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Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword Review by Solver

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  • Taking over the AI, one algorithm at a time

  • Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword Review by Solver

    Taking over the AI, one algorithm at a time

    BtS AI Pros: The AI is improved in every area of the game. AI bonuses are decreased.

    BtS AI Cons: It's not perfect.

    BtS AI Tips: Don't expect to get away with having Archers defend coastal cities in 1900 AD. Be prepared for some big incoming stacks. Beware of Shaka!

    I have always considered the AI to be the most important feature in any Civ game. All the improvements in BtS would not have mattered much had the AI not been taught to handle them properly. In Beyond the Sword, the AI has been improved in all areas thanks to efforts of Blake, who introduced the new aspects to the AI and changed much of its old behaviour.

    Believe me when I say that I could write as much about the AI as I have written about everything else together so far. So to keep this at a reasonable length, I will just go through some of the areas that the AI has improved at.

    Domestically, the AI is simply better at handling its cities. Algorithms to select founding locations have been improved, Worker and civic priorities have been tweaked considerably. AI city management is really better, it has learned new tricks such as working different tiles on alternating turns. Given that it is all happening in civs you do not control, you will not notice the changes directly, but you will see them as an overall increase an AI economic performance.

    As far as Worker tweaks go, they also apply to you should you choose to automate your Workers. They are actually competent now and will, in what is one of the most impressive AI changes, take governor settings into account. For example, if a city is set to Emphasize Commerce, then Workers improving the tiles worked by that city will prefer Cottages and Windmills.

    An AI that is good domestically wouldn’t still be much good if it couldn’t actually use its advantage. The BtS AI can. It can, for example, win a cultural victory. Indeed, losing a game to an Incan Cultural victory has to be my most surprising defeat in all of my time with Civ4. Spacerace performance is likewise improved, so any AIs that are doing a great job domestically will put it to use and may make a grab for victory.

    The most obvious changes, though, are to the AI’s military workings. It is fair to say that the military AI has been almost completely reworked. Some parts of it, such as the naval AI, have indeed been reworked completely. I would say that the weakest part of the original Civ4 AI was taking cities. No longer.

    AI in Beyond the Sword can put together stacks of truly intimidating size. This is also dependent on the personality, so personalties such as Shaka are a huge pain. I have seen offensive stacks exceeding 50 units in size. The AI does now understand sacrificing units – atacking with a weaker unit to hurt the defender that it has no chance of beating even with its best unit. It will bombard more effectively and will not hesitate to use lots of siege for massive collateral damage to overcome defenses. The AI is actually capable of taking well-defended cities. At the same time, its defensive abilities have overall improved – the AI will not defend all cities equally but will concentrate more on defending threatened cities.

    AI civs conquering other AIs is something I have seen very rarely before BtS, but now it is fairly common. Certain aggressive personalities may rush a neighbour early – rushes and chokes are among the new strategies in the AI’s arsenal. Of all the improvements in warfare, you can’t help but notice the changes to AI naval invasions. In BtS, they can be seen dropping 20-unit stacks on the coast or even attacking directly from ships. Not being used to the improved AI, I have suffered several embarrassing city losses to amphibious attacks. You actually need to defend your coastal cities!

    You’ll see the AI build sizeable navies, too. One or two escort ships won’t be enough against a strong enemy anymore. At the same time, a lone Destroyer defending your coast against pillagers won’t do anything to help repel a determined AI’s invasion. Check out some of the screenshots accompanying this review to see stacks that the AI builds. In the shot below, you’ll spot a Carthaginian invasion fleet consisting of 10 Galleons, 7 Frigates and 3 Ships of the Line. Ouch time!

    I won’t write too much more about the military AI. It is something you have to experience for yourself – fighting one war against a strong AI is worth much more than reading a description such as this. I have to mention, however, the AI’s ability to coordinate its forces of various domains. An all-out late game invasion can begin with a nuclear strike, be followed by air strikes, then naval bombardment and then an attack by land forces. You get the impression that the AI’s naval, air and land forces are working towards a single goal instead of each doing their best, but not really helping each other out. And just in case you were wondering, the AI knows how to use Paratroopers, as well.

    It’s also interesting that the AI can choose between multiple methods of achieving its wartime objectives. There is more than one way how a modern invasion can proceed. The AI might decide to ignore land-based siege and rely solely on airpower for bombardment. Or it might decide just the opposite, not to use Bombers but instead to strike with large numbers of Mobile Artillery. Doesn’t everyone love surprises?

    Impressively, these AI improvements have been pulled off while actually decreasing some of the AI bonuses. For example, the AI now gets a 50% discount for unit upgrades at all difficulties, whereas in Warlords or Civ4 it would get extremely cheap upgrades at some of the higher levels, paying only 30% of the upgrade costs on Noble and only 15% at Emperor. AI bonuses for unit supply, inflation and war weariness have also been scaled down, and its free Worker was removed from Monarch.

    I will stop at this. The AI is not, and can not be, perfect, and you will notice some flaws – such as its unit attack order sometimes being downright poor when attacking directly from ships, but you will definitely be impressed at the overall improvement in AI performance compared to Civ4 and Warlords.

    ← Taking over the enemy, one city at a time
    Taking over the tech tree, one building at a time →
    Tags: review, civilization 4, beyond the sword
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