AI : Civ 3 1.29f vs. PTW 1.21f

[dexters]

Since the official Civ III patching ended with 1.29f in 2002, I am wondering if PTW itself, as well as patches for the expansion actually improved the game's general AI beyond the final version in 1.29f.

Can anyone shed light?

[alexman]

The two major reasons the AI is better in PTW than in vanilla civ3 are:

1) The AI no longer sells workers for just 30 gold, crippling themselves and helping the human. You now have to pay about 120 gold for each.

2) The AI no longer irrigates grassland tiles in Despotism, unless there is a good reason to do so (food bonus or to bring irrigation to another area).

There are other differences in AI behavior (such as barbarian movement and fewer SOD's), and I might be forgetting aomething, but the above two have a major effect in the AI's performance early on in the game.

[Inverse Icarus]

The AI works better with chokepoints in PTW

[Cort Haus]

Surely it's not the AI's performance in the early game that is its problem, it's the late game. More mines in the Industrial era would help it, rather than all that wasteful irrigation.

btw, what's a SOD (stack of death? submit-on-demand? signature-on-delivery? silly old duffer?)

[FrustratedPoet]

Like alexman said, Barbarian AI is hugely improved in PTW.

They don't just blindly bash their heads on your fortified spearmen anymore. Instead they just dash straight passed you and make for your cities.

Cort: SOD = Stack Of Doom

[dexters]

From the name of it, wouldn't more SOD's be good?

Or are you saying the AI is better at utitilizing their forces by launching multi point attacks instead of stacking it into one big stack?

[Inverse Icarus]

Originally posted by dexters
From the name of it, wouldn't more SOD's be good?

Or are you saying the AI is better at utitilizing their forces by launching multi point attacks instead of stacking it into one big stack?

no. SoD's are gay , and can be eaily tricked

[dexters]

I'm just curious what is the alternative to SODs for the AI? multi-point attacks?

Or do they send their forces to the same general direction, but just not stacked?

[Mellian]

would be nice if the AI learns to pick up their units they left behind on my continent, especially when i completly own the place.

also would like to see the AI evolve a bit, make a decision or whatever whenever i get their forces to move away from one city i captured to another city they control whenever i move a stack of doom one square away, then moves back to the captured city when i 'retreat' the stack of doom, and then repeat. should realize that the SOD is just a distraction to prevent them from re-capturing the city...i do that long enough that i can get reinforcements there, a long with the city rush build some defenders after the resistance is over.

-Mellian

[Mellian]

oh, and AI needs to learn to better used artillery units, like me I am artillery happy, for defence at first and then in the offensive once i get 'Artillery' to upgrade to.

-Mellian

[Jaybe]

Originally posted by dexters
I'm just curious what is the alternative to SODs for the AI? multi-point attacks?

Or do they send their forces to the same general direction, but just not stacked?

Multiple stacks, occasionally diverging to separate targets. They still try to enter at the most advantageous entry point. Sometimes they will end up merged into one SOD due to movement constraints.

Took some getting used to, at first!