AU mod: How to help the AI with happiness

[alexman]

The Problem

The AI doesn't use the luxury slider. As a result, the AI assigns an inordinate number of entertainers, which cripple its growth, economy, and production. The fact that the AI pop-rushes and drafts more often than most humans, makes the problem worse. Also, the AI's combat tactics often result in war weariness, which forces a switch to inefficient wartime governments and a serious research setback late in the game.

Possible Solutions:

• Double the effect of entertainers. This change was implemented in the PTW version of the AU mod, with success. The added value of entertainers is usually not significant enough to affect human strategy, except in totally corrupt cities. On the downside, it is a change visible to the human player, made just to help the AI.
• Increase the citizens born content for the AI. This will allow AI cities to grow larger and more productive before needing entertainers. The AI currently has 2 content citizens. A possible solution could be to double that number to 4. However, this change would make it impossible for the human player to play at Chieftain difficulty using the mod.

Please share your comments on the above, as well as any other ideas to entertain the AI.

[Dominae]

With the scarcity of Luxury resources in Conquests, I believe double-strength Entertainers will be a lot more important for human strategy. This is yet another change (like the Military Academy) that we should not just copy/paste without some thought.

I'm fine with the AU mod being incompatible with Chieftain difficulty; if you're playing the mod, you should be beyond Chieftain already (or will be after about a day on this forum!). One question though: why does doubling the number of Content citizens for the AI make it impossible to play Chieftain?


Dominae

[alexman]

Holy cow, it doesn't!
In C3C you can actually add difficulty levels!

The AI plays at Regent in the stock rules, so it gets 2 content citizens. In order to increase the number of content citizens for the AI, we need to modify the difficulty level where the AI plays. Instead of modifying Regent, I thought we would have to modify Chieftain to be identical to Regent, except that it would allow 4 content citizens, and have the AI play at Chieftain

But from what I see in the editor, we can just add a new difficulty level. Edit: It appears on the setup screen as the hardest level though (beyond Sid), so that's kind of awkward.

[nbarclay]

Has anyone verified that the effects of going from two citizens born content to four for the AI aren't too strong? The advantage of the AI's being able to get for free what human players can get only through significant (and significantly expensive) use of the luxury slider seems likely to have a major impact on balance in the ancient era.

Nathan

[Harovan]

I would advise small steps. First try three, test it thoroughly (may be in an AU course) and if it is a good change, doesn't hurt the human too much (beware the fun killers!), but does still not suffice, increase it to four.

[lockstep]

Originally posted by Dominae
I'm fine with the AU mod being incompatible with Chieftain difficulty; if you're playing the mod, you should be beyond Chieftain already (or will be after about a day on this forum!).

At the first moment, I was uneasy about erasing a difficulty level because I view the AU mod as 'smoothing out the basic game', and the basic game includes Chieftain after all. But in the end, I think Dominae is right.

However, increasing the citizens born content for the AI raises another, more serious problem IMO: Isn't Regent difficulty supposed to be the level that offers 'playing by the same rules', i.e. bonuses neither for the human player nor for the AI? With the suggested change, this won't be true anymore. (Okay, the AI trades more freely with other AI's at the moment, but a happiness bonus is beyond that).

In other words, I'd rather tinker with entertainers to solve the AI's happiness problems.

[ducki]

Hmm... has anyone ever played an experiment game where they disallow themselves the use of the lux slider?

This might be a good way to gain insight into possible solutions. Maybe I'll abandon my current epic and see if anything jumps out at me, unless someone's already done this, in which case, do share!

[geniemalin]

Put me down for 'double value entertainers' - giving the AI more free happiness just allows more early AI dominance without changing the fact that an AI without enough luxuries or at war in a WW government will still have cities full of entertainers later in the game.

[Jaybe]

I have seen the AI use the luxury slider in C3C.
10% Entertainment, but it WAS just before slipping into anarchy (war weariness).

Re 2xEntertainers: The human is much more likely to use other specialists (as available) rather than entertainers. Have you seen the AI use police or civil engineers yet? (I haven't)

[Dominae]

Originally posted by Jaybe
Re 2xEntertainers: The human is much more likely to use other specialists (as available) rather than entertainers.

Not if you're having happiness problems, which you always do in Conquets.


Dominae

[Stuie]

I like the idea of increasing the citizens born content for the AI. This will give no advantage for the human, whereas the 2x Entertainers in C3C will (as pointed out by others).

But from what I see in the editor, we can just add a new difficulty level. Edit: It appears on the setup screen as the hardest level though (beyond Sid), so that's kind of awkward.

You could get around this by adding a new difficulty, then changing Chieftain to something else ("AI Only" or somesuch) and performing the change suggested, then change Warlord to Chieftain (and inputting the Chieftain difficulty data), Regent to Warlord, Monarch to Regent..... etc. etc. so that the Sid level ends up being the one we added. A lot of work, but then the "AI Only" level shows up before Chieftain, not after Sid. I think that would look better. Does that make sense?

[lockstep]

How about adding a new 'AI only' difficulty level similar to regent, but leaving the no. of citizens born content alone and instead changing the no. of citizens quelled by military from 1 to 2? This change would help the AI in the later game at least as much as in the early game, given that the AI usually has a bunch of defensive units in its cities and uses governments with military police at least as often as the human player.

[alexman]

I think the number of units quelled by military refers to resisting citizens, not unhappy citizens.

If that's not the case, and if the government MP limits are in terms of units, not citizens, it's a great idea!

[lockstep]

From the editor help file:

Number of Citizens Quelled by Military

Determines how many rioting-citizens are quelled with the presence of military units.

'Rioting' could mean 'resisting' as well as 'unhappy'. This needs to be tested.

[lockstep]

I just checked the 'General settings' editor page: Under 'citizens mood', there's an entry 'Chance of Rioting', and according to the help file this is clearly connected to cities in civil disorder.