These 3 Changes to help 1UPT/Combat AI

[spfun]

1) A new Cheat for the AI, The slingshot. When an AI unit is next to another of its own units it can move across a unit free of charge no matter the terrain/movement cost of the destination, its uses the turn to do so unless it can move to the tile without it.

2) If a ranged unit has anything in range IT MUST ATTACK!

3) If a melee unit can attack in its turn with minor defeat or better IT MUST ATTACK! If its major defeat+ it reverts to flavours/RNG and probably just moves further to pillage etc...

2, 3 includes cities, Hopefully this eliminates 'shufflitis' that completely ruins the AI's chances and makes barbarians better than AI civs. Also with the slingshot it should be able to surround a city easier in hilly terrain with superior numbers and reach its target easier in difficult terrain. Ships need some tweaks as well, they need to be able to move in at least small groups and actually attack within there movement range to be competitive. Barbarians need to be able to take down cities if left alone for long enough, currently they for the most part leave cities alone which makes me think they're bugged in certain circumstances.

These changes would circumvent the AI's current ability to surround a city to an extent but would be more dangerous and fun.

I don't know how difficult this would be to implement, but even suicidal AI of Civ 5 vanilla is better than this stupid as hell shuffling AI we have currently and something major needs to be done to make this game fun.

 

[Stringer1313]

I agree with the direction of these changes. Rather than limiting AI bonuses to +X production or whatever, I think more rules like these need to be changed only for the AI. The AI is not a human and is designed to present a challenge, not act exactly like a human. I think we should dispense with the fiction that they are equals.

 

[Lord Gruin]

Barbarians need to be able to take down cities if left alone for long enough, currently they for the most part leave cities alone which makes me think they're bugged in certain circumstances.

I fully agree with this. I tested the theory by having only one city with no military units. The barbs came to my city with three units, sat there for a couple turns, then left. One of the units was a slinger, so it could have attacked with no retaliation.

 

[Eliminator_Sr]

Yeah they need to create some simple procedural rules for aggression and IMO nerf city walls or at least require that you build them for defense and not get them automatically. I'm not sure about the slingshot thing as that might be overkill but at least have bombards and ranged units planted and firing away and some mechanism for forcing the AI to attack cities when they have a superior local force. If units in X radius > player units in X radius then move to city and attack with some some tolerance for casualties. They could build in some kind of retreat/pillage mode if initial attack force goes below a certain threshold.

 

[NukeAJS]

I fully agree with this. I tested the theory by having only one city with no military units. The barbs came to my city with three units, sat there for a couple turns, then left. One of the units was a slinger, so it could have attacked with no retaliation.

Barbarians rarely attack cities. In fact, I've only noticed them doing it on two occasions: 1) You have a unit inside the city; 2) They're attacking with a naval unit.

 

[RealAntithesis]

I don't agree with the slingshot suggestion. Seeing the AI do things you can't possibly do as a human completely ruins immersion, and hence fun.

The combat changes I think are at least partially alleviated with the AI+ mod. Re: the must attack rule, humans won't attack all the time either - sometimes healing (perhaps letting your other units attack instead) or staying on a fortified defense is the better tactical decision (depending on the situation of course).