My story of the AI's MASSIVE cheating spree...

[parchy]

I have never run into the massive cheating problems that the AI has in this game, until now.

I was recently at war with the French, and they cheated so massively I just couldn't believe it. I'm America, and on both of my borders (Canada and Mexico) are the French. So out of my greed for land, I decided to attack, and wow, it was pretty bad. First of all, they came with a stack of 18 tanks, 6 cavalry and 2 swordsmen. Now come on folks. I had just declared war 1 TURN beforehand, and all of the sudden they have a stack of 18 tanks, not to mention about 14 others scattered in other places. Not only that, but they somehow manage to cross a tract of land with NO roads or railroads or anything in ONE turn with another stack of tanks, but this time its 24!!! Now please, thats kind of rediculous.

I could also mention that fact that their riflemen destroyed my Mech Infantry on a regular basis, but I'm starting to get a headache.

Could someone please do something about this?

 

[Strider]

What diffuculty are you playing? If you don't like the AI cheating go down to a level that they don't cheat in.

 

[Sullla]

Most likely the French had been building up an army for some time; just because you weren't aware that they had it doesn't necessarily mean the AI is cheating. If you are curious about what units another civ has, plant a spy to see their list. If this costs too much or you are afraid it could provoke war, you can always find out your military strength vis a vis another civ by listening to the comments of the military advisor (F3). Generally speaking, don't declare war on a civ that you are "weak" compared to. The AI loves to move attack groups in massive stacks, and conceal them in cities when not at war. Be warned.

Tanks have two movement; they CAN cross non-roaded/railroaded terrain pretty fast. And riflemen destroying mech infantries? That's 4att vs. 25def. While you may have seen this result once in a fluke of combat, I would guess your claim that they are beating you "on a regular basis" to be exaggerated.

If you are attacking with mechs, there's not much of a disparity: 12att vs. 6 def. BUT if the riflemen are fortified (+25%) and likely inside a city of size 13 or larger (+100%), their defense is really 6 + 1.5 + 6 = 13.5, which is actually BETTER than your mechs. You would do better to 1) use modern armor, 2) use tanks, 3) definitely use artillery or bombers to cut down on losses 4) make sure you are attacking with overwhelming force. Even modern armor will take losses in assulting large cities; plan ahead and try to minimize the losses.

Before you accuse the AI of cheating, I would suggest reading some of the strategies of this site and trying to combat their advantages with superior play. And if this game was on Regent or lower, the AI actually has no cheats working on its side.

 

[David In Asia]

i think we should have a separate section for cheating threads

Could someone please do something about this

lol!! give me your address parchy and i'll come and sort those French, and don't worry, i'll leave the mech. infantry at home. only messing.

as strider said, maybe the "problem" is you need to go up a level. what level are you playing at now? it would be interesting to know how are you faring in other aspects of this particular game. are you sure your sure that they didn't have those units already, like, say, they only had two cities or something, it does sound a bit much though. Try searching the forums – I seem to remember somebody (I think it actually a guy from firaxis) making a pretty comprehensive list of how and when the AI cheats. Anyhows, good luck with the rest of the game, parchy.

Btw, I don’t know if there are any fans of TLC out there, but flappy eyelid, or whatever her name is, was killed yesterday in a car crash.

d

ps parchy - it might be an idea to add a poll to this thread, something along the lines of who finds the cheating to be a problem, and those who think it's a "neccessary evil".

 

[JoseM]

I think the AI cheating is a "neccessary evil" to give some competition.

And btw the girl who died in TLC, her last name was Lopez, thats all i remember. Maybe her artistic name was different.

 

[Rneilan]

NOT LEFT EYE! oh well, i allways liked chilli better... that's crazy though... and i always play on warlord or cheiftan... i should start playin regent... i hear it's more fun

 

[Zouave]

Originally posted by JoseM
I think the AI cheating is a "neccessary evil" to give some competition.

And btw the girl who died in TLC, her last name was Lopez, thats all i remember. Maybe her artistic name was different.

All it does is make the game irritating and frustrating.

Simply do what Civ 2 did: for each level you went up the percentage odds for certain function (such as combat results) also went up and it became more difficult. It was straightforward, and the game didn't have to break its own rules all the time.

BTW, her name was LOPES. Not Lopez. Not that I care about that kind of music.

 

[cephyn]

Originally posted by parchy
I have never run into the massive cheating problems that the AI has in this game, until now.

I was recently at war with the French, and they cheated so massively I just couldn't believe it. I'm America, and on both of my borders (Canada and Mexico) are the French. So out of my greed for land, I decided to attack, and wow, it was pretty bad. First of all, they came with a stack of 18 tanks, 6 cavalry and 2 swordsmen. Now come on folks. I had just declared war 1 TURN beforehand, and all of the sudden they have a stack of 18 tanks, not to mention about 14 others scattered in other places. Not only that, but they somehow manage to cross a tract of land with NO roads or railroads or anything in ONE turn with another stack of tanks, but this time its 24!!! Now please, thats kind of rediculous.

The AI routinely stockpiles units, and rarely disbands -- hence why you see Tanks, Cavalry, and Swordsmen in an initial attack -- theyve probably been sitting for centuries. That's NOT cheating. Thats called preparedness. You can (and should) do it too.

they had TANKS but NO roads or rails? i find that awfully hard to believe. You probably just didnt have an updated territory map, perhaps?

 

[David In Asia]

oops, in my thread above i meant to say go UP a level....

d

 

[parchy]

See, I was a little angry at the computer the first time I posted up there, but I knew that the computer stacking its units wasn't really cheating, however, I guarantee you people this....

Their cheating movements were in MY territory, which means that no matter if theres a rr or a road there, they only get one turn per movement, no? And there wasn't even anything up there for them to move ON, and before I know it, I've got a stack of close to 70 modern armored tanks surrounding my CAPTIAL which just happens to be so far away from my border its amazing.

You don't have to believe this, but its true. Whether you choose to ignore the problems in this game is your business, but I'm trying to deal with them.

 

[benjdm]

Parchy, you're right that the computer cannot use your road network. However, modern armor still has 3 points of movement available. So they could move three spaces in one turn if none of them were forest / hill / etc.

 

[Strider]

benjdm
Parchy, you're right that the computer cannot use your road network. However, modern armor still has 3 points of movement available. So they could move three spaces in one turn if none of them were forest / hill / etc.

I think he's right Parchy.

 

[simwiz2]

from your posts, you say "suddenly they had..." it sounds like you dont have "Show enemy movement" on. I would recommend putting it on, so you can see their units moving thru your land, then they wont catch you by surprise. I really doubt they are teleporting through your land.

Of course, it IS remotely possible, wasnt there something a few months ago about AI infantry getting 2 moves in the human's territory? I noticed it several times, they would come in and pillage on the same turn, stuff like that. Since then i have modded infantry to have 2 movement, so i havent seen that bug anymore.