Single player question/
 

Hi

I posted here before but forgot a question...how good is the single player AI.?..Someone on gamespot message boards said the AI was Bad for single player so i thought i'd ask.
Thank you. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/cool.gif

Re: Single player question/
 

It used to be pretty worthless. Now I think its great for newbies even up to average players. Of course, it cant compete against the best players but I still think it creates an interesting game. The higher settings get more starter points than you do.

There are things that can be done to make the AI harder but if you get to the "impossible" setting and still feel you need a challenge then ask again. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

By the way, the AI doesnt get to cheat in the usual way. The esettings only decide how many points it gets in creating its nation and god at the beginning of the game.

Re: Single player question/
 

The AI is good enough to beat you for the first times you play. The AI is very easy to beat if you use competitive strategies (say, you rush out for Evocation 4/5 for a spesific spell (Blade Wind, Falling Frots) that your mages can cast a lot and that works against the AI's nation. If you try multiplayer, any strategy you might want to try out will be too advanced for the AI to handle, and you'll defeat it. If you try to find out strategies on your own, the AI will be a challenge for some time, but I don't have any idea about how long it would take. However, even experienced players occassionally die when several AI nations happen to attack at the same time, and some nations and some settings make the AI much more challenging.

Re: Single player question/
 

As one can expect of a game with this level of complexity the AI can be summed up as competent and unrelenting but predictable and foolish.

The AI can build and launch several massive armies at you, but these armies will be composed of whatever riff-raff it managed to collect on the way. Same with spells and summons, as the AI will simply use whatever it has handy instead of creating a working strategy. Even a completely beleaguered player can work his way back to supremacy by simply being more efficient.

I can't really compare this game to others I've played. It's sort of on par with Civilization 2 but without any options for diplomacy it's hard to say. It's also a bit like Star Craft with the steady waves of increasingly tough opposition.

As far as I'm concerned it's good enough to be enjoyable, but if you want a sense of real action and suspence you need multiplayer. Just like with any other strategy game.

Re: Single player question/
 

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Re: Single player question/
 

If you want to meet the AIs with their national units then play on a small map. To meet them with a variety of indepts then use a medium or large map. To keep them from rushing you too fast, set the independents higher. To meet them quickly set the indepts lower.

Re: Single player question/
 

ok thanks..

Re: Single player question/
 

I don't think that saying that AI in Dom3 bad is correct. It actually plays relatively reasonable (though straightforward strategy). Its main weakness is that it always plays the same strategy, and it differs very little between different AI nations. So after you learn how to counter that strategy, AI will be easy to beat. Somewhat experienced players normally set AI on impossible - this give some design point bonuses to AI, which isn't that much by itself, but it causes cascade effect because you can't keep armies as large as AI, so somebody declares war on you. Even though you're winning that war you suffer attritition which makes you look weaker to other AI and they promptly declare war on you too. Thus you often end up fighting 4-5 AI nations at the same time which increases the challenge http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

I've also noticed that in poor games with fast research AI tends to be more interesting. It correctly evaluates importance of magic and starts to use mages actively and because mages are different depending on nation, playing against different nations actually leads to somewhat different games. I don't think that AI "thinks" at strategic level in those cases, but sometimes it comes up with cunning battlefield tactics http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif Overall, I'm impressed by improvement in spellcasting AI. After I've started to play poor games with fast research it became quite apparent.

Re: Single player question/
 

I actually encountered a sneaking AI Yomi army tonight. Yes it was small and ineffective, but I was pleasantly surprised. It almost beat my sad little Lanka monkey province defense. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: Single player question/
 

I've seen late age Man also use sneaking armies, yet it's rare and usually the armies are 30 units are less. Perhaps Dominions_4 will introduce the modding option of a scriptable AI opponent. I recall some very old games AgeofEmpires2 and WarCraft2 provided this feature which allowed gamers to create some very unique/clever AI opponents.

Re: Single player question/
 

Maybe we'll even get it in Dom3. We can hope, right?

