AI Text Files Tips & Hints (Modders Please Read!)

[Mephisto]

Ok, here are my tips and tricks. I will only stress point not already covered by others here (ok, that’s no strict rule ).


AI_ANGER.TXT
This is an important file for the AI diplomacy. Don’t give the Ai to much anger points in a single row. There are many ways to anger the Ai but few to make them friendly so beware if you don’t want to create psycho races (and there are already many out there).


AI_CONSTRUCTION_FACILITIES.TXT
A very important file. Make sure you build all your special buildings your advanced trait gave you but watch out for buildings does not use. A good example for this IMHO are the training facilities: The Ai will actually use them (i.e. place a ship/fleet of them) BUT as the AI tends to be busy sending all its ships and fleets from one end of the galaxy to the next the AI will seldom use this facilities. On the other hand they will use up valuable building slots so weight if their use of space is really worth it (IMHO: no). Sorry, Tampa.
Try to only use a small amount of different colony types. The AI is limited in the ways it can choose these colonies. By creating dozens of different colony types you will loose your focus and you can’t make sure the AI actually build the right colony with the right facility at the right place (e.g. a military installation in every system). A good example of a unneeded colony type is the “construction colony”. You need lots of space yards and therefore should integrate them in nearly all colony types with a certain size.
On a side note, make sure the AI researches all important buildings fast at at least level one. This way the Ai will follow your build plan and will upgrade the facilities in time. If you do not research these facilities in time the AI will have used up all the slots with the buildings from the “catch all” line.


AI_CONSTRUCTION_VEHICLES.TXT
There is one confirmed and known bug with recon satellites: These satellites will not be counted toward the production total once they are launched in space. If you call them, the AI will build them until the “units in space limit” is reached AND all the cargo on all planets is used up. Need I say that this will take forever and that no production “below” the recon satellite call will be executed?
You can circumvent the problem somewhat by making “combat” satellites recon satellites. “Combat” satellites are counted correctly. This will prevent your race from using combat satellites, however…
Make sure you build some Space Yard Ships. If the are not constructing something, there are actually used as repair ships and will go after your crippled zero-movement ships. But beware: The AI will only consider a ship a SPS if there is a space yard on board. You can give it some repair bays to, but there must be a space yard to be a SYS.


AI_DESIGNCREATION.TXT
Make sure you call each item as specifically as possible. For example:
To add organic armor to a design you could use the “Armor Spaces Per One” line or you could use the“Misc Ability 1 Name:= Armor”. Both ways will result in organic armor being added IF
a) you have organic armor at all
b) there is no “better” armor.
Unfortunately, the AI considers any armor of level 4 or higher (e.g. emissive, stealth and scatter armor) to be “better” armor.
Therefore, the best method to call an item is by a unique ability of this item. For organic armor, this is regeneration. So, the best line would be “Misc Ability 1 Name:= Armor Regeneration”. Now the AI will always use organic armor.


AI_PLANET_TYPES.TXT
Like Tampa said, this may be the single most important file for your race. If this is not done properly your whole race will fall apart as they have no economy to sustain their fleet.


AI_POLITICS.TXT
The “Military Alliance” should be the highest treaty your race should make. Not only will your race get angry over allied colonized planets (you can turn this one off) but much worse: The AI will gain star maps and then sent colonizers to colonize these nice huge correct atmosphere planets 500 LIGHTYEARS AWAY WITH A TRAVEL TIME OF ROUND-ABOUT 50 TURNS!
So, NEVER EVER LET YOUR AI MAKE A PARTNERSHIP-TREATY, NEVER EVER MAKE IT AN ANCIENT RACE!
Puh, enough screaming. But this had to be said.


AI_STRATEGIES.TXT
Listen to Tampa, he knows what he is doing.


.EMP FILE
Make sure the line “Ships should not move through minefields” is OFF. If not, all your ships will not move through mines INCLUDING your minesweepers. It is a known bug and MM is working on this one.


