AI War 2:Factions

AI Risk Analyzers

Throughout the galaxy, there are up to 10 risk analyzers. Every hour, each risk analyzer on an AI occupied world will increase the AI Progress by 1, as they begin to correctly estimate the player. The human player may destroy them for a fixed +10 AI progress, or capture a planet with risk analyzer to cause it to reduce AI progress.

After 40 minutes into the game, the risk analyzer will begin allocating resources towards sending exogalactic strikeforces. The speed and strength of these special waves is increased if the planet is not controlled by the AI, with a risk analyzer feeding the budget about ten times as quickly should it be in human hands.

While these can theoretically be a net benefit to the player, it takes a very long time for the reduction effect of taking a few analyzers to overcome the costs and the increases caused by other risk analyzers, so adding these is generally a boost to the AI.

Astro Trains

The AI periodically spawns Depots that are the focal points of various AI anti-human countermeasures. Trains will spawn and travel between Stations on the way to the Depot to increase the power of these attacks. Intercept and destroy the trains to weaken those attacks. You should note however that the more trains you destroy, the better the AI will protect them, so destroying the Depots can be preferable.

This is a notable boost to the AI, boosting it and creating new unique units to fight you, the types of both depending on the selected Intensity. You can however perform some robberies on the Trains for some usually limited resources, so if done right they can be a net boost to you."

Dark Spire

Several mysterious, ancient structures exist on AI Planets throughout the galaxy. They cannot be harmed and do not have any weapons, but they absorb energy when a ship dies on the same planet. When they absorb enough energy, they may either create Dark Spire ships which are hostile to almost everything or share energy with other vengeance generators across the galaxy. The amount of ships spawned is proportional to the energy absorbed, and the generators grow more powerful as they absorb more energy.

Hacking can be used on the Generators to obtain ships, cause further Dark Spire attacks across the galaxy, or make the generators vulnerable, but these are all fairly dangerous hacks.

This is a notable boost to the level of chaos in the galaxy, and scales even further with the number of other factions in play, since their conflict will also feed the generators. They can create new opportunities, but also new challenges.

See also: https://wiki.arcengames.com/index.php?title=Lore:Dark_Spire

Devourer Golem

The nigh-indestructible Devourer Golem makes its way slowly around the galaxy, absorbing all of the mobile military forces it finds in order to power and repair itself. It is powerful enough to break ceasefire effects.

This is a small boost to the level of chaos in the galaxy, in a way that will usually slightly benefit the player, since they can better avoid the Golem than the AI. However, the AI is better able to absorb the losses.

Human Resistance Fighters

Pockets of human allies still live in deep space around AI planets; when they see you fighting the AI, sometimes they will reveal themselves and join you. The fewer losses they take, the more ships they'll have available next time, so it pays to help them out if they arrive rather than just using them as a distraction.

This is a useful boost to your power, but they won't win games for you on their own.

Macrophage Infestation

The galaxy is being invaded by enormous biological Macrophages. Their Tellia create harvesters which prey on the AI's ships for metal, and they will try to eat your ships too. If they manage to become reasonably prevalent in an area, they can start to create spores, which allows them to create more Tellia. Once they get going, they can grow exponentially, but it is hard for them to get going in the first place.

The impact of this faction tends to relate closely to how much effort the player is willing to invest in them.

Marauders

Hostile human vagabonds who live in deep space will occasionally raid human or AI planets via traditional propulsion methods (and thus come in from the edge of a system, not a wormhole). If they capture a planet then they will fortify it and use its resources to strengthen future attacks. Higher intensity gives this faction stronger and more frequent attacks.

This faction expands, and can do irreparable damage. If allowed to expand enough, they can be an enormous threat, but can struggle to get going initially. This can considerably change the viability of some strategies.

Zenith Dyson Sphere

If the Dyson Sphere's intensity is high enough, the AI will periodically spawn Dyson Antagonizers that will cause the Dyson Sphere to turn hostile toward you. If there are multiple high intensity Dyson Spheres the AI will spawn Antagonizers for each of them. But any antagonizer will make all the spheres hostile. Lots of Dysons can be a scary proposition.

Turning the intensity up to 8 will allow the AI to spawn Dyson Antagonizers.