MP: Noobs & Vets: Rise of the AI Menace. EA, BI. Game Over. Team ACGHHS wins!

[chrispedersen]

Unrelated question:

Did hosting go off correctly? Grudge states that he checked the hosting time yesterday; it had 44 hours till hosting; and that hosting occurred less than 44 hours thereafter.

[Squirrelloid]

I submitted with 2h showing on the hosting clock, fwiw.

[DrPraetorious]

I also vote for option #2.

[Immaculate]

option 2

[Septimius Severus]

Originally Posted by chrispedersen

Unrelated question:

Did hosting go off correctly? Grudge states that he checked the hosting time yesterday; it had 44 hours till hosting; and that hosting occurred less than 44 hours thereafter.

As far I can could tell there haven't been early hosting issues unrelated to quick host since turn 20.

Originally Posted by Lingchih

This time of year games are usually sent to an untimed quickhost, until the New Year.

Perhaps, but of course it is whatever the majority of players want and the needs of the game dictate that ultimately will decide. Personally, I try to avoid notions of what is "normal", "usual", "customary", and or "coventional".

Players: Don't forget to vote on the hosting interval. Unless it is capped by vote it will continue to grow by 8 hours every 10 turns.

[Septimius Severus]

Hmm, I see the AI is still hanging around. It is as though they are mocking some of you "vets" who said the AI would be easy to defeat and stupid. It seems at least some players are playing whack-a-mole with a few of them. I check one turn and they are down by so many provinces, next turn, they are back up.

Aside from the artistry of Gandalf, the AI does have something going for it:

1. It can "think" and analyze all possible moves far faster than any human player. This gives it the ability to do a 100 province turn with all the micromanagment in seconds whereas even the best vets might need several days.

2. It doesn't need to sleep, eat, doesn't get tired, has no real life issues to worry about. It is relentless in the extreme.

3. I don't know the precise programming logic behind the AI's actions and what is actually filtered from it "such as unscouted provinces", but since it is the AI, it has the potential to "know" everything already, including every move you make. Sorta like playing chess with another player than can read your mind.

[DrPraetorious]

I am almost certain that the AI doesn't see your moves. Put another way - on the occasions when I have rehosted a turn for one reason or another, doing different things, the AI has always* done the same thing(s) each time.

* There are funny things with how movement works, so I can't be 100% certain on this.

It may have super-scouting info or something, though.

Other than that, you're right about the micromanagement. The computer is a better small-force raider than most human players for this reason.

[Gandalf Parker]

Originally Posted by Septimius Severus

3. I don't know the precise programming logic behind the AI's actions and what is actually filtered from it "such as unscouted provinces", but since it is the AI, it has the potential to "know" everything already, including every move you make. Sorta like playing chess with another player than can read your mind.

Actually that is a very insightful awareness you have of a major part of AI programming.

Players always complain that "the AI cheats" and the programmer has "given" the AI too much info. But its the reverse. You are starting with a "player" that is internal to the game. So the problem is trying to remove information that the AI automatically has access to. In something as simple as the map you are talking about giving each AI its own virtual copy of the map instead of allowing it access to the games operating map which the program is working with at the same time.

Its only done really well in games that support bot players as game AIs. Ive worked on such before. Its something I dearly love and wish Dom3 would support. But then again, for a 2 man team whose main jobs is not game programming they did well.

==========
And I agree. The AI is doing better than I expected with so little help given to it. We are seeing the result of the simplest level of AI instructions. Choice of pretender, scales, magic, etc all from basic player-level instructions from nation guides posted here in the forum. Id like to see more Player vs AI vs Player games.

[chrispedersen]

Gandalf - is there anyway to investigate Grudges claims - that either the game hosted quick, or the website was in error on the time posted? (ie, difference between web and game?).

We got REALLY killed by his stale - its fine its part of the game. But I'd REALLy like to make sure it doesn't happen again, if its at all attributable to math, software, etc.

[chrispedersen]

It isn't the artistry of the AI that's keeping them alive- its the exigencies of the players.

ie., we're all fighting the ai's with one hand behind our back.
Or two.