI is still too powerful for you. You can get up to a mark 7 city, and that will require an extra 4 total cities. You'll start having a ton of extra battleships, as well as some dreadnoughts, once you get to mark 6 with them. The only other way to see those in such numbers is with the Imperial Fleet.<br />
<br />
But it's worth noting these very basic city placement rules (compared to the first game), and the fact that you'll be having so many cities if you really want the max-power city structures.<br />
<br />
=== Full List Of City Placement Rules ===<br />
<br />
The rules are very simple, unlike in AIWC. In AIWC there were things like "must have at least two wormholes" and other complicated bits. Toss all that out! The rules in AIW2 are:<br />
<br />
* The planet can't be an AI homeworld.<br />
* The planet can't be adjacent to another spire city.<br />
* That's literally it.<br />
<br />
=== No Scrapping Cities ===<br />
<br />
Wishing you didn't put that city where you did? Well... that's a real shame, friend. You can't scrap city hubs or the flagships of cities. Once a city is founded, it's forever going to exist where you put it.<br />
<br />
The best thing to do in these circumstances is just abandon the city hub to the enemy, and take the flagship for basic use elsewhere. It can get repairs from other cities anytime it gets too damaged. <br />
<br />
Meanwhile, if the city hub you abandoned is crippled by taking too much damage, or is deactivated by no longer being on a planet you control, then enemies will start ignoring it and it will be just another piece of war debris sitting around in the galaxy. Worst case, maybe sometime in the future as your empire is growing, you choose to go back and recapture it and build up again.<br />
<br />
=== When You Don't Own The City A Planet Is On ===<br />
<br />
If you choose to build a city on a planet that isn't yours -- which is a ''totally valid thing to do'' -- or when you lose a planet, then the hub for that city will be inactive and you won't be able to build any spire structures on that city until you capture the planet. After that the city will function as normal. If the city hub gets damaged to the point of being crippled, then that has the same general effect as not controlling the planet at all. Get to repairing that expensive thing!<br />
<br />
It's worth noting that the mobile fleet portion of your spire city will all still be very much alive and well when the city hub is inactive or crippled. This means you can use the flagship right from the start to start vaporizing machines and aid in the conquest of the planet it is on.<br />
<br />
=== Your First City: Galactic Capitol ===<br />
<br />
The first city that you place will become the galactic capitol for the new group of cities that your spire control. The hub for these types of cities is called the Galactic Capitol and has a few stat buffs as well as having an extra two "building sockets" (more on that later) compared to all the other cities. So it's a bit easier to get this very first city off the ground, and it has a strong chance of being your strongest spire city throughout the game if you keep upgrading it. Most likely this would be the one to reach mark 7 first, but it doesn't have to be.<br />
<br />
Where you place this city is completely up to you:<br />
<br />
* You may want to use it as a choke point to guard your own human planets from attack, and focus on building many military structures.<br />
* You may prefer to shelter it behind your own human defenses and focus on making it an economic powerhouse or have it field a massive mobile fleet.<br />
* You may be super aggressive and place it way out in AI territory on its own, carving out the start of a new empire that is somewhat drawing attention away from your own main planets.<br />
<br />
=== More Cities ===<br />
<br />
You're going to need more cities than just the capitol -- a lot of them. In total if you want at least one mark 7 city, you'll need a minimum of 12 more cities in addition to the spire capitol. Spire cities can't be next to one another or on the AI homeworld, but beyond that it's up to you how you choose to place them, which ones you choose to mark up first/most, and what the general character of each city and its attendant fleet is.<br />
<br />
THAT said, to win the game with the fallen spire you don't need nearly so many cities. You can use them to buff you up a bit, then go kill the AI whenever you feel ready. The mark levels of your city don't really matter for that, it's all how you design them.<br />
<br />
To get the alternative victory condition involving the Imperial Fleet, you STILL don't even need 13 cities. You'd only need a mark 5 city, and so that would be a total of 9 cities to get there.<br />
<br />
== Build Up Your City ==<br />
<br />
=== Every City Is A Fleet And A City ===<br />
<br />
The most obvious part of the city at first is the hub, and the fact that you can then build a bunch of fixed-position structures from that hub. This is the city-portion, and you can see details on that by hovering over the hub itself.<br />
<br />
But there is also a mobile offensive/defensive fleet that is tied to the city, with a flagship that starts out as a "mere" cruiser, and eventually becomes a dreadnought if you level up your city enough. By constructing certain structures, you can grow your fleet of frigates and destroyers for that city, but you will also start getting a lot of mobile military ships simply by leveling the city up past a certain point.<br />
<br />
Depending on the city's nature, per your design choices and strategy, it may lean more towards supporting a larger mobile fleet or more towards spying on the enemy, producing economic gains, defending itself, or some mix.<br />
<br />
=== City Structures Require "Sockets" ===<br />
<br />
Each city hub has a certain number of sockets that are a part of it. Your galactic capitol starts with a whopping 4 sockets and then gains an additional 2 every time it levels up. All your other cities start with 2 and gain 2 per level up.<br />
<br />
Most buildings require either one or two sockets to construct. Note that sockets are a local planet-wide thing, so excess sockets in another city won't help the current planet. When you're in build mode, or when you hover over the city hub, you can easily see how many sockets you have left, and the tooltips for structures show how many sockets they require.<br />
<br />
As you unlock more advanced buildings at higher-mark cities, you may choose to scrap some of your existing buildings in order to free up existing sockets. That's a perfectly reasonable thing to do, and so spire cities will tend to be something that evolve and get revised over time.<br />
<br />
=== How To Level Up A City ===<br />
The rules are very simple:<br />
<br />
* All Sockets must be used.<br />
* The city must not be crippled or otherwise disabled.<br />
* The city must have at least 2 other cities of the same mark somewhere in the galaxy.<br />
* For each mark 2, 3 or 4 city you must control 1 additional planet in the galaxy somewhere without a spire city. Mark 5 cities require 2 additional planets. Mark 6 and 7 require 3 additional planets.<br />
** The city that was built first has priority.<br />
*** If the city with priority is currently incapable of marking up due to a prior reason, the next city will gain priority instead.<br />
<br />
Assuming all cities are leveled up as high as possible, you will have 1-2 cities of the highest available mark level, and 2 cities of each level below that. Having a Mark II city requires 3 cities in total, Mark III requires 5, Mark IV requires 7, and so on.<br />
<br />
== City Structures ==<br />
{| {{AIWarTableHeader}}<br />
! style="width: 10%" scope="col" | Name<br />
! style="width: 8%; text-align: center;" scope="col" | City mark level<br />
! style="width: 8%; text-align: center;" scope="col" | Sockets<br />
! style="width: 42%" scope="col" | Description<br />
! style="width: 32%" scope="col" | Notes<br />
|-<br />
|Spire City Hub<br />
|n/a<br />
|n/a<br />
|This facility doubles as the nerve center of a Spire City. It is responsible for the construction and coordination of the city's other structures. <br />
|At mark 3, your cruiser flagship becomes a battleship and you get +1 cruiser for every mark at or above 3. At mark 6, your battleship flagship becomes a dreadnought and you get +1 battleship for every mark at or above 6.<br />
|-<br />
|Spire Galactic Capitol<br />
|n/a<br />
|n/a<br />
|This facility serves as the central seat of government for all Spire settlements in a galaxy. It is responsible for the construction and coordination of the city's other structures.<br />
|It always has two more sockets than other cities of the same mark.<br />
At mark 3, your cruiser flagship becomes a battleship and you get +1 cruiser for every mark at or above 3. At mark 6, your battleship flagship becomes a dreadnought and you get +1 battleship for every mark at or above 6.<br />
|-<br />
|Shard Reactor<br />
|1<br />
|1<br />
|This facility produces the crystaline formations used as power cores in Spire reactors, generating a massive amount of energy in the process.<br />
|Generates 1M energy.<br />
|-<br />
|Mining Facility<br />
|1<br />
|1<br />
|Spire require massive amounts of metal to construct themselves, and they're excellent at mining for it.<br />
|Metal production increases with mark level.<br />
|-<br />
|Shipyard<br />
|1<br />
|1<br />
|This facility is responsible for the construction and support of Spire craft, from escorts up to capital ships.<br />
|Builds Spire ships for Spire flagships on this and neighbouring planets.<br />
|-<br />
|Engineering Center<br />
|1<br />
|1<br />
|This facility provides rapid repair for friendly damaged ships.<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|Frigate Neural Net<br />
|1<br />
|1<br />
|This facility allows the city to build an extra two spire frigates.<br />
If the facility is destroyed, the extra frigate will also be destroyed. The city center must be functional for the cap to increase, but a nonfunctional city center won't decrease the cap.<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|Destroyer Neural Net<br />
|1<br />
|2<br />
|This facility allows the city to build an extra spire destroyer.<br />
If the facility is destroyed, the extra destroyer will also be destroyed. The city center must be functional for the cap to increase, but a nonfunctional city center won't decrease the cap.<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|Great-Shield Emitter<br />
|1<br />
|1<br />
|This immobile facility provides an incredibly massive forcefield to block all enemies. Uses a massive amount of energy and requires two local shard reactors.<br />
|Consumes 2M energy. Forcefield does ''not'' reduce damage of units firing out of it.<br />
|-<br />
|Lesser Spire Spy Cradle<br />
|2<br />
|1<br />
|This facility provides complete visibility on all planets up to two hops out. Uses a massive amount of energy and requires two local shard reactors.<br />
|Consumes 2M energy.<br />
|-<br />
|Greater Spire Spy Cradle<br />
|4<br />
|1<br />
|This facility provides complete visibility on all planets up to three hops out. Uses a massive amount of energy and requires two local shard reactors, AND requires an engineering station.<br />
|Consumes 2M energy.<br />
|-<br />
|Plasma Driver<br />
|1<br />
|1<br />
|Advanced spire weapon rapidly sends projectiles made of densely-packed plasma to deal heavy damage to higher mass targets, but does almost nothing to smaller ones.<br />
|Like an Orbital Mass Driver but with more DPS (2× at mark I, even more with higher mark levels)<br />
|-<br />
|Lesser Spire Fortress<br />
|3<br />
|2<br />
|Built for killing. Nothing more, nothing less. Also knocking enemies back. Uses a massive amount of energy and requires a local shard reactor and an engineering station.<br />
|Consumes 1M energy.<br />
|-<br />
|Greater Spire Fortress<br />
|5<br />
|4<br />
|Built for killing, and surpassingly good at it. Also knocking enemies back. Uses a massive amount of energy and requires two local shard reactors, AND requires an engineering station.<br />
|Consumes 2M energy.<br />
|-<br />
|Tranceiver<br />
|5<br />
|4<br />
|We're getting signals from somewhere very far away, but we can't understand them. Building this machine might just call in the cavalry, but also will intensely anger the AI.<br />
|Consumes 2M energy. Required for the Fallen Spire alternative victory condition.<br />
|-<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== Fleet Warships ==<br />
<br />
=== Flagships ===<br />
<br />
Every city starts out with a fleet flagship right away -- a cruiser. As you upgrade your city, your flagship gains marks and then eventually upgrade into stronger types.<br />
<br />
* At city mark 3, your flagship becomes a battleship.<br />
<br />
* At city mark 6, your flagship becomes a dreadnought.<br />
<br />
=== From City Mark ===<br />
<br />
A large part of the strength of your city fleet comes from your city's mark level itself. You still have to build these ships using spire factories (regular factories can't construct spire ships), but your ship cap of each type of spire ship goes up as your city mark level changes as follows:<br />
<br />
* Starting at city mark 3, you get one extra cruiser per level.<br />
** So by city mark 5, you would have three cruisers in additional to your battleship flagship.<br />
** At city mark 7, you'd have the maximum number of cruisers: 5.<br />
<br />
* Starting at city mark 6, you get one extra battleship per level.<br />
** So at city mark 6, you would have four cruisers and one battleship in additional to your dreadnought flagship.<br />
** At city mark 7, you'd have those 5 cruisers as well as two battleships and your dreadnought flagship.<br />
<br />
=== From Neural Nets ===<br />
<br />
