Automa what the ********* is that ?

[plong999]

It would be very nice if the "automa" would be explained by the devs. ( it is not "explained" in the tutorial,and there is no manual).

It appears as if it is not playing with the same rules... (we can not access its infos and it's layout).
What is this thing ? A cheating AI ?

[plong999]

ok i found this video https://steamcommunity.com/app/1054490/discussions/0/2950377478197296777/

It would be nice for those of us that don't own the boardgame to have a list of cards the automa plays.

It just needs better explanation.

Thanks.

[raretimestrader]

Automa is such a cheat

[The Leviathan]

Automa is primarily a way to make the original board game playable as a single player game (you don't have normal AI to play against in a physical board game). The Automa gets a bonus card at the beginning of the game that defines which face-up birds it takes (which get counted at feather value) when it gets given the take a face-up bird action. If the face up cards do not match the bonus card, Automa takes a face down card worth 3, 4, or 5 points (depending on difficulty); Automa also does face down card actions during the game. Throughout the game Automa draws cards from its own deck that tells it what to do that turn (get food, face down card, face up card, lay eggs) and whether it gets a point towards the EoR goals, gets a point taken away, or nothing. Automa also has a default number (starting point) towards EoR goal depending on the goal and the round number. Also, for the purposes of various brown powers, the human player always wins when compared to the Automa (example: least birds in wetlands). Automa also has actions that activate all pink powers (at which point any pink powers you have will activate).

[DeviantAthene]

Originally posted by The Leviathan:

Automa is primarily a way to make the original board game playable as a single player game (you don't have normal AI to play against in a physical board game). The Automa gets a bonus card at the beginning of the game that defines which face-up birds it takes (which get counted at feather value) when it gets given the take a face-up bird action. If the face up cards do not match the bonus card, Automa takes a face down card worth 3, 4, or 5 points (depending on difficulty); Automa also does face down card actions during the game. Throughout the game Automa draws cards from its own deck that tells it what to do that turn (get food, face down card, face up card, lay eggs) and whether it gets a point towards the EoR goals, gets a point taken away, or nothing. Automa also has a default number (starting point) towards EoR goal depending on the goal and the round number. Also, for the purposes of various brown powers, the human player always wins when compared to the Automa (example: least birds in wetlands). Automa also has actions that activate all pink powers (at which point any pink powers you have will activate).

This is all fair enough, but I agree that it doesn't play with the same rules. For instance, it is possible for the Automa to lay eggs in the very first round, i.e. PRIOR to playing any birds. Needs ironing out, that one.

[Ozzie_Warrior]

yeah this is kind of spoiling single play for my missus - any chance we can have it as an option that can be turned off - the extra cards shifts the balance too far and need the ability to just enjoy the game and play to the same rules

[amebapiko]

Originally posted by Ozzie_Warrior:

yeah this is kind of spoiling single play for my missus - any chance we can have it as an option that can be turned off - the extra cards shifts the balance too far and need the ability to just enjoy the game and play to the same rules :lunar2020thinkingtiger:

if im not mistaken just go to custom game and play against normal AI not the automa

[Heatshell]

Just got the game and this is the first thing I came looking for after finishing the turtorial. Literally no explanation whatsoever in game as to what this is. I assumed it was just the standard single player mode, but then I saw that automa is somehow different from the ai. How the devs didn't think this needed to be explained is beyond me.

[kendallvz84]

I'll add a couple of things:

1. This game is based around the board game, which explains in the rules what the automa is and how it works. I'm going to take a guess and assume that when creating this version of the game online, they figured their main audience would be people who already knew the game and how it works from the actual physical version. In addition, you obviously don't play the same way the automa does, so there is no reason for the automa to have a tutorial to teach you how it plays since your turns are still taken the same way as normal. If you want to know what each automa move is actually doing, you can just hover over the action to see what it's description is. Since the actions never happen in the same order either (except in the online automa challenge), it doesn't help that much to know what the automa is going to do.

2. So then towards it being a cheat version, the answer is not really. Depending on the difficulty you play at, the automa can be nearly impossible to beat. However, that also depends on the actions you choose to take and the cards and food that you can acquire for yourself during the game. In my opinion, the automa on easy or normal difficulties can actually provide a very similar score to a person (or AI) playing.

I do prefer to just play against the AI, not the automa, but given that you can't play against AI in the physical board game, the automa is the best way to simulate that and can be a fun challenge to play which is why it would also be in this online version of the game.

[amebapiko]

Anyone beaten hard automata yet?

[<Redacted>]

Originally posted by amebapiko:

Anyone beaten hard automata yet?

A few times. It's not that hard once you understand the game mechanics and you get reasonable starting cards.

Kendall is right, above. You can hover over any part of the screen (or turn on Info, I forget which key/button does that) and you will see the explanation for each action the Automa takes. It copies the board game's Automa mode. If you think it "cheats", then just play against an AI player under Custom Game and not vs. Automa. I find the Automa game faster, though, so it's best when trying to get most of the achievements.

Also note that any power that says "All players" only applies to you in Automa, so this is a good chance to play those cards without helping your opponent.

[MNTami]

Originally posted by misterfilmgeek:

Originally posted by amebapiko:

Anyone beaten hard automata yet?

A few times. It's not that hard once you understand the game mechanics and you get reasonable starting cards.

Kendall is right, above. You can hover over any part of the screen (or turn on Info, I forget which key/button does that) and you will see the explanation for each action the Automa takes. It copies the board game's Automa mode. If you think it "cheats", then just play against an AI player under Custom Game and not vs. Automa. I find the Automa game faster, though, so it's best when trying to get most of the achievements.

Also note that any power that says "All players" only applies to you in Automa, so this is a good chance to play those cards without helping your opponent.

Beating it is much easier once you switch the goal mat to standard 1-5. If I forget to do that, Automa kills me almost every game. I won 3 out of 5 games tonight, which is pretty good for me. (and I'm talking about the Automa in the regular part of the game - not the Automa in the Online portion)

[echoshifting]

This does need to be explained. It's a term you're not going to be familiar with if you don't play a lot of physical board games. I'm a big fan of the tabletop version - and have played against the automa there - but I agree they dropped the ball on this one. If you don't know what that word means, you might assume that is the "normal" single player mode in this version, when most newbies would probably be happier in custom game mode.

[Jacq]

Glad I saw this. Automa is super confusing. I thought it was just normal AI but noticed it kept cheating! Was trying to work out how it kept doing things like laying eggs in the first round which shouldn't be possible, and why I could never see its card so couldn't work out how it was winning. You can beat it, but it does cheat. Needs a better in game explanation to avoid confusion and frustration for new players.

[Wok]

Glad I found this thread.

Originally posted by Heatshell:

Just got the game and this is the first thing I came looking for after finishing the turtorial. Literally no explanation whatsoever in game as to what this is. I assumed it was just the standard single player mode, but then I saw that automa is somehow different from the ai. How the devs didn't think this needed to be explained is beyond me.

Same. My first game after the tutorial was Automata.
In Gremlins Inc, that means single-player games.

[CalvinHobbes]

What this game needs is challenges like Through the Ages has.

I've only play Wingspan in single player and it has very little to offer. After less than a dozen games of Wingspan digital the computer AI is pretty easy to beat even at the hardest (beta) level. I've never played the board game version of Wingspan so I was hoping the it would take longer.

Challenges with special conditions that favour the AI would be fun. I have no interest in playing the Automata, it doesn't sound very interesting.

Even adding a high score table(s) would be a plus. I mostly enjoyed the few hours I spent playing Wingspan but I was hoping for more single player content.