Computer AI bonus

Emperor Zodd · #1 January 8th, 2001, 08:29 PM

What do you guys set the computer bonus to?
I beat the AI badly every time on the high difficulty. Is the low bonus a good enough help to the AI?

Nyx · #2 January 8th, 2001, 10:51 PM

A low bonus makes the AI much better, but it's still not up to the challenge of a human. Even on high bonus, it's just wealthy and stupid, instead of truly dangerous. The bonus mostly changes whether you get attacked by a few badly designed ships with incompetent captians, or a lot of badly designed ships with incompetent captains.

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Tomgs · #3 January 8th, 2001, 10:58 PM

Well a lot of badly designed bigger and higher tech ships. They seem to research things much quicker if you give them a bonus. If you are a conquorer style race though soon you will catch up with them either through capturing their ships to study or when they surrender to you and give you their technology.

Emperor Zodd · #4 January 8th, 2001, 11:03 PM

I play on a 200 system map. If the bonus is on high,won't the races far from me be very strong by the time I get to them? Giving me a tough game?

HAL · #5 January 9th, 2001, 07:18 AM

The choices you make on building your race and the tactics you use, dictate how much of a challenge you get from the computer players.

If you choose gas giants as a homeworld, min/max your race and use missile dance tactics, you will crush the computer. Otherwise, you better dig in for a considerable challenge.

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I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that.

Tomgs · #6 January 9th, 2001, 11:13 AM

Actually I can start out on "none" ice worlds and still win fairly easily. Its a bit more challenging than the gas giants but not by much. It just takes a few turns longer to get started. The key is an aggressive style and not letting the AI get a toehold near you. If you "kill on sight" the AI doesn't seem to have a chance. If I were to sit back and make treaties with it maybe, but I still will out colonize it and outbuild it by a vast margin. Any longer range weapon will decimate the AI, the phased poleron beam is just about as effective as the "missle dance" except maybe against some higher level weapons but by then I will have other options also.

Also about large galaxies the computer doesn't really expand enough to make use of the increased room there. It is actually a bigger challenge on a small map with fewer AI and no neutral races to get in the way. The computer races don't fight multi front battles well so its best for there to be fewer of them.

[This message has been edited by Tomgs (edited 09 January 2001).]