AI Race Use of Intel Ops

[Baron Munchausen]

quote:

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Originally posted by Tampa_Gamer:
Heavy SE4 weekend. Spent around 25+ hours playtesting the Darlok race that I am in the process of creating. Unfortunately, ended up banging my head against the wall Last night due to a couple major hurdles still facing the AI files.

(1) Has anyone created a USEFUL "PlanetTypes" file. I created a new one (obviously adding more Intel planets) and I cannot get the % resources to work (and yes, I remember our discussion Last week Baron) I know they work in relation to each other - but this still is not working. I think it looks to the % empire FIRST, before going to the the % relative resources. IMHO if MM makes a few tweaks to this file, it could provide for a dramatic increasea in proper AI utilization of planets.

(2) Intel Ops - all of the AI races that use Intel seem to have one plan. Put all projects available on the "Board" at the same time and divide available intel points between all of them!! Absurd! I cannot find a priority/preference file. Has anyone else played around with this?

Thanks

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Nope, haven't found a better way to configure the default_ai_planet_types file. This needs to be customized for Organic Manipulation and Crystalline Technology races, too. Organic tech requires lots of organics, and Crystalline tech needs lots of radioactives. These races are hobbled by the standard settings. What kinda baffles me is that there's no way to specify choice according to the empire's NEEDS. You should be able to say "If organics usage for maintenance is greater than 80 percent of capacity, AND the planet has average (100 percent) organics value or better, make it a farming colony"... But there's nothing about your empire's current status in the settings. There should be a way to specifiy "reorganization" too, where the AI look at it's colonies and decided to CHANGE types to make things more efficient.

Nope, no way at all that I am aware of to customize use of intel system. Too bad. That would be an excellent way to give AIs individual temperment. If there were a default_ai_intel_strategy file, you could make races that like to steal technology, and races that like to subvert planets in disputed systems rather than attack them, etc. Could be really cool.


[This message has been edited by Baron Munchausen (edited 18 December 2000).]

[Talenn]

Well, I've had some moderate success with getting the AI to create competent colonies but by approaching it a different way.

I reworked the AI_Facilities table to make the colonies a bit more general. I spaced out the Resource Generation facilities a bit and added in more Research. I also spread a few of the other two types of resource gen facs into each type to more or less 'hedge the bets' a bit. For example, a Refining Colony might have 3 refineries, 2 research and 2 mines. A Mining colony is closer to 6 mines, 2 research, 1 refinery, 1 farm. This way even if it is a dreadful planet for a specific resource, the planet is at least doing SOMETHING. Also, I deleted the 'Resource Storage' lines from the queue as well. It never seemed to use the stored resources anyways and the added production from more generation facilites seems to have made up for the lack anyways.

Also, note that the 'must have at least' line at the bottom of each entry seems to make it ignore any other restriction regarding percentage or planetary resource values. If you change the 'must have' number on resource gen colonies to 0, it sometimes has better luck.

As far as Intel...sorry, no help there. I cant even figure it all out myself let alone get the AI to do in correctly! And I think its not really worth the space on the planets anyways. I've gone ahead and cranked up the number of intel points generated by each facility so that less are required in an effort to make them more useful, but I find that invariably, myself and my other players rarely bother with Intel. The AI seems to follow suit so no one is the worse for it at this point.

I'm hoping for a major rework of Intel in some future patch.

Hope it helps,
Talenn

[James Sterrett]

Can't comment on how the AI runs intel ops - but I've found that a powerful intel setup is really great to have around. I tend to have auto-repeat set ON and then leave my best counter-intel project running plus some selection of projects, of which ship stealing is my definite favorite.

I know the AI has run various projects against me, both through being told they were prevented, and because they have visibly succeeded on occasion. 8(

[Tampa_Gamer]

Heavy SE4 weekend. Spent around 25+ hours playtesting the Darlok race that I am in the process of creating. Unfortunately, ended up banging my head against the wall Last night due to a couple major hurdles still facing the AI files.

(1) Has anyone created a USEFUL "PlanetTypes" file. I created a new one (obviously adding more Intel planets) and I cannot get the % resources to work (and yes, I remember our discussion Last week Baron) I know they work in relation to each other - but this still is not working. I think it looks to the % empire FIRST, before going to the the % relative resources. IMHO if MM makes a few tweaks to this file, it could provide for a dramatic increasea in proper AI utilization of planets.

(2) Intel Ops - all of the AI races that use Intel seem to have one plan. Put all projects available on the "Board" at the same time and divide available intel points between all of them!! Absurd! I cannot find a priority/preference file. Has anyone else played around with this?

Thanks

[This message has been edited by Tampa_Gamer (edited 18 December 2000).]