Your "smaller" (and that term is purely relative) spire ships are also constructed by spire factories, but you don't normally have any ship cap for them. To get additional ships available for your fleet, you need to build "neural net" buildings.<br />
<br />
* A "Destroyer Neural Net" will let you have a single additional spire destroyer at whatever the mark level of the city is.<br />
<br />
* A "Frigate Neural Net" will let you have two more spire frigates at whatever the mark level of the city is.<br />
<br />
=== What Do These Ships Do? ===<br />
<br />
That is up to how you customize their loadout (CHRIS NOTES: upcoming). Each individual frigate, destroyer, cruiser, or battleship can be given one of several optional loadouts to perform different functions. We'll detail those here as they are implemented. You can switch loadouts on a given ship at any time, with no penalty.<br />
<br />
Also note that the Destroyer has a unique 3× damage bonus against units with mass >= 7 tX, making them particularly effective against the extra-galactic units you can expect to see a lot of in a Fallen Spire game.<br />
<br />
== How To Find Relics ==<br />
<br />
There are a number of ways to find relics.<br />
<br />
=== Known Location, Then Hack ===<br />
<br />
This is the same approach from AIWC; you know where the Relic is, then you do a Hack on that planet to get the Relic. Your first relic is always like this.<br />
<br />
=== Search-And-Hack ===<br />
<br />
Instead of knowing exactly where a relic will be, you will get a Notification that tells you "There is a relic in the galaxy". You can hack any planet to check how far it is from the relic. When you hack a planet without the relic, you are told "Your relic is in another castle ... err on a planet X hops away". The hovertext for the Notification will also keep track of all the planets you've searched. When you do hack the relic planet you find the Relic, and you do the usual Relic Chase (major AI forces spawn, you protect Relic and transform it to a city).<br />
<br />
Each planet you hack that doesn't have the relic on it slightly increases the eventual AI response for that relic chase.<br />
<br />
=== AI Research Lab ===<br />
<br />
One of these is seeded on the map at game start time. Destroying this structure will grant you a Relic that must build on the planet with the research lab.<br />
<br />
=== Relic Transport (Train Robbery) ===<br />
<br />
Every so often an AI Relic Transport will appear. It will wander the map similarly to the Astro Trains, then head for the AI Overlord. If you destroy the train then you get a Relic. If the train gets to the Overlord then it gives the AI a single high-tier Spire unit to use against you. This will happen regardless of whether astro trains are enabled. <br />
<br />
=== AI Citadel ===<br />
<br />
One of these is seeded on the map at game start time. It’s extra tanky. Destroying it grants you a relic with a very easy escort mission (currently 10% strength of a normal relic chase).<br />
<br />
== Alpha Testers ==<br />
<br />
Big thanks to the Alpha testers, including Astillious, Rocket Assisted Puffin, ZeusAlmighty, Ovalcircle and Democracy.</div>Histidinehttps://wiki.arcengames.com/index.php?title=AI_War_2:Fallen_Spire&diff=38149AI War 2:Fallen Spire2020-03-08T08:52:16Z<p>Histidine: /* City Structures */</p>
<hr />
<div>= Fallen Spire =<br />
<br />
The Fallen Spire are an optional faction that can be enabled via the Game Lobby, or by activating a beacon in game. The Fallen Spireare intended to satisfy the [https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/arcengames/ai-war-ii-0/posts/1746490 Spire] kickstarter goal, and draw further inspiration from the [[AI War:What Is The Fallen Spire Minor Faction|Fallen Spire Minor Faction]] from AIWC. <br />
<br />
=== Design Goals ===<br />
<br />
We wanted to overall keep the spirit of the Fallen Spire from AIWC, while doing some additional fun things that are possible/easier with the new AIW2 engine. This does not match what was in the Kickstarter. It is very similar to the AIWC version except there’s much more variety in the Relics Capture quests, a ton more city buildings, and more variety in the AI response. Also a number of minor factions have unique attributes that can only appear during the spire campaign.<br />
<br />
It's worth noting that as the game evolved a lot from the original kickstarter, the Spire goal that was originally laid out doesn't fit in the new context. But we also really wanted to modernize and expand on what was in the first game, taking inspiration from it without copying it wholesale. City buildings and units are different, and the entire flow is a completely new thing. The original was very sloooow, for instance.<br />
<br />
The core of the gameplay is Epic Battles to capture the relics, and Powerful Ships and Bases you get as a result. We think the Powerful Ships and Bases part was well done in AIWC, and we wanted to preserve most of that, though for the city placement and city design we wanted to expand that to a pretty huge degree.<br />
<br />
From this point forward we aren't going to keep back-referencing the first game, so please just try to forget the specifics of that one as you wrap your brain around this one. The number of differences will quickly compound until it's quite a new beast while still keeping the same spirit. (Hey, that sounds like we just described the entire concept of this sequel!)<br />
<br />
=== Lore ===<br />
<br />
The AI has crushed the Spire empire in their home galaxy. Some Spire units have landed in our galaxy and they can rebuild their empire and take revenge.<br />
<br />
Sometime in the last few hundred years, the AI detected the Spire, who had already colonized several nearby galaxies. They launched a surprise attack against the Spire homeworld. The Spire attempted to use their TransWarp technology to warp their full Imperial Fleet to their homeworld for defense. However, while in transit the AI sabotaged the Warp Transceiver on the homeworld, trapping the Spire Fleet in inter-dimensional space. Suddenly helpless, the Spire’s local defenses were no match for the AI and their Scourge allies.<br />
<br />
The AI has captured a lot of Spire reactors and is experimenting to harness their power in cloaked research laboratories. There are also some hidden spire relics scattered about the galaxy from past battles.<br />
<br />
The Spire are rock/crystalline creatures who feed on energy and can grow and reproduce very quickly with enough energy, so freeing those reactors will allow them to create cities and warships quickly. Each structure or warship IS a living spire -- like Zenith Golems, the spire are macroscopic life to an almost absurd degree. <br />
<br />
=== Primary Features ===<br />
<br />
* Give the player a way to get some Really Big Weapons that scare the mess out of the AI (not in an AI Progress sense, though).<br />
* Let the player build entire spire cities of various complexities and styles, which upgrade as you build more cities and more structures.<br />
* Give the AI a reason and ability to bring back extra-galactic forces from their mysterious "main war" to fight you and the spire openly.<br />
* Allow players the freedom to push all the way to an alternative victory condition via this faction, or to just build up one or more cities and make use of the extra firepower.<br />
* In general to allow players to experience the fallen spire on a gradient scale, doing some of it as they wish, not having to choose "completely fallen spire" or "completely not fallen spire."<br />
* Let us explore a bit more of the spire lore than we have in prior games.<br />
* Give players a chance to "smash the galaxy for fun and profit" by going for a mark 7 city, well above the mark 5 level that is needed for the alternative victory condition. At this point you're just rubbing it in, but it feels so satisfying to be the big one for a change.<br />
<br />
= How To Play =<br />
<br />
You can hack to find relics, and then once you have found one you need to go and give it orders of where to turn into a city. When it gets where you told it to go, it will become a city center that also includes a small (for the spire) flagship. You can then improve your city, build more cities in the same manner, and get absurd amounts of power. This scares the AI, of course, so a new arms race of superweapons begins. The "least" of your problems are targeted vicious exogalactic attacks on the relics and your cities. If you survive these odds, you'll have not only the sort of firepower you could never dream of elsewhere, but eventually might be able to do something to recover that lost Imperial Spire Fleet...<br />
<br />
== Find A Relic ==<br />
<br />
There are various ways of finding relics (see below). The first stage of getting a new spire city is to find a relic by one of those means. Once you have a relic, it's time to then turn it into a city.<br />
<br />
The very '''first''' relic is just out there somewhere, and you'll discover it and see right where it is. Go get it when you feel like it, or leave it alone.<br />
<br />
=== Scrap A Relic? ===<br />
<br />
Are you being hounded to death by Exos? You really won't survive? Don't worry, more relics will be available in the future. You can use the usual commands for scrapping units to scrap the relic and put yourself out of further misery.<br />
<br />
=== Getting Chased By The AI ===<br />
<br />
The AI really wants to destroy the relic before it turns into a citadel. It will send exogalactic waves (Exos) after the relic, and you really should have some sort of guard force fending that off. Unless you want to just build on the city you found the relic, in which case go ahead. Once a spire city has been established, it can be crippled or deactivated, but never fully destroyed.<br />
<br />
== Place A City ==<br />
<br />
=== Choosing A Location For Your Relic Once You Find It ===<br />
<br />
The relic doesn't belong to your faction, but you can still select it and give it a movement order. When you do so, it will confirm that the destination is where you would like your next city to be founded. You can choose planets controlled by the AI, but not AI homeworlds. You also can't place any spire city adjacent to an existing city.<br />
<br />
To fully go "all in" with the Fallen Spire and its alternative win condition, you will be constructing a bare minimum of two mark 1 cities, two mark 2, two mark 3, two mark 4, and one mark 5. So that's an absolute minimum of 9 cities if you do everything with perfect efficiency and pursue the entire fallen spire campaign to the bitter end. It's entirely possible for you to stop along the way and battle the AI to death with the mega-fleets you amass as you go.<br />
<br />
THAT said, you can push things even further if you're feeling inclined or somehow the AI is still too powerful for you. You can get up to a mark 7 city, and that will require an extra 4 total cities. You'll start having a ton of extra battleships, as well as some dreadnoughts, once you get to mark 6 with them. The only other way to see those in such numbers is with the Imperial Fleet.<br />
<br />
But it's worth noting these very basic city placement rules (compared to the first game), and the fact that you'll be having so many cities if you really want the max-power city structures.<br />
<br />
=== Full List Of City Placement Rules ===<br />
<br />
The rules are very simple, unlike in AIWC. In AIWC there were things like "must have at least two wormholes" and other complicated bits. Toss all that out! The rules in AIW2 are:<br />
<br />
* The planet can't be an AI homeworld.<br />
* The planet can't be adjacent to another spire city.<br />
* That's literally it.<br />
<br />
=== No Scrapping Cities ===<br />
<br />
Wishing you didn't put that city where you did? Well... that's a real shame, friend. You can't scrap city hubs or the flagships of cities. Once a city is founded, it's forever going to exist where you put it.<br />
<br />
The best thing to do in these circumstances is just abandon the city hub to the enemy, and take the flagship for basic use elsewhere. It can get repairs from other cities anytime it gets too damaged. <br />
<br />
Meanwhile, if the city hub you abandoned is crippled by taking too much damage, or is deactivated by no longer being on a planet you control, then enemies will start ignoring it and it will be just another piece of war debris sitting around in the galaxy. Worst case, maybe sometime in the future as your empire is growing, you choose to go back and recapture it and build up again.<br />
<br />
=== When You Don't Own The City A Planet Is On ===<br />
<br />
If you choose to build a city on a planet that isn't yours -- which is a ''totally valid thing to do'' -- or when you lose a planet, then the hub for that city will be inactive and you won't be able to build any spire structures on that city until you capture the planet. After that the city will function as normal. If the city hub gets damaged to the point of being crippled, then that has the same general effect as not controlling the planet at all. Get to repairing that expensive thing!<br />
<br />
It's worth noting that the mobile fleet portion of your spire city will all still be very much alive and well when the city hub is inactive or crippled. This means you can use the flagship right from the start to start vaporizing machines and aid in the conquest of the planet it is on.<br />
<br />
=== Your First City: Galactic Capitol ===<br />
<br />
The first city that you place will become the galactic capitol for the new group of cities that your spire control. The hub for these types of cities is called the Galactic Capitol and has a few stat buffs as well as having an extra two "building sockets" (more on that later) compared to all the other cities. So it's a bit easier to get this very first city off the ground, and it has a strong chance of being your strongest spire city throughout the game if you keep upgrading it. Most likely this would be the one to reach mark 7 first, but it doesn't have to be.<br />
