Does the AI get free envoys?

[Minou]

Playing the recent game of the month as Hungary much of the strategy revolved around levying city state armies, and hence careful planning to use envoys.

Several times I lost a city state when an AI plopped two envoys into it in the same turn. This made me wonder if the AI was (1) Cleverly waiting until it had two envoys so it can grab the city state all at once, (2) just happening to get two the same turn, or (3) “cheating” by getting free envoys, like maybe 2 at Mysticism to the players 1.

My question is - does anyone know if the AI earns envoys through the normal channels like quests, at 100 influence points, huts, and certain Civics? Or does the code just give them envoys at a set rate ignoring these things?

 

[Nigel_Tufnel2]

I'm pretty sure they do quests, as many times I've seen them march 4 Apostles past my perimeter cities just to convert a CS.

 

[Victoria]

@Minou this precise question has come up before and also a lot of suspicion type comment around it so I checked it out.

There is a log file that tracks envoys which made life easier and basically the AI is playing the same game you are. Including holding on to envoys and doing quests.
On higher levels the amount of gold the AI has makes many quests easier.

 

[Minou]

Thanks Victoria. I started posting on the forum only a few months ago so I think I missed a lot of the answers to important questions answered but in the old days before the expansions. I am actually happy to hear this because it provides a rare example of the AI doing something clever (holding onto envoys until it has enough to wrest control of a city state, instead of using each one piecemeal).

In theory, this could also allow a very careful player to track how likely an AI is to have extra envoys (e.g. noting when they switch governments you could predict when the first 100 influence point envoy is coming up.

 

[Victoria]

It is all in the log files @Minou ... well some good info. You can see what cards they slot, where they send spies and what deals they are doing with who else.