AI planet usage
 

I'm currently in a game with only 1 other AI opponent left. I started this game on hardest difficulty with highest bonus for the AI. Tech level for new players was set to high. I created the AI races with 5000 points. I only used 3000 points.

I closed all warp points to my 3 systems. I mashed down my F12 key and turned off reports. It's now year 2772.8. The AI has 40 systems, nearly 400 planets. I have 3 systems, 22 planets. 2 of my planets are sphere worlds. My production cability is nearly double that of the AI player. The AI isn't building sphere/ring worlds. The AI isn't building monolith facilities. The AI also doesn't seem to be building atmosphere modification plants.

In all the turns that have gone by the AI hasn't built a ship that can open warp points either. I saw a neutral race build ships that could open warp points. Is this perhaps caused by running out of ship names for new designs?

I haven't played Mephisto's mod yet but does his mod address some of these issues with the AI in the later game?

Re: AI planet usage
 

the ai will only open warp points if it feels significantly cut off from the rest of the quadrant. if all that it is unable to access are 3 systems, i doubt it cares.

as far as i know, the AI will never modify an atmosphere nor will it build a ring / sphereworld, nor will it build a monolith. it may be possible to edit the AI planet types file and make them build monolith's on worlds with sufficient resource levels.. not sure though, Mephisto's probably the man to ask on that.

AI will, however, detonante the star of a hostile system. I learned this to my dismay when a fleet of 22 veteran dreadnaughts were moving through the system of an ally race when they were attacked by another AI. turned the sun into a black hole, and i lost the fleet.

shortly thereafter I constructed a genocide fleet to get a little payback, but i digress.

Re: AI planet usage
 

The AI will build monoliths, it is not a bug in code. There is a catch though. When AI decides what mining facility to build, it will use the one that has the biggest production of the desired resource. For example, if he has a farming colony, he will look the facility that has biggest production of organics, and ignore all other attributes that facility may have (like monolith's production of other resources).
Now, there are two reasons why AI doesn't build monoliths in nonmodified game:
1) It doesn't research Stellar Manipulation tech unless it has to build warp points (i.e. it is cut-off from the rest of the galaxy). So he doesn't acquire the tech to build monolith facilities. The problem is in AI research files where the Stellar Manipulation is not included. Any mod maker can fix it.
2) The AI looks for the facility that has the biggest production of the desired resource. In this case Monolith Facility III has production of 900 for all resources, and all the other level 3 facilities have production of 1000. That is a second reason why AI doesn't build monoliths even if you start with all known tech.
There are several ways to correct this;
1- you can edit AI research to make it research stellar manipulation instead the extraction technology.
2- much better way is to edit Monolith Facility in the facility.txt file, so that it produces more resources then single-resource facilities, and also add Stellar Manipulation to AI research file.

I have tried the 2nd solution and when I start new game with all tech, and all the home systems were filled with monolith facilities.

[This message has been edited by Daynarr (edited 03 January 2001).]

Re: AI planet usage
 

i think the ideal way to fix it, it for it to make a colony type that wants to mine multiple resources. then it should base the colony type on the resource bonuses available, and build the monolith facility when it is most beneficial.

i dont know if that can be done though, but i talk a good line.

Re: AI planet usage
 

I changed monolith III production to 1000 and all of the other single resource producing facilities to 999. I noticed the difference about starting a new game with highest tech. I suspect the AI will continue down this path. I would rather the AI spend the time to build better facilities right away when available. That's how I play. I never really paid attention to the fact that Monolith facilities III only produced 900 of each. I think they should be 1000 for the cost associated with them.

Re: AI planet usage
 

I dont know if the AI would be up to making sphereworlds as it is. It should be making Atmo Modification though (I mean that IMO it should)

Re: AI planet usage
 

I'd rather modify the AI research than the monolith's production. Hell, if you're going to change anything, reduce the production of the single-resource facilities before you increase the production of the monolith. It's already an abusively powerful harvesting unit, especially once those robominer facilities show up.

Making things more powerful should always be the LAST option when finding a solution to a problem.

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Compete in the Space Empires IV World Championship at www.twingalaxies.com.

Re: AI planet usage
 

And how often does the AI use robominers or other production enhancers? Or happiness enhancers? Or other things of that nature?

Re: AI planet usage
 

Adding those lines to the AI text files is simple and less prone to abuse and game-balance issues than making the most powerful harvesting building more powerful.

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Compete in the Space Empires IV World Championship at www.twingalaxies.com.

Re: AI planet usage
 

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>I'd rather modify the AI research than the monolith's production. Hell, if you're going to change anything, reduce the production of the single-resource facilities before you increase the production of the monolith. It's already an abusively powerful harvesting unit, especially once those robominer facilities show up.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Well, I hear you there. http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/icon7.gif

However, there are two problems with changing research only:
1) You will have to put monolith research before the standard extractor research and never reach level 3 with extractors, or AI will start building them instead of monoliths. This will put some heavy strain on AI research since he will have to go for stellar manipulation early in the game in order to improve his resource production (he will need level 2 in Stellar Manipulation to start building monoliths).
2) Monolith construction is very expensive (and they take long time to build) and if AI starts building them too early in the game he will eventually use up most (if not all) his resources and have serius problems with building fleets. In short, normal facilities are better choice for the start of the game untill resources start pumping up (they are MUCH cheaper). So AI should research level 2 and 3 of those facilities to boost his resource production.
And if he gets to level 3 he won't use monoliths.

The way to do it other way is to increase monolith production to 700,900 and 1100, so when they get researched they will have better single resource production then the normal facilities. Also the Stellar Manipulation research should go after the standard extraction research so AI won't strain its economy early in the game.

That is why I prefer second solution mentioned in my previous post. However, all options are still go, since they require some serious playtesting.