The Cheating AI

[Seventh]

I've played CTP, CTPII and SMAC, but I can never get over the cheating AI. Case-in-point, in SMAC the AI gets "free" units if you're attacking and you happen to destroy a garrison that is guarding a city. Some of you may not have noticed this so I'll explain it a little further. Once you destroy all of a city's defenders the AI automatically gives itself a "free" unit. What's especially frustrating about this is the fact that it doesn't even have to change it's build queue, so it can continue to produce base facilities while it keeps my attacking unit busy with the units that it generates for "free". Another thing that bothers me is the combat bonuses that the AI gets if your play on a high difficulty setting. Basically, what I want is to be able to play a game with a robust AI, but I don't want it to cheat. I like playing on the highest difficulty setting because the AI behaves very interesting on these settings, but I hate it when it cheats.

I wonder if there'll be a way to "customize the difficulty setting in the final game which would allow you to use a very robust AI (rather than a "dumbed down AI), but at the same time it would not allow cheating.

[Grumbold]

That's what adaptable source code is all about. One superb thing in CtP was the slic code because it allowed the players to address many AI weaknesses and produce their own much tougher opponents. Civ III is attempting to be a dream for modmakers so I hope it will contain this sort of functionality. Then if all the nations play the same way - as some people fear they will - then an enterprising modmaker can change their behavioral patterns to be less predictable and more challenging or entertaining.

[Seventh]

But what about guys like me, who are utterly useless when it comes to things like coding and modding?

[Grumbold]

Then you have to hang around waiting for the extremely clever and hardworking people to place their handiwork on Apolyton. It's what I have to do