[NFP] Patronage Resolution - Help me find the AI bias

[leandrombraz]

I decided to register the great people points in my game on the turn I got a patronage resolution, to try to figure out how the AI vote in the congress. Here are the numbers:

Screenshot of each GG

I can't see any reliable pattern. Rome is landlocked and they have the highest writer per turn, so I can see some logic there, others not so much. Arabia and Maya has more Writer than Admiral, and Maya is close of getting a Writer, but they still voted to ban Writers. I'm starting to think it has nothing to do with GGP, but the victory they are pursuing and other Civ specific bias. Maybe that's the great people they want the least, based on the effect of each GG available, or maybe they value a GE that gives production for wonders, for example, so they don't vote to ban it. Idk, I'm really at a loss here.

 

[OmegaDestroyer]

Admirals are always getting banned in my games and I do not understand why.

I agree with the victory skew being the determining factors. Writers are heavily banned in my games that have cultural leaning civs.

 

[Chefofrats]

Previously it used to be admirals that almost always got banned in my games, and sometimes writers, but much more rarely than admirals. I can't recall other GPs being banned. However, in my most recent Colombia game it was... Great prophets. For some reason, on a Large map, there still was one religion left to found by the time the Congress convened, and the AIs voted to ban that last prophet...

 

[Pfeffersack]

. Arabia and Maya has more Writer than Admiral, and Maya is close of getting a Writer, but they still voted to ban Writers.

I agree that the AI voting behaviour on this is often hard to explain; for the Maya it makes sense though - even if they technically accumulate writer points, they are hard-banned by their civ trait from getting any. So voting them down is resonable to an extend.

 

[leandrombraz]

I agree that the AI voting behaviour on this is often hard to explain; for the Maya it makes sense though - even if they technically accumulate writer points, they are hard-banned by their civ trait from getting any. So voting them down is resonable to an extend.

The Maori is banned, not the Maya.

 

[enKage]

Previously it used to be admirals that almost always got banned in my games, and sometimes writers, but much more rarely than admirals. I can't recall other GPs being banned. However, in my most recent Colombia game it was... Great prophets. For some reason, on a Large map, there still was one religion left to found by the time the Congress convened, and the AIs voted to ban that last prophet...

If there is free slot for religion, prophet is always banned

 

[Drivingrevilo]

I'm starting to thing it has nothing to do with GGP, but the victory they are pursuing and other Civ specific bias.

It could be a mix of both. My friend and I were playing a game together last week as Korea and Scotland respectively. This vote came up on world congress, and I confidently told him that the AI always ban Great Writers. Lo and behold, we were both stunned to see them voting en masse to ban Great Scientists.

It’s the only time I’ve ever seen GS be banned, and it’s obviously no accident that it coincided with both human players being Science-heavy Civs. The question is whether the AI specifically disliked how many Great Scientists we were earning (I think he was on 18 points p/turn and I around 25 p/turn), or whether it knew we were both going for Science victory and so attempted to thwart that.

 

[wesplaysciv]

I do wonder if something like % earned or # remaining (inverse) is a factor.

Just as a datapoint, in my recent Gran Colombia game (diety) great generals were banned - first time I had seen it.

 

[Deadly Dog]

I've been targeted by this resolution a few times - GA's while playing Dido, GM's as Mali, and GE's when I had IZ's before the AI. In all instances I was outperforming the AI's generation of GPP's for the voted class by at least double. I hadn't noticed GW's getting banned more often but seems to me GA's do get banned a lot, especially if Dido is in the game.

A few times its come up I've invested heavily in halting GPP for a class I want to recruit from but am currently outpaced by the AI. One of a few resolutions I pay attention to.

 

[Pfeffersack]

The Maori is banned, not the Maya.

Eh...yes...of course you are right...

 

[yung.carl.jung]

From my experience the AI will more often ban GG when the player has a strong army and a decent amount of encampments. No idea why Admirals are banned so often, but it is a recurring feat in my games, too.

I hope they remove the resolution to have specific GP banned, or rather make it -50% points at least. It's unhealthy for the game imho and no one really uses it tactically because the AI usually has more combined votes. It's just you being at the mercy of the AI. If you're going CV and they ban writers you will likely finish 20-30 turns slower. You will still win of course, it will just be tedious.

Ironically enough banning Scientists does absolutely nothing if you already have your Einstein. In almost all of my recent games all GS past Einstein have been useless. Even when I do get the ones that affect Space-project production (like Stephane) I usually get them like one or two turns before I finish.

The faster you win, the more the GP system falls apart.

 

[Victoria]

The largest number created?
Certainly whenever I play GA they get banned
But when I play GG they do not.
It would make sense the AI bias is based on more than one thing and we know they altered this because forums were saying it was too easy to guess... so expect things like
What do I like vs. is someone winning more who has lots of a certain type.

 

[leandrombraz]

I got this resolution again the next congress. Great General won, there was more variety on which GG got voted, nobody banned great writer (only me =( ) and, because the AI was voting in the Diplo vote, there was less votes overall:

The main conclusion I get from this is that the fact that there's no Great Writer Points being generated affects the AI decision. Nobody voted to ban great writers, which was currently banned.

Edit: 4 out of 6 leaders that banned GW in the last congress, banned either Great Artist or Great Musician in this one.