AI Modding 101?

[Rollo]

alright, here is what I was looking for:

This thread along with the design sheet should help you to get started:
AI Text Files Tips & Hints

and here is something to explain how research works:
AI modding: research.txt

Feel free to post additional specific questions, though. I totally agree that an AI modding 101 would be a great thing.

[ February 22, 2004, 08:10: Message edited by: Rollo ]

[hicksz]

Thanks again Rollo for all of your help. There is a lot of great info here to sort through.

I got to, got to, go to bed but I had one quick questions before I'm gone. I read through your excellent AI Modding Research.txt and I have a quick question about "Not Connected" AI State.

I looked at what Tampa_Gamer (your second link)also said about AI Modding Research.txt:

(6) Make sure you test your races “Not Connected” research tree - some people actually play this option and they may want your race to do more than sit on its thumbs for 100 turns.

This is taken from one of the AI Reseach.txt file:

AI State := Not Connected
Tech Area Name := Rock Planet Colonization
Tech Area Level := 1
Tech Area Min Percent := 100

I notice all of the "Not Connected" AI States use a "Tech Area Min Percent" of 100.

Is "Not Connected" the AI's way of saying it's researched everything that is important and it's going to now just research one tech regardless of what is actually happening in the game?

[Fyron]

"Not Connected" refers to a situation in which the AI is not connected to any other races. Basically, if you start a game with No Warp Points, the AI will be in the Not Connected state. If the AI gets completely cut off from all other empires, it might go into the Not Connected state.

[Rollo]

'Not Connected' is an AI state. When the AI thinks it is 'alone in the universe' (i.e. not connected to others via warp points), it switches to that state.

So while in 'Not Connected' state it researches different than in all the other states. Higher priotity to colonization tech, warp point opening, etc.

[ February 22, 2004, 09:03: Message edited by: Rollo ]

[Rollo]

Originally posted by hicksz:
...This is taken from one of the AI Reseach.txt file:

AI State := Not Connected
Tech Area Name := Rock Planet Colonization
Tech Area Level := 1
Tech Area Min Percent := 100

I notice all of the "Not Connected" AI States use a "Tech Area Min Percent" of 100.

actually that is a pretty bad choice, IMO.
"Tech Area Min Percent" of 100 always results in lost research points, since only one project will be in the queue.

[Rollo]

Just realized that I shouldn't say this a bad choice without providing a better alternative

This is what I use for some of my races:

AI State := Not Connected
Tech Area Name := Rock Planet Colonization
Tech Area Level := 1
Tech Area Min Percent := 1

AI State := Not Connected
Tech Area Name := Gas Giant Colonization
Tech Area Level := 1
Tech Area Min Percent := 1

AI State := Not Connected
Tech Area Name := Ice Planet Colonization
Tech Area Level := 1
Tech Area Min Percent := 1

AI State := Not Connected
Tech Area Name := Astrophysics
Tech Area Level := 1
Tech Area Min Percent := 1

AI State := Not Connected
Tech Area Name := Repair
Tech Area Level := 1
Tech Area Min Percent := 1

AI State := Not Connected
Tech Area Name := Stellar Manipulation
Tech Area Level := 4
Tech Area Min Percent := 34

AI State := Not Connected
Tech Area Name := Applied Research
Tech Area Level := 3
Tech Area Min Percent := 97

AI State := Not Connected
Tech Area Name := Minerals Extraction
Tech Area Level := 3
Tech Area Min Percent := 34

AI State := Not Connected
Tech Area Name := Cargo
Tech Area Level := 3
Tech Area Min Percent := 34

AI State := Not Connected
Tech Area Name := Ship Construction
Tech Area Level := 4
Tech Area Min Percent := 34

AI State := Not Connected
Tech Area Name := add more stuff accoring to your AI game plan using the 'Tech Area Min Percent := 34'
...

This ensures that I get all the colony techs as well as the tech that my AI needs for WP openers.

[oleg]

Originally posted by Litcube:
...I've also managed to find out how to get the AI to design more than one types of attack ships. I still don't understand Oleg's method of using the "must have", and with my experimentatino, it doesn't work as well as I would have thought. Using boarding ships, kamakazie ships seems to work well. There's alot of hardcode in the AI. "Easy modding" my ***.

...

Yeah, my Posts may be sometimes confusing . The basic caveat of using Design Names in construvtion.txt file instead of generic types like "attack ship" is that SE keeps track the numbers of ship corresponding to "generic type", not the name listed in construction.txt. That is, when AI decides how mane "attack ship #1" to build, it check the TOTAL NUMBER of ALL "attack ships", not that particular "attack ship #1".

It is very easy to deal with this problem using "must have": For example, if you want 10 "attack ship 1" and 10 "attack ship 2", you use
must have := 10 for the first name and "must have := 20(!) for the second entry.

This way, AI build 10 a.s.1 and then 10 (!) a.s.2 since the number of "must have" corresponds to the summ of all attack ships in service.

It can be done with "planet per item" but it is more tricky. If you want say 4 a.s.1 per planet and 4 a.s.2 per planet, you must use
planet per item :=4 for first ship name and
planet per item :=2 (!) for second name.

If you use =4 in the second entry, no ships would be build since SE "thinks" the fullfilment for attack ships was satisfied by a.s.1 numbers.

[ February 22, 2004, 09:54: Message edited by: oleg ]