Corporation strategy

[bob_x]

It seems to me that the AI is not building any corporations.

I, the human player, have a big advantage over the AI if I can make it to the later stages of the game. Mining Inc. + Sid's Sushi creates a huge benefit. All those extra foods and hammers supercharges your cities.

 

[Cybah]

I cannot subscribe this. The AI is always founding corporations and spamming corporation agents in my games.

 

[r_rolo1]

One thing that can be said about this issue is that the AI has nothing remotely closely of a corporation strategy.... in fact, my gaming experience makes me believe that the AI doesn't even check if the city has a competing corp in the moment of founding a corp branch ( this especially if the city is a foreign one.... I remember a game where CharleMagne had founded both Mining and Al corps and he passed the last 100 turns of the game replacing Mining for Al and Al fro Mining in one of my cities ( that was the closest to him )...... )

 

[bob_x]

I have not played a single game, using the Better AI, where I have been unable to found Sid's Sushi and Mining Inc, assuming I get that far in the game without being wiped out.

Furthermore, using the Better AI, I have not see a single AI corporation--have I just not been observant, or is something messed up?

I remember that I USED to see a lot of AI corporations, but that was without Better AI and perhaps several official and/or unofficial patches ago.

 

[bob_x]

OK, I DID see the AI build corporations, but only very late in the game. I built Mining Inc in 1824, the first computer corporation didn't get created until 1996. (I only bother to build Mining Inc and Sid's Sushi, the two strongest corporations.)

Sid's + Mining Inc are so powerful together that it means I can always win the game if I can survive into modern times.

 

[bob_x]

With further playing, I do see that if you are far behind the computer players, but the computer players are peaceful and do not use their advantage to destroy you in war, then they will build the corporations before you.

But in a game situation where you are pretty even with the computers, the corporation phase is when the human player gets to pull ahead by placing a high priority on founding the good corporations.

 

[LegionSteve]

I have definitely seen the AIs found corporations in Better AI. It does take them a bit longer though - if I am roughly level or even a bit behind in tech I have a pretty good chance of getting the corps I want. Is there anything in the code to make the AI try to get the right kind of Great Person? The human will obviously plan for this, so if the AI has to wait for the right one to randomly appear, then that would explain why they are slow to found corps.

 

[PieceOfMind]

Do the AIs in BBAI know to found corporations in the Wall Street city? Do they know to get the bank,market,grocer ASAP in this city as they start spreading corporations?

 

[r_rolo1]

More important: the better BtS AI does try to get the GP for the corp BEFORE the corp is avaliable ( like humans do ) or atleast plan to get the desired GP after getting the tech or it is just "oh, I got a GP, what should I do with him? Oh, a corp.... looks .... shiny " ?

 

[bob_x]

More important: the better BtS AI does try to get the GP for the corp BEFORE the corp is avaliable ( like humans do ) or atleast plan to get the desired GP after getting the tech or it is just "oh, I got a GP, what should I do with him? Oh, a corp.... looks .... shiny " ?

I'm guessing that it uses the "shiny" approach.

Human players will hold a GP in reserve to found Mining Inc or Sid's. And I will set all my specialists to Engineers and Merchants in hopes of stacking the odds in favor of the desired type of GP appearing.

 

[bob_x]

I've been thinking about this important issue some more.

Getting the right Great Person can be quite difficult later in the game even if you are trying to get one. And the AI is never trying to get a Great Merchant, and it seems to prefer Spy specialists above all others, and Science specialists second.

So because the AI does not hold a GE or GM in reserve, and does not try to stack the odds in of those two types of People, is unlikely to get a corporation-founding GP in a timely manner.