[KiloOhm]

I'm not sure how this AI REALLY works. But what you said is exactly how a lot of games overcome the "strategic" problem. You need an overall AI that regulates the smaller AI or all activities are uncoordinated. It's a good way to overcome this problem and it lessen's the complexity of having one BIG AI. Having ministers is great, I'm not sure there is an overall AI (I suspect there is but it may need to be tweaked some).

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Originally posted by Noble713:
If this has been suggested before, I apologize. I don't stop by here as often as I used to. Playing SE4 as usual, and I started thinking about why the AI players were so bad, and I said to myself:

"Man, it's like their empire isn't run by one guy, but by 20 people that refuse to cooperate."

Then it hit me: this is exactly the case! The AI ministers! THEY are the root of the computer's strategic incompetence! Each one seems to take whatever it needs to carry out its one specific task, and it doesn't seem to realize that some other minister may be trying to do something more important. Maybe an "Overlord" Minister is needed. This minister would make large-scale decisions like establishing the AI state, selecting targets and overall strategies for wars, and whatnot. The necessary tasks would then be relegated to the AI ministers. Orders from the Overlord would be weighted, so the smaller ministers recognize their greater importance and handle them before their own commands.

Example:
AI declares war. Overlord instructs naval ministers to attack systems A and B. The defense minister had planned for a fleet to hold on the defensive, but gets overruled by Overlord. Fleet switched to attack minister control. Fleets break through and smash system A, but system B puts up a fight. Resupply minister wants to resupply the fleet in system A, but the Overlord recognizes that the Last system can still be pacified with the assets originally committed to the offensive (runs some combat sims versus known forces in target systems). Overlord overrules resupply minister, and the fleet stays under the attack minister's control.

Example:
AI is losing a war, and several systems are under attack. The construction minister is building population transports in nearby systems. These systems have been selected by the Overlord to reinforce the front. The Overlord overrules the construction minister and orders it to build defense ships instead.

Something like this would probably require an extensive rewrite of the AI code, but I think it would give a serious boost to the AI's cohesion.

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Regards,
KiloOhm