EoN makes the game really easy...

[Xilmi]

Here's a few screenshots and some explanations to why I think EoN makes the game too easy.

Difficulty is Very Hard, Alien Aggression is highest aswell.


This is a normal sight on highest difficulty. I'm way behind in military and others should conider me easy pray.

But...


Everyone likes me. Everyone trades with me. Also everyone likes Heid. There's all peace, no war. The same thing as in my previous game on hard.

The result of this is:

The increased efficiency of trading combined with trading with everyone gives me 4 times the science-output I usually would have.
The AI's getting more science? I get more science aswell.
Especially if everyone stays alive due to no confligt amongst them.

So I'm second in Science as Divine Ascencion on Very Hard.

I think there's some undocumented changes that lets everyone be much less warlike and easier to bend their will. This sounds like "diplomacy-rework".

Well, the game's not over yet. I'll see what happens, but if it is as uneventfull (in terms of wars) I probably will get another Science-Victory.

[Xilmi]

However, highest alien-aggression + darkness =

For some reason they most of the time wandered around and didn't attack the city all at once. So it was surviveable.

[Zak0r]

I already messaged Lorenz that the trade agreements are too strong. My proposal was to introduce a permanent cap of 100% of your current own science/credit income that can only be exceeded by the faction bonus of the diplomacy faction. This way trade stays strong (you can increase your income by 100%), the new faction keeps its diplomacy advantage but you don't get any silly situations where you're leeching off so much science and credits while generation almost none yourself.

As to aliens wandering around. I think that's what they do when there are still improvements to pillage and your defense is strong enough to win the fight easily.

[Xilmi]

Instead of a hard-cap I'd suggest something smoother like this:

Trading with 1 faction: 100% trade-efficiency (2/2)
Trading with 2 factions: 66% trade-efficiency (2/3)
Trading with 3 factions: 50% trade-efficiency (2/4)
Trading with 4 factions: 40% trade-efficiency (2/5)
Trading with 5 factions: 33% trade-efficiency (2/6)
Trading with 6 factions: 28.6% trade-efficiency (2/7)

This still means it's an advantage to trade with several factions if they are about equal in output.
But the more factions you trade with, the less efficient it becomes.

However, I'm not even saying, that trade being efficient is the major cause in itself.
The lack of interest in wars seems to play an even bigger-role.

I think there's quite a bunch of factors reducing the AI's urge to go to war:
Remaining uncolonized area on the map
oceans between them and their opponents
Units owned by the opponent
This should be counteracted by considering the "juicyness" of their opponents cities

Founding a new city into some uncolonized area clearly will take much longer to reap benefits from than conquering a city with an enormous-radius and tons of buildings.

About the water-aliens: The thing is, that they didn't pillage anything. If they are supposed to do so, it may be a bug.

When I stopped playing yesterday at least the relations of Noxium and Dynasty as well as Empire and Dynasty have dropped.
I think that Empire+Noxium might eventually declare war on Dynasty and then hopefully become a threat for the other peacemongers (including me) aswell.

After my current game I shall try increasing AI-Aggression. But I don't think that is anyhting the Devs are gonna change.

I also would rather like that the aggression is more situational as in commiting to it when it's most beneficial. Not so much just doing it for the sake of being aggressive.
Trying to isolate your opponent diplomatically and being on good terms with anyone but your opponent is way better than bitching around with everyone, don't you agree Lady Vermillion?

[Zak0r]

Interesting approach for the trade issue. But I can see a small problem with this. If you trade with someone with a very strong economy you will actually lose income when you start trading with another partner with a rather weak income.

[hedning]

I can agree with you that EoN have made the trade agreements too strong.
Xilmi - Good point, BUT If you're trading with a strong economy and then swapping to someone much weaker - you will actually lose income. Or am I thinking right?

[Xilmi]

This is how the game eventually ended:




I had only 2 cities most of the game and got tons of science and dust from the trading-pacts.
Once I had all important military-techs I could upgrade everything to full-gold and start taking over cities.
I then juggled around a bit with research to get 1 tech/turn all the time.

Before EoN I was not able competing on Very Hard with my AI-Mod.

An interesting thing is that the Solar Dynasty went on a little rampage. They first took out all but 2 cities from Terra Salvum. I then bribed The Imperium and Noxium Corporation to attack them. Both got wiped out.
Eventually the Ambassadors went to war with them over a Black-Hole-Incident with the Messari (who came way, way to late as everyone already had Blackholes).
I joined them and took quite a few cities, so they couldn't get too strong.
The Ambassadors and the University were the strongest competitors at the end. But since both of them are increadibly peacefull, there was no need to watching my back.

Anyways, I now need AI-Improvements!

[Zak0r]

LOL Science victory with DA.

[Xilmi]

And another victory on very hard. This time with increased AI-aggression.
While I was at more wars due to that, it also was easier to make them attack each other and get my back free.
I lost my 2nd city and almost lost my 1st aswell.

I also massively abused spies against cities they planted right at my borders.
At the end I was stealing ~1700 cash from DA and ~2400 cash from Noxium... Every turn! Couldn't even spend it with buyouting.
I also had stolen science in the meantime but I also was unable to spend it. And I also was making too much myself. Got to 999 in one city.

I don't even know how the AI manages to lose against me in science, when they have like 5 times my population. They must have a really wasteful and ineffiecient population-management.