How does AI advance so fast in science?

[ExpiredReign]

@Kivin

There are a number of ways to look at what is going on in the background.

Firstly, if you haven't already, start using the FireTuner. All that is recorded in the log file is displayed in the Lua console tab of that tool.

Secondly, setup your logs to display more detail about what background processes are going on. As we are discussing the AI here, open CEA__Events.lua and change the debug level from INFO to DEBUG. Line 11 shows that. Next open Cat_Events.lua and in the last code block change the 50 in (Game.GetGameTurn() % 50 == 0) to 5.

Thirdly, setup a game to test and using the FireTuner, Autoplay for 5 turns, returning to the game as your civ, not OBSERVER. We have to Autoplay in small increments to allow the log date to be sent. Just Autoplaying for a length of time doesn't use the log and thus no data for us to examine.

Doing this will give you 'some' detail about 'some' of what is going on. However, there appears to be quite a lot of other detail that is yet to be exposed to these tools. Some may also be incorrectly displayed. Trial and error.

I also recommend InfoAddict and a new mod @Dunkah mentioned, UI - Enhanced Rankings. But again, both these don't expose too much of the background stuff like AI bonuses and handicaps etc.

I am left to troll through the code and the explanations found in the general Civfanatics forum to see what is happening in these games.

So good hunting.

 

[mystikx21]

As a random thought, does it matter that there's a lua file and an xml that both adjust the handicaps for difficulty? So far as I can tell, this was not the case in GEM and while GEM had some yield issues, it wasn't with science spiking in this way for the AI (it was usually with science virtually stopping periodically for the human, usually around a golden age).

This could be cumulative for bonuses? (explaining extra units, extra research, extra XP, etc?)

 

[Dunkah]

My latest game I shut down all of Whowards mods (other than Enhanced Demographics) and managed to get a game where I was only behind by two Techs at the first Demo check, (Turn 37).

SO I decided to keep playing it. =^)

Don't know if it was whowards mods or I just got lucky this one time.

 

[ExpiredReign]

As a random thought, does it matter that there's a lua file and an xml that both adjust the handicaps for difficulty? So far as I can tell, this was not the case in GEM and while GEM had some yield issues, it wasn't with science spiking in this way for the AI (it was usually with science virtually stopping periodically for the human, usually around a golden age).

This could be cumulative for bonuses? (explaining extra units, extra research, extra XP, etc?)

I did a bit of checking and this may have something to do with a problem Thal was trying to rectify with the database not updating correctly. But I am only surmising here.

 

[tlaurila]

In my current game, [3.10.1 King/Epic Speed/Standard Size] the AI tech runaway issue seems to not be significant anyway. It's early Reneissance, and I'm about on par with most of the AIs. I was somewhat behind from early classical to late medieval, but now it seems I'm slowly crawling towards tech lead.

It could be just luck, but it seems this issue is largely fixed - at least it's not almost game breaking as it was before.