Difficulty and AI Bonus Settings
 

Ive seen some talk about the AI diffuculty setting and how it should be played on high if you want a decent challenge. But what about the AI bonus?

Do most of you SE4 gurus out there play with the AI bonus on high, or does that make the game virtually impossible to win without alot of luck the save/reload twink. If so, how do the games go?

I mean does the AI bonus on high give you a good challenge or make the game ludicruously hard?

Wisdom

Re: Difficulty and AI Bonus Settings
 

I am not a Guru but have played for several weeks at maximum player difficulty and medium bonus. It was better but still not great. My current game I am playing at max player difficulty and max bonus. Whew it is a different game. I will not say impossible but I am in 4th place with 1.2 M points and the first place race has 2.4 M Points. I have gained slightly but I just hope I can conquer a few other races before I run into 1-3 again (I had to close warp points as early on I ran into numero no).

Again I am not a Guru but it appears that the computer players are given a higher level tech start and included in this for the advanced races is the ability to colonize all 3 types of planets. The top races also colonize everything. This is definitely not a slam-dunk.

Re: Difficulty and AI Bonus Settings
 

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by lwmweb:

Again I am not a Guru but it appears that the computer players are given a higher level tech start and included in this for the advanced races is the ability to colonize all 3 types of planets. The top races also colonize everything. This is definitely not a slam-dunk.
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Thanks for the info!

I wonder. Do you get all three colonization techs when a race surrenders to you?

Re: Difficulty and AI Bonus Settings
 

In the previous games at medium bonus I have already received these from neutrals or small guys so I do not know. This game I have been forced to research them because I have been hemmed in.

Tonight I will see if I can turn the corner and start the slow climb up.

Re: Difficulty and AI Bonus Settings
 

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by lwmweb:

Again I am not a Guru but it appears that the computer players are given a higher level tech start and included in this for the advanced races is the ability to colonize all 3 types of planets. The top races also colonize everything. This is definitely not a slam-dunk.
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I just realized that I have no idea what the difference is between Empires and Neutral Empires.

Also, how do you introduce an advanced race into the game? Are any of the races shipped with the game advanced races? Or, are these races you have obtained from folks who have done mods?

Thanks!

Re: Difficulty and AI Bonus Settings
 

Sorry I was referring to the non Neutral races.

Re: Difficulty and AI Bonus Settings
 

FYI:

I started up a game at max bonus and changed all the AI races to human control. The first AI race had a homeworld outputing 3500 research points per turn. Next, I looked to see if he started with any new techs. He did *not*. But he had 17,500 research points every turn to spend! I verified this with a couple of races. Yep, at max bonus the AI definitely gets to spend 5x whatever his colonies produce.

With that much research coming in, it doesn't take long for the AI to research all the colonization techs.

I started up a max everything game. Right now, it is turn 88, and I'm in 6th place. I'm generating a paltry 36,100 research points per turn from my 12 planets while the Eee Consortium in first place is pulling in 129,500 per turn from his 70 planets.

But the Eee actually get to spend 650,000 per turn!!!

In all my games playing with no bonus, I never came close to amassing that many research points.

All I can say, is I'm glad I haven't met up with them yet. They are also generating 13,000 intel points per turn. If they get to spend 5x that amount, I just don't want to meet them.

One Last interesting point. The Eee are generating 190.4K resources per turn compared to my 32.7K. Here's the real tragedy. Fully HALF of my resource production is from a 20% trade treaty with the #2 player who I'm bending over backwards to please. Ouch! I just realized I probably have a research treaty with him too. I guess that means half my research points are from him too. H-E-L-P!

Thank goodness for Ship Capture. Christmas came early when I captured an Ice colony ship carrying Methane breathers and a Gas Colony carrying Carbon Dioxide breathers. I didn't even have to leave home. They came right to my door! Hurrah, hurrah!

Wish me luck. http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: Difficulty and AI Bonus Settings
 

Regarding the use of mines...

A lot of folks may voluntarily restrict themselves from building mines at lower bonus levels. But at max bonus, it ain't cheating. I just saw a battlecruiser loaded with Mine Sweeper III's clean up a pretty fair sized mine field... (Remember, this isn't even turn 90 yet)

Re: Difficulty and AI Bonus Settings
 

Sounds like MY current game... except I started with low computer bonus, so maybe it's only 2x computer resource generation. But still, there are three races that have just grown like crazy! 120+ colonies each, etc.

And I had a similar problem to yours early on: I had TWO T&R alliances, and was getting well over half of my resources and research from the trade. Even more important, my own production was not enough to pay my maintenance - so I was in a bit of trouble when the alliances went south. Fortunately, I had a LOT of resource storage built up, so I survived until my new colonies could pick up the resource generation slack (and two remote mining battlestations helped too: net gain of 11kT minerals each per turn!).

