Do you sometimes question the A.I.s strategy?

immortals84

The Mark
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I was playing a Diety level game, using Carolus's europe to india map. Me Roman, A.I. enemy at the time Greece. I was invading there territory with a countless number of Cataphractaris(Knights)
and Legionare. They had in defense about 40 phalanx units, i thought i was crazy for going in there but, for some reason they instead of guarding there cities, walked around pillaging everything and left there cities with about 4 phalanx each. So instead of keep there cities and have to rebuild there supply routes they practically gave me there cities and cut my supply routes and never came back to invade me. So i conqueres all of modern day Albania, west Bulgaria, and all of modern day Greece except for the southmost body of land where Sparta was held, and like the Greeks had about 30 phalanx walking around. They were the 3rd strongest civ at the time and had been at war with the Byzantines because i forced them into it by signing an alliance with byzantine thus sripalling both empires and keeping the Greeks busy. They had taken alot of Byzantine territory, but it seemed that they were more concerned with that land than there own.
 
Seems to me the AI has a problem with the idea of force "en masse". I've been bitterly disappointed by a few wars because they'll like scoot a transport over, taking their sweet time, and unload two marines on a fortified mechanized infantry. I have to admit, it is funny, though.
 
The AIs do not have any strategies!;) All they have is a checklist that they go with (a list of subroutines that they execute - no more and no less). For example, if it's raining, use an umbrella. If it's dark, turn on the light. If certain resource is needed, either buy it or take it. If have enough money, buy it. If not, take it by force or die in trying, etc.
 
If certain resource is needed, either buy it or take it. If have enough money, buy it. If not, take it by force or die in trying, etc.

Well that explains and sums up the AI very nicely.....:cool:
 
...mostly the "die trying" part. :lol:
 
Originally posted by Moonsinger
The AIs do not have any strategies!;) All they have is a checklist that they go with (a list of subroutines that they execute - no more and no less). For example, if it's raining, use an umbrella. If it's dark, turn on the light. If certain resource is needed, either buy it or take it. If have enough money, buy it. If not, take it by force or die in trying, etc.

LOL! Let me guess, you are so good at this game because you figured out the AI. I saw your hall of fame score for diety level.:tank:
 
The AI is a strange beast. The one unit amphibious attack is a riot, but the SOD's are not. It is easy to trick the AI into chasing you, thus pulling them away from your weaker cities.

Why does the AI retreat when it has lost only one HP? Good reason to keep lots of artillery and bombers around...
 
Moonsinger is right, its a checklist, or even an algorythm. They analyze the conditions in the game and switch on and off certain switches and each unit behaves in such a way based on those conditions and switches. For example, under certain conditions, the AI will see if it conditions are favorable to attack you and get some territory. When it does, that little "attack the player" switch will turn on and units will get priority to move towards your borders.

Phalanx units are defensive units, and are not usually used for attack. The AI is programmed to think "Defensive units are best used by sticking them in the city and leaving them there." The AI isn't very creative, and what's worse, it can only see its own units one at a time. It has a hard time creatively putting its force together and coming up with a strategic plan.

The AI uses brute strength and force to win, which you have to counter with guile. Somewhere in the strategy articles is an article on how changing the difficulty level of the game changes the abilities and starting position of the AI. For example, the AI gets production bonuses at monarch level and higher, so all things being equal the AI can produce units faster than you. However, the AI is pretty weak at "optimization" and "creativity" so you can stil outpace the AI, it just takes more planning and creativity on your part.

I have never lost a game to the AI where the AI attacked and overran me after the first 100 turns. In these pre 100 turns cases, was early in the game and I didn't pump out enough units; their brute force overwhelmed me.

Given what seems to be simplicity, from the level of programming this is still an incredibly complex AI in terms of the lines of code it probably takes. The algorythms follow some very base ideas in human behavior and follow them well. However, its little more than a selfish child with a limited set of goals... but since when have you met a world leader that wasn't like that? :D
 
Originally posted by Hellfire
However, its little more than a selfish child with a limited set of goals... but since when have you met a world leader that wasn't like that? :D

:lol:

The only smart thing the AI does, sometimes at least, is to include defensive units in a SOD.
 
Well, it's my opinion that about 50 or 60 artillery units (okay, closer to eighty) should soften up a stack of death enough to armour into the dust.

However, I've never seen a SoD. How many people do they stick in a SoD? A tactical nuclear weapon will... deal with... the problem.
 
The algorythms follow some very base ideas in human behavior and follow them well. However, its little more than a selfish child with a limited set of goals... but since when have you met a world leader that wasn't like that? :D [/B][/QUOTE]

Exactly, thats what civ needs more of, nasty and ambitious leaders that all want to leave there mark on world history. Im tired of being that guy all the time.
 
Originally posted by Dr Corbett
Well, it's my opinion that about 50 or 60 artillery units (okay, closer to eighty) should soften up a stack of death enough to armour into the dust.

However, I've never seen a SoD. How many people do they stick in a SoD? A tactical nuclear weapon will... deal with... the problem.

On Monarch I've seen the Incas arriving with to SoDs containing approx. 150 guerrillas and riflemen (they didn't have horses - late industrial!) - I've heard that on the higher leves I gets a lot worse than that.

But as you said - bombers and artillery soon laid them to waste..
 
Hey everyone, long time lurker, first time poster, and decent Civ 3 player.

Anyway, it seems to me the AI's only strategy is to beeline for your least defended cities, since it knows where all your units are anyway.

It gives no thought to strategy or tactics, it will attack a city with 5 units when if it waited for two more turns it could attack with 20 units.

Oh well, at least it's easier with dumb AI :D
 
I have seen that the AI (on regent and lower anyway) will not make a serious effort to invade me if I send a group of defensive units deep into their territory. It will instead spend its invasion force knocking my units off of mountains and hills near their capital.
 
Ive only seen the ai do that if they have a chance to knock me off. Say if im Greece and are fortifying hopilites on there mountans, they will only attack me if they have more or better units that have an attack of 3 or higher. Usually the ai wants you to knock them off the mountains.
 
I've seen the same thing.. if I have an army of mech inf and they only have tanks, and I am fortified on a hill next to their capital.. they just don't touch it.. you can run around pillaging whatever you want!
 
Before I knew better, the AI would also teach me a lesson about strategic resources now and again. Nothing like going back to the stone age for a round every once in a while to make you panic. The AI knows pillaging, at least the kamikaze kind.
 
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