Problem with AI on PBW
 

A while back I missed a couple turns in a few games. After taking over again The AI continued to create ship designs and would create construction item if I had nothing being built.
This has been going on for sometime now, even though I have the AI completely off. It's not really causing any problem other than annoyance, since Every turn I'm deleting designs so I can find the ones I created and would like to build, and using all of my ready made possible design names.

The only suggestion I've gotten so far on fixing this is to turn the AI completely on for a single turn.

This did nothing other than an unprovoked intelligence attack and sending most of my ships on some unknown mission.

If anyone knows how to fix this problem, or even has suggestions, I'd appreciate it.

Re: Problem with AI on PBW
 

Make sure the ministers are all turned off. The only way the AI can do anything on a turn which you properly sumitted orders for is if there are ministers on.

The other alternative is that you aren't submitting a valid turn file. But then the AI would be controlling everything, and not just making designs and filling idle queues, and that doesn't sound like what you are describing.

If you don't think either of these is it, give me some more specifics about what game and which empire and I'll check it out.

Re: Problem with AI on PBW
 

I'm quite certain the Ministers are all off.

I'm actually having this problem in two games.

One is P&NSyndicateWars My race is the Corsairs

The other is Ecliptic Plane My race is the Dusk Empire

Re: Problem with AI on PBW
 

This is very odd. I've never heard anyone ever report such a problem before. If you could give me some more specifics it might help me get an idea of what is happening. I looked at your Ecliptic Plane game a bit but I didn't see anything that jumped out at me. Of course it's hard for me to distinguish between what you have done and what the AI has done. Is this happening on every turn? Give me some details about what the AI did on the last turn for example.

Let's keep our discussion to the Ecliptic game, since I'm a player in the Syndicate Wars game. And if you don't want to share anything in the Ecliptic game that other players could see, send it to me in an email.

Geoschmo

Re: Problem with AI on PBW
 

Ok, I'm doing a turn for the Ecliptic game right now.

This turn it did not add anything to my construction que, but there are 2 new designs in my design window that I did not create. One is for a spacestation, and the other is for an attack ship.

I don't know if your familiar with the Eclipse mod at all, but the space station is nothing but essentials and repair components, the ship is a design I coulnd't possibly make since it has more that 10 engine components, 13 to be exact.
In fact, I just tried to create a copy of my own to be sure, and it had a warning about not using more than 10 engines.

For the Syndicate wars, I've no compunction about telling you it keeps creating a satellite that contains no computer core, and 3 different transports that are exaclty the same design.

Re: Problem with AI on PBW
 

Perhaps what is happening is that your turns are not actually being submitted for the two games you are playing and so the AI is doing your turns. Geo should be able to tell you if that is the case.

You may also want to select "AI does not make changes during simultaneous games" in one of the empire options menus.

Re: Problem with AI on PBW
 

Here's a question:

Are you sure that it is *creating* those designs?
or might it just be that the "obsolete" tag isn't staying on?

I remember one game of stock SE4 which I took over for another player, where I couldn't obsolete a ship design. I could obsolete it, but it would be not obsolete on the next turn.

Also, have you tried playing the turn under Deluxe?

Re: Problem with AI on PBW
 

The Pirates game may just be undoing the obsolete selection, as for the ecliptic game it is actually creating new designs.

Would I even be able to run the turn under Deluxe. Wouldn't it give me a wrong version warning?

Re: Problem with AI on PBW
 

Not really, since PBW is on Deluxe now, anyway.

But that is a rather strange problem... And it probably isn't the AI doing the turn, since it seems his orders are being executed, it's just the AI is making "amendments" as well...

Re: Problem with AI on PBW
 

Just to clarify, PBW has support for Deluxe, but both of the games in question are running on version 1.91.

You could actually play your turns using 1.94 and not get any errors. Unlike previous versions 1.94 is two-way compatible with 1.91. However, I don't see how doing this would make a difference for your problem. What SJ was probably suggesting is processing the host turn using deluxe. I will try that at some point if I can't figure anything else out, just to see if it has any effect. Before then I need to get to where I can verify what the problem is, so I will be able to tell if the new version makes any difference.

Re: Problem with AI on PBW
 

Hmm... I don't know if this is related or not... but ships that still have supply shouldn't be randomly decloaking, right? X-(

This is for Syndicate Wars...

Re: Problem with AI on PBW
 

How much is "still have supply"?
Might it be that they run out while moving, and the charge up with the solar panel after decloaking?

It should also be noted that normal warships still need cloaking equipment in order to successfully hide from prying eyes, even though the cloak button is enabled.

Also, other pirates can always see your civvie ships. You're not fooling *them* with the 'ol fake transponder and emissions signature... and all the criminals know your civilian pilot's license is a forgery http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Oh, and also, ordering a fleet to cloak dosen't seem to work.
You have to order the individual ships to cloak before fleeting them.

Re: Problem with AI on PBW
 

I'm trying SJ's advice, and have selected the AI makes no changes during simultaneous game option in both games.

I reloaded past turns in the Pirates game and it is indeed unchecking the obsolete box.

I did the same for the Eclipse game, and it now appears that it is doing this as well. Although I'm not sure when it stopped making designs, as if you unhide the obsolete designs there are near 50 desings I didn't create myself, still hanging around.

That's not an exaggeration!

Re: Problem with AI on PBW
 

The AI is just unchecking the obsolete box? That happened to me in a couple of games where the mod was upgraded and certain components were disabled by means of making them unresearchable... a bug in SE4 seems to make designs using those components come back even if you obsolete them. I was lucky and hadn't missed any turns so the AI didn't go hog-wild creating designs and it only happened to a few of my very own designs, but I guess you got unlucky...

Re: Problem with AI on PBW
 

If you look at a design it should tell you in the details what date the design was created. It probably only designed them on turns when you actually missed your turn. Unless at some point in the past you had the design minister turned on.

Re: Problem with AI on PBW
 

Oops. That would probably do it... One of the times was a fleet cloaking, and the other was a ship that left a fleet that had just cloaked... so the orders didn't go through, I guess.

Re: Problem with AI on PBW
 

That one is known bug number 42, reported by me:

42. In simultaneous movement games, ordering a fleet to cloak or decloak shows immediate results correctly, but only the first ship listed in the fleet will actually follow the order when the turn is processed. If the first ship listed in the fleet can't cloak, then the order is ignored entirely when the turn is processed. Fleet cloaking works correctly on the turn the fleet is created, but not after.