Hi! I have been playing the mod for some time, right now doing a run alongside Angelsbobs+Enemy AI Enhancement, and I'm having a real blast, so, first of all, thanks you!
Having challenging enemies really revitalizes the game. I played the original many years ago and I have to say that your fork really is a big level up.
I have a ton of suggestions to make it even better/more challenging, some easy to implement and some impossible. I would like to start with one that I think is quite simple to make but would have a big strategic impact.
This is about the underground attack system.
INITIAL SUGGESTION:
Replace the ON/OFF for underground attacks for an option list. The options could be:
OFF - No underground attacks.
LIMITED - Current underground attacks, bitters resurface at a distance from turrets.
REAL - Bitters resurface right on top of the turrets.
What does this solves/adds?
From my experience, what I have read, and what I have seen in @MichaelHendriks rampant series when he was using debug mode to test it, underground attacks quickly become irrelevant. With rampant you basically need a full wall with turrets circling your base as soon as possible to fight normal raids, and when you finish that then turrets force underground attacks to surface at a distance, turning them into normal attacks, making them as dangerous or innocuous as all the rest of attacks. The REAL option would make them resurface right on the turrets, bypassing the wall and not having to cover the distance, giving underground attacks a real and noticiable advantage. For balance purposes this ability should probably be learnt at a higher level, and nuclear bitters only at 100% evolution (if it can be separated easily).
ADDITIONAL SUGGESTION:
Add a fourth option. I separate this because this needs more work on the AI to implement:
STRATEGIC - A chance (increasing with evolution) that underground attacks coordinates with overground attacks.
What does this solves/adds?
The REAL underground attack may create an opening, but nobody takes advantage of it. If you can make that an underground attack is followed by overground attacks, but with some delay so the overground attacks are not killed before the underground surfaces and does its job, the difficulty will increase even more. I know that there is some coordination between bitter groups, but I don't know if it applies to underground, it doesn't seem so, and if it does, it still needs the special delay and AI so they can attack at the same time or a bit after to make a combined attack really efective.
ADVANCED ADDITIONAL SUGGESTION:
Additional to the underground attacks type option list, an enemy type option list:
Bitters: Current underground attacks, only bitters surface.
Worms: Add a chance (starting at high evolution and increasing with it) that worms surface with the bitters.
Nests: (only active at very high evolution) if worm entities that surfaced are alive after X amount of time (like 30 seconds or so, which indicates that the attack has been successful) a few nests will spawn there.
What does this solves/adds?
Makes wall breaches a real risk, keeping some challenge lategame, making breaches entrenched bitter territory if not deal with. So, not all breaches will be solved by your robots like it is 'business as always', some will be permanent if you don't actively reclaim that section.
I know some players don't like the idea of worms and nests spawning on their walls or bases, but not only is this optional, this is for lategame when you are basically stabilized and actually want some challenge. The hate comes from the frustration when players are still juggling with feble defenses and these threats come while having no tools at their disposal to do something. Also, I don't think there is much demographic overlap of these haters with hardcore rampant users.
What is the strategic implications of these additions?
The wall defense meta would change drastically lategame. Right now, from my experience and the youtubers runs I seen, the meta is to have one very good and optimized perimeter wall. Depending on the difficulty settings and others mods this perimeter will be hyper fortifier or whatever, but it is this simple, sometimes it takes some damage, but robots go in and do their job. Real underground threats and later bitters reclaiming the conquered zone will help force new defense designs. For example, layered defenses and block isolation layouts. If you have a breach and you lose a section, not only you need a second layer (to kill the ones in the first layer, or farther just to act as a second perimeter), but you also need a design that keeps logistics going, your first perimeter can't be just a continuous logistical line along the wall easily repaired by robots, if a section falls you need a system to keep the rest of the perimeter supplied of munitions, fuel and electricity in order to not lose functionality on ALL the perimeter from just one breach.
In result, late game will have your border not just be a perimeter, it will be a fortified wide grid of defenses and fallback systems that will work even with holes and bitters in it in a very W40K-like way. You can overdesign and oversize defenses now, but there is no need or incentive to do so.
Thanks for your time, and again, thanks for this magnificent mod!
