Best Gameplay? Mission Advice? Help us find the most fun!
We're relatively new to Artemis, and we love the idea and want to help promote the game as much as possible!
But even as newbies, we're spanking the game on level 9 with first-time players, and looking to try level 10 and 11 next session. Even with our blunt-hammer tactics, we're not finding the enemy AI very challenging (we don't even bother maneuvering ... just stand our ground and run through a pre-set pattern of choices, resulting in about 1/3 surrenders and at worst 50 percent forward shield damage a couple of times per game session at level 9)
We were extremely excited about missions until we actually played two of them (I believe the titles were "waning dark" and "end of peace") but those experiences left us completely unthrilled and disappointed.
We basically can't seem to become invested in NPC ships that are too stupid to live (flying straight into a singularity is not my idea of a competent NPC captain!) and the enemy AI tactics seem to be somewhat lacking.
So before our gang loses interest, I thought I'd ask the veteran community to help us set up our games properly for that balance of fun/challenge/excitement!
For a solid game, how should we set our ...
a) mission type(siege, single-front, double-front) ?
b) difficulty level (1-11)?
c) sensor rating (weak, medium, strong, etc.?)
We would *LOVE* to find missions that didn't disappoint. Should we play the Deneb 1-3 missions? Are there "must play" missions out there that we should be downloading and playing? Pointing us at exciting missions would truly make our day!
If some of you veterans could help us tweak our settings and gameplay experience to bring us more in line with your experiences, we'd truly appreciate it.
How should we set up our games for the most fun?
But even as newbies, we're spanking the game on level 9 with first-time players, and looking to try level 10 and 11 next session. Even with our blunt-hammer tactics, we're not finding the enemy AI very challenging (we don't even bother maneuvering ... just stand our ground and run through a pre-set pattern of choices, resulting in about 1/3 surrenders and at worst 50 percent forward shield damage a couple of times per game session at level 9)
We were extremely excited about missions until we actually played two of them (I believe the titles were "waning dark" and "end of peace") but those experiences left us completely unthrilled and disappointed.
We basically can't seem to become invested in NPC ships that are too stupid to live (flying straight into a singularity is not my idea of a competent NPC captain!) and the enemy AI tactics seem to be somewhat lacking.
So before our gang loses interest, I thought I'd ask the veteran community to help us set up our games properly for that balance of fun/challenge/excitement!
For a solid game, how should we set our ...
a) mission type(siege, single-front, double-front) ?
b) difficulty level (1-11)?
c) sensor rating (weak, medium, strong, etc.?)
We would *LOVE* to find missions that didn't disappoint. Should we play the Deneb 1-3 missions? Are there "must play" missions out there that we should be downloading and playing? Pointing us at exciting missions would truly make our day!
If some of you veterans could help us tweak our settings and gameplay experience to bring us more in line with your experiences, we'd truly appreciate it.
How should we set up our games for the most fun?
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10 replies
Not quite a veteran...
What is this "pattern of preset choices" you run through? Which ship do you fly in? and how long do your games usually take?
Changing the time setting of the game may make it more interesting, ramping up the pressure for you to complete the game in a certain time (I have read some threads in which people somehow spend hours completing a game). A lighter ship may also make a more challenging choice too (once tried a high level siege in a scout.... didn't quite work but definitely provided a challenge).
There is also a mission that comes with the game that allows you to have a game master. If you could get someone to GM a game, they could possibly make it much more challenging for you. (go into the mission folder, go into the "module_3_bases". In there is a text file telling you all the keys to use on the GM screen).
What is this "pattern of preset choices" you run through? Which ship do you fly in? and how long do your games usually take?
Changing the time setting of the game may make it more interesting, ramping up the pressure for you to complete the game in a certain time (I have read some threads in which people somehow spend hours completing a game). A lighter ship may also make a more challenging choice too (once tried a high level siege in a scout.... didn't quite work but definitely provided a challenge).
There is also a mission that comes with the game that allows you to have a game master. If you could get someone to GM a game, they could possibly make it much more challenging for you. (go into the mission folder, go into the "module_3_bases". In there is a text file telling you all the keys to use on the GM screen).
Have you tried "Party Crashers" or "Havoc in the Hamak Sector" yet? You can download them from my website.
Both are fully voiced so you need a Main Screen computer with strong speakers (I use a subwoofer). You should also turn down the music volume.
Both are fully voiced so you need a Main Screen computer with strong speakers (I use a subwoofer). You should also turn down the music volume.
"Damn the torpedoes! Four bells, Captain Drayton!"
(Likely actual words of Admiral David Farragut, USN, at the battle of Mobile Bay. Four bells was the signal for the engine room to make full steam ahead).