Re: Difficulty and AI Bonus Settings
 

Holy cow!

The High bonus gives the AI 5x production levels? That's insane.

Well thanks for the feedback. I'll be curious to know how your game goes. I cant imagine you have a snowball's chance unless the AI is really REALLY bad at making tactical decisions. Because strategically, you are LONG dead but just dont know it yet.

So High bonus is 5x. Is medium bonus 3x? and Low 2x? Anyone know?

Wisdom

Re: Difficulty and AI Bonus Settings
 

Medium bonus gives 3x production and research and low bonus 2x production and research.

[This message has been edited by Emperor Zodd (edited 26 January 2001).]

Re: Difficulty and AI Bonus Settings
 

The bonus does make for a more interesting game. I think I turned the corner Last night when I forced number 5 to surrender after taking 17 systems and was in the process of taking two of his Last three systems. I was paying close attention and I only advanced one level in each of the techs I received from him. Of course I have his fleets to analyze.

Oh I was number 4 at the time. I am number 2 now but still a ways behind number one in points. The AI definitely uses mine sweepers. I have seen dreadnought equipped as mine sweeps. The mine sweeps do have problems with armed satellites though. They run in combat but don't leave the area for quite a while.

Re: Difficulty and AI Bonus Settings
 

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Wisdom:
Well thanks for the feedback. I'll be curious to know how your game goes. I cant imagine you have a snowball's chance unless the AI is really REALLY bad at making tactical decisions. Because strategically, you are LONG dead but just dont know it yet.
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I'll let you know how it goes. I think I'll be okay so long as I can stay out of the way of the top five empires and/or manage to keep them happy.

So far, this has proved pretty easy. Once you find a star system with their colony in it, don't ever, ever visit it again. http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: Difficulty and AI Bonus Settings
 

A neutral AI Empire never leaves it's starting system and always have only one starting planet. A regular AI Empire is the ones beating down your doors. http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/icon7.gif

What he means with advanced empires is probably just the ones that are bigger then him in his current game.

Re: Difficulty and AI Bonus Settings
 

Just wondering: any idea if the computer knows how to utilize some of the more advanced facilities? I recently destroyed a planet that had both a ship training facility and a fleet training facility.

I've also found a couple of the "bonus" facilities (computer complexes, robotoid factories); so the standard AI does build a few of those... although not as intelligently as they should (I found a system computer complex in a system that only had one research facility and lots of farming facilities; and a system robotoid factory in a system with a couple farming facilities and lots of research centers!!).

Of course, this is in a game with "Low" bonus turned on (I've fought my way to fifth place, with barely fewer points than number 4; numbers 1, 2 and 3 are almost 2x my score for now - somewhere between turn 120 & 175).

Re: Difficulty and AI Bonus Settings
 

Just finished up my max bonus game and went back to some previous saved games.

Yep. The AI gets the same bonus for intel that he does for research: 5x whatever the colonies produce.

Towards the end of the game when Mega Evil Empire set them all against me, intel started to get a bit annoying. Every turn, I'd get a report about one or two planets being damaged, a couple of planets rioting because of AI Puppet Party attacks, food contamination killing population, etcetera.
Quite, quite annoying.

Most of it I ignored until I realized a couple of colonizes were blockaded by my own former ships!!

I'll take a look at some of the other systems and let you know what I find.

Re: Difficulty and AI Bonus Settings
 

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Emperor Zodd:
Medium bonus gives 3x production and research and low bonus 2x production and research.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Are you sure about the production bonus?

I've seen the intel/research bonus. But so far in looking at the computer players, I don't see that much of a production bonus (if any).

Re: Difficulty and AI Bonus Settings
 

Yes

Re: Difficulty and AI Bonus Settings
 

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Emperor Zodd:
Yes<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Maybe you could please help me verify this myself. I looked but I just didn't see it.

I was able to verify the 5x research/int by comparing what it showed on the research/int screen to what the colony screen showed the empire was actually producing. For example, the EEE showed 200,000 research points and 50,000 intelligence points on the colony screen. But on the research screen, the EEE had 1,000,000 research points to allocate each turn. The intelligence screen showed 50,000 intelligence points available each turn for use on projects.

On the score display, it only showed the actual colony output for research/intelligence--not the 5x amounts.

So... other than the Empire screen, where would I go to verify the 5x production, do you think? I thought I looked at individual planets and didn't see anything.

Wouldn't 5x production mean that if the empire showed 200K production on the scores screen that it was actually producing 1000K resources each turn?

Thanks for your help. I *thought* there was some other bonus besides research/intel but I just haven't been able to verify it yet.

[This message has been edited by raynor (edited 29 January 2001).]