"Worker" AI very dissapointing in Civ II

[greg_boz]

I'm running a 700mhzPIII, which unfortunately doesn't allow me to play CIV3 to completion because the gameplay just gets too slow towards the end, so I thought I'd give CivII a try.

For the most part I've been really enjoying it, but there's one problem I'm having that is making gameplay very difficult. For whatever reason I can't get my workers (Settlers or Engineers) to build railroads while automated!(yes I have coal and steampower->railroad) They are also confused half the time, and don't make the correct terrain changes, and won't walk across 'un-occupied' squares to move toward another city in order to build.

In Civ3, the worker AI was excellent...in that after about 20 or 30 rounds of having 'coal' + 'steampower', every terrain square was irrigated, and had a railroad track on it. The Civ2 workers are just short of clueless, they are good at joining adjacent cities with roads, but that's about all.

I like to play big scenarios, with approx 50 to 100 cities, but it's just too tedious without some kind of worker automation. Again, CIV3 is great in this...and CIV2 is terrible. I've spent several hours scouring google for any kind of information regarding an "AI patch" for CIV2, or any kind of update that fixes this problem, but so far I havn't found anything.

So, does anyone know a way to improve or modify the ghastly 'worker' AI in Civ2 so that they immitate the excellent 'worker' behavior in Civ3?

 

[la fayette]

Originally posted by greg_boz
I like to play big scenarios

does anyone know a way to improve or modify the ghastly 'worker' AI in Civ2 so that they immitate the excellent 'worker' behavior in Civ3?

1) I also love playing scenarios and that is the main reason why I go on playing civ2, even if I don't dislike civ3.

2) No, I don't think anyone has found a way to improve the behaviour of automated settlers.

I think that micromanaging settlers/engineers is one the great pleasures of experienced civ2 players

 

[The Person]

Oh, the fabulous settler AI! If you want complete control of your civ, order the settler yourself. This holds true for Civ3, too.

 

[Titi]

In addition, I've never seen any automated settler irrigate a hill to gain access to water on an adjacent square.

 

[Titi]

How can we bring water to the North-East of Rome ? Simple, via the hill!

 

[Mercator]

That's because it doesn't need to!

The automated settler can cheat just like the AI does. If you'd put the settler on that unreachable plain and automate it, there's a fair chance it'll irrigate it (even without the Ocean access).

 

[funxus]

Titi, the reason settlers/engineers don't irrigate hills to gain access to water is because when they are automated, they can irrigate without access, just like the AI. In the war academy you can find info about this trick.

 

[ElephantU]

Seems kind of dumb to irrigate that hill to get to the plains next to the city. Start with the Buffalo, then the shielded grass next to it (or vice versa, depending on whether you are in Despotism or in need of shields), then chop the trees down between the Buffalo and the plains next to the city.

 

[Titi]

Agreed, in that case you may start from the buffalo. But that's not always possible.
Funxus, now that rings a bell!

 

[dylandlr]

An automated settler can cheat/irrigate like the AI? arrrgggggggghhh NO!!! After ten years of micromanaging I learn this!

Thousands of hours of circuitous irrigations through buffalos and hills later.......

 

[scloopy]

Originally posted by funxus
Titi, the reason settlers/engineers don't irrigate hills to gain access to water is because when they are automated, they can irrigate without access, just like the AI. In the war academy you can find info about this trick.

If I am understanding correctly, if I automate my settler he cheats. That being the case, why did everyone tell me not to automate my settlers because they would not get things done correctly. Of course cheating is not doing things correctly, I suppose.

 

[Ace]

Its not that the automated settler "cheats", but he usually does not do what you want. The cheat is that an auto settler and/or engineer can irrigate a hex that is not next to water. It does not always work, but its usually worth a try. However, if there are already roads in that hex, when you automate the settler he may just move off and start roading somewhere else.

Note: if you have a lot of settlers and you automate one to test this, be sure to note what city the settler is supported by. This is especially important if you already have railroads. I remember one game where I "lost" an automated settler for several turns. I have over 75 cities and 100 engineers. There was a pretty grassland square surrounded by trees and mtns, so I tried the auto thing. My engineer jumped on the nearest railroad and disappeared! Good Luck.

 

[scloopy]

I have a game started in a lousy location. I am going to test and see what happens.

 

[TimTheEnchanter]

Originally posted by Ace
Its not that the automated settler "cheats", but he usually does not do what you want.

Exactly. Look at what the AI does...
irrigation on grassland without shields when sheilds are available. Irriagation with no roads and roads with no irrigation, and my personal favorite - irrigating trade specials like silk/gems/spice to grassland

 

[scloopy]

I automated one of the settlers and instead of building a road where it was needed he irrigated a special square. Never will I automate a settler again.

 

[Ace]

Don't give up on the auto settler completely. Althrough most of the time it is a bad idea, occasionally, you will find the right spot to try it. The only worthwhile use for the auto settler is to try to irrigate a hex that has no water source. ( And sometimes it actually works, but if it does not, click on the settler immediately to return it to manual...) That is the only reason to try auto....and only for the turns it takes to get that hex irrigated. Once that job is done, put the settler back in manual control. That way you can make the best use of its efforts.

 

[Chieftess]

Originally posted by dylandlr
An automated settler can cheat/irrigate like the AI? arrrgggggggghhh NO!!! After ten years of micromanaging I learn this!

Thousands of hours of circuitous irrigations through buffalos and hills later.......

That's one of the first things I've noticed when I played Civ2. Then again, I used to automate my settlers...

 

[maveric69]

I know this is a stupid question, but im new to the game, I cant figure out how to automate my workers. How is this done?

 

[funxus]

Welcome to CFC, Maveric69.

You'll find that option in the Orders' menu, when a settler or engineer is active. I think the hot-key is 'k', but am not sure.