<br />
Where you place this city is completely up to you:<br />
<br />
* You may want to use it as a choke point to guard your own human planets from attack, and focus on building many military structures.<br />
* You may prefer to shelter it behind your own human defenses and focus on making it an economic powerhouse or have it field a massive mobile fleet.<br />
* You may be super aggressive and place it way out in AI territory on its own, carving out the start of a new empire that is somewhat drawing attention away from your own main planets.<br />
<br />
=== More Cities ===<br />
<br />
You're going to need more cities than just the capitol -- a lot of them. In total if you want at least one mark 7 city, you'll need a minimum of 12 more cities in addition to the spire capitol. Spire cities can't be next to one another or on the AI homeworld, but beyond that it's up to you how you choose to place them, which ones you choose to mark up first/most, and what the general character of each city and its attendant fleet is.<br />
<br />
THAT said, to win the game with the fallen spire you don't need nearly so many cities. You can use them to buff you up a bit, then go kill the AI whenever you feel ready. The mark levels of your city don't really matter for that, it's all how you design them.<br />
<br />
To get the alternative victory condition involving the Imperial Fleet, you STILL don't even need 13 cities. You'd only need a mark 5 city, and so that would be a total of 9 cities to get there.<br />
<br />
== Build Up Your City ==<br />
<br />
=== Every City Is A Fleet And A City ===<br />
<br />
The most obvious part of the city at first is the hub, and the fact that you can then build a bunch of fixed-position structures from that hub. This is the city-portion, and you can see details on that by hovering over the hub itself.<br />
<br />
But there is also a mobile offensive/defensive fleet that is tied to the city, with a flagship that starts out as a "mere" cruiser, and eventually becomes a dreadnought if you level up your city enough. By constructing certain structures, you can grow your fleet of frigates and destroyers for that city, but you will also start getting a lot of mobile military ships simply by leveling the city up past a certain point.<br />
<br />
Depending on the city's nature, per your design choices and strategy, it may lean more towards supporting a larger mobile fleet or more towards spying on the enemy, producing economic gains, defending itself, or some mix.<br />
<br />
=== City Structures Require "Sockets" ===<br />
<br />
Each city hub has a certain number of sockets that are a part of it. Your galactic capitol starts with a whopping 4 sockets and then gains an additional 2 every time it levels up. All your other cities start with 2 and gain 2 per level up.<br />
<br />
Most buildings require either one or two sockets to construct. Note that sockets are a local planet-wide thing, so excess sockets in another city won't help the current planet. When you're in build mode, or when you hover over the city hub, you can easily see how many sockets you have left, and the tooltips for structures show how many sockets they require.<br />
<br />
As you unlock more advanced buildings at higher-mark cities, you may choose to scrap some of your existing buildings in order to free up existing sockets. That's a perfectly reasonable thing to do, and so spire cities will tend to be something that evolve and get revised over time.<br />
<br />
=== How To Level Up A City ===<br />
The rules are very simple:<br />
<br />
* All Sockets must be used.<br />
* The city must not be crippled or otherwise disabled.<br />
* The city must have at least 2 other cities of the same mark somewhere in the galaxy.<br />
* For each mark 2, 3 or 4 city you must control 1 additional planet in the galaxy somewhere without a spire city. Mark 5 cities require 2 additional planets. Mark 6 and 7 require 3 additional planets.<br />
** The city that was built first has priority.<br />
*** If the city with priority is currently incapable of marking up due to a prior reason, the next city will gain priority instead.<br />
<br />
Assuming all cities are leveled up as high as possible, you will have 1-2 cities of the highest available mark level, and 2 cities of each level below that. Having a Mark II city requires 3 cities in total, Mark III requires 5, Mark IV requires 7, and so on.<br />
<br />
== City Structures ==<br />
{| {{AIWarTableHeader}}<br />
! style="width: 10%" scope="col" | Name<br />
! style="width: 8%; text-align: center;" scope="col" | City mark level<br />
! style="width: 8%; text-align: center;" scope="col" | Sockets<br />
! style="width: 42%" scope="col" | Description<br />
! style="width: 32%" scope="col" | Notes<br />
|-<br />
|Spire City Hub<br />
|n/a<br />
|n/a<br />
|This facility doubles as the nerve center of a Spire City. It is responsible for the construction and coordination of the city's other structures. <br />
|At mark 3, your cruiser flagship becomes a battleship and you get +1 cruiser for every mark at or above 3. At mark 6, your battleship flagship becomes a dreadnought and you get +1 battleship for every mark at or above 6.<br />
|-<br />
|Spire Galactic Capitol<br />
|n/a<br />
|n/a<br />
|This facility serves as the central seat of government for all Spire settlements in a galaxy. It is responsible for the construction and coordination of the city's other structures.<br />
|It always has two more sockets than other cities of the same mark.<br />
At mark 3, your cruiser flagship becomes a battleship and you get +1 cruiser for every mark at or above 3. At mark 6, your battleship flagship becomes a dreadnought and you get +1 battleship for every mark at or above 6.<br />
|-<br />
|Shard Reactor<br />
|1<br />
|1<br />
|This facility produces the crystaline formations used as power cores in Spire reactors, generating a massive amount of energy in the process.<br />
|Generates 1M energy.<br />
|-<br />
|Mining Facility<br />
|1<br />
|1<br />
|Spire require massive amounts of metal to construct themselves, and they're excellent at mining for it.<br />
|Metal production increases with mark level.<br />
|-<br />
|Shipyard<br />
|1<br />
|1<br />
|This facility is responsible for the construction and support of Spire craft, from escorts up to capital ships.<br />
|Builds Spire ships for Spire flagships on this and neighbouring planets.<br />
|-<br />
|Engineering Center<br />
|1<br />
|1<br />
|This facility provides rapid repair for friendly damaged ships.<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|Frigate Neural Net<br />
|1<br />
|1<br />
|This facility allows the city to build an extra two spire frigates.<br />
If the facility is destroyed, the extra frigate will also be destroyed. The city center must be functional for the cap to increase, but a nonfunctional city center won't decrease the cap.<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|Destroyer Neural Net<br />
|1<br />
|2<br />
|This facility allows the city to build an extra spire destroyer.<br />
If the facility is destroyed, the extra destroyer will also be destroyed. The city center must be functional for the cap to increase, but a nonfunctional city center won't decrease the cap.<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|Great-Shield Emitter<br />
|1<br />
|1<br />
|This immobile facility provides an incredibly massive forcefield to block all enemies. Uses a massive amount of energy and requires two local shard reactors.<br />
|Consumes 2M energy. Forcefield does ''not'' reduce damage of units firing out of it.<br />
|-<br />
|Lesser Spire Spy Cradle<br />
|2<br />
|1<br />
|This facility provides complete visibility on all planets up to two hops out. Uses a massive amount of energy and requires two local shard reactors.<br />
|Consumes 2M energy.<br />
|-<br />
|Greater Spire Spy Cradle<br />
|4<br />
|1<br />
|This facility provides complete visibility on all planets up to three hops out. Uses a massive amount of energy and requires two local shard reactors, AND requires an engineering station.<br />
|Consumes 2M energy.<br />
|-<br />
|Plasma Driver<br />
|1<br />
|1<br />
|Advanced spire weapon rapidly sends projectiles made of densely-packed plasma to deal heavy damage to higher mass targets, but does almost nothing to smaller ones.<br />
|Like an Orbital Mass Driver but with more DPS (2× at mark I, even more with higher mark levels)<br />
|-<br />
|Lesser Spire Fortress<br />
|3<br />
|2<br />
|Built for killing. Nothing more, nothing less. Also knocking enemies back. Uses a massive amount of energy and requires a local shard reactor and an engineering station.<br />
|Consumes 1M energy.<br />
|-<br />
|Greater Spire Fortress<br />
|5<br />
|4<br />
|Built for killing, and surpassingly good at it. Also knocking enemies back. Uses a massive amount of energy and requires two local shard reactors, AND requires an engineering station.<br />
|Consumes 2M energy.<br />
|-<br />
|Tranceiver<br />
|5<br />
|4<br />
|We're getting signals from somewhere very far away, but we can't understand them. Building this machine might just call in the cavalry, but also will intensely anger the AI.<br />
|Consumes 2M energy. Required for the Fallen Spire alternative victory condition.<br />
|-<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== Fleet Warships ==<br />
<br />
=== Flagships ===<br />
<br />
Every city starts out with a fleet flagship right away -- a cruiser. As you upgrade your city, your flagship gains marks and then eventually upgrade into stronger types.<br />
<br />
* At city mark 3, your flagship becomes a battleship.<br />
<br />
* At city mark 6, your flagship becomes a dreadnought.<br />
<br />
=== From City Mark ===<br />
<br />
A large part of the strength of your city fleet comes from your city's mark level itself. You still have to build these ships using spire factories (regular factories can't construct spire ships), but your ship cap of each type of spire ship goes up as your city mark level changes as follows:<br />
<br />
* Starting at city mark 3, you get one extra cruiser per level.<br />
** So by city mark 5, you would have three cruisers in additional to your battleship flagship.<br />
** At city mark 7, you'd have the maximum number of cruisers: 5.<br />
<br />
* Starting at city mark 6, you get one extra battleship per level.<br />
** So at city mark 6, you would have four cruisers and one battleship in additional to your dreadnought flagship.<br />
** At city mark 7, you'd have those 5 cruisers as well as two battleships and your dreadnought flagship.<br />
<br />
=== From Neural Nets ===<br />
<br />
Your "smaller" (and that term is purely relative) spire ships are also constructed by spire factories, but you don't normally have any ship cap for them. To get additional ships available for your fleet, you need to build "neural net" buildings.<br />
<br />
* A "Destroyer Neural Net" will let you have a single additional spire destroyer at whatever the mark level of the city is.<br />
<br />
* A "Frigate Neural Net" will let you have two more spire frigates at whatever the mark level of the city is.<br />
<br />
=== What Do These Ships Do? ===<br />
<br />
That is up to how you customize their loadout (CHRIS NOTES: upcoming). Each individual frigate, destroyer, cruiser, or battleship can be given one of several optional loadouts to perform different functions. We'll detail those here as they are implemented. You can switch loadouts on a given ship at any time, with no penalty.<br />
<br />
== How To Find Relics ==<br />
<br />
There are a number of ways to find relics.<br />
<br />
=== Known Location, Then Hack ===<br />
<br />
This is the same approach from AIWC; you know where the Relic is, then you do a Hack on that planet to get the Relic. Your first relic is always like this.<br />
<br />
=== Search-And-Hack ===<br />
<br />
Instead of knowing exactly where a relic will be, you will get a Notification that tells you "There is a relic in the galaxy". You can hack any planet to check how far it is from the relic. When you hack a planet without the relic, you are told "Your relic is in another castle ... err on a planet X hops away". The hovertext for the Notification will also keep track of all the planets you've searched. When you do hack the relic planet you find the Relic, and you do the usual Relic Chase (major AI forces spawn, you protect Relic and transform it to a city).<br />
<br />
Each planet you hack that doesn't have the relic on it slightly increases the eventual AI response for that relic chase.<br />
<br />
=== AI Research Lab ===<br />
<br />
One of these is seeded on the map at game start time. Destroying this structure will grant you a Relic that must build on the planet with the research lab.<br />
<br />
=== Relic Transport (Train Robbery) ===<br />
<br />
Every so often an AI Relic Transport will appear. It will wander the map similarly to the Astro Trains, then head for the AI Overlord. If you destroy the train then you get a Relic. If the train gets to the Overlord then it gives the AI a single high-tier Spire unit to use against you. This will happen regardless of whether astro trains are enabled. <br />
<br />
=== AI Citadel ===<br />
<br />
One of these is seeded on the map at game start time. It’s extra tanky. Destroying it grants you a relic with a very easy escort mission (currently 10% strength of a normal relic chase).<br />
<br />
== Alpha Testers ==<br />
<br />
Big thanks to the Alpha testers, including Astillious, Rocket Assisted Puffin, ZeusAlmighty, Ovalcircle and Democracy.</div>Histidinehttps://wiki.arcengames.com/index.php?title=AI_War_2:Hacking&diff=38148AI War 2:Hacking2020-03-08T07:59:21Z<p>Histidine: /* Hack Options */</p>
<hr />
