Removing AI weaknesses

[Sandman25]

Hello all!

I have a question. Does anyone try to remove some typical AI weaknesses:
1) Disable Supply Crawlers. No more instabuilding SP, 10+ resources for a size 1 city, energy parks etc.
2) Add "HURRY, 1000" to every faction profile. Now high minerals cities are very valuable. To have a facility or unit you'll have to build it.
3) Add "SHARETECH, 5" to every AI faction profile. Now BELIEVERS and SPARTANS/HIVE don't have problems with acquiring basic facilities.
4) Add "TERRAFORM" to some AI faction profile.

[waab]

yes there is a big mod in the file rep that transforms SMAC quit a lot. It is an inmense remake of al the factions. It's name is SNAC, I would say that it is one of the better versions I have played.

[Sandman25]

waab
Thank you, I'll take a look.

[Lazerus]

1) Many people use this rule in single player games

2) Interesting idea, however the downside being the AI's industry edge means your high mineral cities are only going to be as effective as their medium ones. Also this will ruin any chance of playing Morgan / any other cash type builder and will instead force you to play Domai / Hive for the industry bonus.
An idea i saw recently was to give the AI a high interest % on stored ec's with the theory they could rush anything just as easy as players. However it mainly ended up with the players just probe raping them so if it was to be done again all the AI with this would have to be given either probe immunity or a high rating atleast with a tendancy to build lots of probes.

3) I'd say sharetech 4 atleast, I've seen some factions in scenarios have sharetech 2 which makes them very competitive tech wise even later in the game.

4) Almost all AI factions have this option ticked in scenario games.

Have a look around for the scenarios created by Darsnan and Chaos Theory, the AI's weaknesses in terms of intelligence are still there but their strengths from starting positions/faction+alphax.txt modifications are greatly enhanced making them a much more formidable challenge.

[Sandman25]

Lazerus

2) The game is biased towards energy, a city doesn't really need high mineral output and I don't like that. Morgan still can use his money to probe cities and units.

3) I agree. I just didn't want to decrease value of Planetary datalinks too much.

4) I like random maps the most

Though I guess the best eqaulizer is "tech stagnation" if playing for builder, and blind research if playing for momentum.

[#endgame]

2) You can still make 1-1-1 shells etc. and upgrade.

[Sandman25]

#endgame

You can still make 1-1-1 shells etc. and upgrade

You are right, but the AI doesn't do it and I can impose some restrictions onto myself. Right now I'm playing OCC on a huge map and it is not much fun to build any facility/unit/wonder in 1 turn. +300 energy every turn helps too much

[Googlie]

One trick that a lot of us use now (often done in CMN'd multiplayer games) when playing just us against the computer AI is, as soon as that first base of ours is established, zoom the map to the max (to avoid seeing too much of the unexplored territory around that base), and click on "Scenario" to activate the scenario editor.

Now hit "edit technology"

Give yourself orbital spaceflight

Hit F6 (the satellite map) - you'll see the grid for all factions and all types of satellites

Click on each faction's energy sat with the right hand mouse button - that'll give 1 energy sat for each mouse click (I ususally do about ten if I want an evenly balanced game, 20 of I'm really into a challenge

Give some nutrient and mineral satellites that way as well, if you want a rampaging, growing AI faction

(and if you inadvertently give too many, then shift/right click removes 1 satellite per click)

obviously, don't give your own faction any satellites

then back to "edit technology, and remove orbital spaceflight from your list of techs

then de-activate "Scenario editor" and resume playing

This is a great way of strengthening the AI, 'cos the energy bonuses kick in as the # bases grow and as the size of the bases grows (versus beefing up the AI with techshare or mineral goodies that can unbalance the game from the first two or three bases)

To further set specific challenges, give Morgan and the Uni 30 energy satellites, the PK's 30 nut satellites, the Hive, Believers and Sparta 30 mineral satellites, then play as the Gaians and see all 3 victory conditions looming for the AI (cornering the energy market by Morgan, transcendence by the Uni, a pop-boom like you've never seen from the PK AI, and an overwhelming modern military machine From the 3 militaristic factions.

to further strengthen them, while in the scenario editor, go to the faction diplomacy, and make a couple of them subservient to a third (I like putting a militaristic one with the University, and again with Morgan - they seem to mesh well, brains and brawn. Hive/Morgan and Sparta/University are great combos)

But keep experimenting, and posting thoughts and results - although this game is getting close to ten years old, there's plenty life left in it yet!!

[Munin]

One adjustment is to change "Nutrient effect in mine square (0 or -1)" from -1 to 0. Since the AI is fond of building mines in farmland, this helps it.

Something I'm planning on doing in my next game is to give the AI a +1 to police. This will help it after D:AP because it has no idea how to manage pacifism drones. I've noticed that Santiago can often maintain Free Market after D:AP while the others just get massive drone riots and return to some other economic setting. You could do this by giving each of the AI factions a straight-up +1 police, but I like the idea of giving either Fundamentalism or Power a +1 police modifier, since these are SE settings I practically never use and which the AI is constantly using.

Apart from that, I've adjusted costs of a lot of things (mostly increasing the costs of a lot of "secret" projects) in order to make their costs more in line with what I think they're worth.

A note on "HURRY, 1000": it won't necessarily increase your cost of rush building military units much, because you will be able to rush build a facility and then change it to a military unit with no penalty. What it does do is increase the cost of rush building facilities (and to some extent projects), which is a good thing in my opinion.

[Sandman25]

Googlie

That's a very nice idea, I'll give it a try. The AI is awful at generating energy, it often has cities with 7 population and almost no energy.

Munin

I think Free Market should be changed in the alpha.txt. It makes AI spend more energy on psych than it gets from the +1 energy/square. The police alone doesn't help much

Edited: spelling

[waab]

In SNAC (a mod) the free market is changed to -3 in police. Of course planet now gives +20% psi power so -3 planet = -60 % psi. But at least you can play with Free market without needing to much psyk

[Sandman25]

waab

Yes, I've downloaded SNAC and am playing it right now.
Free Market is much more balanced now due to its -60% when attacking psi. I think it might be a good idea to put ROBUST, PLANET and ROBUST, POLICE to every AI faction profile. Or maybe even IMMUNITY, at least for Morgan.

[waab]

Well I am more or less only playing SNAC and you would say be a little bit carefull to give Morgan to much bonues. The AI clearly need some boost but to give only morgon robust or Immunity police will clearly make Morgan a little to strong.

[Sandman25]

waab

I guess you are right about Morgan. I missed all early SP, but Merchant Exchange, that's a very unusual situation. And the worst opponent is Morgan - I just got a message he's ready to complete VW and it took me all units in the city, 3 formers, a colony pod, 3 rovers from adjacent cities, all 4 Command Centers and 3 Recycling Centers to build the SP first.
Though I am somewhat dissapointed by early SNAC - it's not much fun to play Sparta with stagnated blind research and have just 2 attack when all neighbors have defense 4.

[waab]

Well it is a builder Mod it is really tough to play as a full blown attacker, and Spartan is still a pretty weak faction.

Reading what you had to give up to build that SP I must ask myself if it is really worth it. I mean giving up 3 rec tanks, formers and a colony pod feels like a long time succied. Can't really understand how you are planing to save the day with ME but it's your game. I would have gone building more bases and more terraforming instead. If you can not beat them with ordinary assualt go for pillage and prob instead. If I was you I would try to weaken the Morgons with help of a massive assualt on his infrastructure. Don't waste resourses trying to attack his bases just burn everything and try hamper his science. Then sign some nice alliances with the AI. I promise you need the help.