0.0.2 is ready! I'll publish it tonight or tomorrow. Not all of my planned improvements made it in to this update (and will be saved for the next), while some I didn't plan on did make it in to this one.
0.0.2 Change Log:
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* AI is vastly improved. Will now counter attack, patrol, mass for coordinated assaults, re-enforce and defend intelligently, and trade space for time in an unwinnable situation, among other things. It still struggles against a competent player, who should be able to win most games within 300 turns by taking advantage of the reenforcement pool mechanic. I am toying with the idea of giving that mechanic to the AI as well, which would make the game much more challenging for a competent player. Another option is to give them a higher reenforcement rate than the player, to offset the fact that they can't place reenforcements at will like the player does. I will probably include a "hard mode" toggle before I publish this update, for those who want an extra challenge, which does just that. With default settings a competent player won't notice most of what the AI is doing, unless they just watch them play themselves. The reenforcement pool mechanical advantage for the player is very powerful; so much so that even when the AI is playing for the player in auto-play/watch mode, it will win most of the time just because of that, even though it uses the pool sub-optimally relative to a competent player. I'm open to suggestions on this, as I haven't made up my mind yet. In the meantime, the starting number of pirate systems and the starting fleets for non-FTL systems have been tuned to allow AI empires to expand early, as best they can (which benefits the player as much as the AI).
* AI now has zero mechanical advantages over the player. In fact, the player has some over the AI.
* Adjusted the amount of starting ships. Player still gets more than AI. AI Empires get more than Pirates and non-FTL systems. Non-FTL systems get an amount within a semi-random range.
* Non-FTL worlds now receive a production penalty to their shipyards after a certain point, to make them less of an end-game slog while still being an early game terrain obstacle.
* Pirate behavior is a little more intelligent.
* Victory splash now displays some stats, although it's rudimentary and in an early stage.
* Much improved art. The ships now use sprite-like objects generated prior to a battle. Still in an early state, and I intend to use actual sprite sheets for them at some point (or at least to generate more interesting sprite-like surfaces for them). Systems now include planets and stars generated at the initial load of the game, which are persistent, so that each system is recognizable throughout the run.
* Adjusted the lore a little, since I have given each system an Earth-like planet.
* Pirate raids can now come from off-map. Any system within fuel range of the map's edge is at risk. Pirate raids from off-map are rare, but in the late game can be very dangerous because their size is dependent on the number of ships at the targeted planet.
* Auto-play system. The player can now press Ctrl+Shift+W to set the game in motion on its own. The AI won't handle reenforcements as well as a competent player would, and it doesn't scout yet, but it still enjoys the mechanical advantage of reenforcement banking over the AI Empires, and is capable of winning the game most of the time. I highly recommend just sitting back and watching a playthrough at least once or twice, because it's pretty neat. This can be toggled on/off, so that if the player wants they can treat the game somewhat like a real-time-pausable strategy game instead of a turn based one.
* Ctrl+Shift+B to toggle automatic skipping of tactical battles
* Ctrl+Shift+D to toggle debug mode. This removes the fog of war, and allows the player to select planets and fleets anywhere on the map. For players who just want to watch the AI play the game, this is a good one.
(I ran out of GUI space, which is why those are hot-keys. I'll add some menus down the road for more GUI space)
* Battles are much improved. There is now more variation, with a chance for either side to receive special bonuses at the beginning of the battle if they are outnumbered and a small chance each round to get a bonus for that round. This makes them less predictable, although in general ensuring you outnumber the opponent is still the key to victory.
* Massive performance gains. CPU use in strategy mode is cut down to almost nothing, while CPU use in tactical battle mode is much reduced.
* Hit boxes are now ideal in the strategy mode. They were a bit off before.
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Some of the stuff I wanted to do for 0.0.2 is going to be delayed until 0.0.3, owing to the sheer size of 0.0.2's improvements already. I don't want to delay this update any longer, because it's so much better than 0.0.1. But, the following will make it in to the next update for sure:
* AI Personalities. Each AI will have a distinct play style.
* Promotion of non-FTL worlds. If there are less than the starting number of AI Empires left alive, then non-FTL systems which have achieved a certain level of strength might promote to an empire.
* Diplomacy by action: AI Empires will remember who attacked them, and who attacked who attacked them, and maybe a few other things, so that the player can influence their behavior by acting like a friend or foe. In conjunction with AI personalities, some of them may be loyal allies while others may be back-stabbers.
* End-game boss. Some kind of end-game boss. The empire returns from off-map, the surviving AI Empires form a coalition, a pirate empire forms, etc. Haven't decided yet.