"How dumb is your AI?" Heck, How DUMB R U!

[Tenryu]

1. The AI has DUC I, I have DUC III, I have range, I even can move one square more, I forget to move.

2. I have CSM 2, The AI has CSM 1, we have the same movement, I forget to move.

I want to CRY!!!

[Sinapus]

Well, I've had ships break formation and close in to point-blank range due to me clicking the wrong square in tactical.

(Then there's a few other errors on strategic level that leaves me wondering if I can spend counter-intel points to protect against *my* order snafus...)

[Tenryu]

Heck, we're either drinkin' not enough or too much!
I'll try not enough first!
LOL!

[dreamplace]

[PBW] game, Praxis real story:
2408.7
I was so happy that I could build a "close wrap point" ship just on time and the emery fleet was just 1 system away.

2408.8
I moved that ship to the choke wrap point (on my side) which will linked to all my systems. I saw the emery fleet was approaching to that wrap point and only 1 sector away at the day 30.
I ordered my "close wrap point" ship to close that wrap point and think everything will be okay.

My plan is, my "open wrap point" ship was coming this way, when it join my fleet then it will open a wrap point to the emery's home systems and it's pay back time.

2408.9
huge emery fleet (over 50 battle crusiers)got inside my systems destory all my ships which parked at the same sector of the wrap point.

How dumb I was:
I forgot to decloak the "close wrap point" ship before it can execute that command!
I can't stop that fleet anymore and hopeless
ARrrrr...... what a big mistake!

I strongly ask MM to show a reminder that when player try to order a cloaked staller maniplateion ship to do something, it need to be decloak first or it will fail.

Remember this sad story, everyone.

[Q]

Originally posted by dreamplace:
I strongly ask MM to show a reminder that when player try to order a cloaked staller maniplateion ship to do something, it need to be decloak first or it will fail.<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Or even better make this an automatic procedure as for the minesweepers: When you give an order that can't be executed while cloaked, the ship moves first to the sector where the action should be made, then decloaks and executes the order and then cloaks again.

[Nodachi]

One time I built a large fleet of the same ship just to go after an enemy several systems away. About halfway there my fleet stopped and wouldn't move any farther. I was livid! I called the game everything in the book, it had to be a bug! I got to looking a little closer and realised that the fleet was out of supplies, I had forgotten to put a quantum reactor on my design! Needless to say I'm a moron!

Nodachi

[Taz-in-Space]

Nodachi, I have done similar things. I once ran a small fleet out of supplies in a black hole system! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif

Edit: spelled two words wrong in this small post!

[ June 02, 2002, 16:13: Message edited by: Taz-in-Space ]

[Nodachi]

I once ran a small fleet out of supplies in a black hole system! <font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Ouch!
There are some things I'm sure we've all done; Forgetting to change research areas, Forgetting to cloak or uncloak a ship, Forgetting to turn off repeat build (I'm bad for this one! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/rolleyes.gif ), ect.

Nodachi

[Gryphin]

In the game I'm playing now I put shield skipping weapons on a Boarding Ship. It took me 3 times to figure out why the ships they captured were in ruins.

I had not learned anything about drones. I figured they were just simple missiles. Then I lost 3 BattleCruisers to 3 drones and could not figure it. Run Combat Replay. Look at makeup. oops. 300 shields and 600 hit points. Ouch.
"We live and learn or we crash and burn"
I just feel for the crews of those ships and their loved ones.

Let us not forget the "One O'clock in the morning mistake", Colonizing a planet with no people. come on you vetrans, admit to it. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon6.gif

[ June 02, 2002, 17:14: Message edited by: The High Gryphin ]

[Spoo]

How about choosing "surrender" instead of "demand surrender"...

[Gryphin]

um Spoo, what time of the morning was it and how long had you been playing? I feel the time of morning is my worst enemy. That and my sweethearts siren song.

[capnq]

I'll admit to designing a heavily-armed warship, and not noticing until the first one was built that I'd neglected to put any engines on the design.

[Gandalph]

Originally posted by capnq:
I'll admit to designing a heavily-armed warship, and not noticing until the first one was built that I'd neglected to put any engines on the design.<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Done this one a couple of times with entire fleets being built. What a pain to retrofit each one as it comes off the assembly line, wait for it to get repaired, then try to remember where they were all built!

[Gryphin]

Gandalph , capnq :
ditto,
Pain in the **** and expensive when you emerganciy build them as 2 hostil fleets converge on you. It was not pretty.

[Deathstalker]

1) Forgetting that using boarding parties drops your shields!

2) Three-way battle with a colonizer, the colonizer 'runs' from them toward me. I close the distance getting ready to board. He rams me full tilt. Oh by the way, I wrote the AI for this race to do that! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/rolleyes.gif

[Tenryu]

Idiots! Unite!