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Space Empires 4 had the option to mod AI and there was a period where some rather strong AI designs came out, designed by players. Is this what you mean by scriptable AI?

I would say the AI is quite good by industry standards. They have strong openings, but the mid game and end game are progressively weaker. As another poster noted, they have strong battle planning, but their unit purchasing patterns are weak. They do not cheat like some other games, which is a pro and a con. I come down on the side of “it is a good thing” they don’t cheat, but it does make them weaker.

Re: Single player question/
 

Unlikely since this change would be quite major and there's only two developers which work on this game. I estimate it would take 3 miracles and 4 wish spells for us to see this appear within Dominions_3.

Yes indeed... since Illwinter only has two developers including a moddable AI would allow the community to strengthen its weaknesses and the developers could focus on adding more content. Also this would allow Illwinter to say... "If you don't like the AI then improve it yourself or download an AI personality made by someone from within the community."
How I wish I could mod the AI into not sending its pretenders into the death match arena!


Yes the AI is good compared with other existing games, but the gaming industry still is waiting on the first powerfully clever AI opponents. From what I've seen Sid Meiers and his team might be the first to develop a strong AI opponent because last year they posted a job opening where the position focuses purely on Artificial Intelligence.

Re: Single player question/
 

I gratly love moddable AIs. But the "hooks" for each action that the AI might "see" and then the variables for its reactions are extensive and usually have to be written into the game concept from the beginning.

But mentioning SEIV was a good reference. That level of AI wouldnt be too hard to program in and it would extend the game alot.

Re: Single player question/
 

Oooh I loved Space Empires 4...

Re: Single player question/
 

Heck I would be happy even turning off the death match arena event since the current prize is not worth the life of a good commander.
It's sad watching AI pretenders killing each other in the death match. The SP gamer will always benefit from a death match event as the AIs will send strong commanders, prophets and pretenders to their death.

Re: Single player question/
 

And you get to see what the enemy gods are like in combat, without getting an underpowered army killed for the intelligence.

Do you ever pick up dropped magic items when you kill in the dath match? If you have a strong SC, you might be able to pick up a slew of items. I do not normally take part, so I don't know.

Re: Single player question/
 

I am all for scriptable AIs, even though I am crap at designing them. I really hope and think it would be reasonable to expect that we get them by Dom4, but-ironically enough-you can make the AI in the game better, providing you're smarter than the AI http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif Lots of things can be done to improve it indirectly, through map editing and nation editing-it would be great if some experienced person would take it upon themselves to redo a set of the current nations specifically for use by the AI, and that future modders then followed suit with new nations, creating 1 mod for the basic MP nation and 1 for the AI SP version. I would also love-and again it's pretty reasonable-if Arena Deathmatches could be toggled on and off at the beginning of games, either whole cow or on a per nation basis.

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What i want to know is who calls the deathmatches?

Re: Single player question/
 

The enigmatic Arenji...

Re: Single player question/
 

It's never good to send any commanders or mages into the death match unless the game only has 2 or 3 opponents. In a SP game with multiple nations most AI opponents can be expected to send its prophet or pretender where the final battle usually has two large AI pretenders fighting to the death. Currently the death match prize is just not worth sending anyone.
The death match should have a gem and/or gold prize increasing in value based on the number of nations attending and a cumulative increase based on the current game turn. This would make it worthwhile for human opponents to desire to win the death match challenge.

Re: Single player question/
 

Interesting idea. And it makes sense. Thats how such things usually go that there is a prize consistent to participants. However, that usually goes hand in hand with each contestant having to put into the pot.

Maybe it could be that each contestant has to put in one of..
A) 10 gems
B) 10 slaves
C) 100 gold

Re: Single player question/
 

A fee for entering would make it less likely for weak and struggling nations to attend especially in MP games. I'm sure the independent party running the arena will easily make a gold profit from the death match from all the typical citizens paying to watch the death match.
Improving the prize would definitely encourage human players to attend whether SP or MP... and this would make the AIs sending their pretenders not a stupid decision.