How can AI upgrade so easily while it has always no money?

[Elandal]

If you want to know the exact upgrade discount the AI gets, just open up .../XML/GameInfo/CIV4HandicapInfo.xml. On Monarch, AI upgrades at 20% of the normal price. Yeah, it's roughly free upgrades - if I had the same upgrade discount, I probably would be able to upgrade all my units on the turn I get the tech. I probably would plan my gold reserves for the goal though, as currently I create upgrade gold reserve only when I reach techs where I know I want to upgrade some units, most of the time running way lower on gold than the AI does.

No, I don't call you stupid. You I might call a troll, but definitelly not stupid. And yes, I'm feeding the troll knowingly here The AI OTOH I do call stupid. Because the stock AI *IS* stupid. And as I said, Blake is on it already. You might want to do the following:
- Find "Better AI" thread on the forums.
- Follow links to download the "Better AI" mod.
- Follow instructions to install.
- Play at a level or two lower than you used to.
- When you have a good feeling about the AI, grab that CIV4HandicapInfo.xml file again, and modify the bonuses per difficulty levels so that the game is again balanced at some difficulty level you find reasonable.

If you think it's easy programming an AI that has a) personality and b) plays well enough to not need massive advantages over a skilled human player, then please go ahead and prove it by doing it. If you aren't a programmer (few people are, afterall), then just please provide exact decision paths the AI should be using and maybe someone (like Blake) could look them over and see if they would be useful for programming a better AI.

 

[Titus]

Apparently, on noble difficulty (the one where the AIs supposedly don't get favours compared to the player), the AIs' upgrade costs are only 30% of the player's! On deity it is 5%!

 

[KMadCandy]

How I miss the Leonardo Workshop!

curse you for reminding me! and how cavalry upgraded to tanks (altho i forget if that was standard in civ2 or something i changed in rules.txt). i still am like 'what the heck are gunships, this helicopter/non-capture cities things is weirdness'. altho they are great pillagers.

am i the only one that experiences "d'oh!" moments when i forget that i can upgrade my units only in my own territory? and that when i capture a city even that's not enough if it's not yet connected to my trade network for iron/horses/whatever?

 

[Naokaukodem]

Well, if i'm not stupid, I'm not a troll either, because what brings me here is true: the game is too hard (for a normal person that I am), and incoherent. (free upgrades, what is that Mr. Meier?)

All in all, avoid calling me a troll, it makes me horny.

 

[Elandal]

Well, cIV is just a game. It has some game mechanics, and you learn it by playing. I see the AI bonuses as just another indication that designing a smart AI isn't easy, although in this case it was probably more about "spending one more million on the AI development, delaying the game another few months? No way, just up the bonuses and onto the xmas market we go".

Hmm.. has Firaxis actually said that Noble is a balanced level where the human player is on par with the AI, no bonuses or penalties each way? Or is that just something people have read into the marketing material? As things are, there is no difficulty level where the AI wouldn't get inherent bonuses over the human player, although on lower (below Noble) levels the human also gets some bonuses over the AI.

 

[madviking]

If you want to know the exact upgrade discount the AI gets, just open up .../XML/GameInfo/CIV4HandicapInfo.xml.

Woah, turns out the AI have 20 times better than us. I guess it isn't as "equal" as it turns. I guess the programers tought we could make it up by thinking that we're 20 times smarter than the AI...

 

[Elandal]

20 times is a slight exaggeration (unless you're talking about Deity), but yes - the AI has so many economic benefits (upgrade costs are just icing on the cake - look at the ultra-low maintenance costs) that indeed even at Noble if you win half the time, you're playing at maybe four times the "apparent intelligence" of the AI.

 

[Naokaukodem]

I am not fond of playing according to the AI rules. Not only I don't like it, but I am not strong at it. I think the developpers thought too much about "exploits" and I don't think exploits are for everybody. It reminds me the "you are the 1.000.000th customer, you win a car"... it may be over cool when it happens to you, but you don't give a **** other way. And I am not a lucky guy.

Or how do you do to win the game without exploits?

 

[Elandal]

What is an exploit?

If "AI is bad at war, so going to war is exploiting bad AI" fits in, then yes - I have exploited the AI. Not in all my games though - I've played without warring, peacefully building and going for diplomatic or space victory. Then again, when you have Monty / Alex / some other nutcase nearby, avoiding a war is harder than it's worth most of the time.

The basic issue here is that the AI is quite stupid, so it gets bonuses. Some bonuses are quite ridiculous, which just highlites the stupidity of the AI... It really needs them to be competitive in any way. Seems that on higher levels (Emperor and above) the only way to win is to go to war. Therefore, I'm not going to try to climb the levels but am content playing on Prince and Monarch where I can play a good game with more options than just war.