I've been playing Privateer recently on my 386 (Thanks to those of you who gave me advice on how to deal with Stacker a couple months ago)... and I've noticed a fairly glaring problem with the AI:
You're the most important person in the universe. Pirates will be making a run on a tasty and defenseless (judging from the escort runs) Drayman, and they'll drop everything to try and destroy you. In your large, bewilderingly overweaponed Centurion. And they're flying Talons.
Now I realize the probable out-of-game decision for this - keep the player on their toes by throwing enemies at him. I'm just wondering, what's actually going through these pirates' minds, when they blow an easy and profitable op just so they can bask in the almighty power of your withering gunfire, or chase you all the way across the sector hanging 5000 meters off your stern while you hold down the burners?
And the other thing... how is regular shipping even profitable? Given that: Pirates, Retros, and Kilrathi are everywhere; Draymans die quickly under concerted fire; Galaxies die even more quickly unless piloted by Brown-Hair; but Centurions can outrun pretty much anything fielded against them and moreover are fairly easy to buy; why isn't every mercantile outfit in Gemini hiring small fleets of unarmed, 3-engine-2-shield Cents to ship their cargo?
You're the most important person in the universe. Pirates will be making a run on a tasty and defenseless (judging from the escort runs) Drayman, and they'll drop everything to try and destroy you. In your large, bewilderingly overweaponed Centurion. And they're flying Talons.
Now I realize the probable out-of-game decision for this - keep the player on their toes by throwing enemies at him. I'm just wondering, what's actually going through these pirates' minds, when they blow an easy and profitable op just so they can bask in the almighty power of your withering gunfire, or chase you all the way across the sector hanging 5000 meters off your stern while you hold down the burners?
And the other thing... how is regular shipping even profitable? Given that: Pirates, Retros, and Kilrathi are everywhere; Draymans die quickly under concerted fire; Galaxies die even more quickly unless piloted by Brown-Hair; but Centurions can outrun pretty much anything fielded against them and moreover are fairly easy to buy; why isn't every mercantile outfit in Gemini hiring small fleets of unarmed, 3-engine-2-shield Cents to ship their cargo?