Privateers and the AI

[Manfred Belheim]

Now I know there's some sort of bug with the AI and privateers, leading to them not making them. I'm just curious, do they NEVER make them at all, or is it just very rare? I have (very) occasionally seen AI privateers flying a barbarian flag, but presumably enemy Civ privateers would appear under a barbarian flag too, so I'm never sure if it's just a random barbarian unit or an "official" unit.

 

[Seraiel]

AI is not building Privateers? They're a pain in the ass in every one of my games! They come, do blockade-mission and cripple the complete seafood of a city, sometimes even letting no Sushi-Ressources through, so the city wil starve until I get a Frigate there, which looses in 50% with my luck .

 

[s.bernbaum]

I see AI privateers all the time. Usually, it's some idiot building them by the dozens when everyone else has destroyers. Those privateers never last long. However, they sure do build them!

As far as I know, barbs don't spawn privateers, only galleys. So, if you're seeing privateers that you did not build, an AI empire did.

 

[capnvonbaron]

Yeah I don't get AI privateers much but the AI does occasionally build them. Usually its some loser civ that gets stuck in the pre-industrial era doldrums, while winner civs' oil based boats are getting into the water. I'm looking at you, Sitting Bull...

And yes they do fly "barbarian" flags, but thats just a placeholder to hide their nationality. Barbs don't spawn them.

 

[gps]

Cool. I also had the misconception there are issues with privateers... Were they fixed in one of the patches?

 

[Orion071]

In the last BotM (a mostly water map on Immortal) I saw my first AI Privateer. I had never seen them build one before that game.

 

[Axios]

In vanilla BtS there is a bug that prevent AI from build privateers. Use Better BTS Ai or Kmod.

 

[The7Sins]

I have seen only 1 AI Privateer in all of my years of playing. And it was a Privateer I gifted to my vassal.

 

[capnvonbaron]

I've seen AI privateers in a few games, usually marathon setting. Usually they get sunk by other AI frigates/SotL before they prove too big a nuisance. I've only had one opportunistically sink a galleon loaded with a settler headed to the new world... maybe a seafood or two burned, but I usually have caravels guarding them that I can upgrade in an emergency. I can't say I've ever seen an AI privateer before I've had chemistry/astro.

 

[Halion]

I've seen AI privateers in my games, but maybe they're such a pain that it seems there are more of them than there really are.

 

[Manfred Belheim]

In vanilla BtS there is a bug that prevent AI from build privateers. Use Better BTS Ai or Kmod.

I am talking about Vanilla BtS. Well, with the 3.19 patch. Maybe everyone else here he sees them is running the unofficial patch or Better AI?

 

[frisbee]

I run Vanilla BtS with 3.19 and see Privateers all the time. They are usually annoying for about 20 turns, then the other AI's clean house.

 

[gps]

Well, here's from jdog5000's changelog to his unofficial patch for BTS 3.19:

4) CvPlayerAI::AI_calculateUnitAIViability - Fixed incorrect integer usage which caused function return to be meaningless, blocked AI logic for building privateers

So I guess the OP was right: no AI privateers in standard BTS...

 

[JBryan314]

So, I understand that with 3.19 BTS, AI will build privateers? Is that correct? I use 3.19 and I don't see any other privateers besides mine. Not yet anyway...

 

[gps]

So, I understand that with 3.19 BTS, AI will build privateers?

No. If jdog5000 is right - and from what I read from him so far, I'd say the guy perfectly knows what he's talking about - then privateers are broken even in BTS 3.19, which is the final official patch.

 

[Seraiel]

I'm paying BTS 3.19 with the BUFFY Mod, and I see Privateers all the time. Don't know if the Mod does anything to that fix.

 

[gps]

As jdog5000's great work has established itself as a kind of standard and common base for many modders, chances are high, you've got the fix included.

 

[yuchai]

I've seen plenty of AI privateers - standard BTS 3.19

 

[capnvonbaron]

Well, here's from jdog5000's changelog to his unofficial patch for BTS 3.19:

4) CvPlayerAI::AI_calculateUnitAIViability - Fixed incorrect integer usage which caused function return to be meaningless, blocked AI logic for building privateers

So I guess the OP was right: no AI privateers in standard BTS...

I think he is saying he corrected the problem for this patch, so before 3.19 = no privateers, after it = possible privateers.

 

[s.bernbaum]

I play BTS 3.19 with no mods except BUG mod, which is not supposed to change anything in the play of the game. I had an archipelago game earlier this year where Justinian sent out a privateer about every half a dozen turns or so like clockwork. I knew it was him because I had a bit of coast close enough to his to see the privateers existing from the city where they were built. I stationed a destroyer at that point and the privateers would sail out, attack the destroyer and be gone. They build them. They just don't know when to stop nor how to use them.