Leader personalities

[yogho]

So, I recently found smacx from a store, bought it, and it turns out to be a great game. However, there is this one thing that keeps bothering me.

All the AI faction leaders have their personality set to aggressive, and they all attack me for no reason, which is fine when the attacker is Hive or Believers, but not when it's Gaians or Peacekepers. While this is typical for any strategy game, maybe changing their personalities would help a bit.

I found the willingness to use force thing in the faction files, but changing it doesn't seem to do anything.

Is this a bug or what, and is there a way to fix it?

[Dracleath]

Setting them all to 0 or -1 aggressiveness(I'm running them all at -1 now but am debating switching up the momentum civs to 0) and giving them all build as a priority in addition to what they already have seems to help a lot with this.

[Senethro]

Its not a bug, you've done something. DeeDee and Morgan are normally pacifists. You've done something to change them.

[GeoModder]

Perhaps you vinked the option for more agressive opponents in the startup screen?

[Frankychan]

Yeah,

normally only certain faction members are aggressive. Unless you're playing the opposing faction and running opposing Social Engineering settings. Running Police State usually gets Lal ticked off at you. Running Green gets Morgan angry, etc etc.

Although Deidre is one of those sleeper factions...she'll be your best friend until later in the game. Then she'll stab you in the back.

Better to just get rid of her early in the game.

[Senethro]

I find it impossible to get on with anyone these days due to using most social engineering settings at some point in the game and never signing a truce.

[BlackCat]

I gladly sign a truce before choppers and droppers are ready if they beg for it, but after that, not a chance

Pacts on the other hand I don't go into - the AI seems to take it as an invitation to let their units mill around where I don't want them.

[Commy]

Originally posted by Senethro
Its not a bug, you've done something. DeeDee and Morgan are normally pacifists. You've done something to change them.

I have installed and uninstalled SMAX many, many times...my computer is an XP...

However, I installed the game on my Grandparents computer, a '95, and I had the same thing...all factions were aggressive...

I never changed the rules in the game, never changed faction files or preferences, but IIRC, when I started the game a second time, the factions went back to normal...

[Frankychan]

Could it be that SMAC/X automatically defaults to aggressive factions? If that's the case, then I'd say to go back to the options and check to see if all the faction leaders are aggro.

My game used to switch on and off the Blind Research option. That's why I didn't really know you could direct research for the longest of time. But the patch helped.

[cal_01]

Deidre always goes aggressive on me.

Then again, remember that your Social Engineering choices tend to make some factions mad at you. (IE. Fundies vs Peacekeepers) I think there was a post about this a while back.

[Darsnan]

Originally posted by Dracleath
Setting them all to 0 or -1 aggressiveness(I'm running them all at -1 now but am debating switching up the momentum civs to 0) and giving them all build as a priority in addition to what they already have seems to help a lot with this.

Can you expand upon your answer? How did you arrive at your conclusions? Exactly how does this benefit the various AI's, and under what circumstances (i.e. planet size, NL level, sea/land mix, etc.)?


D

[Commy]

It appears to me that making all the factions pacifists and builders is a very bad idea...compared to each other, the AI will all be equal, but compared to the human player? The AI is toast...

The thing is, in order to be even half-way competitive with good human players, AI superpowers need to arrive...it is very easy to fight 6 smaller factions, but more difficult to fight off 2 or 3 larger factions...

If all the factions are pacifists and builders, there is less chance that the hive or believers will rollover everyone, and then there are no superpowers, and then the AI is absolutely no challenge, and then there is no fun for the human player...

[yogho]

Well, I checked the options, and neither switching aggressive factions or random personalities had any effect on anything. Then I reinstalled the game, and now it seems to work like it should.

Weird, but at least it works.

Thanks for the advice everyone though.

[GeoModder]

It is bugged, I tell you! Bugged!

[Frankychan]

Originally posted by GeoModder
It is bugged, I tell you! Bugged!

"It's an evil planet. A Bug Planet!"

(ala 'Starship Troopers )