Introduction
A Sequel Unlike Any Other - Let's Play AI War 2!
Launch Trailer
Current 'Post-Launch Polish' Patch Progression
I'm so awesome, I'm LPing this here monstrosity with the launch version starting on the day before the launch! That's because they dropped v. 1.001 ahead of time to make sure there was nothing horribly wrong with it. AI War 2 is the sequel to multiple-award-winning AI War: Fleet Command, released by independent developer Arcen Games in 2009. It's been a decade and change since then, largely filled up with the six DLC expansions for the original. I'm mostly through those on my treatment of that game. For this version, multiple 'pivots' and other internal drama contributed to cramming a one-year development cycle into three, but by all appearances they stayed the course admirably and came out with something worth the wait.
What Kind of Game Is This?
Oh, just your everyday, run-of-the-mill, Grand Strategic Tower Defense 4X RTS. AI War features assymetrical gameplay, metric tons of options and replayability. It's really complex but also really rewarding. Come prepared for the learning cliff.
How Does The Sequel Compare to the Original?
Jury's still out with this being the launch version - though it's been in Early Access for a year - but its both bigger and smaller, streamlined and at the same time expanded. It's hard to briefly summarize. . There are changes I like, and changes I don't, but on balance more of the former than the latter. The community agrees, with a current (including early access haters) positive score on 89% of Steam reviews, 93% in the last 30 days though that's a more limited sample. The first game has 87%. So basically just haul your butt over there or wherever else you prefer and buy the darned thing. It's worth your money and Chris Park is as good as it gets with customer support. I put up a suggestion in the hinterlands of the Arcen Forums just today, day before launch, and less than two hours later he had not only typed out a LONG answer to a guy who didn't contribute anything during the Early Access period, but also reposted my question and his reply on the Steam forums as well. I'm a fair bit of an AI War fanboi but a raging, hysterical one when it comes to the developer himself.
Nuc_Temeron, longtime Arcen community member, in a recent Steam review posted:
AI War II has evolved massively during it's last months of Early Access. It has become a worthy descendant to my all-time favorite strategy game. The gameplay feels quite similar but everything has become more comfortable, more modern. Things are different, but the same. In a good way! A lot has evolved, there are loads of new features and it's really quite excellent.
Corbeau, SA member, recently in my LP of the original referring to AI War 2 posted:
It kind of spoiled all other strategy games for me, with how good most of it's design choices are.
LP Style
Exclusively video with my associated ramblings, I'll begin with roughly daily uploads for a bit after launch, then things will slow down eventually. A total beginner entry-level how-stuff-works treatment will start things off, and then I'll gradually tighten the noose around my neck as I did with AI War 1.
One of my top goals for this project is to make the game more accessible to noobs - we all start off there, but lots of folks bounce off these games. I did at first with the original, and I'm super-glad I came back to it eventually and stuck.
Galactic Histories
Herein shall be contained a record of my misadventures to date.
Beginner Walkthrough
Basic Quick-Start, Difficulty 4, Single AI
Intro & Setup Options (26:03)
Defenses & Resources (20:27)
Basics of Fleets and Combat (20:32)
The Bigger Picture (22:13)
End of the Beginning (24:36)
Strategic Thinking (31:50)
Galactic Scavenging (27:55)
Hubris (27:36)
Support Matters (27:09)
Hacking Spree (22:08)
Deep-striking, Golems, and More (23:35)
Chokepoints for Fun and Profit (21:41)
Unmasking the Overlord (19:19)
Crisis Management (24:05)
What the Hack? (24:15)
The New Superterminal (19:10)
Victory!! (31:44)
The Real War Begins
Multiple 'standard' Difficulty-7 AIs, Marauders, Devourer, Human Resistance Fighters. A 'baseline' setup for an accelerated, advanced-tutorial feel
Setup Strategy (15:06)
Planet Defense Fundamentals (20:28)
Attacking Concepts (25:17)
New Obstacles (22:53)
Divide & Conquer (20:26)
Reshaping the Galaxy, Part I (18:58)
Disruptive Influences (22:07)
Midgame Machinations (29:15)
Closing In (18:43)
Rogue One (29:24)
Approaching the Climax (13:12)
Ankru or Bust (39:29)
Faction Frenzy
Galaxy of Chaos (16:09)
Cloaking Power (24:12)
Nanocaust Nightmare (28:40)
Painstaking Progress (24:41)
Chaos Abhors a Vacuum (23:40)
A Rare Discovery (24:38)
Marauder Menace (25:02)
Timing Is Everything (31:22)
A Planet Divided (29:58)
Hack Away (24:21)
A Major Speed Bump (26:46)
Frenemies Galore (26:35)
Impasse at Zombri (28:15)
Just Like I Drew It Up (25:10)
The AIs Strike Back … Hard (20:26)
Tasting the Spire
Introductory run for The Spire Rises, the first expansion. Dark Spire, Scourge both allied and hostile, and of course, the Fallen Spire.
The Spire Rises Intro (10:53)
Early Steps … and Missteps (24:09)
Encountering the Spire (39:43)
Core Expansion (34:11)
Scourge Highway (32:21)
Military Matters (20:11)
Upgrades, but too late (20:51)
Spire, Simplified
No Scourge here, just Fallen Spire this time at the 'default' of 5 intensity.
Revised Spire Reboot (33:13)
The Race Is On! (25:35)
Raising the Stakes (36:37)
Battleships Ahoy! (18:46)
Old-School Relic Defense (38:07)
The Final City (26:29)
Inevitable Surrender (3:27)
Faction Overview (23:04)