<div>'''Hacking''' is a fairly useful mechanic, involving the use of a Hacker unit to expend Hacking Points to perform various acts on AI controlled planets and affect certain Factions, such as the Dyson Sphere or the Nanocaust, and here it's explained a bit more in depth.<br />
<br />
NOTE: This is outdated for 0.900: The Arrival Of Fleets, and will have to be updated. Apologies!<br />
<br />
== Hacking Points ==<br />
<br />
Hacking Points can only be gathered normally from player-controlled planet. Build a command station on the planet and it will rapidly gather the Hacking Points there. Each planet has 30 points.<br />
<br />
A few units such as Astro Trains and the AI Overlord will also give hacking points when killed.<br />
<br />
Hacking is performed by flagships. When viewing a particular planet, the relevant Hacks available will be shown in the Hacking sidebar to the left, with the effect and cost of each Hack is listed. <br />
<br />
When a Hack is in progress, the hacking flagship's speed is greatly reduced and it cannot leave the planet. The remaining time left is displayed on the top in a similar fashion to Wave Warnings. If the hacker is destroyed mid-way, the hack is cancelled and must be restarted. The hack can also be aborted by clicking on the notification, but hacking points will _not_ be refunded. When multiple flagships are present on a planet, the one closest to the target planet is selected for the hack.<br />
<br />
== Hacking Response ==<br />
Nearly every Hack causes some form of response against you - groups of units spawned from the target unit to try and stop the Hack. The faction that responds is usually the one that controls the thing you are hacking (i.e an AI Command Station will respond with AI units, but hacking the Nanocaust responds with a very scary response of entirely Nanocaust units). Mercenary Beacons are an oddity, and will cause an AI response instead. The Dark Spire do not respond normally, but the force that the Provoked Vengeance Strike spawns somewhat acts like it.<br />
<br />
Generally, there are both small, frequent "pulses" of units spawned during a Hack, as well as less frequent and larger pulses. In addition, actually completing the Hack fully has an extra response at the end as well.<br />
<br />
== Hack Options ==<br />
:''Not all hacking options are listed here.<br />
{| {{AIWarTableHeader}}<br />
! style="width: 10%" scope="col" | Hack Name<br />
! style="width: 10%" scope="col" | Target Unit<br />
! style="width: 10%" scope="col" | Hacking Point Cost<br />
! style="width: 10%" scope="col" | Duration (Seconds)<br />
! style="width: 60%" scope="col" | Description<br />
|-<br />
| Weaken AI Turrets<br />
| Planet, Mk VI or lower<br />
| 1<br />
| 2 <br />
| Hacking into the local AI network will reduce the range of AI turrets to 25% of their normal values, and their damage output to 50% of normal. Only works on planets of mark 6 or lower.<br />
|-<br />
| Weaken AI Guard Posts<br />
| Planet, Mk VI or lower<br />
| 5<br />
| 2 <br />
| Hacking into the local AI network will reduce the range of AI guard posts to 50% of their normal values, and their damage output to 75% of normal. Only works on planets of mark 6 or lower.<br />
|-<br />
|Covert Science Extraction<br />
|AI Command Station<br />
|30 for 2000 Science<br />
|200 for 2000 Science<br />
|This device hacks into the AI surveillance net and data archives in the local planetary system to obtain Science, up to the normal amount. It costs 30 hacking points to fully complete. Be prepared for an AI response against your units.<br />
|-<br />
|Neutral Planet Science Extraction<br />
|AI Command Station<br />
|10<br />
|10<br />
|This device scans the wreckage of the AI structures on the planet to obtain Science, up to the normal amount. If you have not paid the AIP cost for this planet, AIP will go up by 5.<br />
|-<br />
| Watch Planet<br />
| Planet<br />
| 10<br />
| 2<br />
| This hack deploys spy nanites that will grant you permanent vision on this planet. Can be done remotely without a hacker present.<br />
|-<br />
| Watch Planet (local)<br />
| Planet<br />
| 2<br />
| 2<br />
| This hack deploys spy nanites that will grant you vision of the planet until the AI reconquers it. Only for planets without defenders. ''Must destroy all hostile combatants on the planet.'' Can be done remotely without a hacker present.<br />
|- <br />
| Double Ship Line Cap<br />
| Fleet Capacity Extender<br />
| 15<br />
| 30<br />
| This will allow the player to double the cap of one of the ship lines of the hacking Flagship. After this hack is completed, the AI will launch a counterattack against you. <br />
|-<br />
|Grant Ship Line<br />
|Advanced Research Station<br />
|15<br />
|45<br />
|Grants a new ship line to the hacking flagship. Each ARS has a choice of five ship lines to pick from.<br />
|-<br />
|Reroll ARS contents<br />
|Advanced Research Station<br />
|15<br />
|30<br />
|This will change the ships you can get from the ARS.<br />
|-<br />
|Convert ARS to Science<br />
|Advanced Research Station<br />
|20<br />
|45<br />
|You can disassemble the ARS in order to figure out how it works. This grants some (1,500) science but you won't get the ship line.<br />
|-<br />
|Grant Technology<br />
|Technology Vault<br />
|30<br />
|90<br />
|This will allow the player to unlock a new Tech. Unlocking a Tech this way does not increase the cost of doing it with Science. If the contained Tech is already maxed out, the hack is wasted.<br />
|-<br />
|Convert Tech Vault to Science<br />
|Technology Vault<br />
|10<br />
|30<br />
|You can disassemble the Tech Vault in order to figure out how it works. This grants some science (1,500) but you won't get a Tech.<br />
|-<br />
|Reroll Tech Vault Contents<br />
|Technology Vault<br />
|20<br />
|50<br />
|This will change the Tech Line you get from this Tech Vault.<br />
|-<br />
|Spire Archive Extraction<br />
|Spire Archive<br />
|60<br />
|300<br />
|Hacking this Spire Archive will grant you a large amount of Science, but it takes a long time. Be prepared for an extreme AI response against your units. If this hack is cancelled or interrupted, AIP will go up by 80.<br />
|-<br />
|Subvert Super Terminal<br />
|Super Terminal<br />
|1 Per Second<br />
|Until Halted<br />
|The longer you hold on, the more you'll reduce (AIP), but you'll also cause a massive incursion of AI forces while doing it, some of which will head directly to your homeworld as an Exo-Galactic Strike. Careful not to kill yourself by holding on too long. You only get one shot at this hack before the AI adapts, so make it count.<br />
|- <br />
|Access Outguard Beacon<br />
|Mercenary Beacon<br />
|10<br />
|225<br />
|Hacking this beacon will allow you to contact some of the Outguard -- remnant anti-AI forces that can come to your aid. Since the Outguard are subverting the AI communication channels, expect some extremely heavy AI response to this. Upon completion, your AIP will increase by 10.<br />
|- <br />
|Hack Ion Cannon<br />
|Planet<br />
|20<br />
|2<br />
|Permanently take control of all Ion Cannons on the planet.<br />
|-<br />
|Hack Mass Driver<br />
|Planet<br />
|23<br />
|2<br />
|Permanently take control of all Orbital Mass Drivers on the planet.<br />
|-<br />
|Sabotage AI defenses<br />
|Varies<br />
|15<br />
|22<br />
|Kills a certain powerful AI structure on the planet. Works on things like Raid Engines, Eyes, Alarm Posts, and Orbital Mass Drivers.<br />
|-<br />
|Provoke Vengeance Strike<br />
|Dark Spire Vengeance Generator<br />
|20<br />
|300<br />
|Finishing this Hack will cause the Dark Spire to launch a Vengeance Strike, wherein every Vengeance Generator will simultaneously launch a fleet to attack, well, everything.<br />
|- <br />
|Download Dark Spire Ship Design<br />
|Dark Spire Vengeance Generator<br />
|20<br />
|300<br />
|Hacking this Vengeance Generator will give you access to one of the Dark Spire's ship designs. But it might have devastating consequences; are you willing to set a fire upon the deep?<br />
|-<br />
|Render Vengeance Generator Vulnerable<br />
|Dark Spire Vengeance Generator<br />
|60<br />
|300<br />
|Hacking this Vengeance Generator will make it vulnerable to conventional weaponry. This is likely to provoke an extremely strong Dark Spire response<br />
|-<br />
|Download Dyson Ship<br />
|Dyson Sphere<br />
|20<br />
|300<br />
|Hacking the Dyson sphere will give you access to one of the Dyson Sphere's ship designs, but it will make the Dyson Sphere very unhappy with you.<br />
|-<br />
|Increase Dyson Max Strength<br />
|Dyson Sphere<br />
|20<br />
|300<br />
|This Hack will increase this Dyson Sphere's max strength. It will definitely make the Dyson Sphere unhappy with you as well.<br />
|-<br />
|Increase Dyson Production<br />
|Dyson Sphere<br />
|20<br />
|300<br />
|This Hack will improve Dyson unit production. It will definitely make the Dyson Sphere unhappy with you as well.<br />
|- <br />
|Decrease Dyson Production<br />
|Dyson Sphere<br />
|20<br />
|300<br />
|This Hack will diminish Dyson unit production. It will definitely make the Dyson unhappy with you as well.<br />
|- <br />
|Decode Nanobots<br />
|Nanobot Hive<br />
|20<br />
|600<br />
|Hack the core Nanobot Hive in order to subvert them into being your allies. From then on, the hive will devote all of its energy to destroying the AI.<br />
|- <br />
|Tame Macrophage Tellium<br />
|Macrophage Tellium<br />
|60<br />
|300<br />
|Hack the mindset of a Telium on this planet, converting it to your cause. Expect it to defend itself harshly.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== Opinions And More Detail ==<br />
<br />
=== Covert Science Extraction ===<br />
<br />
This one is very useful, allowing you to gain the Science from a planet without raising AI Progress for it. It costs more than most Hacks however, so overdoing it can limit your options elsewhere, but in general it has a universally useful reward.<br />
<br />
=== Subvert Super Terminal ===<br />
<br />
A very strange hack! This one only ends when either the Hacker dies, or you run out of Points to do it with. Each second you pay 1 Point to reduce the AI Progress by 0.5. Each time the AI sends a response pulse, the next pulse will be stronger, so this can get very scary if done long enough. This can only be done once, and it is very pricey, but in effect you are reducing the AIs power overall, which could be very well worth the expenditure.<br />
<br />
=== Access Mercenary Beacon ===<br />
<br />
Very cheap and very quick relative to the others. This lets you hire the Mercenary groups listed in the Beacon description. Mercenaries can be a handy temporary power boost, to help win a difficult fight, or be a distraction elsewhere. However, each group also costs some Hacking Points of varying amounts, so the cost can be a bit deceiving. Group power scales with the current AI Progress, so this is something you can have prepared for later.<br />
<br />
=== Provoke Vengeance Strike ===<br />
<br />
A very sneaky hack. As each spawn a Generator does causes it to get nastier, this lets you "feed" a particular Generator to absurd levels. The Dark Spire can be useful in defeating the AI, but can also cause you a lot of bother yourself, so be careful about poking them with this. If you intend to use them in that way, this can be a very useful Hack.<br />
<br />
=== Download Dark Spire Ship Design ===<br />
<br />
This gives you the Wraith unit as a fleetship. This is one of the cheapest ways currently of gaining a new, guaranteed ship type via Hacking, but it has dire consequences for the galaxy. Once completed, the Dark Spire will begin gaining energy over time, even with no combat near Vengeance Generators. Like above, this can be useful in having the Dark Spire do your work for you, but it can get very much out of hand, and you can't stop the effect.<br />
<br />
=== Download Dyson Ship ===<br />
<br />
This will give you the Dyson Defender unit as a fleetship. This is also one of the cheapest ways currently of gaining a new, guaranteed ship type via Hacking, but the response is terrifying. Even starting this causes every ship controlled by that Dyson Sphere to revert to hostile and attack you, anywhere in the galaxy. Completing it is even worse, as the Sphere will become Antagonised, and spawn ships at an incredible rate, all of whom are very very angry at you, for a few minutes. In terms of what you pay and what you get, this is pretty good...but it can easily be game ending. Sentient stars are not to be messed with.<br />
<br />
=== Increase Dyson Production ===<br />
<br />
Simply put, this makes that Sphere start spawning ships at a faster rate overall. You can keep doing this to stack the effects, which can make the Sphere rather strong, but the response to each Hack is the same as above, and the Sphere usually spreads its ships out, and is capped by the current AI Progress, so unless it's in a useful area, and not for instance stuck in a corner of the galaxy, this won't be super worthwhile.<br />
<br />
=== Diminish Dyson Production ===<br />
<br />
The opposite to the above one. If for some reason (such as controlling the Spheres territory, which angers it) you want to make the Sphere weaker, this is how you do it. It's a pretty niche thing, but it's there. In future, the AI can Antagonise the Sphere intentionally, so if you have that possibility on the horizon, preparing for it with this Hack may be a wise choice.<br />
<br />
=== Decode Nanobots ===<br />
<br />
The longest duration Hack in the game currently, other than a ludicrously long Super Terminal, taking 600 seconds to complete, with a terrifying response. In return though, that Nanocaust faction will immediately ally with you. You can now go through all the planets it has captured, hoover up all the Science and Hacking Points lying around, and generally have a very safe area to operate in, not to mention all the firepower they can bring. This is usually *very* difficult, but the reward can be incredible. Should be noted, that while Factions that are allied to you in game setup increase your AI Progress instead of their own, a hacked Nanocaust will not, so you are not penalised for this Hack.</div>Histidinehttps://wiki.arcengames.com/index.php?title=AI_War_2:Hacking&diff=38147AI War 2:Hacking2020-03-08T07:58:25Z<p>Histidine: /* Hack Options */</p>
