Unusual behaviour

[tbontob]

I am in a new game and one of the player is exhibiting some unusual behaviour.

We have a T & R treaty.

The Last few turns his colony ships have been stopping over planets of mine. Usually, they are planets with the same atmosphere as his species.

They would stay a turn or two and then move on.

At first, I thought he must be on drugs.

Then I thought he must be a newbie player and couldn't distinguish a colonized planet from a uncolonized one.

But he isn't a newbie player. (EDIT: He has been around much longer than me.)

The only thing I could come up with is that his colony ships are fitted with minelayers. Ugggg!!!!

But some detective work has pretty much ruled that out.

And as far as I know, parking over a planet doesn't provide any intel when a treaty is in force.

So, do you guys have any ideas what he may be up to?

This is a real puzzle. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif

[ May 29, 2003, 23:12: Message edited by: tbontob ]

[Power Man]

Do your planets have resupply bases on them. I am always using my allies resupply bases. Maybe they are just stopping by for a little R&R.

[tbontob]

Originally posted by Power Man:
Do your planets have resupply bases on them. I am always using my allies resupply bases. Maybe they are just stopping by for a little R&R.<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">No they don't. But even if they did, I don't believe you can resupply on a T & R treaty.

[dogscoff]

A few possibilities, if it's definitely not mines:

-Launching cloaked satellites.
-Long range scanners to view any passing ships of yours.
-the colonisers are armed with planetary napalm, and he's waiting for the right moment to declare, glass and re-colonise.
-His ships are threatened by a mutual enemy, and he's hiding behind your planetary defences.

[primitive]

Or:
He is lazy and uses the colonization minister. Then you get all sorts of strange behavior http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

[tbontob]

Originally posted by dogscoff:
A few possibilities, if it's definitely not mines:

-Launching cloaked satellites.
-Long range scanners to view any passing ships of yours.
-the colonisers are armed with planetary napalm, and he's waiting for the right moment to declare, glass and re-colonise.
-His ships are threatened by a mutual enemy, and he's hiding behind your planetary defences.<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Thanks dogscoff for you input. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Detective work more or less eliminates cloaked satelites with or without long range scanners.

After a turn or two he moves away from the planet. Never used planetary napalm myself, but as far as I know it cannot be left in orbit (must be fired from the ship).

Threatened by a mutual enemy is a definite possiblity. Only problem is the mutual enemies are not around and his colony ships go out of their way to park on my planets where there are no colonizable planets at all. In doing so, he is wasting valuable time and resources (maintenance and loss of potential earning power). And why stay the extra turn?

Maybe he is on drugs. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

If so, he must be on a long trip as this has occurred over a number of turns.

[Fyron]

It is possible he is just trying to confuse the heck out of you, which seems to be working if that is his goal. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

[Narrew]

I like Fyrons thought.

At first I thought you were talking about me, then I took my anti-paranoid medicine and realized you were not *whew*.

Sounds like a neat idea though. Bagdad Bob is in control of his Colony Ships.

[Nodachi]

It could just be that he sent the ships before you colonised the worlds and doesn't realise you got them until he gets the unable to colonise message.

[Fyron]

Hey Nod, stop never signing on IRC or MSN. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif

[tbontob]

Originally posted by Imperator Fyron:
It is possible he is just trying to confuse the heck out of you, which seems to be working if that is his goal. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif <font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Fyron, that is a understatement! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

If that was his purpose, he certainly succeeded!

I am absolutely confused.

Or another variation on your thought, "Let's do something dumb to confuse him. Then he'll focus so much on it, he'll neglect to make the moves he should be making!" http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

EDIT: Nodachi, that is a possibility. Only thing is that I have colonized these planets for two years.

RE-EDIT Primitive missed your post. Yeh, maybe he is using the colonization minister. Haven't used them myself. But dumb as they are, wouldn't they know a colonized planet from an uncolonized one?

[ May 30, 2003, 01:34: Message edited by: tbontob ]

[PvK]

My first thought was either he or his colonization minister thought they were uncolonized at one point (for instance, when he didn't have a current view of your system), gave them movement orders, and then forgot about them. He didn't even notice for a turn or two until after they had been lounging there. This could happen if he had some colony ships sitting without orders, and then he missed a turn, so the AI took over, the colony minister looked at the mapped-but-unseen system and saw what looked like empty planets, and gave orders to his colony ships to go there, which he didn't even realize until a turn after they had been sitting there. That seems the most probable case.

PvK

[tbontob]

PvK, I hadn't thought of the colonization minister until you and Primitive brought it up.

It is probably is the most likely solution. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

I guess when it enters a system it doesn't realize all the planets are colonized. Then on the next turn, it tries to colonize one. Confused, it stays an extra turn (to colonize it again?), and then eventually moves on.

Arrrrggghhhh. Done in by the AI! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

EDIT: Or as you point out, maybe he isn't paying much attention to the game.

