AI Research. Any ideas for mods?

[Sinapus]

I spent a little bit making some minor tweaks, haven't had time to playtest just yet. Mainly what I did was make the AI research explosive warheads lvl 3 before researching mines (so they can build mines just like I do.)

Other things include having the AI research smaller weapons 3 soon after getting fighters and/or troops and had them research point defense up to lvl 5. Both are relatively low-cost tech trees, so I don't think they'll slow them down.

The final thing I did was slip in a "research space yard 2" research a bit further down the list. Since it's 200k research points to use I thought I'd have the AI get other techs first before spending a bunch of turns researching that.

I can't decide if I want to reduce all the '100' Tech Area Min Percent to 50 or not. Since the AI can't do what I do when I research and keep a high-cost project in 2nd place, then throw cheaper and higher-priority techs in front of it, I don't know if I want to do that for techs where the AI is trying to research more than one level at a time.

(By keeping a high-cost project in the 2nd slot all the leftover points get dumped into it when the high-priority project finishes. When the AI uses one project as the only project it loses any leftover points when it finishes.)

Anyway, I'm just rambling and throwing ideas out into the open and seeing if anyone has any feedback/better ideas. I -am- thinking of throwing another level in mineral extraction as well as for the other two in hopes of getting the AI to increase it's economy and let it build more stuff. Maybe Cargo lvl 2 and three as well. I probably will have it get Mineral Extraction first since upgrading those will end up paying for itself faster and allow more upgrades later.


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"What do -you- want?" "I'd like to live -just- long enough to be there when they cut off your head and stick it on a pike as a warning to the next ten generations that some favors come with too high a price. I would look up into your lifeless eyes and wave like this..." *waggle* "...can you and your associates arrange that for me, Mr. Morden?"

[Tomgs]

The AI is probably using divide points equaly since that is the default so extra points will be thrown away every turn that one project or more in the queue takes less points than its share. It may be more efficient in some cases with long reasearch time projects to have them at 100% because of this. However most of the time it isn't generating a lot of research points anyway, unless it has a high bonus, untill the late game so most of the time you won't see much of a difference.

[Sinapus]

Actually, I've taken a look at what the computer player was doing and found it wasn't using divide equally. Unless it changes to that after you switch it to human control, that is.

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"What do -you- want?" "I'd like to live -just- long enough to be there when they cut off your head and stick it on a pike as a warning to the next ten generations that some favors come with too high a price. I would look up into your lifeless eyes and wave like this..." *waggle* "...can you and your associates arrange that for me, Mr. Morden?"

[Daynarr]

AI doesn't divide points, also he always puts 4 tech on research in the order specified by the AI research file.
The following line in the research file:

Tech Area Min Percent := 100

doesn't appear to work so you can't tell how many technologies to research at once. AI always puts 4 in queue.

The line:

Tech Area Level := 3

tells AI what is the max level he is supposed to reach with this tech before he can consider this research to be finished.
However if, for example, AI has level 1 and he has researched level 2, the AI will put that item on the queue on the LAST place (he doesn't rearrange the queue).

Hope this is of any help.