What does the AI know?

[Hurricane]

Originally posted by Nym
I am quite sure of this too, but I get a surprise within my present game. French are located south from me. Many turns ago, we both went at war against the Zulus, north-west from my empire. I captured most of the ennemy's cities and kept them, while the French razed those they captured, except one. I found this really strange because the city was in the middle of toundra, without water or any known ressource. I was so quite sure that aluminium or uranium will appear there (I was the most advanced and still in Industrial Era). And... nothing.
Very strange. The city is now completly surrended by my empire and about 20 tiles apart form the french empire. I do not understand.

They probably made a decision each time they captured a city if a) they hade a good chance of keeping it and b) the chance of the city flipping. The small tundra town had probably no culture and was small in size, so the AI concluded the chance of keeping the city was high. Of course, the AI did not take into consideration the fact that this only city soon would be inside another civ´s borders.

[SpencerH]

Originally posted by player1

Don't forget you can do the same.

Spy cities, and find out whioch builds SS parts.
Then nuke it.

Also nuke Aluminum connections.

Given the cost of spying on a city and the number of citys the AI (or we) must check, and the limited funds the AI has is it reasonable to think that occurs? I dont think so. I think the AI is all knowing.

[DrFell]

Yep, the AI does have considerable 'cheated' knowledge of the game situation. But then again, a human can make educated guesses as to the strength of an enemy empire with much less information than the AI would take to do the same thing, so while the peeking is annoying, it is necessary.

[Fidel]

Originally posted by SpencerH


Given the cost of spying on a city and the number of citys the AI (or we) must check, and the limited funds the AI has is it reasonable to think that occurs? I dont think so. I think the AI is all knowing.

well given that we are looking here for an appearance of AI competence, and not the competence itself, this is acceptable

[SpencerH]

Good points. I'm still 50/50 with it though. I definitely dont like the amount of info we (and the AI ) have about other civs in ancient or middle ages though.

[Spaced Cowboy]

Re: Re: Re: What does the AI know?

Originally posted by Akka le Vil


I am playing a game. I would like the AI rather act like if it's was its very existence that was in the balance (ie : no systematical "I'm a 5-cities large civ with gunpowder and I will attack this continent-size empire using hundreds of modern armors").

I am not quite sure that I completely understand your point, but if you are winning or appear to be the biggest threat to win, why wouldn't the AI attack you, even if you are stronger. Maybe it thinks that it will be able to get friends to help ?

Personally, I think that the AI would be better suited to pick on the small dogs instead of taking on the big dog. If the AI swallows a few smaller players, then there should be a better chance to pick on the biggies.

Then there is the Sadam scenario. Explain that one!

R:PM

[Akka]

Re: Re: Re: Re: What does the AI know?

Originally posted by RPMisCOOL


I am not quite sure that I completely understand your point, but if you are winning or appear to be the biggest threat to win, why wouldn't the AI attack you, even if you are stronger.

Because it's anti-immersive.
I don't mean that I want that nobody is never wanting to fight a big dog, but I would like the AI acts like if it was NOT a game, hence acting more than like a state leader and less like a player that will just loose a game if it gets eradicated.

Maybe it thinks that it will be able to get friends to help ?

Personally, I think that the AI would be better suited to pick on the small dogs instead of taking on the big dog. If the AI swallows a few smaller players, then there should be a better chance to pick on the biggies.

Then there is the Sadam scenario. Explain that one!

R:PM

The computer players DO gang-bang on weakest civ. Would like, again, see less mechanical leaders that would not act only according to supposed efficiency, but considering also friendship, hatred and moral constraint.

[delfino]

Originally posted by Hurricane
I´m pretty sure that the AI has no clue about victory conditions. The AI will build a courthouse in its capital, so why would it not build space ship parts even if it hadn´t a clue what they were good for?

The problem is, of course, that the AI scripting is very simple. I would say the AI reasoning from beginning to end is something like:

if { unsettled land = build settler
else build improvement (50%) or military unit (50%)
except if wonder available = build wonder
or if at war = build military unit }

research % = maximum without having a negative income

trade:
buy everything you can afford
sell everything anybody can afford

Did you have any saying in the Civ3, computer programming??
Bullseye!!
Exactly what I think.

[Random Passerby]

The single concept that I find most lacking in the AI's understanding is balance of power. Here's a scenario that I've seen unfold many times:

Two great powers (let's say England and Russia, for sake of argument) are located on the same continent. Both are AI civs, and tenuous allies. At some point in the industrial age, that tenuous connection snaps and they go to war. They're evenly matched, and the war swings back and forth tiny amounts for many turns, never more than the same one or two cities changing hands. Then, let's say the English decide to pull in a few allies; they call in Russia's smaller neighbors, say, the Aztecs and Indians, and they happily join England, eager to be allied with such a powerful nation. Now Russia's forces have to be split; the Russian forces easily trounce the tiny Aztec and Indian armies, but now they have fewer forces to fight off the English, and England begins to break through. Now the "allies" here pull in a few more civs into the fray, and soon the entire continent and quite a bit of the rest of the world happily declares war on the Russians, seizing the opportunity to join the winning side and see a major power defeated.

The outcome of this war is certain: England will conquer the vast majority of Russia, swiftly destroying one great power and thrusting another into near-superpower status. The smaller civs bordering Russia are likely to gain little, if any land; some of them will even LOSE land first to Russia, only to have it reconquered by the English. Various random powers across the globe will grab a few tiny cities, though they will never get any use out of them due to their being half a globe away. Now England is in a very dominant position, not from her own efforts, but because the rest of the AIs were overly eager to all gang up on the losing side of the war.