RE-Edit: Should have done this earlier...went into the game history and he hasn't missed any turns.

RE-REedit. Yeh, I know I was personifying the AI. It doesn't get confused etc. I was spoofing it...tongue in cheek. But as PvK points out, in following its programing, it can do some very odd things depending upon the circumstances.

[ May 30, 2003, 02:29: Message edited by: tbontob ]

[Slick]

I am not so sure it is the Colonization Minister. If that were true, we would see the AI do that (since it IS the colonization minister) but we don't.

I vote for either "sent the colonizer out before you colonized it" or "didn't check to see if there was a colony first" theory.

Slick.

[mac5732]

since you have a treaty, send him a message and point blank ask him, this serves a number of purposes, one he'll tell you the truth, or by his response, you'll be able to see or at least have a stronger understanding on how good your treaty with him is or how long it'll Last http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

just some ideas Mac

[Jack Simth]

Of course, if there is something nefarious up, and tbontob's opponent has been reading this thread, the opponent will simply claim one of the non-nefarious options that have been listed here, and there won't be any way to tell if it is the truth ... but that's just the paranoia talking.

[Narrew]

AND, if that player is reading this, and he DID indeed do it just to mees with your mind, he might not be able to type for a while cause he is laughing to hard *shrug* http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

[tbontob]

Hey guys this is serious!

The fate of my empire hangs in the balance.

The lives of 6 billion lives are at stake.

ROFLOL http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

I wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't reading this. And laughing so hard that he can't type. And busily thinking up the next thing he can do to mess with my mind.

http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

[Fyron]

Note to self: always do things to confound Tbontob whenever meeting him in a PBW game.

[tbontob]

LOL

Yes, but you would have to harm your empire in the process. He's got about 5 or 6 of these colonizers running about doing these things. And I am quietly expanding my empire.

The behaviour was so bizarre that I just couldn't make any sense of it. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

[Jack Simth]

tbontob:

Shh! Fyron might read that, and then he won't be spending his resources trying to confound you! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

[ May 30, 2003, 08:39: Message edited by: Jack Simth ]

[Fyron]

You think a few colony ships are going to slow me down much? They might on turn 10, but not on turn 50. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

[Wanderer]

Originally posted by Slick:
I am not so sure it is the Colonization Minister. If that were true, we would see the AI do that (since it IS the colonization minister) but we don't.<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">The AI is doing it in my current solo game. The Klingons opened a warp point half-way across the map and sent 20-odd colonisers into Norak space. A couple of them found they'd been aimed at empty planets and set up colonies, but the majority sat over Norak planets for a turn or two before moving on.

I was watching all of this through my spy satellite network http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

[PvK]

Hehe, ya. It just depends on whether the AI can (not) see, yet have maps of, certain systems, or not.

Of course, a human player can easily do exactly the same thing. Especially if they use the planets list to find supposedly empty planets, or the button that automatically does exactly that.

PvK

[tbontob]

FLASH! BULLETIN!

Tbontob took the advice of Mac and contacted this nefarious doer of such evil deeds.

While biting his nails to the quick (and starting on his toenails), tbontob anxiously awaited the reply of this demon who was prepared to inflict harm, injury and other outrages to the innocent tbontob.

He apologized! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif Then he said he sent the colony ships and then just forgot about them. Then he said.... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif

Tbontob collapses.

NEWS! FLASH!

Tbontob has gone into therapy for his paranoia. The prognosis is not good! It will be years before will recover sufficiently to fuction again as a human being.

Noticing that tbontob calms down in the presence of a computer, the assylum have given him a computer with a connection to the internet.

[oleg]

Long time ago somebody posted a very funny picture, with an ants-like line of Phong' colony ships going through an asteroid bell system from one warp point to another. Does anybody still have it (or at least remmember http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif ) ?

[Roanon]

Originally posted by tbontob:
NEWS! FLASH!

Tbontob has gone into therapy for his paranoia.<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">A PBW player WITHOUT paranoia? Wow this will make an easy opponent http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif

[Jack Simth]

Technically, I suppose it isn't paranoia - paranoia is an unreasonable fear that everyone's out to get you. As you are specifically playing against people, it's reasonable to assume that they are out to get you.

[Jack Simth]

Originally posted by Roanon:
A PBW player WITHOUT paranoia? Wow this will make an easy opponent http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif <font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">He said he's in therapy for his paranoia, he didn't say he doesn't have paranoia. This would actually imply that he is highly paranoid. You have been warned http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

[tbontob]

Originally posted by Jack Simth:
</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by Roanon:
A PBW player WITHOUT paranoia? Wow this will make an easy opponent http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif <font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">He said he's in therapy for his paranoia, he didn't say he doesn't have paranoia. This would actually imply that he is highly paranoid. You have been warned http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Yeh! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Otherwise why would I think that innocent, defenseless colony ships are so dangerous? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

And then go on to the net thinking that all this is normal?

ROFLOL http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif