cheaters anonymous?

bandit · March 5, 2001, 22:00

I'm finally beating the transcend level (on alien crossfire). I am running into some problems, and.. not sure if it is because it is just the hardest level and the ai is set to cheat, or, if I'm just high. (I have all the latest patches). I don't know anybody that plays this game (besides me) .. so, like some input.

Quite often, my missile launchers (airplanes, whatever) can't destroy a green military unit in grey armor (the second level of armor). But, they can come up with a particle impacter gun and destroy my red (3rd level armor) almost everytime. I'm always concentrating on moral, most of my guys are hardened or above. I lost commando airplanes to some of these green dudes with no special abilities that have week armor (I know about bonuses with airspace complexes, etc).

Is this just part of the game?

If so, no big deal. I can still beat it. I'm sort of glad it can cheat or it would be too easy.. but, sometimes.. it's a little ridiculous.

Later in the game, doesn't seem to do it so bad.. but, I have occasionlly seen some of my singular reactor units get destroyed by some dude throwing tin cans at it (those throwing tin can units are pretty bad!). Fun stuff..

Bandit

Misotu · March 6, 2001, 02:19

That's interesting. Do you have the game set to check odds before you attack? If so, what are the odds like?

I'm only asking because I really wouldn't expect missile to fail against synth armour unless we were talking synth+creche+sensor+aerospace and even then it would be rather surprising ... If you're adding in AAA then the odds would be a lot closer, but the AI isn't usually geared up that way.

bandit · March 6, 2001, 04:42

I do check odds before attacking. I know about the aaa units, etc. Sometimes the odds are something like 43 to 18 (often better) and I'll still lose, or it will be super close. It happens a lot. Like with the Gaians.. they will have a very green level 2 armor unit that sucks, my commando dude will come along with a missile launcher aircraft and just get his butt kicked. She will come along with a wimpy particle impacter and waste my bad ass defender.

It usually just happens in the first part of the game.. especially if I'm way ahead of everybody else. I'm thinking maybe this is the games way of reacting to that? Maybe I'm wrong.

I always assumed this was the way trancend level worked. ?? Never really had it happen in thinker level or below.

This just happens "sometimes" .. not all the time. More times then I like to see though. I can live with it. I win A LOT more often then I lose, but.. it still makes me say bad words.

bandit

mark13 · March 6, 2001, 08:50

I've never seen anything like what you are describing, to be honest....sure, you'll get some bad results, but generally they will go to the form book....although I have lost battles (infuriatingly) that have been 3:2 shots. I haven't noticed any direct cheating on the AI's part though, and it may just be pure bad luck....

gwillybj · March 6, 2001, 19:00

You might be looking at a situation where the Armor and Weapons "modes" aren't matched. The following is in the alpha.txt file.

There are three Weapons Modes: Projectile, Energy, and Missile. There are also three Armor modes: Projectile, Energy, and Binary.

Projectile weapons receive a bonus against Energy armor. Energy weapons receive a bonus against Projectile armor. No weapon receives a bonus against Binary armor. Missile weapons never receive a bonus.

Projectile weapons: Hand Weapons (Gun), Laser, Particle Impactor, Chaos Gun, Graviton Gun, and both the Conventional Missile and the Planet Buster

Energy weapons: Gatling Laser, Fusion Laser, Tachyon Bolt, Quantum Laser, and Singularity Laser

Missile weapons: Missile Launcher, Plasma Shard, Psi Attack

Projectile armor: No Armor and Synthmetal

Energy armor: Silksteel, Photon Wall, and Neutronium

Binary armor: Plasma Steel, Probability Sheath, Antimatter Plate, Stasis Generator, and Psi Defense

Therefore:

Gun, Laser, Impact, Chaos, Graviton get bonus against Silksteel, Photon, Neutronium

Gatling, Fusion, Tachyon, Quantum, Singularity get bonus against No Armor and Synthmetal

Best remedy: Energy weapons, Binary armor. Use Missile launchers to soften defenses. They don't always do so well against lone units outside bases.

Chowlett · March 6, 2001, 20:10

Which would have been sooooo cool, if it had been implemented. Unfortunately it never was, so that isn't the cause of the troubles here.

Jacques De Carufel · March 7, 2001, 12:32

I have lost many battles with odds in the range of 85 to 15 in my favour and sometimes even more against the AI in some games.

MariOne · March 10, 2001, 04:33

hmmmm... JDC, you may be well right, but still, I'd like to point out that to be significant such contributions need to be more precise.
You see, if "many" means for you "15", and your total # of attempts was 100, with 85 to 15 odds that's EXACTLY what's supposed to happen...

gwillybj · March 10, 2001, 14:32

quote:

Originally posted by Chowlett on 03-06-2001 07:10 PM
Which would have been sooooo cool, if it had been implemented. Unfortunately it never was, so that isn't the cause of the troubles here.

Humility and Sarcasm modes enabled

I think I will shut up and just play the game

It appears that I talk too much about that which I know too little about

Humility mode active. Sarcasm mode disabled

OTOH, why would such obviously excellent ideas NOT be implemented

and is there something in alpha.txt or another user-editable file that would enable such things?

In the #RULES section of alpha.txt, does every line really work? I would like to put some modifiers in the four Combat % lines that are defaulted to zero

[*]attacking along road[*]attacking from higher elevation[*]attacking from lower elevation (penalty)[*]defend vs mobile in rough
[This message has been edited by gwillybj (edited March 10, 2001).]

Chowlett · March 10, 2001, 18:30

I believe those four actually do work, although I've never tried myself.