Ships and colonizing

roderus

Chieftain
Joined
Jul 27, 2008
Messages
10
I may have missed something somewhere in these forums, but I've noticed that the AI doesn't seem to build boats and put settlers on them to colonize elsewhere. Any game with islands results in them being stranded. Is this because the AI is incapable of picking the proper upgrade to give itself cargo space, etc?
 
always been this way....although rarely the AI will colonise a few islands, although its normally when every other scrap of land has been taken. Its not just FfH, vanilla civ is pretty bad at in this respect
 
The problem is that the AI refuses to send a settler alone on a ship, correct? Some options:

1) AI gets the cargo promotion for free on all ships built. This could be unpleasant if they go to war with you. And would allow ships that have 0 capacity to have 1 right off the bat. But could be an easy thing to try.

2) AI gets a free special promotion that is +1 space if space is exactly = 1. Might be too complicated. But would be better than (1). 0 space ships would not get free cargo, for example.

3) Weight the capacity upgrade on ships higher. Then if the AI has a couple experience on a ship, it will take cargo as the first promotion. Ships would be weaker though.

4) make unit size fractional. Normal units are size 0.9, settlers are size 0.1. Doesn't make sense, but would allow 1 unit + 1 settler to fit in a capacity 1 ship. Could then make giants, elephants, and maybe cavalry size 2 :) But that is probably too painful in terms of coding.

Actually fractional is just too silly. Maybe instead, have AI settlers take no space on ships (Promotion="really thin", lost on unit capture, where they convert to workers). Special promotion maybe? Problem with special promotions -- you probably want to make sure they aren't available for mutation.
 
How about a new settler unit that can defend itself? Make it AI only (yes yes the AI cheats enough already). We already have workers that can defend themselves so why not?
 
How about a new settler unit that can defend itself? Make it AI only (yes yes the AI cheats enough already). We already have workers that can defend themselves so why not?

Doesn't change the fact that the AI will need to be tought about this, otherwise even a strength 15 settler would not be sent out alone.

Beyond that, the fact is that on a transport, it's not the strength of the unit that counts but that of the transport.
 
And it still wont be able to defend itself after it has settled.
 
yeah good point.
 
I have played vanilla alot before FfH (of FF now which me and my daughter play religiously), and the AI was always big on sending out boats with settlers and protection units, usually hitting my landmass alot in island games. I think that there should be a standard 'Cargo' Galley (renamed to something less confusing) w/2 cargo space only with no promotion potential. Then the standard Galley and Trireme will provide supplemental attack/carrying capabilities.
 
AI does expand over water in Vanilla as others have stated before.
 
Another thing you see more often in vanilla is a stack AI ships moving together. This lets them have defenders to accompany their settlers.
 
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