Sometimes think we should contact MM about idiot proofing this game.

Things such as:

*****When you design a ship with no engines, you get a message like;

1. " YO! Dumbass! You didn't really want to design a ship with NO engines did you?"

*****Or, you are in combat, you shoot at the enemy, you can still move, so can he(it?), and will, but you hit end turn. How about giving us a chance to confirm;

2. "Knock, knock! Ah, anyone home , STUPID? Just thought I'd ask, 'cause if you don't move that ship, the A.I.'s,(Artificial Idiot as opposed to H.I., Human Idiot), is going to kick your bootie!"

*****You issue ships orders they can not complete. How about this message?:

3. "Ohhh Yeah! Sure! Right! Tell you what dummy. You don't issue commands I can't do, and I won't go try and do them. Do we have a deal, stupid? Please say yes."

Yup. We need a more user friendly program.
http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

[zen.]

I think the consequences of my mistakes are bad enough. Additional abuse like that would make me cry. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif

zen

[capnq]

As long as you can turn off the confirmations in options, like the ones that are already implemented. I wish I could do that in Windows.

[Gryphin]

Maybe it would be possible to Mod our own “Idiot” files?
I would love to read a collection of those.

Cap'n Q, "like the ones in windows". You mean "OK" when it is not ok.

[henk brouwer]

I've posted this one before, but it's worth posting again:

I was playing against the AI, (high difficulty and bonus) and after a couple of difficult fights, I was clearly winning the game. (first position, not finding any resistance) So I thought: "lets make this game more interesting"

So I offered the weakest AI player a trade it couldn't refuse: I was willing to trade my whole empire (ships planets everything) in exchange for two random planets. The Idea was to rebuild my empire from those two worlds.

The AI send a message back: " Sure we accept, you get these two worlds (AI specified two worlds) we get your empire" I accept, and am horified when I discover that the two worlds the AI traded me contained no population, (plagued) And thus, with no population, and no production, I had lost the game. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif

(needless to say I also made the mistake of not saving the game, so there was no way back either)

If this doesn't win me the "most stupid SE4 player award" than I give up..

[TerranC]

Simple:

After an important turn:

RCE strikes.

trys to revert back when I find out I haven't set an Autosave setting.

http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif Needless to say, my sphearworld will never be finished.

[Skulky]

I always set autosave to every 2 turns or every one for that very reason. also, slightly OT, wouldn't it be nice to get a save in the middle of your turn for PBW games? or the ability to open .plr files and continue them. Cuase when you have to commit 30-45 mins at a stretch in the final levels or when you're starting a replacement i wish i could break it up, or at least pause it so i can go to do some more work without minimizing and letting windows crash again.

[capnq]

Cap'n Q, "like the ones in windows". You mean "OK" when it is not ok <font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">No, I mean the "Do you really want to do that?" ones, specifically the "Do you really want to delete these files?" I really doubt I'm ever going to accidentally hold down the shift key while clicking the mouse.

[Wardad]

Thanks y'all. I feel better about myself already http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif
----------------------------------------------
Oh yea! Not all Dumbs are blonde!

[Saluki]

Cap'n Q: Right click on your Recycle Bin icon on your desktop. Select "Properties". Uncheck the "Display delete confirmation dialog box".

[Ed Kolis]

Originally posted by Deathstalker:
1) Forgetting that using boarding parties drops your shields!
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">It DOES???

[Gryphin]

I'm so dumb I started a banter war with GrowlTigga.

Back on topic:
I built 3 Space Yard Bases
Eventualy Mothballed them
Recycled the Planetary Ship Yard
Later I found I could not un mothball them.
Had to send a Space Yard Ship to that planet.
ooopsss, That cost me 8 months of production and almost cost me the war. Against AI that is embarrasing. I'm just glad no one saw me do it.

[capnq]

Saluki: Thanks. It never occurred to me to check the Recycle Bin's Properties.

Unfortunately, that only turned off one of the three cases that ask for confirmation.

[Gorgo]

I just launched a big attack to conquer an enemy planet. I was sure to have enough minesweepers with me, but out of stupidity I had built minelayer components on most of them.
I lost 10 ships, most others were crippled. My only luck was, I could still conquer the planet, and it had a space yard on it. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif My enemy now either thinks I'm a complete idiot, or that I have mined his territory big time. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif

Gorgo

[Tenryu]

Heck, one dumb bugger I know recently sent a SY ship to a warp point to lay some mines, but after the ship arrived at the WP the dumb prick changed his mind and decided to make a few sats first.

Sure woulda' been smart to put a sat launcher on the Ship yard ship, yup, that woulda' been real handy.

Never saw the AI do anything that dumb.
LOL!