What tech does the AI not use and why?

[raynor]

A better quesion would be:

What tech is the computer player (CP) fairly ineffective at using?

Sure, the CP will use Stellar Manipulation ships but it doesn't use them very well. Another example of a tech the CP doesn't use very well is Troops.

[solops]

The TDM United Flora are using the Talisman on me, so that is a good sign for AI effectiveness.

[Wardad]

CP do not use the Industry catagory very well. They do not use any bonus facility very well. The default Facility Construction file will build the system and planet bonus facilities first.

I tried using the construction minister and found the fool building these on small planets and in sparse systems. These facilities are a huge drain on resources to build, and need enough of the normal ones around to get a decent payback. I recently messed up an AI on PBW by trading it Industry 1. At only a 10% bonus it will go broke even if it does complete some of the robotiod facilities.

I have my own modified file for Facility Construction and one for picking the planet type. It makes the AI races challenging.

MODDERS... It been possible for some time now for each race to have it's own Facility Construction file. Please do not ignore your AIs resource income.

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So many ugly women, so much time. Got Beer?

[ September 04, 2002, 18:28: Message edited by: Wardad ]

[Alpha Kodiak]

Originally posted by raynor:
A better quesion would be:

What tech is the computer player (CP) fairly ineffective at using?

Sure, the CP will use Stellar Manipulation ships but it doesn't use them very well. Another example of a tech the CP doesn't use very well is Troops.

The one exception to stellar manipulation is a create planet ship. The AI seems to do a pretty good job of creating planets and colonizing them.

I have had pretty good luck getting the AI to use troop transports to capture enemy planets. It seems to be much better under Gold than it was before.

[Baron Grazic]

The one exception to stellar manipulation is a create planet ship. The AI seems to do a pretty good job of creating planets and colonizing them.

Not sure if I Fully agree with this statement. Somehow sending a Planet Creation Ship into Enemy Claimed Space to create a planet doesn't sound very 'effective'.

[Atraikius]

The biggest problems with the AI using troops are that it will hold the troop transport back until the rest of the fleet either eliminates the planet defenses, or is destroyed instead of charging them in with the rest of the fleet; and that so many of the modded AI's have thier strength reduced to 50 making them need several hundred troops to take a planet, and allowing 100-150 high strength troops take a good sized planet of thiers.

[Krsqk]

One of the biggest problems with Stellar Manip ships is that the AI does not multi-task. If it has 5 storm destroyer ships, it sends them all to the same storm. The first one destroys it, and the others get a "cannot destroy storm" error. Ditto for star creators, black hole/nebula destroyers, etc...