Less hostile AI for Test of Time?

[tellville]

I was curious if there was any way to make the AI less hostile in Test of Time? It looks like there are patches for MGE, but is there one for ToT?

*If there are any other useful files for ToT I wouldn't mind hearing about those as well. It's hard to tell what patches and files are good or not when a game is as old as ToT.

 

[Peaster]

Sorry; I don't own ToT and don't know the answers. MGE has a bug which causes the AI to be more hostile than the designers intended, so a patch was needed for that. I don't think ToT has that problem, so I doubt there is such a patch.

With MGE, there is a Cheat menu which allows you to set AI Attitudes (though I am not sure if the effect is permanent, and you may have to play in scenario mode). Perhaps there is something like that in ToT.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

I was curious if there was any way to make the AI less hostile in Test of Time? It looks like there are patches for MGE, but is there one for ToT?

*If there are any other useful files for ToT I wouldn't mind hearing about those as well. It's hard to tell what patches and files are good or not when a game is as old as ToT.

What level do you usually play at? And which do you play - humans or aliens? In the Fantasy modes, some AIs are going to be extremely hostile, no matter what.

Lately, for some reason, the Nona aliens have mostly left me alone and concentrated instead on kicking the crap out of my opponents (I always play one of the human factions).

 

[Catfish]

I was curious if there was any way to make the AI less hostile in Test of Time? It looks like there are patches for MGE, but is there one for ToT?

See this thread further down the page. I've not tested it.

*If there are any other useful files for ToT I wouldn't mind hearing about those as well.

• Official version 1.1 patch. Essential.
• CPU usage fixes. Essential.
• 64-bit Windows compatibility fix. Essential if you run 64-bit Windows.
• Civ2 Unlimited game launcher. Increases maximums for units, gold, population and time limit.
• 3rd-party patch for the Midgard game.
• Graphics mods.
• Scenarios.

MGE has a bug which causes the AI to be more hostile than the designers intended, so a patch was needed for that. I don't think ToT has that problem, so I doubt there is such a patch.

ToT also has the aggressive AI, but is it a bug?

 

[Peaster]

ToT also has the aggressive AI, but is it a bug?

In ToT ? I have no idea.

In MGE ? Yes. The AI behaves very unnaturally, and this detracts from the game (especially for landing players - as a conqueror, I don't usually mind).

 

[timtofly]

ToT also has the aggressive AI, but is it a bug?

In ToT ? I have no idea.

In MGE ? Yes. The AI behaves very unnaturally, and this detracts from the game (especially for landing players - as a conqueror, I don't usually mind).

Playing TOT as normal II really is only for the eye candy. TOT was more for using multi-dimensional "worlds". If one just plays TOT as II, then they do it for the challenge. Otherwise, you should just play II, itself.

 

[Ali Ardavan]

In MGE ? Yes. The AI behaves very unnaturally, and this detracts from the game (especially for landing players - as a conqueror, I don't usually mind).

I concur. Diplomacy is an important feature of the game and this bug all but destroys it. This affects OCC most and conquest least.

 

[Catfish]

In ToT ? I have no idea.

In MGE ? Yes. The AI behaves very unnaturally, and this detracts from the game (especially for landing players - as a conqueror, I don't usually mind).

ToT's aggressive diplomacy model is the same as MGE's. As far as I can remember, you're the first person I've run across who's referred to it as a bug. I've read (many years ago) that it was deliberately introduced into MGE to make the game more challenging, presumably after it was observed that many people had mastered the single-player game in the classic version.

Playing TOT as normal II really is only for the eye candy. TOT was more for using multi-dimensional "worlds". If one just plays TOT as II, then they do it for the challenge. Otherwise, you should just play II, itself.

If that were the case then one could argue that there's absolutely no reason at all to play MGE. It has neither the eye candy nor the friendlier AI. You're forgetting multi-player gaming and scenario design. With 64-bit Windows becoming the norm, classic 16-bit Civ2 (which requires emulation software to install and run on such systems), will be played by even fewer die-hards.

 

[timtofly]

ToT's aggressive diplomacy model is the same as MGE's. As far as I can remember, you're the first person I've run across who's referred to it as a bug. I've read (many years ago) that it was deliberately introduced into MGE to make the game more challenging, presumably after it was observed that many people had mastered the single-player game in the classic version.

If that were the case then one could argue that there's absolutely no reason at all to play MGE. It has neither the eye candy nor the friendlier AI. You're forgetting multi-player gaming and scenario design. With 64-bit Windows becoming the norm, classic 16-bit Civ2 (which requires emulation software to install and run on such systems), will be played by even fewer die-hards.

Well since I like TOT better than MGE and play it more, then that would be true in my case. I am also not much of a network player either. I like my games to last 120 hours, and most people loose attention after 4.

 

[Catfish]

With 64-bit Windows becoming the norm, classic 16-bit Civ2 (which requires emulation software to install and run on such systems), will be played by even fewer die-hards.

Add to that the fact that, unlike MGE and ToT, it has no CPU usage fix. If you can fix the aggressive AI issue in MGE and ToT, then there's little reason to stick with classic Civ2. One strike against MGE/ToT is that you can't play Deity+N games; they crash.

Well since I like TOT better than MGE and play it more, then that would be true in my case.

Well I'm with you there. When I do get around to playing these days, it's ToT and it's scenarios only. Most of the scenario designers in the Scenario League have switched to ToT.

I am also not much of a network player either. I like my games to last 120 hours, and most people loose attention after 4.

Multi-playing also includes PBEM games. There's still some activity over at the Civilization Webring Forum. They play MGE and ToT.