<hr />
<div>'''Hacking''' is a fairly useful mechanic, involving the use of a Hacker unit to expend Hacking Points to perform various acts on AI controlled planets and affect certain Factions, such as the Dyson Sphere or the Nanocaust, and here it's explained a bit more in depth.<br />
<br />
NOTE: This is outdated for 0.900: The Arrival Of Fleets, and will have to be updated. Apologies!<br />
<br />
== Hacking Points ==<br />
<br />
Hacking Points can only be gathered normally from player-controlled planet. Build a command station on the planet and it will rapidly gather the Hacking Points there. Each planet has 30 points.<br />
<br />
A few units such as Astro Trains and the AI Overlord will also give hacking points when killed.<br />
<br />
Hacking is performed by flagships. When viewing a particular planet, the relevant Hacks available will be shown in the Hacking sidebar to the left, with the effect and cost of each Hack is listed. <br />
<br />
When a Hack is in progress, the hacking flagship's speed is greatly reduced and it cannot leave the planet. The remaining time left is displayed on the top in a similar fashion to Wave Warnings. If the hacker is destroyed mid-way, the hack is cancelled and must be restarted. The hack can also be aborted by clicking on the notification, but hacking points will _not_ be refunded. When multiple flagships are present on a planet, the one closest to the target planet is selected for the hack.<br />
<br />
== Hacking Response ==<br />
Nearly every Hack causes some form of response against you - groups of units spawned from the target unit to try and stop the Hack. The faction that responds is usually the one that controls the thing you are hacking (i.e an AI Command Station will respond with AI units, but hacking the Nanocaust responds with a very scary response of entirely Nanocaust units). Mercenary Beacons are an oddity, and will cause an AI response instead. The Dark Spire do not respond normally, but the force that the Provoked Vengeance Strike spawns somewhat acts like it.<br />
<br />
Generally, there are both small, frequent "pulses" of units spawned during a Hack, as well as less frequent and larger pulses. In addition, actually completing the Hack fully has an extra response at the end as well.<br />
<br />
== Hack Options ==<br />
:''Not all hacking options are listed here.<br />
{| {{AIWarTableHeader}}<br />
! style="width: 10%" scope="col" | Hack Name<br />
! style="width: 10%" scope="col" | Target Unit<br />
! style="width: 10%" scope="col" | Hacking Point Cost<br />
! style="width: 10%" scope="col" | Duration (Seconds)<br />
! style="width: 60%" scope="col" | Game's Description<br />
|-<br />
| Weaken AI Turrets<br />
| Planet, Mk VI or lower<br />
| 1<br />
| 2 <br />
| Hacking into the local AI network will reduce the range of AI turrets to 25% of their normal values, and their damage output to 50% of normal. Only works on planets of mark 6 or lower.<br />
|-<br />
| Weaken AI Guard Posts<br />
| Planet, Mk VI or lower<br />
| 5<br />
| 2 <br />
| Hacking into the local AI network will reduce the range of AI guard posts to 50% of their normal values, and their damage output to 75% of normal. Only works on planets of mark 6 or lower.<br />
|-<br />
|Covert Science Extraction<br />
|AI Command Station<br />
|30 for 2000 Science<br />
|200 for 2000 Science<br />
|This device hacks into the AI surveillance net and data archives in the local planetary system to obtain Science, up to the normal amount. It costs 30 hacking points to fully complete. Be prepared for an AI response against your units.<br />
|-<br />
|Neutral Planet Science Extraction<br />
|AI Command Station<br />
|10<br />
|10<br />
|This device scans the wreckage of the AI structures on the planet to obtain Science, up to the normal amount. If you have not paid the AIP cost for this planet, AIP will go up by 5.<br />
|-<br />
| Watch Planet<br />
| Planet<br />
| 10<br />
| 2<br />
| This hack deploys spy nanites that will grant you permanent vision on this planet. Can be done remotely without a hacker present.<br />
|-<br />
| Watch Planet (local)<br />
| Planet<br />
| 2<br />
| 2<br />
| This hack deploys spy nanites that will grant you vision of the planet until the AI reconquers it. Only for planets without defenders. ''Must destroy all hostile combatants on the planet.'' Can be done remotely without a hacker present.<br />
|- <br />
| Double Ship Line Cap<br />
| Fleet Capacity Extender<br />
| 15<br />
| 30<br />
| This will allow the player to double the cap of one of the ship lines of the hacking Flagship. After this hack is completed, the AI will launch a counterattack against you. <br />
|-<br />
|Grant Ship Line<br />
|Advanced Research Station<br />
|15<br />
|45<br />
|Grants a new ship line to the hacking flagship. Each ARS has a choice of five ship lines to pick from.<br />
|-<br />
|Reroll ARS contents<br />
|Advanced Research Station<br />
|15<br />
|30<br />
|This will change the ships you can get from the ARS.<br />
|-<br />
|Convert ARS to Science<br />
|Advanced Research Station<br />
|20<br />
|45<br />
|You can disassemble the ARS in order to figure out how it works. This grants some (1,500) science but you won't get the ship line.<br />
|-<br />
|Grant Technology<br />
|Technology Vault<br />
|30<br />
|90<br />
|This will allow the player to unlock a new Tech. Unlocking a Tech this way does not increase the cost of doing it with Science. If the contained Tech is already maxed out, the hack is wasted.<br />
|-<br />
|Convert Tech Vault to Science<br />
|Technology Vault<br />
|10<br />
|30<br />
|You can disassemble the Tech Vault in order to figure out how it works. This grants some science (1,500) but you won't get a Tech.<br />
|-<br />
|Reroll Tech Vault Contents<br />
|Technology Vault<br />
|20<br />
|50<br />
|This will change the Tech Line you get from this Tech Vault.<br />
|-<br />
|Spire Archive Extraction<br />
|Spire Archive<br />
|60<br />
|300<br />
|Hacking this Spire Archive will grant you a large amount of Science, but it takes a long time. Be prepared for an extreme AI response against your units. If this hack is cancelled or interrupted, AIP will go up by 80.<br />
|-<br />
|Subvert Super Terminal<br />
|Super Terminal<br />
|1 Per Second<br />
|Until Halted<br />
|The longer you hold on, the more you'll reduce (AIP), but you'll also cause a massive incursion of AI forces while doing it, some of which will head directly to your homeworld as an Exo-Galactic Strike. Careful not to kill yourself by holding on too long. You only get one shot at this hack before the AI adapts, so make it count.<br />
|- <br />
|Access Outguard Beacon<br />
|Mercenary Beacon<br />
|10<br />
|225<br />
|Hacking this beacon will allow you to contact some of the Outguard -- remnant anti-AI forces that can come to your aid. Since the Outguard are subverting the AI communication channels, expect some extremely heavy AI response to this. Upon completion, your AIP will increase by 10.<br />
|- <br />
|Hack Ion Cannon<br />
|Planet<br />
|20<br />
|2<br />
|Permanently take control of all Ion Cannons on the planet.<br />
|-<br />
|Hack Mass Driver<br />
|Planet<br />
|23<br />
|2<br />
|Permanently take control of all Orbital Mass Drivers on the planet.<br />
|-<br />
|Sabotage AI defenses<br />
|Varies<br />
|15<br />
|22<br />
|Kills a certain powerful AI structure on the planet. Works on things like Raid Engines, Eyes, Alarm Posts, and Orbital Mass Drivers.<br />
|-<br />
|Provoke Vengeance Strike<br />
|Dark Spire Vengeance Generator<br />
|20<br />
|300<br />
|Finishing this Hack will cause the Dark Spire to launch a Vengeance Strike, wherein every Vengeance Generator will simultaneously launch a fleet to attack, well, everything.<br />
|- <br />
|Download Dark Spire Ship Design<br />
|Dark Spire Vengeance Generator<br />
|20<br />
|300<br />
|Hacking this Vengeance Generator will give you access to one of the Dark Spire's ship designs. But it might have devastating consequences; are you willing to set a fire upon the deep?<br />
|-<br />
|Render Vengeance Generator Vulnerable<br />
|Dark Spire Vengeance Generator<br />
|60<br />
|300<br />
|Hacking this Vengeance Generator will make it vulnerable to conventional weaponry. This is likely to provoke an extremely strong Dark Spire response<br />
|-<br />
|Download Dyson Ship<br />
|Dyson Sphere<br />
|20<br />
|300<br />
|Hacking the Dyson sphere will give you access to one of the Dyson Sphere's ship designs, but it will make the Dyson Sphere very unhappy with you.<br />
|-<br />
|Increase Dyson Max Strength<br />
|Dyson Sphere<br />
|20<br />
|300<br />
|This Hack will increase this Dyson Sphere's max strength. It will definitely make the Dyson Sphere unhappy with you as well.<br />
|-<br />
|Increase Dyson Production<br />
|Dyson Sphere<br />
|20<br />
|300<br />
|This Hack will improve Dyson unit production. It will definitely make the Dyson Sphere unhappy with you as well.<br />
|- <br />
|Decrease Dyson Production<br />
|Dyson Sphere<br />
|20<br />
|300<br />
|This Hack will diminish Dyson unit production. It will definitely make the Dyson unhappy with you as well.<br />
|- <br />
|Decode Nanobots<br />
|Nanobot Hive<br />
|20<br />
|600<br />
|Hack the core Nanobot Hive in order to subvert them into being your allies. From then on, the hive will devote all of its energy to destroying the AI.<br />
|- <br />
|Tame Macrophage Tellium<br />
|Macrophage Tellium<br />
|60<br />
|300<br />
|Hack the mindset of a Telium on this planet, converting it to your cause. Expect it to defend itself harshly.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== Opinions And More Detail ==<br />
<br />
=== Covert Science Extraction ===<br />
<br />
This one is very useful, allowing you to gain the Science from a planet without raising AI Progress for it. It costs more than most Hacks however, so overdoing it can limit your options elsewhere, but in general it has a universally useful reward.<br />
<br />
=== Subvert Super Terminal ===<br />
<br />
A very strange hack! This one only ends when either the Hacker dies, or you run out of Points to do it with. Each second you pay 1 Point to reduce the AI Progress by 0.5. Each time the AI sends a response pulse, the next pulse will be stronger, so this can get very scary if done long enough. This can only be done once, and it is very pricey, but in effect you are reducing the AIs power overall, which could be very well worth the expenditure.<br />
<br />
=== Access Mercenary Beacon ===<br />
<br />
Very cheap and very quick relative to the others. This lets you hire the Mercenary groups listed in the Beacon description. Mercenaries can be a handy temporary power boost, to help win a difficult fight, or be a distraction elsewhere. However, each group also costs some Hacking Points of varying amounts, so the cost can be a bit deceiving. Group power scales with the current AI Progress, so this is something you can have prepared for later.<br />
<br />
=== Provoke Vengeance Strike ===<br />
<br />
A very sneaky hack. As each spawn a Generator does causes it to get nastier, this lets you "feed" a particular Generator to absurd levels. The Dark Spire can be useful in defeating the AI, but can also cause you a lot of bother yourself, so be careful about poking them with this. If you intend to use them in that way, this can be a very useful Hack.<br />
<br />
=== Download Dark Spire Ship Design ===<br />
<br />
This gives you the Wraith unit as a fleetship. This is one of the cheapest ways currently of gaining a new, guaranteed ship type via Hacking, but it has dire consequences for the galaxy. Once completed, the Dark Spire will begin gaining energy over time, even with no combat near Vengeance Generators. Like above, this can be useful in having the Dark Spire do your work for you, but it can get very much out of hand, and you can't stop the effect.<br />
<br />
=== Download Dyson Ship ===<br />
<br />
This will give you the Dyson Defender unit as a fleetship. This is also one of the cheapest ways currently of gaining a new, guaranteed ship type via Hacking, but the response is terrifying. Even starting this causes every ship controlled by that Dyson Sphere to revert to hostile and attack you, anywhere in the galaxy. Completing it is even worse, as the Sphere will become Antagonised, and spawn ships at an incredible rate, all of whom are very very angry at you, for a few minutes. In terms of what you pay and what you get, this is pretty good...but it can easily be game ending. Sentient stars are not to be messed with.<br />
<br />
=== Increase Dyson Production ===<br />
<br />
Simply put, this makes that Sphere start spawning ships at a faster rate overall. You can keep doing this to stack the effects, which can make the Sphere rather strong, but the response to each Hack is the same as above, and the Sphere usually spreads its ships out, and is capped by the current AI Progress, so unless it's in a useful area, and not for instance stuck in a corner of the galaxy, this won't be super worthwhile.<br />
<br />
=== Diminish Dyson Production ===<br />
<br />
The opposite to the above one. If for some reason (such as controlling the Spheres territory, which angers it) you want to make the Sphere weaker, this is how you do it. It's a pretty niche thing, but it's there. In future, the AI can Antagonise the Sphere intentionally, so if you have that possibility on the horizon, preparing for it with this Hack may be a wise choice.<br />
<br />
=== Decode Nanobots ===<br />
