AI Omniscience

[Tukkaros]

Okay, here's the deal: in the early stages of any given game, say around 1 ad or so, I will have a sufficiently large empire that I should be able to leave certain cities in the middle of my empire undefended, assuming that I don't need to martial law the little whiners. Problem is, is that somehow the AI can always tell when I have an undefended city, no matter how deep into my territory the city is or no matter how absent enemy units are. The Ai then uses this oppritunity to land units either in that city if it is coastal, or closer to that city than any of my units. So my question is, does the AI even have fog of war, or does it even use exploration at all?

 

[DaSilva]

They know everthing

 

[Traquenard-fx]

Yep... they know everything.

Just a example in one of my game romains have put a city far away from their cities during I colonizing the area in a desert. I was thinking why they give so troubles only for 3 cases of desert? Arrive in industrial age, the city has a ressource of oil.

Next time that you seen the same situation make sure to take that city from a CHEATER.

 

[Alphidius]

Tukkaros:
Yep, they see everything and I mean everything, explored and unexplored of the world map. So I'd like to advise you not to leave any cities undefended period.
Try to link all your borders together, covering a large area and push the border out as far as possible until touching the other civs. I usually expand in the direction of the other civs when I discover them, to counter their expansion and stop them from setting up their puny colonies.

Traquenard-fx:
You have no idea how lucky the AI can get. In one game I declared war on the Zulus and lucky my forces were able to overrun them. It was until I captured their capital did I realise they had built Zimbabwe on a hill with Iron resource! Now is that 'lucky' or what!

 

[Kilroy]

I've noticed this isn't always true with respect to expansion. After I let my world map go an AI will go for any unclaimed territory it didn't see before, but not before that (usually). Also, as long as you leave a few units in each city the AI won't beeline for them quite as much; it's the completely undefended ones that it goes for at all costs.

Don't forget that once an AI has an embassy in your capitol they can see what cities are defended and what ones aren't (and it can units, like workers, within the city radius). That the AI is constantly spying on your cities isn't too far-fetched - and would certainly explain why it's broke all the time. I wouldn't be surprised if the AI gets cheaper diplomatic mission costs, too.

 

[damunzy]

Originally posted by Alphidius
You have no idea how lucky the AI can get. In one game I declared war on the Zulus and lucky my forces were able to overrun them. It was until I captured their capital did I realise they had built Zimbabwe on a hill with Iron resource! Now is that 'lucky' or what!

Not luck, the A.I. can see future resources before they have the required technology....or so I have read.

 

[Mongoloid Cow]

And when all civs in the ancient era, cross an ocean with the great library and colonise an island, leave space for one city, and a civ not text to the ocean wil have a city there the next turn.

On topic: they know all, whether they have a map of the region or not.

 

[akinkhoo]

In my island game, there are 16 civ on a huge map with small islands. I have a huge army left after the war with japan which was on the same island. they are of course, extincted so after I have build a lighthouse, it was time to explore. looking at the sea, a shallow part was near my capital, the border allow me clear view and i was certain an island was near my south.

with 3 trieme, i set out with 1 settler, 1 worker, 2 spearmen, 2 horsemen. there I found the indian.... they were technologically backward as they were alone. while i took alot of tech from japan before killing it. After i found a city just 6 block away from my capital, I decided to check the coast. it was comfirmed that only india was on the island, and there was no contact with anyone. being close to my capital, i wanted the island. I invaded, the whole india fell within 12 turns to my army of 30.

just as I finished the indian, a greek and roman landed 2 turns later and imediately builded cities in the broke cultural border.... they manage to build 2 greek & 3 roman city!!! ARGH!!! right in the land where the indian once was.... how did they know the land was emptied?

also, i took note that the AI seem to know which AI is more stronger, even before they got contact! (i know, as I can still sell them contact). The player advisor never once show which AI is better before contact. this is just plain cheat!

 

[TheNiceOne]

They know a lot, that's for sure, but they don't know everything. They seem to know the position of your units, but they do not know all undiscovered land. To verify this, just see the difference before and after you sell them your world map.

After the world map is sold, they settle in empty squares they obviously didn't know about before. Also note that the AI civs exchange their world map on a regular basis, so what one knows, everyone know.

To me it looks like they know the position of all your units (and thus whether a city is undefended) and the progression of any wonders (and can therefore try to outbuild you).

When you think about it, this actually a way of compensating the fact that the AI lacks memory. We remember that we saw an enemy ship moving away in some direction, and expects it to be around there somewhere. This would be hard to implement in the AI, so instead they make all my units visible. A bad way of compensating the lack of memory, but still better than nothing.

 

[Lt. 'Killer' M.]

@ kilroy: how does the AI see stuff when it has an embassy? I don´t, unless I pay for it, and with 1.16 I verified via the multi-cheat that the AI never uses espionage to get troop plans!!!!

To add my 2C:

the AI doesn`t know where troops are exactly, It alos doesn´t know where what kind of land is. But it knows about 'the Force' thus sensing units (or their lack) in unexplored areas. Also, it has a feel for world shape and your territory.

Add that up and you know why the AI always goes for your undefended cities: it knows it`s your place, but knows there`s few troops - GO!

This also explains how the AI sends out troops to fight barbarians that they do not see. Just park troops between the AI and a barb hut springing up and you`ll suddenly see the AI send out troops. Kill the barb before the AI sees it - the troops turn elsewhere......

 

[ainwood]

Originally posted by Alphidius
Tukkaros:
Yep, they see everything and I mean everything, explored and unexplored of the world map. So I'd like to advise you not to leave any cities undefended period.

In the middle-game, when you have a decent road (or rail) infrastructure, as long as you can move troops to the inner cities reasonably quickly, then there is no problem with leaving them undefended (although I would defend coastal cities). In fact, it is often a good tactic - the Ai will move past your outside (defended) cities to go for your undefended ones. You can then attack them with strong units or bombard.

 

[Kilroy]

Originally posted by Killer
@ kilroy: how does the AI see stuff when it has an embassy? I don´t, unless I pay for it, and with 1.16 I verified via the multi-cheat that the AI never uses espionage to get troop plans!!!!

I was just refering to investigate city. You can see how many units are in a city when you do that. An ineffective way to gauge an enemy's strength, to be sure, but better than nothing. And like I said, the AI probably gets cheaper diplomatic mission costs.

 

[Beam]

They know everything, still they play so poor.

 

[costanza]

Ainwood, good point. I always have my outside cities better defended than the inner ones. They always start going into my empire and then I just bombard the crap out of them and kill them on their way back. It's funny, really.