CaiusDrewart
King
I was just reading Sulla's review/walkthrough of Civ VI. It's a good read and not nearly so negative as I expected, given how harsh Sulla was toward Civ V. He has his concerns about the game's AI and UI problems, but sees the basis of something really good. So do I.
Anyway, one point he raised that I thought deserved further discussion was his suggestion that the combat AI should look to aggressively make trades with the human player. Basically, any time the AI sees an opportunity to kill a rival unit or seriously threaten a city, it should pretty much always take it. Since the AI gets enormous production bonuses, it only needs to achieve a kill ratio of 1:3, maybe even 1:4, to be dangerous.
I've noticed in my games that the AI is extremely hesitant to lose its units. Instead of assaulting cities aggressively, AI units shuffle around without attacking or even pillaging. I'm not sure if this is because the AI wants to implement the siege mechanic first (if so, program the AI not to bother) or just a general hesitance to have its units be damaged, but the result is a joke. The human player is free to pick off the AI units one by one with Archers, and the AI units all die having done literally zero damage.
Sometimes the AI even passes up on opportunities to kill my injured units! The AI would rather not kill one of my units if it means using a damaged unit. Instead of being so cautious, it should seek out opportunities to make one-for-one trades like that!
I think this is one reason people have commented that barbarians are so much more dangerous than the real AI. Barbarian units basically ram themselves into units and cities with zero regard for their own personal safety. Sometimes they die in vain, yes, but sometimes they actually get stuff done! The AI needs to act like this. After all, an AI unit that dies attacking a city is much better than an AI unit that mills about next to a city accomplishing absolutely nothing.
I really think there's some potential for a more fulfilling combat experience in Civ VI. The AI can move and shoot now, and weaker city defenses means it should be easier to get it to seriously threaten human players. The difficulty adjustments on higher levels should help, too. The next step is to have the tactical AI be way more aggressive. Couple that with an AI that properly upgrades its units, and you might have something.
Anyway, one point he raised that I thought deserved further discussion was his suggestion that the combat AI should look to aggressively make trades with the human player. Basically, any time the AI sees an opportunity to kill a rival unit or seriously threaten a city, it should pretty much always take it. Since the AI gets enormous production bonuses, it only needs to achieve a kill ratio of 1:3, maybe even 1:4, to be dangerous.
I've noticed in my games that the AI is extremely hesitant to lose its units. Instead of assaulting cities aggressively, AI units shuffle around without attacking or even pillaging. I'm not sure if this is because the AI wants to implement the siege mechanic first (if so, program the AI not to bother) or just a general hesitance to have its units be damaged, but the result is a joke. The human player is free to pick off the AI units one by one with Archers, and the AI units all die having done literally zero damage.
Sometimes the AI even passes up on opportunities to kill my injured units! The AI would rather not kill one of my units if it means using a damaged unit. Instead of being so cautious, it should seek out opportunities to make one-for-one trades like that!
I think this is one reason people have commented that barbarians are so much more dangerous than the real AI. Barbarian units basically ram themselves into units and cities with zero regard for their own personal safety. Sometimes they die in vain, yes, but sometimes they actually get stuff done! The AI needs to act like this. After all, an AI unit that dies attacking a city is much better than an AI unit that mills about next to a city accomplishing absolutely nothing.
I really think there's some potential for a more fulfilling combat experience in Civ VI. The AI can move and shoot now, and weaker city defenses means it should be easier to get it to seriously threaten human players. The difficulty adjustments on higher levels should help, too. The next step is to have the tactical AI be way more aggressive. Couple that with an AI that properly upgrades its units, and you might have something.
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