AI research priorities - a problem?

[Grrr]

The AI tech needs to be improved a little, but I think it is quite good.

[Dominae]

Knowledge of the AIs tech priorities, whatever they are, will always be sort of an "exploit"; the AI acts in a regular/repeatable pattern (here, concerning techs, but in many other things as well), and it's just too easy for the human to adapt.

One of the best ways to avoid this problem is to have different civs (or different civ "personalities) have different research priorities (a la SMAC). This way (and assuming there are always some good techs alon each "path), the AI's research behaviour would be a lot more difficult to exploit.

Changing the values in the editor will only make the AI research techs according to your "tech-estimation algorithm". If you know that the AI always rushes for Military Tradition, it would be easy to avoid it and trade for it once it depreciates fully, spending your beakers on other less-popular techs. You'll also be guaranteed a lot of Cavalry wars every time you play, which strikes as kind of boring (the peaceful Builder civ would no longer exist, if building masses of Cavalry is hard-coded).

Just some thoughts...


Dominae

[player1]

I always go for Monarchy.

Why?

Since it's probably last thing that AI would research.
I usually get all post witiring, Currecny and Construction techs by trade.
For that time I research Polytheism and Monarchy.
And get Hanging Gardens fist.

[Grrr]

I agree with Player1. I still think the AI should be more inclined to reasearch useless techs.