Improved AI?

Does anyone else feel like the AI is significantly better in Warlords? I don't mean in terms of decision-making, but rather in terms of being more difficult to attack, etc.

In my first game, I was trying out Catherine and had what I thought was a great start: An enemy civ right next door, and copper in my 2nd city. So, I went for an axerush on the enemy capital. In vanilla civ, I would've brought the capital down. I had ~10 CR axemen and in vanilla at that same point the AI capital would have ~4 archers. Imagine my surprise when the capital had ~10 archers! I had to pull back...

I've also had a much harder time reinforcing my army. The AI seems capable now of picking off your troops in the field, whereas before they would mainly stick to their cities.

 

in my game the AI is opening multiple front and forcing me to have "real" reserve to take care of the incoming forces... even if i'm in siege in is second bigest city (wich is well defended as you mentioned) But the great Nebucannezar is taking care of the reserve as the other general Romel is at the front with is trebuchets

 

Yep. I'm getting my ass whooped on monarch so far lol

 

At least the AI is providing a challenge now!

 

^^ yeah, it's great i've moved down from emperor to monarch and it still is a decent challenge! even the barbs seem more aggressive or something...

 

Yes, there have been some combat AI tweaks in Warlords that also affect barbarians.

 

raging barbs are insane now. I've had as many as 12 barbs show up at a city. They've been bypassing my sentries and going after my cities.

 

that is making the great wall usefull in emperors games

 

Wow, that is good to hear. I haven't played it enough to find improvements but yeah, combat is certainly where the AI in the game needed some tweaking. Hopefully this trend continues in future patches and expansions!

 

I dont see how that makes the "AI" better. unless its other cities are more lightly defended and its moving things around. I mean fortifying massive amounts of troops in a city isnt exactly brain surgery.

 

I had 10 show up at *once* in a vanilla Noble game, and that city must have seen 20+ barbs total so far (it's a MP PBEM game, so going slowly)

 

wtf...

If this is true, I'm pissed. AI improvements should be added in a patch for vanilla Civ IV.

 

Should being the key word. You should know very well by now firaxis has stopped listening to us pestering 'consumers.'

 

Which is exactly why they're posting here? (like post #6 in this thread)?

 

They improved the AI in accordance with the new units and such (rules) in the game. vanilla civvers... begone! Bwahahahaha!........

 

thats good to hear, I hsvnt got the expansion but apparently AIs build nukes now, can anyone confirm this?

 

I went to war with England, and they had a city fairly deep in my land. They had afew Redcoats inside, but they moved out and started to run toward their main cities and left afew longbow men inside.

 

Aye. It is fixed with Warlords. Apparently it was a bug that they never really used nukes much at all.

 

Yeah I'm liking the new AI, even if it is also causing me problems. In vanilla civ I pretty much never got attacked by anything but barbarians. So when I read that the great wall protected every city on it's continent I figured I was home free . . . then stalin and napoleon both declared war on me out of the blue. It was amazing.

I haven't gone down a level of gameplay yet, I'm still plugging away at noble, but . . . two of my room-mates did take the plunge, one back down to warlord, the other all the way back to chieftain.

 

I definately think its different. Ive been getting my *ss handed to me on Monarch. Ai seems to love declaring war on me while at war with other people much more often, destroying my improvents with sharp efficency, winning more fights when I had very high 0dd (I know its just me but I seem to lose more fights when Im favored above 90% then I EVER have).

Its good to be challenged. Makes the game dramatically better to me.