<br />
The longest duration Hack in the game currently, other than a ludicrously long Super Terminal, taking 600 seconds to complete, with a terrifying response. In return though, that Nanocaust faction will immediately ally with you. You can now go through all the planets it has captured, hoover up all the Science and Hacking Points lying around, and generally have a very safe area to operate in, not to mention all the firepower they can bring. This is usually *very* difficult, but the reward can be incredible. Should be noted, that while Factions that are allied to you in game setup increase your AI Progress instead of their own, a hacked Nanocaust will not, so you are not penalised for this Hack.</div>Histidinehttps://wiki.arcengames.com/index.php?title=AI_War_2:Hacking&diff=38146AI War 2:Hacking2020-03-08T07:36:29Z<p>Histidine: Update/copyedit, part 1</p>
<hr />
<div>'''Hacking''' is a fairly useful mechanic, involving the use of a Hacker unit to expend Hacking Points to perform various acts on AI controlled planets and affect certain Factions, such as the Dyson Sphere or the Nanocaust, and here it's explained a bit more in depth.<br />
<br />
NOTE: This is outdated for 0.900: The Arrival Of Fleets, and will have to be updated. Apologies!<br />
<br />
== Hacking Points ==<br />
<br />
Hacking Points can only be gathered normally from player-controlled planet. Build a command station on the planet and it will rapidly gather the Hacking Points there. Each planet has 30 points.<br />
<br />
A few units such as Astro Trains and the AI Overlord will also give hacking points when killed.<br />
<br />
Hacking is performed by flagships. When viewing a particular planet, the relevant Hacks available will be shown in the Hacking sidebar to the left, with the effect and cost of each Hack is listed. <br />
<br />
When a Hack is in progress, the hacking flagship's speed is greatly reduced and it cannot leave the planet. The remaining time left is displayed on the top in a similar fashion to Wave Warnings. If the hacker is destroyed mid-way, the hack is cancelled and must be restarted. The hack can also be aborted by clicking on the notification, but hacking points will _not_ be refunded. When multiple flagships are present on a planet, the one closest to the target planet is selected for the hack.<br />
<br />
== Hacking Response ==<br />
Nearly every Hack causes some form of response against you - groups of units spawned from the target unit to try and stop the Hack. The faction that responds is usually the one that controls the thing you are hacking (i.e an AI Command Station will respond with AI units, but hacking the Nanocaust responds with a very scary response of entirely Nanocaust units). Mercenary Beacons are an oddity, and will cause an AI response instead. The Dark Spire do not respond normally, but the force that the Provoked Vengeance Strike spawns somewhat acts like it.<br />
<br />
Generally, there are both small, frequent "pulses" of units spawned during a Hack, as well as less frequent and larger pulses. In addition, actually completing the Hack fully has an extra response at the end as well.<br />
<br />
== Hack Options ==<br />
<br />
{| {{AIWarTableHeader}}<br />
! style="width: 10%" scope="col" | Hack Name<br />
! style="width: 10%" scope="col" | Target Unit<br />
! style="width: 10%" scope="col" | Hacking Point Cost<br />
! style="width: 10%" scope="col" | Duration (Seconds)<br />
! style="width: 60%" scope="col" | Game's Description<br />
|-<br />
| Weaken AI Turrets<br />
| Planet, Mk VI or lower<br />
| 1<br />
| 2 <br />
| Hacking into the local AI network will reduce the range of AI turrets to 25% of their normal values, and their damage output to 50% of normal. Only works on planets of mark 6 or lower.<br />
|-<br />
| Weaken AI Guard Posts<br />
| Planet, Mk VI or lower<br />
| 5<br />
| 2 <br />
| Hacking into the local AI network will reduce the range of AI guard posts to 50% of their normal values, and their damage output to 75% of normal. Only works on planets of mark 6 or lower.<br />
|-<br />
|Covert Science Extraction<br />
|AI Command Station<br />
|30 for 2000 Science<br />
|200 for 2000 Science<br />
|This device hacks into the AI survellance net and data archives in the local planetary system to obtain Science, up to the normal amount. It costs 30 hacking points to fully complete. Be prepared for an AI response against your units.<br />
|-<br />
| Watch Planet<br />
| Planet<br />
| 10<br />
| 2<br />
| This hack deploys spy nanites that will grant you permanent vision on this planet. Can be done remotely without a hacker present.<br />
|-<br />
| Watch Planet (local)<br />
| Planet<br />
| 2<br />
| 2<br />
| This hack deploys spy nanites that will grant you vision of the planet until the AI reconquers it. Only for planets without defenders. ''Must destroy all hostile combatants on the planet.'' Can be done remotely without a hacker present.<br />
|- <br />
| Double Ship Line Cap<br />
| Fleet Capacity Extender<br />
| 15<br />
| 30<br />
| This will allow the player to double the cap of one of the ship lines of the hacking Flagship. After this hack is completed, the AI will launch a counterattack against you. <br />
|-<br />
|Grant Ship Line<br />
|Advanced Research Station<br />
|15<br />
|45<br />
|Grants a new ship line to the hacking flagship. Each ARS has a choice of five ship lines to pick from.<br />
|-<br />
|Reroll ARS contents<br />
|Advanced Research Station<br />
|15<br />
|30<br />
|This will change the ships you can get from the ARS.<br />
|-<br />
|Convert ARS to Science<br />
|Advanced Research Station<br />
|20<br />
|45<br />
|You can disassemble the ARS in order to figure out how it works. This grants some science but you won't get the ship line.<br />
|-<br />
|Subvert Super Terminal<br />
|Super Terminal<br />
|1 Per Second<br />
|Until Halted<br />
|The longer you hold on, the more you'll reduce (AIP), but you'll also cause a massive incursion of AI forces while doing it, some of which will head directly to your homeworld as an Exo-Galactic Strike. Careful not to kill yourself by holding on too long. You only get one shot at this hack before the AI adapts, so make it count.<br />
|- <br />
|Access Outguard Beacon<br />
|Mercenary Beacon<br />
|10<br />
|225<br />
|Unlocks two outguards for you to summon as needed. Raises AIP by 10 on completion.<br />
|- <br />
|Hack Ion Cannon<br />
|Planet<br />
|20<br />
|2<br />
|Permanently take control of all Ion Cannons on the planet.<br />
|-<br />
|Hack Mass Driver<br />
|Planet<br />
|23<br />
|2<br />
|Permanently take control of all Orbital Mass Drivers on the planet.<br />
|-<br />
|Sabotage AI defenses<br />
|Varies<br />
|15<br />
|22<br />
|Kills a certain powerful AI structure on the planet. Works on things like Raid Engines, Eyes, Alarm Posts, and Orbital Mass Drivers.<br />
|-<br />
|Provoke Vengeance Strike<br />
|Dark Spire Vengeance Generator<br />
|20<br />
|300<br />
|Finishing this Hack will cause the Dark Spire to launch a Vengeance Strike, wherein every Vengeance Generator will simultaneously launch a fleet to attack, well, everything.<br />
|- <br />
|Download Dark Spire Ship Design<br />
|Dark Spire Vengeance Generator<br />
|20<br />
|300<br />
|Hacking this Vengeance Generator will give you access to one of the Dark Spire's ship designs. But it might have devastating consequences; are you willing to set a fire upon the deep?<br />
|- <br />
|Download Dyson Ship<br />
|Dyson Sphere<br />
|20<br />
|300<br />
|Hacking the Dyson sphere will give you access to one of the Dyson Sphere's ship designs, but it will make the Dyson Sphere very unhappy with you.<br />
|- <br />
|Increase Dyson Production<br />
|Dyson Sphere<br />
|20<br />
|300<br />
|This Hack will improve Dyson unit production. It will definitely make the Dyson Sphere unhappy with you as well.<br />
|- <br />
|Decrease Dyson Production<br />
|Dyson Sphere<br />
|20<br />
|300<br />
|This Hack will diminish Dyson unit production. It will definitely make the Dyson unhappy with you as well.<br />
|- <br />
|Decode Nanobots<br />
|Nanobot Hive<br />
|20<br />
|600<br />
|Hack the core Nanobot Hive in order to subvert them into being your allies. From then on, the hive will devote all of its energy to destroying the AI.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
== Opinions And More Detail ==<br />
<br />
=== Covert Science Extraction ===<br />
<br />
This one is very useful, allowing you to gain the Science from a planet without raising AI Progress for it. It costs more than most Hacks however, so overdoing it can limit your options elsewhere, but in general it has a universally useful reward.<br />
<br />
=== Subvert Super Terminal ===<br />
<br />
A very strange hack! This one only ends when either the Hacker dies, or you run out of Points to do it with. Each second you pay 1 Point to reduce the AI Progress by 0.5. Each time the AI sends a response pulse, the next pulse will be stronger, so this can get very scary if done long enough. This can only be done once, and it is very pricey, but in effect you are reducing the AIs power overall, which could be very well worth the expenditure.<br />
<br />
=== Access Mercenary Beacon ===<br />
<br />
Very cheap and very quick relative to the others. This lets you hire the Mercenary groups listed in the Beacon description. Mercenaries can be a handy temporary power boost, to help win a difficult fight, or be a distraction elsewhere. However, each group also costs some Hacking Points of varying amounts, so the cost can be a bit deceiving. Group power scales with the current AI Progress, so this is something you can have prepared for later.<br />
<br />
=== Provoke Vengeance Strike ===<br />
<br />
A very sneaky hack. As each spawn a Generator does causes it to get nastier, this lets you "feed" a particular Generator to absurd levels. The Dark Spire can be useful in defeating the AI, but can also cause you a lot of bother yourself, so be careful about poking them with this. If you intend to use them in that way, this can be a very useful Hack.<br />
<br />
=== Download Dark Spire Ship Design ===<br />
<br />
This gives you the Wraith unit as a fleetship. This is one of the cheapest ways currently of gaining a new, guaranteed ship type via Hacking, but it has dire consequences for the galaxy. Once completed, the Dark Spire will begin gaining energy over time, even with no combat near Vengeance Generators. Like above, this can be useful in having the Dark Spire do your work for you, but it can get very much out of hand, and you can't stop the effect.<br />
<br />
=== Download Dyson Ship ===<br />
<br />
This will give you the Dyson Defender unit as a fleetship. This is also one of the cheapest ways currently of gaining a new, guaranteed ship type via Hacking, but the response is terrifying. Even starting this causes every ship controlled by that Dyson Sphere to revert to hostile and attack you, anywhere in the galaxy. Completing it is even worse, as the Sphere will become Antagonised, and spawn ships at an incredible rate, all of whom are very very angry at you, for a few minutes. In terms of what you pay and what you get, this is pretty good...but it can easily be game ending. Sentient stars are not to be messed with.<br />
<br />
=== Increase Dyson Production ===<br />
<br />
Simply put, this makes that Sphere start spawning ships at a faster rate overall. You can keep doing this to stack the effects, which can make the Sphere rather strong, but the response to each Hack is the same as above, and the Sphere usually spreads its ships out, and is capped by the current AI Progress, so unless it's in a useful area, and not for instance stuck in a corner of the galaxy, this won't be super worthwhile.<br />
<br />
=== Diminish Dyson Production ===<br />
<br />
The opposite to the above one. If for some reason (such as controlling the Spheres territory, which angers it) you want to make the Sphere weaker, this is how you do it. It's a pretty niche thing, but it's there. In future, the AI can Antagonise the Sphere intentionally, so if you have that possibility on the horizon, preparing for it with this Hack may be a wise choice.<br />
<br />
=== Decode Nanobots ===<br />
<br />
The longest duration Hack in the game currently, other than a ludicrously long Super Terminal, taking 600 seconds to complete, with a terrifying response. In return though, that Nanocaust faction will immediately ally with you. You can now go through all the planets it has captured, hoover up all the Science and Hacking Points lying around, and generally have a very safe area to operate in, not to mention all the firepower they can bring. This is usually *very* difficult, but the reward can be incredible. Should be noted, that while Factions that are allied to you in game setup increase your AI Progress instead of their own, a hacked Nanocaust will not, so you are not penalised for this Hack.</div>Histidinehttps://wiki.arcengames.com/index.php?title=AI_War_2:Fallen_Spire&diff=38075AI War 2:Fallen Spire2020-03-02T12:53:24Z<p>Histidine: /* How To Level Up A City */</p>
<hr />
<div>= Fallen Spire =<br />
<br />
The Fallen Spire are an optional faction that can be enabled via the Game Lobby, or by activating a beacon in game. The Fallen Spireare intended to satisfy the [https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/arcengames/ai-war-ii-0/posts/1746490 Spire] kickstarter goal, and draw further inspiration from the [[AI War:What Is The Fallen Spire Minor Faction|Fallen Spire Minor Faction]] from AIWC. <br />
<br />
=== Design Goals ===<br />
<br />
We wanted to overall keep the spirit of the Fallen Spire from AIWC, while doing some additional fun things that are possible/easier with the new AIW2 engine. This does not match what was in the Kickstarter. It is very similar to the AIWC version except there’s much more variety in the Relics Capture quests, a ton more city buildings, and more variety in the AI response. Also a number of minor factions have unique attributes that can only appear during the spire campaign.<br />
