AI Ship and Planet Capture Question...
 

Is there a way to make the AI effectively use captured/converted ships? I'm trying to create a racial trait which only has access to boarding attack/crew conVersion/troop technologies and must rely on captured ships/planets for colonization/expansion/attack. I've seen the AI occasionally add attack ships to its fleets, but all other types just sit and wait to be killed. I've toggled the minister on/off/on for these ships, but the AI just ignores them.

1) Is there an AI that captures ships and then uses them? I rarely play against psychic races with the AS, since their extinction is one of my priorities; so I haven't had experience with that.

2) Is there a way to force inclusion of captured ships into fleets? Perhaps adding design entries for "Attack Ship" and all the others?

3) Is there a way to "encourage" the inclusion of troop transports into a fleet? I've gotten the race to build them, but they won't include them in fleets until turn 70 or so, and then they never attack planets. Are there any requirements I'm missing? (I set default fleet formation to Capture Planets.)

Re: AI Ship and Planet Capture Question...
 

I was working on a psychic/religious AI before MB's AI Contest showed me how much rework and further testing the EEE need. Thus, the following comes from a somewhat cloudy memory.
1. The AI uses the converted ships (colonizers, minesweepers). I'm quite sure about that because I remember too well how long it took me to figure out that the AI as computer player does it automatically but the AI as human player (using all ministers) doesn't. (That happened before I found the thread I mention below).

2. Don't know.

3. Have no experience with troop transports but there are two threads about your question
<a href="http://www.shrapnelgames.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=23;t=003993#000000" target="_blank">http://www.shrapnelgames.com/cgi-bin...=003993#000000[/ URL]
and
http://www.shrapnelgames.com/cgi-bin...;f=23;t=005234

I like this converting thingie very much. To improve the results of this kind of "strategy" I equipped a lot of ships (those without the AS) with boarding parties. Did a lot of tests against TDM races, IIRC most of them use self-destruct devices, rendering the Boarding parties quite useless.
Using converter ships/drones can lead to problems with the construction vehicle file. I'm quite sure that converted ships are counted just as your "normal" ones in the must have numbers of this file. Once my AI ended up with a lot of converted minesweepers, much slower and less useful than its own. No more contruction orders until this burden was destroyed during their pitiful attempts of clearing enemy minefields. Annoying...
Crippling your AS using enemy by letting him convert all the outdated stuff you have. Should be an interesting strategy against any psychic AI due to its - let's say - not so good scrapping tactics. Combine that with the following (to quote Suicide Junkie in <a href="http://http://www.shrapnelgames.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=23;t=007503#000003" target="_blank">
http://www.shrapnelgames.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=23;t=007503#000003</a>
"Ships you have captured follow their original design strategy, which you have no control over.
If you've captured the Last of a particular design your enemy had, he may even change that ship's strategy to "don't get hurt" or something" to make things worse for any psychic AI.
Haven't tested this combination against my AI but it sounds promising (unfortunately).

EDIT: Corrected one link.

[ December 05, 2002, 10:06: Message edited by: Rexxx ]