Dominions 2. AI. Suggestions, that how to fix it.

[DominionsFan]

Someone had mentioned that a special debug mode would be cool to inspect the AI. [Checking out the AI's actions in his turns.]
I like this idea too. However we have many good suggestion already.

[Mortifer]

I think it is not as important now. We have a nice list about the AI weaknesses, so that feature isn't needed.

[Aristoteles]

Okay, here is the list once more, that what should be upgraded in the strategic AI:


1. The AI is massing weak troops
2. The AI wont protect his pretender/commanders/priests/mages
3. The AI wont build forts
4. The AI's battlefield tactics could be better
5. The AI is making very odd things. IE. wandering around with his pretender alone etc.
6. The AI won't stay in a province, it is always moving his armies.
7. The AI won't make complex strategic maneuvers. IE. Making a focused attack against a province.
8. The AI won't equip his supercombatants..at least I've never seen that in the demo.


Feel free to add more, however I cannot think anything else right now.
Nerfix has posted that the AI is building too many temples, I don't know that this is good or bad.

[Serpico]

Hi, I am far from the experienced status, but I've seen these problematic points,-what you've mentioned on your list-, in my games with the demo.
I hope that this game developer -Illwinter- will improve these parts of the AI.
I love the singleplayer at least as much as the multiplayer.

[Gandalf Parker]

OK I think we still have time for this. If I modify the Aran .map file (eye is overused already) to provide the AI some of these items do you think it would clairify things abit?

1. The AI is massing weak troops

How about if each AI started the game with another army of hvy and elite units? Or even 2 more armys.

2. The AI wont protect his pretender/commanders/priests/mages

If I actually BUILT the pretenders for each AI then I could assign bodyguards to it. I can also bodyguard priests and mages but only if the .map file gives them.

3. The AI wont build forts

I could start the AI's with a couple of additional provinces and forts/temples/labs

4. The AI's battlefield tactics could be better

Hmmm I dont see where I could help this much. I could toss in a bunch of ally commands so that the AI's dont waste time and resources fighting each other.

5. The AI is making very odd things. IE. wandering around with his pretender alone etc.

Hmmm bodyguards is all I can think of.

6. The AI won't stay in a province, it is always moving his armies.

I think this is a good tactic for an AI. If you cant make it capable of good decisions based on whats coming then moving around alot helps.

7. The AI won't make complex strategic maneuvers. IE. Making a focused attack against a province.

Not sure what can be done here unless a new map image (tga file) is created with more bottlenecks.

8. The AI won't equip his supercombatants..at least I've never seen that in the demo.

That would tend to be very late game but if I create the pretenders I CAN also give them magic items.

The problem with so much pre-placement on such a map is that it wont have alot of replay value. The AIs would always start in the same provinces.

Also, should I only do this for the AI's that cannot be selected for human play? Or should I do it for all the races. If its all, then the human player will also have his pretender pre-selected and extra troops at start.

[ November 04, 2003, 15:51: Message edited by: Gandalf Parker ]

[licker]

While I appreciate your work Gandalf, I'm not sure that simply making map senarios is really what the folks are after here (though I expect you know that).

The fixes you propose (and you say this at the end of your post) are merely artificial boosts to try and make a specific map more difficult. I'm all for that, I love user created senarios that make life more difficult, but in the end, its not an improvement to the AI (unless there is the possibility for some *massive* scripting).

So I just ask that while your work is not done in vain, the focus of this discussion remains on how to improve the in game AI, not on how to make a senerio that is challenging.

Respecfully submitted

[Gandalf Parker]

Originally posted by licker:
While I appreciate your work Gandalf, I'm not sure that simply making map senarios is really what the folks are after here (though I expect you know that).

Respecfully submitted

Respectfully accepted. I have started a new thread for discussing a .map fix for these things.

Personally Im still not convinced that these are "problems" with the whole game. If they are based on settings then fixing some of these would cause problems when played with other settings (just a possibility). And if anything can be fixed with map mods then Id prefer that over a game rewrite since it would allow more variance in what can be accomplished with maps. Fixing these items might remove this level of AI play when some map makers might wish it.
Respectfully submitted Really