GENERAL
Two Last things that are bugs and will effect how you design your race:
1.) Boarding ships will not actively engage an enemy ship even when armed with a "real" weapon like a depleted uranium cannon. The boarding ship (BS) will run for the battle field corner until any of the enemy ships lose all of its shields. If enemy shields are down, the BS will board the enemy.
2.) The Ai is not always creating a new ship design if certain techs become available in simultaneous games. If sensors, combat sensors or shields are researched, the AI should initiate a new design but it does not. It will only add these components if the next bigger ship class is available (the AI then starts a new design process and adds every called for available tech). It has no problems to upgrade the ship designs if only a newer component is researched (i.e. shields I are in the design and shields II become available).

[Sinapus]

quote:

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Originally posted by Tampa_Gamer:

AI_DESIGNCREATION.TXT
(1) Obviously entire threads have been written on this one!! You must experiment and check your race constantly and at all tech levels to make sure a given design makes sense at each level of tech and stage
of the game.
(2) Use of the "Must Have Ability" line will dictate what type of hull is used (None=Normal,Cargo=Transport, Colony=Colony Hull). This can be used to create unique hulls such as transports for Mine/Sat Layers (see the Darlok) or transports for Colonizers - very useful in late game.

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If you modded Space Yards to have the cargo storage ability (0kt) and made space yard designs have cargo storage as a 'must' have and then didn't designate any cargo storage in the main, secondary or misc components, would the AI use a transport hull to design an SYS w/o cargo bays?

(As in, if you had space yards as the main component, would the AI put an SY in a medium transport hull, then consider the must have requirement satisfied since the design now has a 400kt component w/cargo storage ability.)

[Alpha Kodiak]

One thing that I am noticing is that, now that 1.49 uses the value Tech Area Min Percent in the research file, it is generally a bad idea to ever set that value to 100 because when the project completes, there is no other project to absorb the left over research points. It appears to me that it is better to use 50 and accept the fact that you will get one project in between when you are trying to set up a project that is dependent on another.

Also, normally, it would be best to use all 25's early in the research queue, unless one of the projects is really big, just in case you are dealing with a large number of starting planets or a large amount of starting resources, just to not waste too much research. (In a multiplanet game with high starting resources, I usually see all four starting projects completed and some points lost anyway, so I would hate to limit the startup research to less than four projects.)

[God Emperor]

I've set most %'s to 50 for my races with the occaisional 33's for inexpensive projects where a longer queue minimises wastage of research points.
I am quite happy for my races to have a really tight research sequence and to only have two projects in their queues at any one time.

As you said, the 100 setting is likely to lead to wastage of research points.

[Sinapus]

Yes, I noticed that as well. Had to go reread the history file before I started a topic on it. I ended up going into each research file and ran a find/replace on those entries so they were back to 25 percent.

I also tried setting "cargo storage" for must have on space yard ships and found that no, it won't make the AI use transport hulls. Oh well. (Considering I've also modded transport hulls so they are easier targets and poor shots that might help the AI.)

[Atraikius]

Sinapus - try setting the ship yard component as a must have, and cargo storage as the primary ability - the AI will place the required number of cargo components on, and if enough space is left over, it will pace the shipyard on.

[Rollo]

Great Posts everyone,
too bad this was not posted three months ago, so I had to learn most of this the hard way . The tip to turn “Ships should not move through minefields” OFF was very important, thanks.

Let me add a couple of things in addition to what the others have already said:

• Extra supplies are also good on defense ships. They will leave systems under your control and also attack enemy planets in neighboring systems.
  
• Check your designs when a new weapon becomes available that has a greater tonnage than the previous one and (even more important) check when a new mount is available. If you put too many weapons in the design, there will be no room for the other components (e.g. sensors. If your sensors are missing, your weapons are worthless). When the order of weapons is not so important, put only one primary weapon in. After all other components are added the design will be filled with the primary weapon (or any other primary component for that matter).
  
• Do not use atmospheric converters as the first facility to build. This can cause the AI to go broke very quickly, if every little dustball is converted.
  
• First thing in the facility queue should be the resupply depot, IMHO. This will not only help the AI to expand, but will also prevent a waste of resources of building a spaceport, if the only planet in the system is a tiny one (Hey, that happens).
  
• Read the Posts by Master Belisarius, Tampa Gamer, and [K126]Mephisto again. There is a lot of wisdom in their words .[/list]
  Hope I could be of some help,
  Rollo