Four Horsemen AI

[Sarisin]

I'm still playing my first .40 game (Amurites, Monarch, Epic, Huge Fantasy Realm map with 8 AI civs left).

The Four Horsemen AI really has me bewildered. I realize this is only one game and bring it up to see if anyone else has experienced something similar.

All four of the bad guys showed up inside my boundaries shortly after spawning at AC 40, 50, 60 and 70. I was somewhat prepared for them as I gave my guys Courage (The Stooges, even with 100 XP, cannot be Courageous!) after Blight hit at AC30. I only managed to lose a few units and improvements and I managed to get all four of their nifty weapons. I'm not complaining, but just question the AI in two respects:

First, how do they target who they will attack? It's folly to think that all four horsemen over the period of 100+ turns would RANDOMLY select the same civ. There were 8 other civs that could have been chosen. It doesn't seem random to me.

Is it possible that having the high score, which I had throughout, might add some weight to who the horsemen target? I cannot identify any other possible reasons why I might be targeted by all four over such a period of time - other than me being the only Human player in the game.

Second, in each case the Horseman spawned a good distance away on the huge map. The way those guys move, though, they showed up inside my borders in just a few turns.

My question is why have them spawn far away if they are going to ignore the many easier targets where they spawn? I mean, why not just have them spawn close to their intended target? Or do they somehow acquire their targeting orders after they are spawned?

It just seems to me silly to have them cross the map ignoring killable units, cities for the taking, and improvements just to get to someone else.

So, those are my two questions on Four Horsemen AI:

1. How do they determine their targets? Sorry, I will not under any circumstances accept the answer 'Randomly.'

2. Why don't they spawn in the backyard of their targets instead of far, far away?

Thank you for your answer and for yet another home run with this version of FFH2!!!

 

[westamastaflash]

I think the barbs pick a target for all their attacks. Must've been you

 

[civ_king]

They should target the people who work hardest to bring AC down

 

[cabbagemeister]

All four horsemen (and the avatar) always seem to spawn in the same general region of the map. This has happened every time I've taken the AC above 90 (admittedly, only three times). I don't know about targeting, but this usually means that the same civ gets attacked again and again.

 

[Breunor]

I do think the horsemen 'pick' on the strongest Civ. I'm pretty sure it is considered a 'rubber-band' concept, where the leader is hit and the other Civ's get an advantage.

Best wishes,

Breunor

 

[xienwolf]

They spawn randomly (I think... might also just spawn at the Starting Location for the Barbarian Player, if they get one assigned). But they target exactly the same way that the rest of the Barbarians do. At war with (almost) everybody, and since the 0.34 tweak select a single target to focus on VERY heavily. Though since they can fly it is impossible to make a barricade against them (short of surrounding all of your cities with units, which actually only takes 8 units per city)

 

[Sarisin]

I think the barbs pick a target for all their attacks. Must've been you

That's fine, but doesn't 100+ turns in a game qualify as a balance issue then when there are 8 other civs to pick on?

How do you remove yourself from being the Chosen One/Target?

 

[Sarisin]

They spawn randomly (I think... might also just spawn at the Starting Location for the Barbarian Player, if they get one assigned). But they target exactly the same way that the rest of the Barbarians do. At war with (almost) everybody, and since the 0.34 tweak select a single target to focus on VERY heavily. Though since they can fly it is impossible to make a barricade against them (short of surrounding all of your cities with units, which actually only takes 8 units per city)

Even that wouldn't work, xienwolf. In .34 I closed all the chokepoints totally protecting my civ from barbs. The normal barbs backed off and disappeared, however, the Horsemen just took out whatever unit they found. Of course the Horseman sustained damage in doing this and was quickly eliminated, but the point again is that getting targeted for most of the game while AI civs are ignored really does seem like a balance issue. Go ahead and target me - I'm willing to take my turn getting pounded. But, then, to be fair, turn off that faucet after awhile and let someone else have a turn.

The funny thing is that in FF .42 (is that the number, I'm REALLY getting confused) I didn't see this targeting. There was the problem with the barbs arriving too early in slow speed games, but you did a great job of fixing that!

 

[Imuratep]

I think the first thing to improve is not the targeting mechanism, but the efficiency of the horsemen. Right now they are nothing, but strange men riding on horses distributing swords, not the world ending scourges of mankind.

 

[Neomega]

in my two games, Stephanos has always come straight for me. And both times i was not in first place by a long shot.

 

[Fafnir13]

I had a good one recently where they seemed to spread out the love. They were only attacking my vassals though.... Do the barbs consider vassals of their target the same as their target?