againey wrote: ...now the biters just bee-line for whatever piece of pollution they don't like, and start attacking the first thing they run into. Even if they're just barely out of gun turret range. So you really do have to spam turrets everywhere...
Walls don't force the biters to run along them looking for easier access to the source of their ire. Walls merely slow biters down a bit, so that you actually have a chance to drop what you're doing and deal with the problem yourself before the biters get through and destroy half your iron smelters before they finally catch some flak from the nearest turret. Which is indeed a major irritation if you're trying to focus on building a factory...
I really think that the new behavior you describe is just fine, as far as the game goes.
Imagine a human baby, that you really got its attention with something. Do you really think that it will try to find a path to get to you? or just run and obliterate anything on a straight line, in order to get to the point of interest? Maybe pollution equals ice-cream for the hungry bitters .. who knows..
Always, the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, and thats what the little buggers in factorio go for. Like newborn infants spawned from that thing they call "mama", the spawner in their case, they get out, smell something that drives them crazy, and go for it. And when you are crazy you dont have time to find paths, unless theres something that cant be broken-crushed along that way. (steel/lazer walls for an update maybe?)
Of course with that said, you can also argue that instead of going nuts from the get go, they instead take their sweet time to tag along with friends on some point near their base, and then attack together. Which shows hints of teamwork or collective mind like behavior, which in turn should give them the ability to "plan a path". I agree i find that a bit weird.
Still though, your solution of them trying to "ignore" walls, at least gamewise, is kinda meh ..
Since then, all you need to do is spam a wallbox, put 2-4 turrets on entrance points, and you are done, you just finished the game lol..
My point beign that walls are insanely cheap compared to turrets. Plus now that we got the range of the turrets visible, makes defence planning way smoother.
On the other hand, if you dont like messing with defences and the maintenance of, in order to focus, as you say, on factory building, you could just play with peace mode on. Nothing bad with that.
Well in the end, my real opinion on the matter is that we should standarize the aliens intelligence and abilities and work from there, if we really want to go that route.
Are they smart enough to understand "hostile turrets" in order to plan attacks based on them and their location, avoiding unnecessary infrastructure, like walls?
Do they just become "intrigued" by lights or sound from factories, so they try to come closer and see whats what, inspecting and leaving plain things like walls untouched?
Or in the end, they are just simple organisms, that all that is driving them "nuts" is pollution, and when they attack they go ------> boom?
And even more, beyond their initial intelligence, do they work like ants or like something else?
Are they football fans, that they just got out of a stadium (spawner), and see a bunch of opposite team shirts up ahead?
Or are they soldiers, that they just got out of the spawner training grounds, following some "sergeant" or whatever... (UNCLE STG NEEDS YOU!!!)
If we dont know what the hell they are, then i dont think we can safelly suggest "do this" or "do that" as solutions.
