AI and Airfields?

[SayHayKid]

As I have been testing my mod, I realized that I don't think I have ever seen the AI build an airfield. Has anybody seen them build one? One of the things I am trying to do is balance gameplay and minimize human advantages that the AI doesn't utilize. Also, how about radar towers?

 

[Moff Jerjerrod]

Don't think I've ever seen the AI build a radar station or airfield in the standard game. In all of the user created scenarios it's the same. The AI will however use any pre-placed airfields in a scenario but only prioritizing them to be captured. Never seen the AI operate aircraft from and airfield.

 

[timerover51]

As I have been testing my mod, I realized that I don't think I have ever seen the AI build an airfield. Has anybody seen them build one? One of the things I am trying to do is balance gameplay and minimize human advantages that the AI doesn't utilize. Also, how about radar towers?

I also have never seen the AI build an airfield. I have seen them build aircraft however. I do not remember seeing any radar towers either.

 

[tjs282]

No to Airfields, but yes to Radars -- albeit very rarely. That rarity is most likely related to

(1) the generally very late AI pursuit of Adv.Flight which, being an optional Industrial tech, tends to be acquired well into the Modern Age, after all those oh-so-shiny Modern 1st-tier unit- and Wonder-techs. (Moving Radars from Adv.Flight to e.g. Electronics or Computers, might help a little with that)

(2) the general AI problem of never having enough Workers, which becomes especially pronounced in the late game due to e.g. the massive world wars, the AI's consequent tendency towards Fascism (which depletes its towns via forced resettlement, drafting and whipping), and Craters/ Pollution all over their land (which the AI never cleans up efficiently/ at all).

 

[fuad]

The Ai builds a lot of Radar Towers in my games
However they don’t build Airfeilds at all,
They do build fortress a little but not a lot .

 

[tjs282]

In my games, the AI tends to build Forts on Lux/Strat tiles and 1-tile chokepoints, but only if they're left alone long enough for the (max. 2) Workers they usually assign to tile-improvements to finish the job undisturbed -- because I'm pretty sure that the AI has the game-preference "Cancel Orders for Enemy Combat unit" switched on.

I wonder if the AI's problem with Airfields might have something to do with the fact that they (temporarily) replace the underlying Mines/Irrigation...? That is, does the AI perhaps always answer its virtual Advisor's warning with "No" -- because it's been programmed to avoid reducing its own tile-yields?