(Likely actual words of Admiral David Farragut, USN, at the battle of Mobile Bay. Four bells was the signal for the engine room to make full steam ahead).
Mike, are your downloads good to use for the current 1.66 version of Artemis?
Commander -TSN Belisarius (BS 108)
Hamak, Party Crashers, and Attract Mode should work with 1.66.
"Damn the torpedoes! Four bells, Captain Drayton!"
(Likely actual words of Admiral David Farragut, USN, at the battle of Mobile Bay. Four bells was the signal for the engine room to make full steam ahead).
(Likely actual words of Admiral David Farragut, USN, at the battle of Mobile Bay. Four bells was the signal for the engine room to make full steam ahead).
Personally I've come to look at the game as a type of "target practice", my team has tried to focus on getting tactically proficient. We are by no means expert and we are learning new stuff all the time. You will find level 10 and level 11 are tough and finding a good balance of fun vs realism in a simulator is a lot to consider. My team has made a couple of videos so that was fun. Look into the INI file and you can tweak the weapons strength and other variables to suit your team best.
We haven't tried all the missions yet as we are wanting to have a near full team when we do but recently had a BvB match that was pretty fun. Mike's got some good ones and there are some cool mods. Definitely give feedback.
Artemis 1701
We haven't tried all the missions yet as we are wanting to have a near full team when we do but recently had a BvB match that was pretty fun. Mike's got some good ones and there are some cool mods. Definitely give feedback.
Artemis 1701
[Last edited Nov 24, 2012 07:33:31]
Thanks Mike! What is the best way to load those missions? Simply download them and copy them to the Artemis files?
Commander -TSN Belisarius (BS 108)
Unzip the folders into your missions folder. That should be all you need.
"Damn the torpedoes! Four bells, Captain Drayton!"
(Likely actual words of Admiral David Farragut, USN, at the battle of Mobile Bay. Four bells was the signal for the engine room to make full steam ahead).
(Likely actual words of Admiral David Farragut, USN, at the battle of Mobile Bay. Four bells was the signal for the engine room to make full steam ahead).
My typical setup is level 7-8 Seige, Scanners limited, very interesting terrain...
now play it as a scout!
now play it as a scout!
"... ooops!"
Last words of Captain Phour Phazier Phred from Phremont
Last words of Captain Phour Phazier Phred from Phremont
Levels 10 and 11 are each noticeably harder than the previous, so that alone may give you a better challenge.
Our "default" setting is level 10, Siege, Strong sensors, Very Interesting map, no time limit, Light Cruiser(s). With newbies we'll go down to Level 9; with all veteran players Level 11.
Since there are several factors that scale with difficulty (most palpably the rate of energy drain and number of enemies), there is a sort-of N-squared impact of the difficulty setting.
If you've been spanking Level 9 and are worried about boredom, I'd start your next session by immediately jumping into a Level 11 Light Cruiser Very Interesting Strong Sensors Siege battle and see how you do. Hopefully you will get your butts kicked and then the gauntlet will have been thrown! (and then you can stay at 11 or scale back to 10.)
That said, I agree that the skill ceiling isn't quite high enough for veteran players, or with 2+ ships at once (Level 10 was perfect for 18 newbs playing 3 bridges last night).
Our "default" setting is level 10, Siege, Strong sensors, Very Interesting map, no time limit, Light Cruiser(s). With newbies we'll go down to Level 9; with all veteran players Level 11.
Since there are several factors that scale with difficulty (most palpably the rate of energy drain and number of enemies), there is a sort-of N-squared impact of the difficulty setting.
If you've been spanking Level 9 and are worried about boredom, I'd start your next session by immediately jumping into a Level 11 Light Cruiser Very Interesting Strong Sensors Siege battle and see how you do. Hopefully you will get your butts kicked and then the gauntlet will have been thrown! (and then you can stay at 11 or scale back to 10.)
That said, I agree that the skill ceiling isn't quite high enough for veteran players, or with 2+ ships at once (Level 10 was perfect for 18 newbs playing 3 bridges last night).
Try reducing the terrain to interesting or barren. This will give the enemy ships fewer obstacles to impale themselves on. Also, if you have the boxes and players, pair off and try running multiple two-player scout ships, using only helm and weapons. This not only reduces the ships' effectiveness by not having the other stations, it also creates a whole new tactical problem. No longer can you stand off and pound the enemy with a dreadnought - you have to use wolfpack type hit-and-run tactics to bring down those fleets.
If you can beat this setup on diff 10, I'll doff my stormtrooper helmet to ya!
Regards,
Jim
If you can beat this setup on diff 10, I'll doff my stormtrooper helmet to ya!
Regards,
Jim
[Last edited Dec 02, 2012 04:19:13]
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