AI Traits

[Sparrowhawk]

I have summarized the AI traits below:

 
    
    
 
      
Civilization
 
      
Rational/Aggressive
 
      
Civilized/Militaristic
 
      
Perfectionist/Expansionist
 
    
 

    
    
 
      
Romans
 
      
-
 
      
Civilized
 
      
Expansionist
 
    
 

    
    
 
      
Russians
 
      
Aggressive
 
      
Militaristic
 
      
-
 
    
 

    
    
 
      
Celts
 
      
Rational
 
      
-
 
      
Expansionist
 
    
 

    
    
 
      
Babylonians
 
      
Rational
 
      
Civilized
 
      
Perfectionist
 
    
 

    
    
 
      
Zulus
 
      
Aggressive
 
      
-
 
      
-
 
    
 

    
    
 
      
Japanese
 
      
Aggressive
 
      
Militaristic
 
      
Expansionist
 
    

    
    
 
      
German
 
      
Aggressive
 
      
Civilized
 
      
Perfectionist
 
    
 

    
    
 
      
French
 
      
Aggressive
 
      
Civilized
 
      
Expansionist
 
    
 

    
    
 
      
Vikings
 
      
Aggressive
 
      
-
 
      
Expansionist
 
    

   
    
 
      
Egyptian
 
      
-
 
      
Civilized
 
      
-
 
    
 

    
    
 
      
Aztecs
 
      
-
 
      
Civilized
 
      
Perfectionist
 
    
 

    
    
 
      
Spanish
 
      
Rational
 
      
Militaristic
 
      
Expansionist
 
    

   
    
 
      
American
 
      
Rational
 
      
Civilized
 
      
-
 
    
 

    
    
 
      
Chinese
 
      
-
 
      
Civilized
 
      
-
 
    
 

    
    
 
      
Persian
 
      
-
 
      
-
 
      
Perfectionist
 
    

   
    
 
      
Greek
 
      
-
 
      
Militaristic
 
      
Expansionist
 
    
 

    
    
 
      
English
 
      
-
 
      
-
 
      
Expansionist
 
    
 

    
    
 
      
Carthaginians
 
      
-
 
      
Militaristic
 
      
-
 
    

   
    
 
      
Indian
 
      
Rational
 
      
-
 
      
Perfectionist
 
    
 

    
    
 
      
Mongols
 
      
Aggressive
 
      
Militaristic
 
      
Expansionist
 
    
 

    
    
 
      
Sioux
 
      
-
 
      
-
 
      
-
 
    

What I am curious about is what is the thought on how this applies to the game? I think we all know that the Agressive/Militaristic Civs are more likely to declare war and the Rational/Civilized/Perfectionist civs are more likely to build large well developed cities, but how does each trait influence the individual AI civs? (City production for instance).

Anyone with insight care to post?

/me

[Elephant]

There are several columns in RULES.TXT that specify default "desirability" values for each tech along with modifiers for more "civilized" and more "militaristic" civs. This affects what techs they choose to research themselves, as well as how much they value a tech you offer in trade or ask to buy.

My feeling is that the first column has to do with general military and diplomatic decisions, the second with tech issues, and the third with issues of resource allocation between exploration/expansion and city buildup.

Nice color scheme, BTW.

[Bloody Monk]

And the varied characteristics of the different civs also predispose them to certain kinds of scrolls at the beginning of the game. The Scouse Gits posted some very interesting material on this, some of which is probably in the Great Library.

Monk

[Andemagne]

Great Work with that Table, Sparrowhawk.

[debeest]

IIRC, the Scouse Gits' commentary in the GL on which civs are prone to starting with which techs is named "A is for alphabet."

[Scouse Gits]

yup -- something like 3000 starts analysed - A is for Alphabet is the correct title

Stu

[jez9999]

I know I'm replying to a very old post here, but anyway:

The 3 civs that stick out to me in Civ2 are:
- Celts: For some reason, always seem to build a HUGE empire. It's usually double the size of mine, with cities quickly reaching size 12+. Don't know how this is.
- Sioux: Much more peaceful than the others. They're rarely picked (usually Mongols or Indians, sadly), and tend to die easily.
- Mongols: Tend to be more aggressive than the others. Even if you're generous, they'll tend to attack. Somewhat like the Vikings, too.

The biggest weird thing for me is the Celts and their enormous empires, though. I dunno why, maybe they get some kind of special bonus that lets them expand quickly? They do this even if they don't have Pyramids.

[Peaster]

I haven' t noticed that about the Celts [but it may be true, of course]. Sparrowhawk's original question seems interesting and not totally answered. Presumably these characteristics were included for a reason, and they should also affect the human player's strategy somehow. But how ?

Speaking for myself, I ignore them. They have no effect on how I plan my conquests. Also, I've read most of the game logs from about 90 GOTMs at CFC, and don't recall any player claiming to use them either. [Ignoring random complaints about the dam**d aggressive Mongols, etc]

Just speculating - these may affect AI diplomacy... eg the success rate at extracting tribute, provoking war, or restoring peace. Even so, I'm not sure how knowing those probabilities would affect my decisions in a game.

Or... maybe these traits are mainly useful for scenario designers?