Can't the AI even beat you with spaceships?

[TrailblazingScot]

I've just played a game through to 2034 getting a cultural victory (with 8 cities even). What surprised me was that on Emperor level my two big, perfectly capable AI opponents hadn't got into space by 2034. I'd removed the Egyptians very early. The Persians had been alone on a similar sized island to me and had built two spaceship parts. The Japanese had mashed up two opponents to claim a big continent in the industrial era but hadn't built any spaceship at all. Neither declared war on me all game.

The question is, if these guys look as if they can't even build a spaceship by 2050 on Emperor level just how poor is the AI competition? Has anyone else seen the AI race into space?

I've seen the AI win by spaceship on King - runaway Arabian civ on my first game of CivV.

I'd know now to just nuke him and take his capital, back then I tried to do it by conventional arms, not realising just how vital the luxuries he was trading to me would be. That -33% for having 20 or more unhappy people makes a real difference.

 

[DaveGold]

I think a lot of people have replied now and it seems clear that the AI can build a spaceship if either

1) It has a massive nation
2) It's on a high difficulty level

The question is now whether an AI power can build spaceships in a medium sized nation on moderate level. If it can't do that then it is actually uncompetitive. I'd suggest that any modestly successful medium sized AI nation, left to its own devices, should be able to build a spaceship routinely by 2050AD on King level.

 

[MAntoninus]

The question is, if these guys look as if they can't even build a spaceship by 2050 on Emperor level just how poor is the AI competition? Has anyone else seen the AI race into space?

I've seen the same thing at Emperor and Immortal - with the AI beating me to the completion of the Apollo project by a few turns...and thereafter getting absolutely worked on the production side.

It may be that the AI doesn't build true production and therefore can't buy their way through the space race.

It may be that their tech progression is biased towards some techs but not others, so they can get Apollo but they're pending research for other parts.

It may also be that he AI's 'winning' metrics get muddy looking at all the different avenues.

It certainly doesn't appear that they either see or execute on the potential for a tech victory.

 

[MRM]

My impression is that the AI never reevaluate it's decision. Once it picks a certain victory condition, it never changes this. M
aAybe it's just, that most times Civs who go for domination are the runaway civs, just sometimes a civ that goes for a space ship victory "accidently" get a lead.

Those domination never look at other victory conditions, even if they are in the position to win this way. ( and often can not reach domination victory, because they fail to cross the ocean )