Improving the AI: Parts II, III: AI Faction Adjustments

[smacksim]

Part II: Links to AI Improvements through Faction Editing

I looked through some old threads and pulled out all the threads that actually discuss making improvements to the factions in Smac or Smax. Most of these are geared towards improving the AI performance, but some are more about rebalancing the original factions for the players. Hey, I appear in a few of these as 'Avenoct' or 'Smack' . In Part III I'll try to summarize the most common changes to factions for the purpose of improving the AI, and highlight some changes that are a bit more subtle, yet change the game significantly. Feel Free to add your own links if I missed any.

Faction Improvements to the AI

General Faction Editing

Common Questions Answered on Faction Editing
Smax factions in Smac
Smax factions in Smac pt.2
Good things to know about the .ini file
with AceEdit (not tried)

Faction Improvements for AI performance

Jed discovers the Super AI in 1999!
Muscles vs. Brains
More Muscles vs. Brains
Search for AI
Police State Improvements
Blake on Forests
Why is the AI so weak?
Is MP the only way?
Rebalance the Smax Factions
Make the AI smarter Alexander
The Human Factor
Vels Splinter Mod Ideas
Vels Splinter Factions
Good Read
Human AI Crawlers differences
Qilue's simple solution
A short talk on Smac-Smax differences

Other links for AI improvement
rigging the Might formula

Worlds (Harsh Planet, Aldebaran, SNAC, Mars. Others?)

http://apolyton.net/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=23843&highlight=Improving+AI

I know I missed some good links. I'll keep adding to the list if you post your own links.

-Smack

[smacksim]

There are really only two kinds of factions on Alpha Centauri:
Those that are played by humans, and those that are played by the AI. - Smack-Tzu

Part III: Summary of Common and Not-so-Common AI Faction Improvements

Introduction

There are several ways to edit the faction files. The best way, is 'by hand', with any other simple text editor. The faction-editor in Smax is apparently broken.

There are really only two kinds of factions in Smac(x), those that are played by humans, and those that are played by the AI. It does matter what the faction statistics are, but most challenges can be overcome by a smart and experienced human, whilst the poor AI stumbles over even the smallest obstacles. Thus we come to the point in the road where we might want to remove the obstacles for the AI, and even perhaps give it a boost.

There are also two approaches to giving a crutch to the AI factions. One is the approach that, if a nail won't be nailed, you need a bigger hammer. This means giving the AI bigger faction bonuses. The second area for patching up an AI faction is more subtle. This includes Social Engineering proclivities and AI aggressiveness. A sharper nail for political and gubinatorial decision-making.

A Bigger Hammer

Most suggestions and experiments with improving the AI through tweaking the factions focus on giving them extra power, extra muscle. We all know that the AI, no matter how many 'Empath Laser Chopper' units it builds, will never use them as well as a player. Nonetheless, giving the AI more muscles is an effective and easy way to make them more challenging. Here are, in order of effectiveness, the best 'muscle' adjustments I've seen and used:

1. The Social Improvements
2. Police or Talent : Add "SOCIAL, +++++POLICE" or "Talent, 1" for example
3. Industry and Growth
4. Economy, Research, or Efficiency
5. Morale, Planet, or Probe

1. The Free-stuff Improvements
2. Free Abilities (Smax only)
3. Free Facilities
4. Free Units
5. Free tech

1. Other Improvements
2. Immunity to Probes
3. Nutrients, Minerals, Energy from fungus
4. Techsharing (Datalinks ability)
5. Free Immunity or Impunities
6. Others

(I'll come back and explain/defend this in a bit -S)

A Sharper Nail
Lowering the AI's agressiveness can encourage them to build more facilites and increase economics through trade. This does depend on whether they are feeling pressured by enemies or not. Any AI that has been invaded, for example, will go into 'War Mode' and switch production to military, often for much of the rest of the game.
.

; ai-fight = -1,0,1 (willingness to use force to achieve goals)

Can be found here:

##Gaia's Stepdaughters, The Green, Gaians, F, 2, Deirdre, F, -1 , 0, 0, 0, 1,

Secondly, changing the AI's Social Engineering inclinations can encourage them to search out more Efficient choices, or perhaps better Policing for thier colonies. Factions that like Police will be less willing to run FM, which is one of the Seven Pillars of AI doom in Smax. Free Market causes military drones, something the AI hardly knows how to handle (unless it has a huge police boost, which negates the issue )

More soon.

-Smack

[Maniac]

May I ask what the Seven Pillars of AI Doom are?

[Darsnan]

Originally posted by Maniac
May I ask what the Seven Pillars of AI Doom are?

Don't know, and don't care at this point. However, thanx a buch for dredging this up once again to those who missed it previously (and I have no idea how I missed this thread before!)! From one of the sublinked threads why I have already moved mines to IndAuto to see if the AI's will build forests instead of mines in the beginning game, as was determined in a previous age here @ 'poly.
Some of the linked stuff is damm good, and makes me really wish that I was online back in '99-2000! Things would have been so different.....


D

[Maniac]

Originally posted by Darsnan
From one of the sublinked threads why I have already moved mines to IndAuto to see if the AI's will build forests instead of mines in the beginning game

From my tests for SMAniaC, I can confirm that this works (to a certain degree).

[binTravkin]

May I ask what the Seven Pillars of AI Doom are?

I don't know, but one is already mentioned and provided you take your time and wrap your mind around this phrase, you'd get the others formulated as well.

Darsnan - use "favorites" feature to not forget useful links.
I have a "SMAC" folder in my favourites and his LOTSa useful CMN and tactic links (mostly SmackSim and Kody).

[doctorfrog]

I had to search for this thread, and to be a bit brutal, Apolyton's search function ain't fun to use. IMHO, this thread should be a sticky one, to collect future AI tweaks, especially since this forum's focus appears to have switched largely to Civ IV modification.

If I'm speaking out of turn, kindly excuse my presumption. I'll slink back into lurk mode.

[binTravkin]

No problem, youre mostly right, but it would be hard to getit stickied as dozens of such threads have already sunk..

[smacksim]

Originally posted by Maniac
May I ask what the Seven Pillars of AI Doom are?

Well, I can't remember exactly what I had in mind there. I believe I just used the expression to mirror "Seven Pillars of Wisdom" without having outlined an exact 7.

Here's my attempt to make an even seven:

1. Inability to run FM and not suicide by drones.
2. Inability to use choppers effectively (or drop troops for that matter).
3. Poor terraforming.
4. Preference for units rather than facilities, generally.
5. Inability to rushbuild effectively.
6. Poor at probe actions and tech trading.
7. Inability to make co-ordinated attacks.

And a few extras:

8. No awareness of support issues and no awareness of clean reactors.
9. Unable to use specialists effectively or do anything other than 'grow normally' (IE, no pop-booming, planned growth, unusual base-layout strategies, etc..).
10. Is reactive rather than proactive on all levels.

As to topping this thread, I think it would be a good idea to top some thread (doesn't have to be this one) with lots of links. This thread is just on AI stuff. There might be a topped thread to cover all topics and we could merge this into it. The 'too many topped threads' reasoning against such shouldn't apply to a single topped link-thread.

[binTravkin]

Hey, Smack you had such thread where only links were..

[smacksim]

Originally posted by binTravkin
Hey, Smack you had such thread where only links were..

[Reminds binT to read the whole thread ]

[binTravkin]

Lol, sorry!