Is the AI great or what?

[Warspite2]

I have to say, best AI that I have seen in a game like this yet without a doubt. I have played 5 games so far on noble level and I seen things the AI had done that I have never seen it be able to do. I will give an example and this one blows my mind...

Ok I was trying to be the first nation to develop flight. Once I got it, I built up a fleet of 3 Destroyers and 2 Carriers w/3 Fighters each. Set sail across the ocean to attack a fairly powerful nation whom I was not even at war with yet. I arrived off their shores, declared war and bombs away! I bombed a bunch of their improvements and even destroyed key areas and towns just with the 6 Carrier Fighters I had. I thought, well now this is fun they can't do a damn thing, hehe. To my surprise, 4 or maybe even more, Transports escorted by Destroyers made it across the ocean, past my fleet and landed on my shores. No, this was not just a couple of units, it was an invasion. I am talking several Tanks, Infantry, Artillery and other Units. The Destroyers opened up fire on my cities. They first hit a large major port city of mine, took it over and burned it to the ground. Then immediately, hit my only oil source and left me oil less. It all happened pretty quick before I even had much of a chance to counter and upgrade my obsolete units that were in my nearby cities.

What I did wrong here was failure to patrol the ocean better. At least I could have sent 1 or 2 of the carrier fighters to recon just in case they would attempt to cross the ocean. I just did not think the AI would do an invasion at all much less one this large. This was not the first time I seen a nice invasion by the AI, it happened in my other game as well, just during an early time period.

So the AI can and will attack you even if across the ocean or sea. Its seems to do a very good job at it too, better then what I have seen it in the other CIV games. Well, keep your recons going and your ships on patrol or you will get nailed. I think as computers are getting better and more powerful, it is allowing AIs to become smarter, more complex and challenging then before.

 

[Harry Haller]

Not that I mean to bash the game... but I find the combat AI to be really disapointing and, overall, the weakest part of the entire game. On the offense it will do ok, although it makes very odd choices about who to attack and when to attack them. I have often seen AI-controlled civs build huge armies and march them half way around the world to declare war on me, with well developed defenses, when they had nice juicy weak civs right next to them that they could easily have annexed. It is good to see them attack in force and to conduct attacks over water.

On the defense though, the AI is hopeless. Isn't anyone tired of seeing the computer player launch half its units into your territory to pillage your farms, while you're capturing its cities and dismembering its road network? I'm really getting tired of seeing this over and over, and wish that the AI could make better use of its troops to defend its territory, rather than launching suicide attacks against my rice farms or banana plantations.

Someone else commented in another thread that the CPs don't play to win, and I think that's really correct. They play to harrass and irritate the human player. But they they don't consistenly play to maximize their own positions. They will do so sometimes, but it seems to be accidental when it happens.

 

[jeremiahrounds]

Its the best civ AI ive seen.
Though it has some flaws
1) doesnt play very good to win accept for space race. Just once i would like to see "the civ you ignored has achieved a cultural victory"
2) its preironage war development is horrible. Absolutely abusably bad.
3) I didnt even know nonmarines could attack from transports. But neither does the AI. It never attacked those warriors i had defending in coastal cities. Instead it chooses to set down on my rails and get attacked by my stack of doom.

 

[Neomega]

The defensive AI is poor... I built up an army against an AI city... elephants, catapults.. etc... the AI just kept it's tow longbowmen there, allthough it was flooding units acroos my borders, like elephants and horse archers to attack.

I finally, after about 5 turns, stacke dup about 5 elphants, and 3 catapults, had reduced city defense to 6% or so, and attacked. Two wounded elephants later, the city was mine.

I think the AI still has an aversion to freeing up defense in central territories to guard border territories, and still seems to want to bulk up the capital.. for whatever reason.