<br />
It's worth noting that as the game evolved a lot from the original kickstarter, the Spire goal that was originally laid out doesn't fit in the new context. But we also really wanted to modernize and expand on what was in the first game, taking inspiration from it without copying it wholesale. City buildings and units are different, and the entire flow is a completely new thing. The original was very sloooow, for instance.<br />
<br />
The core of the gameplay is Epic Battles to capture the relics, and Powerful Ships and Bases you get as a result. We think the Powerful Ships and Bases part was well done in AIWC, and we wanted to preserve most of that, though for the city placement and city design we wanted to expand that to a pretty huge degree.<br />
<br />
From this point forward we aren't going to keep back-referencing the first game, so please just try to forget the specifics of that one as you wrap your brain around this one. The number of differences will quickly compound until it's quite a new beast while still keeping the same spirit. (Hey, that sounds like we just described the entire concept of this sequel!)<br />
<br />
=== Lore ===<br />
<br />
The AI has crushed the Spire empire in their home galaxy. Some Spire units have landed in our galaxy and they can rebuild their empire and take revenge.<br />
<br />
Sometime in the last few hundred years, the AI detected the Spire, who had already colonized several nearby galaxies. They launched a surprise attack against the Spire homeworld. The Spire attempted to use their TransWarp technology to warp their full Imperial Fleet to their homeworld for defense. However, while in transit the AI sabotaged the Warp Transceiver on the homeworld, trapping the Spire Fleet in inter-dimensional space. Suddenly helpless, the Spire’s local defenses were no match for the AI and their Scourge allies.<br />
<br />
The AI has captured a lot of Spire reactors and is experimenting to harness their power in cloaked research laboratories. There are also some hidden spire relics scattered about the galaxy from past battles.<br />
<br />
The Spire are rock/crystalline creatures who feed on energy and can grow and reproduce very quickly with enough energy, so freeing those reactors will allow them to create cities and warships quickly. Each structure or warship IS a living spire -- like Zenith Golems, the spire are macroscopic life to an almost absurd degree. <br />
<br />
=== Primary Features ===<br />
<br />
* Give the player a way to get some Really Big Weapons that scare the mess out of the AI (not in an AI Progress sense, though).<br />
* Let the player build entire spire cities of various complexities and styles, which upgrade as you build more cities and more structures.<br />
* Give the AI a reason and ability to bring back extra-galactic forces from their mysterious "main war" to fight you and the spire openly.<br />
* Allow players the freedom to push all the way to an alternative victory condition via this faction, or to just build up one or more cities and make use of the extra firepower.<br />
* In general to allow players to experience the fallen spire on a gradient scale, doing some of it as they wish, not having to choose "completely fallen spire" or "completely not fallen spire."<br />
* Let us explore a bit more of the spire lore than we have in prior games.<br />
* Give players a chance to "smash the galaxy for fun and profit" by going for a mark 7 city, well above the mark 5 level that is needed for the alternative victory condition. At this point you're just rubbing it in, but it feels so satisfying to be the big one for a change.<br />
<br />
= How To Play =<br />
<br />
You can hack to find relics, and then once you have found one you need to go and give it orders of where to turn into a city. When it gets where you told it to go, it will become a city center that also includes a small (for the spire) flagship. You can then improve your city, build more cities in the same manner, and get absurd amounts of power. This scares the AI, of course, so a new arms race of superweapons begins. The "least" of your problems are targeted vicious exogalactic attacks on the relics and your cities. If you survive these odds, you'll have not only the sort of firepower you could never dream of elsewhere, but eventually might be able to do something to recover that lost Imperial Spire Fleet...<br />
<br />
== Find A Relic ==<br />
<br />
There are various ways of finding relics (see below). The first stage of getting a new spire city is to find a relic by one of those means. Once you have a relic, it's time to then turn it into a city.<br />
<br />
The very '''first''' relic is just out there somewhere, and you'll discover it and see right where it is. Go get it when you feel like it, or leave it alone.<br />
<br />
=== Scrap A Relic? ===<br />
<br />
Are you being hounded to death by Exos? You really won't survive? Don't worry, more relics will be available in the future. You can use the usual commands for scrapping units to scrap the relic and put yourself out of further misery.<br />
<br />
=== Getting Chased By The AI ===<br />
<br />
The AI really wants to destroy the relic before it turns into a citadel. It will send exogalactic waves (Exos) after the relic, and you really should have some sort of guard force fending that off. Unless you want to just build on the city you found the relic, in which case go ahead. Once a spire city has been established, it can be crippled or deactivated, but never fully destroyed.<br />
<br />
== Place A City ==<br />
<br />
=== Choosing A Location For Your Relic Once You Find It ===<br />
<br />
The relic doesn't belong to your faction, but you can still select it and give it a movement order. When you do so, it will confirm that the destination is where you would like your next city to be founded. You can choose planets controlled by the AI, but not AI homeworlds. You also can't place any spire city adjacent to an existing city.<br />
<br />
To fully go "all in" with the Fallen Spire and its alternative win condition, you will be constructing a bare minimum of two mark 1 cities, two mark 2, two mark 3, two mark 4, and one mark 5. So that's an absolute minimum of 9 cities if you do everything with perfect efficiency and pursue the entire fallen spire campaign to the bitter end. It's entirely possible for you to stop along the way and battle the AI to death with the mega-fleets you amass as you go.<br />
<br />
THAT said, you can push things even further if you're feeling inclined or somehow the AI is still too powerful for you. You can get up to a mark 7 city, and that will require an extra 4 total cities. You'll start having a ton of extra battleships, as well as some dreadnoughts, once you get to mark 6 with them. The only other way to see those in such numbers is with the Imperial Fleet.<br />
<br />
But it's worth noting these very basic city placement rules (compared to the first game), and the fact that you'll be having so many cities if you really want the max-power city structures.<br />
<br />
=== Full List Of City Placement Rules ===<br />
<br />
The rules are very simple, unlike in AIWC. In AIWC there were things like "must have at least two wormholes" and other complicated bits. Toss all that out! The rules in AIW2 are:<br />
<br />
* The planet can't be an AI homeworld.<br />
* The planet can't be adjacent to another spire city.<br />
* That's literally it.<br />
<br />
=== No Scrapping Cities ===<br />
<br />
Wishing you didn't put that city where you did? Well... that's a real shame, friend. You can't scrap city hubs or the flagships of cities. Once a city is founded, it's forever going to exist where you put it.<br />
<br />
The best thing to do in these circumstances is just abandon the city hub to the enemy, and take the flagship for basic use elsewhere. It can get repairs from other cities anytime it gets too damaged. <br />
<br />
Meanwhile, if the city hub you abandoned is crippled by taking too much damage, or is deactivated by no longer being on a planet you control, then enemies will start ignoring it and it will be just another piece of war debris sitting around in the galaxy. Worst case, maybe sometime in the future as your empire is growing, you choose to go back and recapture it and build up again.<br />
<br />
=== When You Don't Own The City A Planet Is On ===<br />
<br />
If you choose to build a city on a planet that isn't yours -- which is a ''totally valid thing to do'' -- or when you lose a planet, then the hub for that city will be inactive and you won't be able to build any spire structures on that city until you capture the planet. After that the city will function as normal. If the city hub gets damaged to the point of being crippled, then that has the same general effect as not controlling the planet at all. Get to repairing that expensive thing!<br />
<br />
It's worth noting that the mobile fleet portion of your spire city will all still be very much alive and well when the city hub is inactive or crippled. This means you can use the flagship right from the start to start vaporizing machines and aid in the conquest of the planet it is on.<br />
<br />
=== Your First City: Galactic Capitol ===<br />
<br />
The first city that you place will become the galactic capitol for the new group of cities that your spire control. The hub for these types of cities is called the Galactic Capitol and has a few stat buffs as well as having an extra two "building sockets" (more on that later) compared to all the other cities. So it's a bit easier to get this very first city off the ground, and it has a strong chance of being your strongest spire city throughout the game if you keep upgrading it. Most likely this would be the one to reach mark 7 first, but it doesn't have to be.<br />
<br />
Where you place this city is completely up to you:<br />
<br />
* You may want to use it as a choke point to guard your own human planets from attack, and focus on building many military structures.<br />
* You may prefer to shelter it behind your own human defenses and focus on making it an economic powerhouse or have it field a massive mobile fleet.<br />
* You may be super aggressive and place it way out in AI territory on its own, carving out the start of a new empire that is somewhat drawing attention away from your own main planets.<br />
<br />
=== More Cities ===<br />
<br />
You're going to need more cities than just the capitol -- a lot of them. In total if you want at least one mark 7 city, you'll need a minimum of 12 more cities in addition to the spire capitol. Spire cities can't be next to one another or on the AI homeworld, but beyond that it's up to you how you choose to place them, which ones you choose to mark up first/most, and what the general character of each city and its attendant fleet is.<br />
<br />
THAT said, to win the game with the fallen spire you don't need nearly so many cities. You can use them to buff you up a bit, then go kill the AI whenever you feel ready. The mark levels of your city don't really matter for that, it's all how you design them.<br />
<br />
To get the alternative victory condition involving the Imperial Fleet, you STILL don't even need 13 cities. You'd only need a mark 5 city, and so that would be a total of 9 cities to get there.<br />
<br />
== Build Up Your City ==<br />
<br />
=== Every City Is A Fleet And A City ===<br />
<br />
The most obvious part of the city at first is the hub, and the fact that you can then build a bunch of fixed-position structures from that hub. This is the city-portion, and you can see details on that by hovering over the hub itself.<br />
<br />
But there is also a mobile offensive/defensive fleet that is tied to the city, with a flagship that starts out as a "mere" cruiser, and eventually becomes a dreadnought if you level up your city enough. By constructing certain structures, you can grow your fleet of frigates and destroyers for that city, but you will also start getting a lot of mobile military ships simply by leveling the city up past a certain point.<br />
<br />
Depending on the city's nature, per your design choices and strategy, it may lean more towards supporting a larger mobile fleet or more towards spying on the enemy, producing economic gains, defending itself, or some mix.<br />
<br />
=== City Structures Require "Sockets" ===<br />
<br />
Each city hub has a certain number of sockets that are a part of it. Your galactic capitol starts with a whopping 4 sockets and then gains an additional 2 every time it levels up. All your other cities start with 2 and gain 2 per level up.<br />
<br />
Most buildings require either one or two sockets to construct. Note that sockets are a local planet-wide thing, so excess sockets in another city won't help the current planet. When you're in build mode, or when you hover over the city hub, you can easily see how many sockets you have left, and the tooltips for structures show how many sockets they require.<br />
<br />
As you unlock more advanced buildings at higher-mark cities, you may choose to scrap some of your existing buildings in order to free up existing sockets. That's a perfectly reasonable thing to do, and so spire cities will tend to be something that evolve and get revised over time.<br />
<br />
=== How To Level Up A City ===<br />
The rules are very simple:<br />
<br />
* All Sockets must be used.<br />
* The city must not be crippled or otherwise disabled.<br />
* The city must have at least 2 other cities of the same mark somewhere in the galaxy.<br />
* For each mark 2, 3 or 4 city you must control 1 additional planet in the galaxy somewhere without a spire city. Mark 5 cities require 2 additional planets. Mark 6 and 7 require 3 additional planets.<br />
