Precursor planet improvement event needs to be nerfed.

from Stardock Forums
Ok, I've now played 2 seperate games that were basically ended by an AI race getting the Precursor Artifact even that improves all unoccupied planets in range by 12 or so points. Up until that point, I was doing pretty well, but shortly afterwards I'm being outpaced in virtually every category due to the AI's sheer population advantage. I mean, isn't suddenly gaining 8-10 class 27+ planets a little excessive? (And, no, colonizing them myself was not even remotely practical, since they were stuck deep in AI territory, on largish maps, and some or all of the systems already had an AI presence.)

IMO, that event gives too much of a medium- and long-term advantage to be balanced. Simply boosting the ratings in one system would be a significant bonus without being as unbalancing.

Has anyone else encountered this problem?
2,083 views 9 replies
Reply #1 from Stardock Forums Top
I don't think I've had that one happen to me yet...but I've had this event happen to me a couple of times. In the game data it's labeled a 'comeback' - but it often happens to a major power that's already doing pretty well.

"Reports are coming in that the waning civilization of the XX has somehow uncovered a piece of an ancient artifact that grants the one who controls it nearly unlimited power. This power grows over time. Each day, that civilization will grow increasingly powerful in numerous ways. Our agents believe that we must either act now to destroy this civilization or one day be enslaved by it."

IMO, some of the random events are a tad bit unbalancing.
Reply #2 from Stardock Forums Top
Too bad that there isn't a pre-game setting toggle that lets you choose from MILD to WILD level of random events for those that want to control the amount of zestiness in their galaxy.


:d
The Political Machine 2024
Reply #3 from Stardock Forums Top
I think the planet quality RE is one of the ones that got adjusted in the first patch. It really pissed me off, too, when it was directly responsible for a loss I had. I haven't seen it since 1.01A, though.
Reply #4 from Stardock Forums Top
Vogar, I've seen that event too, but it's never changed anything for me. I simply ignored it and even several turns down the road, that civ hadn't improved much. What happened in your game?

~SDC~
Reply #5 from Stardock Forums Top
my last game... the altarians were sucking ass and they got TWO, count em... TWO of the planet quality random events not to mention 3 other events that were positive. needless to say the altarians became extremely powerful with their multiple 40+ PQ systems and what happens when they become powerful? they start hating me for no reason despite my good alignment and kill me :)

~SDC~
Reply #6 from Stardock Forums Top
Ayup. The Yor were the weakest power in the galaxy...then they got THREE of those things in about 12 turns or so...

I sent a scout to that sector. 15 planets ranging from 19 (only 1) to 36 PQ...

Needless to say, they weren't in last place for long.
What made it especially gruesome is that this happened in the first game that I actually had a shot of winning.

Reply #7 from Stardock Forums Top
I am with Ancient Warrior. I have had an opponent trigger this one three times total and none of the times did I notice them surge. 2 were on sub normal games, the most recent on normal.

olaf
Reply #8 from Stardock Forums Top
I imagine it depends entirely on:
1) how many planets are in the sector where the event happens.
2) how many of the planets were uncolonized at the time
3) how quickly a nearby race is able to exploit those planets with colonies.
Reply #9 from Stardock Forums Top
Valamir:
1) Granted.
2) Well, in an average system, it seems that only maybe 1/3 to 1/2 of the planets are colonizable, even in a system with a yellow star. In a sector with 3 systems, each with 2 uncolonized planets of rating 13 (the AI won't colonize anything below 15, at least at the lower difficulty levels), and a planet bonus of 13, that's 6 rating 26 planets. And from what I've seen, that's a comparatively mild result.
3) I've only seen it happen twice, but both times it occured in sectors deep in an AI race's territory, where they were the only ones that stood a real chance of colonizing them.