Malf AI and moving the AI core

[Gun Hog]

It does. (Or should). Malf AI should be made so that leaving the Z-level is an instant loss.

[deathhoof]

Thats one of the best tricks tho. Another funny trick is moving the ai core teleport beacon right into the sight of laser turrets.

[DemonFiren]

Usually, the moment I hear the AI is rogue I check cameras. If the AI core is walled off and I can't see it, I check APCs.
Once I see the AI ain't on APCs it's time to grab normal load values on all station systems and comb through the list, while sending someone to go to Mining.

[cedarbridge]

Thats one of the best tricks tho. Another funny trick is moving the ai core teleport beacon right into the sight of laser turrets.

Its retardedly unbalanced. There's no "trick" to it other than the crew being fooled into raiding an empty sat. It unblanaces the times assigned to each leg of a malf round. The first where the crew fights to and penetrates the sat (or doesn't) and the part where they chase the shunted AI to wherever it ran off to. Except now they have to 1) Raid the sat to find no core 2) Start forming a meta list of an infinite number of places the core could be hiding (even off z-level which is doubly bullshit) 3) Get to and find said hidden core 4) THEN deal with shunting. Expecting any crew to be able to do that in a 600 second timer is beyond the pale.

[PKPenguin321]

Not to mention, say the AI's hidden on the asteroid and proceeds to destroy the shuttle consoles, preventing people from getting there without z-level transition RNG. On top of that, people that do manage to get to the asteroid will have to deal with the inevitable defenses or borgs that brought the AI there.

[Raven776]

People should do their job and actually monitor the AI.

[AnonymousNow]

As a recent malf AI who was moved by a cyborg and subsequently BWOINKED (as I agreed with the plan and didn't realise that some people consider it an exploit), can't we just rebalance it somehow?

[Incomptinence]

In built camera in the AI core maybe?

Borgs have had them forever.

A whole bunch of people could still be fooled (forever tcomms screwing) by moving it but some wouldn't be engaging in a game of cups kilometers apart.

Alternatively screw the crew because so many round types basically handhold them victory on a silver platter.

[cedarbridge]

Alternatively screw the crew because so many round types basically handhold them victory on a silver platter.

"Other modes are easy so fuck everyone you get to instalose every X rounds" Man, I bet you're a riot at parties.

[Incomptinence]

Yet to have a malf AI come to a party.

[Bluespace]

Moving the AI is fine and a legitimate strat.
Being able to teleport to the gulag, then blowing both the mining and gulag shuttle consoles so the Z-level cant be accessed is kinda bad.

[PKPenguin321]

In my opinion, moving the AI core is a legitimate strategy but it is unbalanced as there is no counter and because of the issue of denying access to an alternate z-level the AI might be hiding on.
Fixes to this are simple as
1. Add a counter to hiding AIs (like the AI having a camera built into it, pinpointer buff, centcomm announcement saying where the AI is if all else fails)
2. Prevent the AI from denying access to other z-levels (Make shuttle consoles unremovable/make them not a console but a button or something)
3. Do not allow the AI to move across z-levels (Make it not able to start the countdown if it's not on station, make it instalose if it leaves the station z-level, etc.)

[Incomptinence]

Or have spare shuttle console boards and allow research to print them for point 2.

[Raven776]

I think moving the AI core is kinda smart, and the counterplay is even smarter...

No place will EVER be as safe as the AI satellite, and if you've suddenly got a power spike in another area of the ship (easily seen through the engineering terminals if you know what you're looking for) then you're golden on finding the less protected AI core stuck in maintenance or a solar.

Taking it off station is kinda meh... I've seen an AI and an enterprising cyborg get a beacon out to the DJ station and set the AI up there.

[Gun Hog]

Remember: The pinpointer will point to the Malf AI as soon as it declares Delta (correct me if this has changed). This is why Malfs using the 'move the core' strategy have their borgs space the thing. It was added as the hard counter when the unanchoring update was merged.