AI Settling Behavior 1.4.1 HF2

[gbw]

I know there was a thread about a month ago about AI forward settling, but is anyone else seeing behavior after this latest patch more with what I'd call crowding? This is Deity where it's most egregious, but here's a few examples just from my last game. It seems like the AI is determined to settle the max number of cities regardless of how good the location actually is or how close it is to other settlements.

In this one it seems like where I placed the arrow would've been a far superior option.

Here Benny does it TWICE in a turn. First he sandwiches right up against my Capital in I guess the one hex he could settle in:

Again here, right up against my border:

 

[kotpeter]

I mean, unused settlement limit isn't useful anyway unless you're playing Qajar. Better to settle than not to settle. The AI isn't great at evaluating whether the spot can be defended.

In any case, I prefer the AI playing to win instead of the AI playing to not bother the player. If the AI thinks these bits of land are required to win the game, sure, go ahead, just don't suprised pikachu face at me when I raze them

 

[vorlon_mi]

Even before the latest patch and hotfix, I saw the AI boosting its settlement counts in Modern. They started by incorporating the city states that they had suz'ed, late in Exploration. But in Modern, the AI squeeze in towns wherever they can find some fresh water.

I don't know what's motivating it. Perhaps they have sufficient happiness that they no longer care about going over the limit?
The towns rarely grow large enough to specialize, so I don't think that those towns are really sending much food to their cities.
I've not checked, to see how often the AI convert their towns to cities.

 

[Taefin]

The AI appear to still be bugged to consider all resources within 3 tiles of these settlements even though most are already claimed, which seems to explain the second two settles.

 

[gbw]

I mean, unused settlement limit isn't useful anyway unless you're playing Qajar. Better to settle than not to settle. The AI isn't great at evaluating whether the spot can be defended.

In any case, I prefer the AI playing to win instead of the AI playing to not bother the player. If the AI thinks these bits of land are required to win the game, sure, go ahead, just don't suprised pikachu face at me when I raze them

As Boston is on fire! ... on that note, I do hope they eventually relax the penalty for razing cities. I understand in theory why it's there, but with the happiness penalties more impactful, razing should be a viable counter to not wanting massive unhappiness across the empire.

The AI appear to still be bugged to consider all resources within 3 tiles of these settlements even though most are already claimed, which seems to explain the second two settles.

This would be an interesting find, perhaps that is what's going on there.

 

[Brutus2]

In my current game the AI has settled some really dumb locations like the one in your first picture where it's the last hex on the coast with no room to expand. Meanwhile as I explore the distant lands I keep finding more and more big islands with lots of treasure resources that nobody has touched. I keep thinking ok, I don't need any more settlements but then I find another crazy good island and I'm thinking, "Well I can't just leave that empty." I know the AI is aware of these islands because I see their ships all around. The last island I found was right off the coast of the AI homeland and they never settled it but they will send a settler around the globe to grab one stupid open hex somewhere. I get that sometimes you just need to get a foothold on the other continent to then buy merchants, and missionaries or to heal and upgrade your troops but it doesn't explain why they seem to also ignore the much better spots.

 

[gbw]

In my current game the AI has settled some really dumb locations like the one in your first picture where it's the last hex on the coast with no room to expand. Meanwhile as I explore the distant lands I keep finding more and more big islands with lots of treasure resources that nobody has touched. I keep thinking ok, I don't need any more settlements but then I find another crazy good island and I'm thinking, "Well I can't just leave that empty." I know the AI is aware of these islands because I see their ships all around. The last island I found was right off the coast of the AI homeland and they never settled it but they will send a settler around the globe to grab one stupid open hex somewhere. I get that sometimes you just need to get a foothold on the other continent to then buy merchants, and missionaries or to heal and upgrade your troops but it doesn't explain why they seem to also ignore the much better spots.

That's another great example of the hypothesis of @Taefin where the AI isn't recognizing claimed tiles in the logic of making a settlement. Through that lens, it meets the minimum requirements of being a minimum number of tiles apart, but still has access to 4 resources and land.

 

[MutilationWave]

That's another great example of the hypothesis of @Taefin where the AI isn't recognizing claimed tiles in the logic of making a settlement. Through that lens, it meets the minimum requirements of being a minimum number of tiles apart, but still has access to 4 resources and land.

I do think they're onto something with this.

 

[Taefin]

I think I read about it from @notque in discussing RHQ AI mod.

The complete neglect of nearby islands they are aware of would seem to be another issue.

 

[hooterville]

If I settle withing 5 tiles of an AI they get hostile but yes, if any old pc of land can be settled, the AI will do it. I would think this could be solved by the AI algorithms as it's not only obnoxious, but it doesn't benefit the AI.

 

[Taefin]

Hard coding some preference for settling open treasure resources would make the game so much better. AI would become competitive, piracy would become possible. FXS just needs to sit down one day and do it!

 

[gbw]

Another one that can really only be explained by the AI not recognizing claimed tiles. There's not even a workable resource (or land plot) on this one. Mt. Fuji with the Tea and Horses looks pretty good though if we imagine it's all open.

 

[uppi]

Another one that can really only be explained by the AI not recognizing claimed tiles. There's not even a workable resource (or land plot) on this one. Mt. Fuji with the Tea and Horses looks pretty good though if we imagine it's all open.

View attachment 775651

It is all part of a grand strategy. As it has no workable towns, it will quickly generate a couple of migrants. Then it will lose the town somehow (war, peace deal, revolt) so it does not occupy settlement limit. So it gets a bunch of migrants for the price of a settler. Not a bad deal if you ask me.

...or it could just not recognize that the tiles are already taken

 

[UWHabs]

It is all part of a grand strategy. As it has no workable towns, it will quickly generate a couple of migrants. Then it will lose the town somehow (war, peace deal, revolt) so it does not occupy settlement limit. So it gets a bunch of migrants for the price of a settler. Not a bad deal if you ask me.

...or it could just not recognize that the tiles are already taken

Migrant farm is tempting, although I've never quite pulled the trigger on one of them yet. Although that town isn't a great migrant farm, at least until the island NW of it blocks it off. It can still wrap around the coast, and then in modern it has all the open ocean to claim...

But yeah, some basic AI settling, so they don't send their settlers halfway across the map to settle a terrible spot like that, would go a long way to making a more competitive AI. This is definitely the biggest reason why I would like a loyalty mechanism back, to avoid scenarios like the above.