Proportions AI without AI colony bug :)

[JLS]

Oleg,
Is it possible that the Colonizer bug you are referring to has already been resolved?

Version 1.62:
1. Fixed - The AI was not purchasing colonizing ships

Version 1.61:
1. Changed - The Default_Ai_Construction_Vehicles.txt file will now allow
for the design name or the design type. The term "Colonizer" is
till hard-coded to be evaluated to the needed type of colonizer.
When looking for the design to build, the game will look for the
latest design which matches the design name. If no match is found,
then the latest design which matches the design type will be located.
If neither is found, this purchase item will be skipped.

[ March 06, 2003, 20:04: Message edited by: JLS ]

[oleg]

OI think I fixed "ai colony ship bug" by replacing "colonizer" with explicit design names. In my testss, AI build all 3 types of colony ships and colonize everything

1046954324.zip

[oleg]

It is still not fully solved. I think it works as intended if you use "must have = 0" but nit in other situations. I checked how your file works and it looks great ! I am going to redo all "non-connected" states in my AI Thank you very much !

[Rexxx]

Sorry, I don't get it. Why should setting Must have at least to "0" help avoiding a colonizer dead end?

[oleg]

Originally posted by Rexxx:
Sorry, I don't get it. Why should setting Must have at least to "0" help avoiding a colonizer dead end?

Because there are no "unused" colony ships in reserve. Nothing yo impede construction of different colony ships upon request

Don't think it will work in "open" state. There are always planets to colonize and AI can easily saturate "planet per item" and get to the same sorry state but I'm not sure.

[Rexxx]

Originally posted by oleg:
Don't think it will work in "open" state. There are always planets to colonize and AI can easily saturate "planet per item" and get to the same sorry state but I'm not sure.

That's exactly what I guessed. Sooner or later the Planets per item condition is fulfilled with unusable colonizers and I get stuck again in this damned dead end.
Will run my tests in connected games during the weekend, maybe I can come up with something.

[JLS]

I recommend you also look at Infrastructure State for Colonizers in regards to PPI.

This is where AI Defaults too; coming out of the Not Connected State !!!
~
I believe the Proposed setting of 160 to 200 PPI; For Infrastructure currently suggested for Colonizers may be high there as well, and may be problematic…

[ March 07, 2003, 17:09: Message edited by: JLS ]

[Rexxx]

Originally posted by oleg:
I made a test in non-connected game. At the moment AI colonized all rock and gas planets in the system but before it discovered ice, it had two idle colonizers - one rock and one gas. I scraped them both - next turn, AI start to build one rock and one gas Rexx, I don't know why id did't work in your test. SE is a strange game should I say !

Did some tests (turn based, med/large quadrant, connected standard game, low bonus, AI as computer player)
I used
Entry 3 Type := Seeder (Gas)
Entry 3 Planet Per Item := 300
Entry 3 Must Have At Least := 5
Entry 4 Type := Seeder (Rock)
Entry 4 Planet Per Item := 300
Entry 4 Must Have At Least := 9
Entry 5 Type := Seeder (Ice)
Entry 5 Planet Per Item := 300
Entry 5 Must Have At Least := 12

In all tests my old statement "the AI only follows the Last (available) entry/name for a certain design type and the according must have number" was proven wrong!!!!

Until rock colonizing tech was discovered the AI build the 5 gas colonizers. After the first rock colonizers had been designed it immediately began to build them. NO DEAD END. At first it built 4 of them but when a slot got free the AI used it for a rock ship. After all gas colonizers were used up it constructed for lots of turns only 9 rock colonizers. However, at a certain point it switched back to gas colonizers. After checking the map I believe that this "switching back" happened when almost all the so far unused rock planets in the empire were colonized. It seems that the AI realized this fact and began to mix the colonizers to be used for further expansion. It never build the 5 gas ships I call for but mostly 1 or 2. However, once when two systems full of gas giants were discovered the AI did something quite intelligent: it began to build 8 gas colonizers!!!
Exactly the same happened when ice colonizing tech was discovered. For many many turns only ice colonizers were built to fill up the gaps of so far unused ice planets. Even when there was a large/huge rock planet with a breathable atmosphere available. Such a planet wasn't noticed until those "ice gaps" were filled up. When that was done the "switching back" to rock or gas colonizers happened again.
In all games the AI followed the "must have at least" number of the Last (available) entry but disregarded the other "number calls". Until ice colonizing tech was researched, there were always 9 colonizers available but never 5 gas and 4 rock. After ice colonizing tech was discovered there were 12 colonizers but never 5 gas, 4 rock, 3 ice.
The pattern the AI follows seems to be hardcoded, it overwrites my number calls:
When a new colonizing tech discovered the first thing to be done is filling up the gaps of uncolonized worlds (of this kind) in the empire while disregarding all other colonizable planets. After that fill up older gaps, then expand again and take into account which kinds of planets are available in adjacent systems. That – IMO – is exactly the AI's behaviour when I use a design-file which only calls for "colonizers" and not for names.

Oleg, you were completely right. Using the calling for names thing will avoid colonizer dead ends. Maybe I did something wrong in my tests using v 1.78, maybe something changed in v 1.84. Anyway, colonizer dead ends are avoidable.

After that I ran some tests using Master Belisarius' map and settings for his AI contest (simultaneous game). Again no dead ends but the colony bug he described is still happening.

[PvK]

Maybe the 1.84 AI has code to build colonizers based on what planets it sees? What happens if you don't specify any builds of colonizers at all? Maybe it'll just build colonizers for the planets it sees... could be a good thing.

PvK

[JLS]

Originally posted by PvK:

Maybe the 1.84 AI has code to build colonizers based on what planets it sees? What happens if you don't specify any builds of colonizers at all? Maybe it'll just build colonizers for the planets it sees... could be a good thing.

Is this what you are suggesting PvK ?

AI State := Not Connected
Num Queue Entries := 23
Entry 11 Type := Colonizer
Entry 11 Planet Per Item := 30
Entry 11 Must Have At Least := 0

[ March 10, 2003, 00:52: Message edited by: JLS ]