Attempting to improve the AI for Proportions 3.05

[Arralen]

Originally Posted by PvK

Interesting AI test results.

At least the Xiati need some tweaking of their tech research priorities: Investing 400k points (~40 turns) into Level 3 of their racial tech (Temporal, which does not even give ships hulls etc) while not having colonisation tech available is a no-go.

Looks like the AI can use both colonizers and starliners, but isn't very coordinated about it in the early game, as you reported.

It's only a guess, but to me it looks like that some AIs do not manage to beeline for Colonisation Tech-10. They're building lots of combat ships in the meantime, which seriously hampers their ability to colonise once they finally have the tech needed because of the high upkeep costs.

Starliners moving speed one sounds like they are out of supplies.

Oh, it's not 2 starliners moving 1 step - it's 2 starliners sitting in open space, both fully loaded and amply fueled, but only 1 is moved by the minister on the next turn, while the other just sits there doing nothing (2 steps away what could be the originating planet). Interestingly, both don't have any "standing" orders (like "move to XY, drop pop" or something).

As a player, I never got a minister to even touch a starliner, no matter what I did ...

Ruin messages aren't moddable. Sometimes they have ordinary techs which the game unmoddably randomizes, resulting sometimes in you getting tech levels you already have.

Ok, so as soon as I get the "tech discovered" message, it's a "standard" ruin, not one of your "dud" ones?
Then - how big is the chance that I get a tech I already have - with 3 ruins @ turn 40? Atm., it looks like ruins aren't working at all, but I'll check some more ...

[Arralen]

Ok, obviously there's lot of room for improvement on the AI for Proportions:

I did a test run, all 15 AI in a large galaxy, simultaneous game. I looked into the AIs turns on 2400.1, 2400.5 and 2401.0. I've attached my notes in pdf format.

- lots of AIs do not build proper scouts, but missile attack boats with 1x CSM and 2x std. ion engine: those ships run out of fuel before reaching the next WH ...

- most AI do not manage to research the colonisation tech 10, adding to many expensive techs "in between"; presumably to have some difference between the AI players, some of their research scripts have the same research topics listed in different orders. Sadly, it looks like those lists haven't been adjusted for the vastly different tech costs in Proportions.

Amon'krie are the only ones which (mostly) get things right (colonisation tech 9 on the 10th turn, 4 systems explored), showing that it is possible for the AI to be competitive - after all, the human player only manages to get to col tech 10 in turn 10 because he can rearrange the research queue, what the AI is unable to do.

- Troop transports and cargo tech shouldn't be build/researched before colonisation is possible, as those are basically useless before then.


=> Sadly, it looks like that adjusting the initial research of the AI will make all AI basically act the same during the first 10-15 turns, as there are limited options to choose tech because of prerequisites and costs.
On the other hand, interactions between human player(s) and AIs are very limited during this time frame, too, therefore this shouldn't be too much of an issue...

[PvK]

The AI files were I think ok for Proportions 2.x, but then weren't changed much for 3.x, and were changed in some ways that weren't tested much or at all, so your testing is great to have, thanks!

Agreed about the Xiati starting with 4 years of only temporal research.

The AI not giving orders to some ships sounds like a flaw in the AI that may not have much to do with the mod, or it might just be that the AI doesn't consider a ship with a "mere" one population unit to be a worthy population transport.

It's been years since I had fresh knowledge of what the messages for ruins meant exactly. I don't think it's at all likely that ruins are broken entirely. (We did play several games of 3.x multiplayer.)

Good observation about the 100kT missile boats with range 9.

FYI & IIRC, there is sort of a limit to the control possible over micromanaging what the AI does during the first few turns particularly without impacting what it will do during the rest of the game and with colonies on planets. So for instance it might be ok if it tries building a fire platform on turn 1 on the homeworld, if it means it also builds fire platforms early on colonies, since that's a useful defense to have there.

Also, in Proportions it's far less vital, nor even clearly the best move, to develop scouting and colonizing early on versus military. If an enemy seiges your home planet early on, it may be game over due to unrest. Also colonies are investments which only pay off after considerable time, and which in theory can be captured by invasion (though the AI isn't very good at capturing planets).