Announcement

**ahenobarb** · November 10, 2002, 17:53

I agree with you. I used to have the same problem. Fortunately, there is a way to change this. Open up the strategies file in
C:\Program Files\Activision\Call To Power 2\ctp2_data\default\aidata

and scroll through the file looking for the numbers that affect the agressiveness of the AI. What you are looking for are the attack numbers and the seige numbers. When you find these, increase them to a much higher number.

For isntance, the number I have for the Default strategy are:

GoalElement { Goal GOAL_DEFEND Priority 557000 MaxEval 2 MaxExec 1 PerCity }
GoalElement { Goal GOAL_SEIGE Priority 900000 MaxEval 25 MaxExec 25 }
GoalElement { Goal GOAL_ATTACK Priority 720000 MaxEval 25 MaxExec 25 }
GoalElement { Goal GOAL_HARASS Priority 490000 MaxEval 25 MaxExec 25 }

In the original file that came with the game, the values were:

GoalElement { Goal GOAL_DEFEND Priority 557000 MaxEval 2 MaxExec 1 PerCity }
GoalElement { Goal GOAL_SEIGE Priority 405000 MaxEval 20 MaxExec 4 }
GoalElement { Goal GOAL_ATTACK Priority 405000 MaxEval 25 MaxExec 25 }
GoalElement { Goal GOAL_HARASS Priority 355000 MaxEval 25 MaxExec 25 }

Now, the AI units/armies head straight to my cities. It's really tough game play, but it's much more interesting. Now there is the possibility that I might lose a game.

**Turambar** · November 10, 2002, 18:40

What difficulty level were you playing on?

**Maquiladora** · November 10, 2002, 18:53

Yeah i noticed that too, when the AI has you right where they want you with 4 full stacks around your cities, they start taking out your farms, oh no!

But now you can expect to lose a few cities now and then.

**BurntHostage** · November 10, 2002, 19:26

Thanks ahenobarb I'll try your strat changes

**Peter Triggs** · November 10, 2002, 19:28

BurntHostage,

What mod are you playing?

**BurntHostage** · November 10, 2002, 19:35

I'm playing the Apolyton mod

I can't be that good, can I?

It was the next-to-hardest level, but I've spent months playing this and other Civ games before (literally) so maybe I need to play the toughest level...

Or maybe I just need to handicap myself more while playing:

**Peter Triggs** · November 10, 2002, 19:50

Maybe, but probably not.

It's like Ahenobarb said. I always thought that Hex and Dale had prioritized the Pillage goal a bit too much but all the feedback was positive so I figured I was a minority of one.

The crucial thing is that the goals you want it to do ATTACK, SEIGE, and HARASS should be higher than the PILLAGE goal

**SMIFFGIG** · November 10, 2002, 21:53

i think this should maybe be changed in the next Cradle version (if there is a next)

P.S. Is this the same in MedMod2 ???

**Dale** · November 11, 2002, 02:04

Thanks for the feedback. No one has said anything on the pillaging before now, except for a comment or two on "the AI could've taken my city, but pillaged instead". No one's said it was a problem before. The SAP2 goals are taken straight from Cradle. So that's why they both have the same thing.

**hexagonian** · November 11, 2002, 11:00

Noted...

Hear are the settings for the STRATEGY_DEFAULT in Cradle. The ATTACK and SEIGE numbers are higher than the pillage numbers for the STRATEGY_ATTACK and STRATEGY_SEIGE setings though, and there are a variety of settings for the various other STRATEGY_(SCIENTIST, ECONOMIC and so forth...).

GoalElement { Goal GOAL_SEIGE Priority 620000 MaxEval 20 MaxExec 15 }
GoalElement { Goal GOAL_ATTACK Priority 720000 MaxEval 25 MaxExec 25 }
GoalElement { Goal GOAL_PILLAGE Priority 753000 MaxEval 10 MaxExec 5 }

I'm not sure exactly when the AI will switch to a different STRATEGY though...how long will it stay in ATTACK or SEIGE???

As stated, increasing the priority numbers to 900000 for ATTACK and SEIGE (and decreasing PILLAGE to 500000) for all of the STRATEGYs should help in that regard.

One of the reasons why I did not do that in Cradle was because on the highest levels of Cradle, the AI is able to maintain a good science lead and thus a sizable unit ability advantage, and it has the use of the Frenzy code, which prompts it to move its forces into human lands. Frenzy also is also more hair trigger in regards to the hate levels - it prompts the AI to more quickly declare war on the human player.

Once the AI is in your lands and it has declared war on you it has three main choices - Pillage/Seige/Attack. I have tried to balance out the three, trying to keep in mind that advantage that the AI does have.

If the AI pressed its advantage to its fullest ability, it could roll through a player very easily. My last game was a good example of this - the AI was fielding Legions/Belfrois on turn 200 while I had just gotten to Hoplites. And the Incas were methodically taking my cities too, even with the settings as they are. (I'm not ashamed to admit that I did end up ditching that game because I was too far back...my military had also been decimated trying to stop them)

Players have also reported back that there has been a good mix of city losses in Cradle, so I haven't tinkered with the numbers too much lately.

I would like to suggest for a player to make the changes above and to report back on what they observed, giving higher priority to ATTACK and SEIGE on all of the STRATEGY_ entries.

**Turambar** · November 11, 2002, 13:20

If the AI pressed its advantage to its fullest ability, it could roll through a player very easily. My last game was a good example of this - the AI was fielding Legions/Belfrois on turn 200 while I had just gotten to Hoplites.

Would it not be better to reduce the AI's science advantage and get it to press itself to it's fullest ability fight wise?

I'd rather see an AI with only a slightly higher tech lead fight as well as it can then a more reserved AI with a huge tech lead.

**BurntHostage** · November 11, 2002, 23:26

Pillaging is overrated 'cause in this version the ai's build up so much infrastructure they wind up rebuilding pillaged tiles instantly only to get pillaged again in a couple turns (and over and over)

Here's what I changed the settings to:

GoalElement { Goal GOAL_DEFEND Priority 557000 MaxEval 2 MaxExec 1 PerCity }
GoalElement { Goal GOAL_SEIGE Priority 900000 MaxEval 25 MaxExec 25 }
GoalElement { Goal GOAL_ATTACK Priority 750000 MaxEval 25 MaxExec 25 }
GoalElement { Goal GOAL_PILLAGE Priority 103000 MaxEval 10 MaxExec 5 }

Swear to you guys, before when I watched the cpus fight each other it was all pillage now they're attacking cities/units like crazy.

**BurntHostage** · November 11, 2002, 23:37

Don't get me wrong - this mod is waaaaay better use of the ai than the original game!

You actually made it interesting to play again

**Tamerlin** · November 12, 2002, 08:55

This thread is one of the most interesting one I have ever read. I decided to change the values of my Apolyton Pack strategies accordingly, I thus opened the text file but when I scrolled the whole text I saw GOALS were distributed all along the text.

Do I have to change all the values each time ATTACK, PILLAGE, DEFEND and SIEGE are concerned (I have noted some goals are set to 0) ?

If not, what are the lines that need to be changed ?

BurntHostage : (to be pronounced rolling the "r") the dreadful revenge of the undomitable french people will be your loss...

Announcement

This pack's AI's fighting ability sucks

This pack's AI's fighting ability sucks

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment