Incoming Transmission - Day 3 - New AI Enemies!
over 2 years ago
– Sat, Jul 02, 2022 at 10:25:36 AM
Incoming Transmission - New AI Enemies
Greetings builders and pilots!
At 16:05 the following transmission was intercepted on the wide band spectrum:
“Mayday. We are drifting near the Alathon moon. Engine bay ripped to shreds. Crew disabled…. Oxygen reserves at critical. Request immediate evac. They were… <static> …Scarab variants. Couldn’t determine exactly what hit us… <static> …never seen them before…coordinated…automated…brutal… Transmitting intel before comms go out.”
In Solo or Co-op play each enemy ship is controlled by a custom deck of four cards. Today, the battlefield gets a lot more deadly, as we add AI decks for four variant ships in the Starter Box - that comes to 16 additional large format cards!
Scarab Light Fighter and Scarab Attack Striker are two of the variants to receive a custom AI deck. You will be able to use these variants as automated enemies right out of the box. With these additions, combined with the base Scarab Interceptor (the default build), will help ensure each Solo or Co-op play provides new and exciting challenges. Custom cards give the AI the ability to take advantage of the unique loadout equipped to each of those ships; this means more variety in the weapons and equipment you face.
If you thought the standard Scarab Interceptor was maneuverable, wait until you see the Scarab Light Fighter fly circles around it. The AI takes advantage of this variant’s chassis ability, gaining a free 1-rotate every time it performs a long move. Combining this with a different thruster piece on its preset means that this light fighter makes some speedy moves that grant it bonus evasion. Ever try to catch a fly with your bare hands? That might be what it feels like to get this lined up in your crosshairs.
On the other hand, the Scarab Attack Striker is all about speed. When you fly this variant, you can choose to upgrade any short move into a long move. When the AI flies this variant, you can be certain it will be screaming across the battlefield at top speed for a series of hit and run strikes with its Gatling guns. The Attack Striker variant loses the maneuvering fins, so it doesn’t turn quite as well. But it compensates for this by equipping a bulkhead piece for an additional four hull points and limited protection against critical hits. Preventing those dangerous strafing strikes from across the map and finding a safe space to hide just became that much more challenging.
And for the defectors among us - those who prefer to build and fly for the Komplex - you’ll be going up against new AI decks for the Forge’s automated Sabre Light Bomber and Sabre Fast Recon ships.
True to its name, you’ll face a barrage of guided missiles from the Sabre Light Bomber when you face it in the arena. In the hands of a human player, the Light Bomber can add a single heat cube when it launches missiles to launch an additional one. This is useful with light missiles, but can be devastating when you utilize this with other missile types. The AI takes full advantage of this increased missile capacity as part of its individual card instructions, making sure a swarm of missiles streaks behind you at all times.
On the other hand, the Sabre Fast Recon is a new Forge attempt to rival the maneuverability of the Scarab. Similar to the Scarab Light Fighter, the Sabre Fast Recon can perform a 1-rotate after any long move. While the Komplex use their thruster designs to make tight close-quarters maneuvers, the Forge focuses more on pure speed. The Fast Recon is primed to take full advantage of bigger Forge thrusters by providing some additional maneuverability. The AI deck knows this as well, and will exploit this flexibility to outfly you and blast away at you from vulnerable angles. Added maneuverability also means the Fast Recon swaps the standard maneuvering fins for an external battery, allowing it to activate another part a second time. One autocannon volley at a time can be dangerous; two is quite often deadly.
AI Variety
Think of each AI deck as a different enemy unit with different behaviors. With these additions, you now have nine different preset matchups you can run with the parts provided in the Starter Box. Each of these will present different challenges, and while you may find your ship does well against one type of AI, another might cause you to meet your match!
And if you want even more flexibility, you can combine different AI builds and go up against multiple ships at once! Each different combination of enemies will drastically change the threats you face and need to handle. Just remember, if you want to run multiple AI opponents at once, you’ll need some extra parts, stands, and components.
Difficulty Adjustments
We’ve also been asked if you can make the game harder against the AI. Absolutely! Each ship has a number of build points for balancing it against other ships. If you want a fair fight, play against an AI of equal point value. But for an increased challenge, increase the number of points the AI has to spend. Or play 1v2 or 2v4.
Want to see an example? Tommy made the claim th his custom-built Sabre could take on both a Scarab Interceptor and a Locust Stealth Craft at the same time. If you want to see how this battle played out, check the following gameplay video. Can he still pull off a victory for the Forge?
Stay alert! These automated opponents will show no mercy. You’re going to have to use all your skills as a builder and as a pilot to win the day!
Because remember, the best ship is the one you create!
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