Simple suggestions to improve AI

[TheFinalChiTown]

A thread for simple AI improvements! Keeping in mind the level of resources the developers would have to invest to make the change.

My suggestion: have AI ranged units target naval / embarked units.

As far as I can tell, AI/barb ranged units won't ever target naval units. It makes life pretty easy for civs that can build strong navies. Seems like this would be easy on the developer end, but I could be wrong.

Other suggestions?

 

[Naokaukodem]

Other suggestions?

Play Civ5. But ranged unit won't shoot after moving.

 

[Sostratus]

Probably the simplest one is to tell them to prioritize campus/theater more heavily.
They absolutely suck at placing districts, but just having a lot of these districts is why AI korea or greece do so well consistently.
After 3 years, we know effective ways to play the game, and one really trivial thing is to make the AI focus more on effective things and less on ineffective things.

Having them keep making units during wars would be good too.

 

[criZp]

Ranged units have -17 attack against ships, just saying.

I had a war the other day where the dutch surprise-attacked me with a half a dozen units. But after I defeated them and refused a peace deal, they kept sending one and one unit. I don't get it, the AI is already coded to build up unit groups before sending them all in a wave, so why is it that they stop doing this once the war has started?

 

[bc1]

Yes grouping units is a key tactic.

Also there should be an option at higher game levels to disable game features the AI does not use effectively; such as fog of war (AI only), or even districts (all players).

 

[AntSou]

- Settlers can't be captured. They're either destroyed or converted to workers instead. (Being able to capture Settlers favours the player more than anybody else)

- Give AI Builders more base charges on higher difficulty. +1 on Emperor, +2 Immortal and +3 Deity.

- Command AI to ALWAYS keep a spare Builder with a single charge in a city, when there are no Builders left. That way the builder will be used only when stuff needs reparing. (No more pillaged mines for two entire ages...)

- Program AI to highly deprioritise settling regions which are suffering high loyalty pressure from other nearby Civs. It's just dumb and inexcusable that the AI settles cities which start to lose loyalty the very turn they are settled.

 

[AntSou]

What's the explanation for this behaviour? It keeps trying to go further North rather than settle near its own territory.

 

[The googles do nothing]

Make leaders who in the real world were going for a domination victory always go for a domination victory in the game. Namely Alexander, Trajan, and Genghis Khan. They should be using Military Alliances to take out the leading civs.

What's the explanation for this behaviour? It keeps trying to go further North rather than settle near its own territory.

That looks like the AI is trying to prevent you from being able to take it's settler.

 

[AntSou]

That looks like the AI is trying to prevent you from being able to take it's settler.

No, we're not at war, and the settler was walking around freely and had plenty of time to settle.

Niter showed up there, so I'm confident that's why it went all the way there.