SE5 AI is pathetic

[Baron Munchausen]

Phoenix-D said:

What in the patch helped the AI? I didn't see anything in the notes.

Well, he never has put everything in the history file. I can't say what may have changed since I don't know the scripting language but I started a new game a couple days ago and the AI is much more active than I have ever seen it. The .CSF files are dated Oct 9th, so things in there have been changed very recently. There are actual fleets moving around. They block warp points after my scouts come through. Until recently they were actually ahead of me in certain technologies. Since I play with 'see all scores' enabled I can see how fast the AI empires are growing, too. They are expanding at a better rate than I can remember seeing before.

[Uncle_Joe]

Well, I guess this thread sort of answers my question as to whether this game is actually DONE or not. The fact that a 'balance mod' is also so necessary after Day 1 already aroused my suspicions that the game really isnt ready for primetime.

Now, if the AI is pretty brain-dead as well, I think that is just more fuel for the fire. I've very torn about buying this game. On one hand I'd like to support it and try it out because I was a huge fan of SE3 and SE4. On the other hand I dont want to be going through all the growing pains of a beta that I have no input in. I've done quite a bit of beta testing for Matrix Games but I've been part of the process, not one of the 'pay to playtest' crowd. Paying full price for an incomplete game isnt high on my list, I guess.

Hopefully the patch will be a step in the right direction, but honestly unless I see a ton of acclaim shortly after its release, I'll probably just hold off on this title for a while. GalCiv2 was a complete disappointment without any multiplayer option. I was holding out a lot of hope for SE5. Here's hoping he gets it squared away sooner rather than later.

[Captain Kwok]

Actually the most recent patch fixed an error with the AI was researching items they did not have access to - that's why the script files were updated in the upcoming patch.

The AI does the following though: They will protect some of their warp points with about 6-10 ships. They'll also launch the occassional attack, with the more aggressive races being proactive about it. I would say they are certainly not building enough units right now, but that shouldn't be too hard to tweak.

One of the problems with the stock races is the way they are assigning colony types - based solely on a set percentage of a colony type desired rather than evaluated the planet's resource value first and making sure it's one of the resource colony types if the value of the planet is good. In many cases good resource planets are being waste. This was something that has already been changed in the Balance Mod.

The AI is slow on expansion because a) they are not building enough colony and explorer ships and b) they are spending too much time surverying systems (hence the slow down in processing times turns ~4-15) rather than exploring first than surverying as most humans do. By the time they get 5 or 6 systems they are bumping into other empires or singing stupid treaties that hurt their growth.

[Pocus]

by the way, what about the stupid treaties proposal? Is this fixed in the upcoming patch (when will it be out?) or fixed in a balance mod?

[Captain Kwok]

No AI treaty fixes in the first patch and it's on the to-do list with the Balance Mod. It's probably best done first though by Aaron since he has the best understanding of what needs to be changed. I recommended that a few functions should be thrown together to build relations in "steps". For example, the EEE might start with a non-agression and low trade treaty before maybe going for something like a trade and research deal etc. A particular AI's steps would be choosen differently depending on if they have a peaceful, neutral, or aggressive disposition.

For now I recommend counter-proposing "fair" deals to the AI when they request relations. It's a workaround, but in most cases it helps improve the current gameplay.

[Theonlystd]

Wow thats uh horrid

[AAshbery76]

Ironman rules are a must at this stage with the retard A.I.