What do you think the ai is good at.

[marshalljames]

Okay so we all know what the computer is no good at.What do you think it's good at.
I personally find the AI is good at throwing you off your game by some incident or incidents.Like when your building structure ie 90%towns making buildings the AI shows up with their enire Navy just of your rich coastline or the least defended place you have.
Which leads to the 2nd thing it's real good at knowing where you are weakest.



The AI knows exactly what your doing,how many units you have and where they are.Where do you think the I comes from.The computer cannot cheat.

 

[BillChin]

The AI is excellent at settling an open map. Far more efficient than most human players. It keeps track of pop rushing and optimizes when to build settlers. The AI is good at selecting locations for cities. The cities are nicely spaced and resources always show up (even if they are not visible yet ).

 

[Richard III]

Originally posted by BillChin
The AI is excellent at settling an open map. Far more efficient than most human players. It keeps track of pop rushing and optimizes when to build settlers. The AI is good at selecting locations for cities. The cities are nicely spaced and resources always show up (even if they are not visible yet ).

Whatever else it's good at, this is the decisive thing - it's ability to rapidly build a robust civ, if not a culturally sound one. And - while some see this as a disadvantage, I have found that it can sometimes be good at concentration of force for a decisive battle. If you can plan ahead for a war, you have the advanatage, but if the AI attacks at the wrong moment and you are caught off guard and let a tech-gifted AI have the initiative, the imbalance that the arrowhead tactics the AI uses can be devastating.

I had to radically change my gameplay from the Civ2 approach after two games: normally I would disband large numbers of obsolete units rather than spending the cash to upgrade them - and I would disband in one or two "military production cities" to keep barracks costs down. No longer. In two different games, when I wasn't paying attention to my overall unit totals, the AI was - and it struck. Eventually, the surge was just too much, and in both cases, the AI breakthrough hit exactly the right points, and worse, it EXPLOITED its breakthrough even more effectively.

 

[Grey Knight]

Originally posted by Richard III

In two different games, when I wasn't paying attention to my overall unit totals, the AI was - and it struck. Eventually, the surge was just too much, and in both cases, the AI breakthrough hit exactly the right points, and worse, it EXPLOITED its breakthrough even more effectively.

Upgrades are the cheapest source of shields you can think of, not to mention the benifit of having two different "production lines" to generate units -- normal new-unit production, and "upgrades". I always build horsemen, even if I have no real use at the time so I can later upgrade them to field a large force of the latest technology (be it knights or cavalry)

Cheers,
Shawn

 

[chiefpaco]

The AI seems to do pretty well in building their cities up in peacetime. This makes them comptetitive when you're trying to out-culture or out-research them. I think the AI is most dangerous when everyone's at peace. I agree with the military strike & expansion too.

 

[Black Fluffy Lion]

The AI is excellent at expanding, especially early on. I have also found that it is good at building a large military force, although not always at using it.

 

[romelus]

the ai is good at... PATIENCE!

it could spend 5 minutes moving each and every one of its 50 frigates and relentlessly bombard each and every one of your coastal squares, i would never have that kind of patience.

so i took out bombard for frigates and ironclads

 

[Zouave]

Originally posted by romelus
the ai is good at... PATIENCE!

it could spend 5 minutes moving each and every one of its 50 frigates and relentlessly bombard each and every one of your coastal squares, i would never have that kind of patience.

so i took out bombard for frigates and ironclads

Perfect!

Frigates. MOW, and ironclads should never bombard anyway - not enough punch, historically. I also changed the rate of fire of bombard units to 'one' while increasing (when applicable) bombard strength. IT IS FAR TOO TEDIOUS to have repeated bombardment attacks by the same unit in the same turn.

 

[Cunobelin Of Hippo]

More relevant advice in the appropriate location, eh Zouave? How's another week sound?

 

[Zouave]

Originally posted by Cunobelin Of Hippo
More relevant advice in the appropriate location, eh Zouave? How's another week sound?

Huh?? Sounded relevant to me.

 

[Cunobelin Of Hippo]

This thread is entitled "What do you think the AI is good at?" if I'm not mistaken. Normally, someone stepping off-topic to deliver some editing advice is fine by us, however, given your ample reputation on the issue of threadjacking I felt a warning was in order.

 

[Zouave]

OK, understood. No problema!!

I was just REPLYING to someone, anyway.

 

[Matrix]

The AI is good at guessing where your units are located.

Like during GOTM IV, when I wanted to use the English Man-O-War, but I was always the one who was attacked by other frigates, even when they couldn't possibly know I had a Man-O-War there.

(Sorry for breaking the intention of not whining for once. )

 

[Arenar]

The AI is good at doing whatever you wish it wouldn't be doing at the wrong time for you.

 

[DrJambo]

heehehe good point Arenar..

The AI is good at pop-rushing under Communism to such an extent that all its cities end up size one entertainers

 

[KindLE]

Cheating... The AI is really really good at cheating. I marvel at how it is able to bend the rules in such a way that is not possible for the player. Other than that, I think someone already said this, but the AI is great at declaring war randomly, irrationally, and whimsically. AND always when it hampers YOUR plans.

 

[Lt. 'Killer' M.]

Originally posted by Matrix
The AI is good at guessing where your units are located.

Like during GOTM IV, when I wanted to use the English Man-O-War, but I was always the one who was attacked by other frigates, even when they couldn't possibly know I had a Man-O-War there.

(Sorry for breaking the intention of not whining for once. )

Matrix, that`s NOT a whine, that`s reporting reality!

If you really want to have fun, play an entire game with the see-map cheat. Tehn you`ll see what it is: the AI know and sees all, but is programed to hide that fact!

 

[sealman]

The best thing that the AI is good at is pissing me off.

 

[Mapache]

The A.I. knows how to develop the Tundra.

 

[gzollinger]

Unit Movement

The Computer does an excellent job of moving his troops. I often find myself wasting moves because I make the wrong decision of where to send my unit. This costs me valuable explore time looking for resource huts because I'm not exposing as much map as I could if I was more careful. It also costs me units during war. I learn alot from watching the computer send troops at me. I never remember to go around rivers instead of attacking over them, for example. I usually remember after I have thrown a bunch of units at the city, and I am complaining to myself that my forces should have killed that rifleman guarding that city. My units are mostly dead when I realize that I am attacking a size 7 city on a hill across a river. I always end up think it through after the fact, the computer on the other hand never makes that mistake. He also never forgets to move his rifleman through your mountain range on his way to plunder your iron resource.