** The city that was built first has priority.<br />
*** If the city with priority is currently incapable of marking up due to a prior reason, the next city will gain priority instead.<br />
<br />
Assuming all cities are leveled up as high as possible, you will have 1-2 cities of the highest available mark level, and 2 cities of each level below that. Having a Mark II city requires 3 cities in total, Mark III requires 5, Mark IV requires 7, and so on.<br />
<br />
== City Structures ==<br />
<br />
== Fleet Warships ==<br />
<br />
=== Flagships ===<br />
<br />
Every city starts out with a fleet flagship right away -- a cruiser. As you upgrade your city, your flagship gains marks and then eventually upgrade into stronger types.<br />
<br />
* At city mark 3, your flagship becomes a battleship.<br />
<br />
* At city mark 6, your flagship becomes a dreadnought.<br />
<br />
=== From City Mark ===<br />
<br />
A large part of the strength of your city fleet comes from your city's mark level itself. You still have to build these ships using spire factories (regular factories can't construct spire ships), but your ship cap of each type of spire ship goes up as your city mark level changes as follows:<br />
<br />
* Starting at city mark 3, you get one extra cruiser per level.<br />
** So by city mark 5, you would have three cruisers in additional to your battleship flagship.<br />
** At city mark 7, you'd have the maximum number of cruisers: 5.<br />
<br />
* Starting at city mark 6, you get one extra battleship per level.<br />
** So at city mark 6, you would have four cruisers and one battleship in additional to your dreadnought flagship.<br />
** At city mark 7, you'd have those 5 cruisers as well as two battleships and your dreadnought flagship.<br />
<br />
=== From Neural Nets ===<br />
<br />
Your "smaller" (and that term is purely relative) spire ships are also constructed by spire factories, but you don't normally have any ship cap for them. To get additional ships available for your fleet, you need to build "neural net" buildings.<br />
<br />
* A "Destroyer Neural Net" will let you have a single additional spire destroyer at whatever the mark level of the city is.<br />
<br />
* A "Frigate Neural Net" will let you have two more spire frigates at whatever the mark level of the city is.<br />
<br />
=== What Do These Ships Do? ===<br />
<br />
That is up to how you customize their loadout (CHRIS NOTES: upcoming). Each individual frigate, destroyer, cruiser, or battleship can be given one of several optional loadouts to perform different functions. We'll detail those here as they are implemented. You can switch loadouts on a given ship at any time, with no penalty.<br />
<br />
== How To Find Relics ==<br />
<br />
There are a number of ways to find relics.<br />
<br />
=== Known Location, Then Hack ===<br />
<br />
This is the same approach from AIWC; you know where the Relic is, then you do a Hack on that planet to get the Relic. Your first relic is always like this.<br />
<br />
=== Search-And-Hack ===<br />
<br />
Instead of knowing exactly where a relic will be, you will get a Notification that tells you "There is a relic in the galaxy". You can hack any planet to check how far it is from the relic. When you hack a planet without the relic, you are told "Your relic is in another castle ... err on a planet X hops away". The hovertext for the Notification will also keep track of all the planets you've searched. When you do hack the relic planet you find the Relic, and you do the usual Relic Chase (major AI forces spawn, you protect Relic and transform it to a city).<br />
<br />
Each planet you hack that doesn't have the relic on it slightly increases the eventual AI response for that relic chase.<br />
<br />
=== AI Research Lab ===<br />
<br />
One of these is seeded on the map at game start time. Destroying this structure will grant you a Relic that must build on the planet with the research lab.<br />
<br />
=== Relic Transport (Train Robbery) ===<br />
<br />
Every so often an AI Relic Transport will appear. It will wander the map similarly to the Astro Trains, then head for the AI Overlord. If you destroy the train then you get a Relic. If the train gets to the Overlord then it gives the AI a single high-tier Spire unit to use against you. This will happen regardless of whether astro trains are enabled. <br />
<br />
=== AI Citadel ===<br />
<br />
One of these is seeded on the map at game start time. It’s extra tanky. Destroying it grants you a relic with a very easy escort mission (currently 10% strength of a normal relic chase).<br />
<br />
== Alpha Testers ==<br />
<br />
Big thanks to the Alpha testers, including Astillious, Rocket Assisted Puffin, ZeusAlmighty, Ovalcircle and Democracy.</div>Histidinehttps://wiki.arcengames.com/index.php?title=AI_War_2:Defining_your_own_planet_names&diff=37150AI War 2:Defining your own planet names2019-11-09T05:29:03Z<p>Histidine: Formatting, clarification</p>
<hr />
<div>To set up your own file of planet names, you need to create a new directory, place your planet names in that directory, then tell the game about those names.<br />
<br />
These instructions assume you have the game installed at <code>~/AIWar2</code> (you might instead have it installed at <code>C:\ProgramFiles\Steam\AIWar2</code> or something like that, the procedure is the same).<br />
<br />
* First go to <code>~/AIWar2/GameData/Configuration</code>. This is the base directory with all the XML data contained in various subdirectories. We are interested in the PlanetNames directory. In the PlanetNames you will see a bunch of directories for existing sets of planet names; Kahuna's Real Stars, Cities_UK, etc... You want to create your own directory (lets say NewPlanetNames), then create a file called <code>NewPlanetNames.txt</code> inside it. Put your planet names in that text file, one planet name per line.<br />
<br />
* Then you need to tell the game to look at NewPlanetNames when reading the XML. Go to <code>~/AIWar2/GameData/Configuration/PlanetNameType</code> and open the file <code>CMP_PlanetNameType.xml</code>. You'll see a number of entries, one for each of the sub directories in the PlanetName directory.<br />
** Don't edit this file! Instead, you need to make a new file in that directory called <code>NewPlanetNameType.xml</code> whose contents are similar to the CMP_PlanetNameType.xml entries. It should look like this.<br />
<br />
<pre><br />
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?><br />
<root><br />
<br />
<planet_name_type name="NewPlanetNames" display_name="New Planet Names (this is the name the Game shows)" subdir="NewPlanetNames" <br />
description="Some new planet names from a modder. Text within these quotes is shown to the user when they hover over the option in the map lobby." /> <br />
<br />
</root><br />
</pre><br />
* Note that it's possible to just change the contents of one of the existing txt files in PlanetNames (and the CMP_PlanetNameType.xml file), but those changes will be overridden the next time Steam updates things, so its safest to define your own</div>Histidinehttps://wiki.arcengames.com/index.php?title=Pistol&diff=36159Pistol2019-08-17T15:29:46Z<p>Histidine: /* Notes */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{Infobox Weapon (Bionic Dues)<br />
| name = Pistol<br />
| icon = BDPistolIcon.png<br />
| portrait = BDPistolPortrait.png<br />
| categories = Projectile Weapons<br />
| damage = 40<br />
| range = 5<br />
| ammo = 32<br />
| exos = [[Brawler Exo|Brawler]], [[Science Exo|Science]]<br />
}}Short Story: free action, disables enemy movement, 3-turn cooldown.<br />
<br />
Long Story:<br><br />
The old MurTech MkVI "PebbleProjector" Pistol was the worst weapon in the galaxy. Customer feedback was torrential. Mainly from next-of-kin. <br />
<br />
In fact, the MurTech Complaints Department received so many letters that a counter deep within the Inefficiency Engine overflowed into negative numbers. The explosion atomized many Complaints executives and led to a truly remarkable event: the first, and last, documented case of MurTech efficiency.<br />
<br />
The resulting "KneeSeeker" model has the invaluable benefit of disabling the movement of any bot it hits. Further, firing the weapon is a "free action" because the other bots are too surprised to respond. The weapon itself is so astonished that it EMP's itself for 3 turns.<br />
<br />
== Notes ==<br />
Extremely handy utility weapon, especially with range buffs.<br />
* Any enemy the player outranges can be killed without risk by immobilizing it.<br />
* Immobilizing enemies in a corridor can easily block it and keep large mobs from overrunning the player (and set them up for a good AoE shot besides). Since the Pistol does not use a turn, you can stop even enemies that have enough range to reach you (step around a corner with stealth, fire pistol, then walk back into cover).<br />
<br />
{{BDRefNav}}</div>Histidinehttps://wiki.arcengames.com/index.php?title=ScorpionBot&diff=36158ScorpionBot2019-08-17T15:24:21Z<p>Histidine: Comments</p>
<hr />
<div>{{Infobox Bot (Bionic Dues)<br />
| name = ScorpionBot<br />
| sprite = BDScorpionBotSprite.gif<br />
| shields = 1800<br />
| weapon = [[Gamma-Ray Laser]]<br />
| damage = 100<br />
| range = 10<br />
| ammo = 99<br />
| virus_cost = 3x<br />
}}''Stop fighting or I will shoot you!''<br />
<br />
'''BOSS!''' Gets in your face but does not fire unless someone else fires in her presence. Then she retaliates with great conviction against whoever fired.<br />
<br />
== Notes ==<br />
ScorpionBot shoots before a would-be-shooter, so against softer enemies you can just walk into them and let her pick them off before they can hurt you. If the target survives, you will be hurt; on higher difficulties enemy bots can deal so much damage that letting them shoot you in order to provoke the ScorpionBot into shooting them becomes impractical.<br />
<br />
Damaging her without attracting return fire can be difficult; one way is to lure her into mines or Sentry Turrets. If she's hugging you while you need some space to work with, go into stealth for a few turns.<br />
<br />
{{BDRefNav}}</div>Histidinehttps://wiki.arcengames.com/index.php?title=StealthBot&diff=36157StealthBot2019-08-17T15:19:30Z<p>Histidine: StealthBots don't decloak from firing</p>
<hr />
<div>{{Infobox Bot (Bionic Dues)<br />
| name = StealthBot<br />
| sprite = BDStealthBotSprite.gif<br />
| shields = 75<br />
| damage = 25<br />
| range = 5<br />
| ammo = 10<br />
}}Crafty one. Every time you attack it, or an enemy near it, it cloaks itself for two turns. It can still fire on you while cloaked.<br />
<br />
== Notes ==<br />
StealthBots cannot stealth when out of ammo. They will also become instantly visible when there are no other enemies remaining on the level map.<br />
<br />
{{BDRefNav}}</div>Histidinehttps://wiki.arcengames.com/index.php?title=Shotgun&diff=36156Shotgun2019-08-17T15:11:22Z<p>Histidine: /* Notes */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{Infobox Weapon (Bionic Dues)<br />
| name = Shotgun<br />
| icon = BDShotgunIcon.png<br />
| portrait = BDShotgunPortrait.png<br />
| categories = Area-of-Effect Weapons<br>Projectile Weapons<br />
| damage = 750<br />
| range = 4<br />
| ammo = 24<br />
| aoe = 1 (Conical)<br />
| exos = [[Brawler Exo|Brawler]]<br />
}}Nothing better for spraying shrapnel into a nearby area.<br />
<br />
== Notes ==<br />
The conical AoE, designed to model the spread of shot from a real shotgun, can be tricky to deal with due to its granular nature. As a rule, shots fired at an angle will hit more tiles than those fired orthogonally from the Brawler Exo. Nevertheless, the Shotgun's decent damage makes it an effective weapon against most normal bots. Stacking area-of-effect boosts can provide a very effective way to clean out single or multiple enemies around corners.<br />
<br />
{{BDRefNav}}</div>Histidinehttps://wiki.arcengames.com/index.php?title=Dissolver&diff=36155Dissolver2019-08-17T15:09:46Z<p>Histidine: /* Notes */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{Infobox Weapon (Bionic Dues)<br />
| name = Dissolver<br />
| icon = BDDissolverIcon.png<br />
| portrait = BDDissolverPortrait.png<br />
| categories = Area-of-Effect Weapons<br />
| damage = 600<br />
| range = 4<br />
| ammo = 30<br />
| aoe = 4 (Diagonal)<br />
| exos = [[Brawler Exo|Brawler]]<br />
}}Flings highly corrosive liquid a short way away in an X pattern; careful not to catch yourself in it!<br />
<br />
== Notes ==<br />
Note that the 4 on the AoE is somewhat deceptive - it is effectively 2 diagonal squares in the counting method. This allows it to be used at considerably longer range than one might expect, albeit with an awkward aiming method (requires a "hockey stick" orientation between the exo and the target).<br />
<br />
<br />
{{BDRefNav}}</div>Histidinehttps://wiki.arcengames.com/index.php?title=Volatizer&diff=36129Volatizer2019-08-11T17:25:00Z<p>Histidine: Volatizer is epic-only</p>
<hr />
<div>{{Infobox Weapon (Bionic Dues)<br />
| name = Volatizer<br />
| icon = BDVolatizerIcon.png<br />
| portrait = BDVolatizerPortrait.png<br />
| categories = Area-of-Effect Weapons<br/>Energy Weapons<br />
| damage = 300<br />
| range = 5<br />
| ammo = 17<br />
| aoe = 2 (Ring)<br />
| exos = [[Bionic Dues:Assault Exo|Epic Assault]], [[Bionic Dues:Brawler Exo|Epic Brawler]]<br />
}}Carpet-bombs the local area with fire. Awesome.<br />
<br />
== Notes ==<br />
This weapon may not be so useful at clearing out a horde of enemy units, but it is excellent for firing around corners and directly through cover.<br />
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NB: the initial random distribution of bot packs tends to allow more hits per shot than the clumped up mess later - therefore, stacking range will turn this into an effective multi-target sniper rifle.<br />
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{{BDRefNav}}</div>Histidine