New AI behavior in 1.16f

[Rusty Nail]

Playing my first game with the patch, I notice a significantly different AI pattern. With the longer research times and less emphasis on culture, I find that I am leading in science and score and MASSIVELY leading in culture already in the early 2nd age (Regent, Babylonians, Apolyton November game). I never saw this before and have done nothing different from my usual game, typically very low science rate as I build up cash in despotism. When I established embassies I found that several AI's were using up to FIVE entertainers to control unhappiness, crippling production capacity, and had built nothing but a dubious wonder, not even a temple! I have a suspicion that what is happening is that they are squandering shields big time trying unsuccessfully to build wonders now instead of building culture, even more so than before. This may be indirectly affecting their science capacity. If so, this is a serious tweak in the wrong direction for the AI. Have others observed this? On the other hand, they may also be building more military, but it is too early to tell for sure. I was attacked by the Zulus with about four stacks of troops, the largest including twelve units. Has anyone else noticed new behavior patterns? Another observation: with the slower research but the same population growth, the hospital comes way too late.

[Be Quicker]

It indeed seems MUCH easier to get a tech lead (on regent that is)

[Siberian Hamster]

This is something I've noticed as well, although as it's only my second full game, it's a little difficult to judge whether this is actually something that has come about as a result of the game or just because I'm slightly better than I was the first time I played.

What I have noticed is that while the Indians are keeping on a par with me culturally, some of the Civs who were ahead of me in my previous game are now way behind (Persians, French). The more warlike Civs (Japanese, Romans, Zulus) are still way behind, which they were before, but I put this down to the fact that this is how they're supposed to behave.

Something else that occurred to me is that my first game was played on continents, which gave everyone more of a chance to spread out and therefore maybe more of a chance to develop culturally, whereas this time I'm playing on one landmass and it's much more of a scrap for territory.

So, in summary, I think it's a bit a early to say whether this is a behaviour change as a result of the patch or merely a function of how the AI should behave depending on the world type and Civ attributes.

[Moraelin]

Before the patch, the AI would be pulling tech and culture out of it's rear, if needed. I've investigated cities with 3 cultural radius, and found that they contained NO cultural improvements at all. Heck, the whole England would only contain the royal palace, as the sole cultural improvement. It would also pull any amount of money out of its rear, to support massive armies of obsolete units AND all the city improvements.

This time around, it actually seems to build cultural improvements, which I suspect is why it falls behind.

It may also be that several cultures are set to prefer very unfit forms of government. E.g., the Zulus prefer Despotism, and so do the Egyptians and Aztec. Right. That thing which can't produce more than two food, shields or commerce on any tile. I'm pretty sure that before the patch, the AI cheerfully ignored that, and everyone went for Democracy anyway. Maybe now it actually tries to stick to that preferred government?

And yep, I've had those huge stacks of units sent my way, too. Heck, I've lost half a dozen cities the first time it happened, before I could even get my army rolling. What I thought would be very decent pre-patch defense, turned out to be actuall very indecent. (A.k.a. caught with its pants down.) I had technologically superior troops all right, but it turns out that three stacks of horsemen defeat a couple of musketeers every time.

Generally, I like the new AI better. It no longer seems to do many of the screw-ups that I've criticized before.