Explanation of AI State??

[Baron Munchausen]

Originally posted by cybersol:
Does anyone know what specifically causes the AI to switch from exploration to infrastructure?

And how is incursion different from attack?

Exactly why it switches states is not very clear.

Incursion seems to mean 'attacked by someone else' while Attack means 'attack someone else'. So, I think the 'secure holdings after incursion state' is repair of your empire after it's been attacked. A useful state. But it might also be triggered after you've conquered a new system. The AI 'advances' by claiming a system and then attacking the 'foreign' presence there, remember.

[cybersol]

Originally posted by oleg:
JLC posted a good explanation about AI states some time ago, but I can not find his post

May be if he reads this, he will post it again.

You mean JLS, right? Hopefully he will post here, but if not I will ask in the AIC thread.

Originally posted by Baron Munchausen:
Exactly why it switches states is not very clear.

Incursion seems to mean 'attacked by someone else' while Attack means 'attack someone else'. So, I think the 'secure holdings after incursion state' is repair of your empire after it's been attacked. A useful state. But it might also be triggered after you've conquered a new system. The AI 'advances' by claiming a system and then attacking the 'foreign' presence there, remember.

So at some point your race switches from exploration to infrastructure without ever encountering another race? Does infrastructure ever occur after first contact?

Also, I see an "Incursion" state, but not a "secure holdings after incursion". If incursion is when someone else attacks, then the question becomes how is it different from defend (short term)?

[ June 05, 2003, 06:26: Message edited by: cybersol ]

[Baron Munchausen]

Well, I've seen 'Secure Holdings After Attack' and 'Incursion' used together so much that I've run them together in my mind. I guess they are seperate states but it's hard to know which is which. One is probably the 'victim' state and one the 'aggressor' state. So it's probably smart to keep them together like they are currently used.

[ June 04, 2003, 21:57: Message edited by: Baron Munchausen ]

[cybersol]

Thanks for all your help Baron. The reason I keep wondering is that not many of the different AI authors seem to use the same groupings in construction_vehicles. It would seem that if the states where really well understood the groupings would be more consistent. For example,

Rollo: Exploration, Infrastructure, Defend (Short Term) are all together or Exploration is separate and just Infrastructure and Defend (Short Term) are together.

MB: Exploration and Infrastructure are each alone and everything that says defense is together.

Atraikius: Exploration is alone, Infrastructure is grouped with the Prepare and Secure states, and Defense (short term) is with Defense (long term) and Incursion.

Others, such as Mephisto have everything together except Exploration and Not Connected.

It seems that if everyone had an equal understanding, then the categories would be more consistent. Some would provide more detail and flesh out more different categories, but when grouping they would group the same way.

[Mephisto]

There was once a chat with Aaron about all this but unfortunately the thread has gone in the Last month or so.
Exploration is the state until the AI meets another race. Then it will nearly never return to it IIRC (it will return to it for example if you cut all warp points between the AI and all other races).
In the end it is very hard to predict to what state the AI will switch. Because of this I put all the build queues in only 3 categories.
One is “Not connected” and it is obvious that you need to build and research in quite a different way when you are locked in one system.
The “exploration” phase is important because it will be the first state the AI is in. Don’t overload this state with build orders as it can strip the AI off all resources due to maintenance and no building will be finished.
I put all the rest in one state because the AI has no real concept of attack and defense. So it is of no use if you build more defense units or attack units, the AI will need both. It was planned that the AI would build up for an attack but as it seems it never really worked.

[JLS]

Originally posted by cybersol:
Hello, JLS. You seem to have learned a lot about the AI state switching. Could you look over this thread?

Thanks for the invite, cybersol

Does anyone know what specifically causes the AI to switch from exploration to infrastructure?

This has been discussed on AI Campaigns thread.

> AIC Thread <

----

And how is incursion different from attack?

The AI Incursion State ; is not a full Attack, but merely an attempted Incursion by the AI into its enemy territory to destroy ships, SATs and or Capture colonies.

The AI attack Phases.
First, the AI needs a nearby enemy system that is ripe for takeover and then the AI's plan is two fold, it will plan and maneuver for the attack. Then Attack (Only IF IT CAN)

1: AI Prepare to Attack state.
The AI will prepare a fleet or Fleets if (CAPTURE PLANET is the fleet order of the day) and get ready for an attack on that system.
Note: This is why you sometime see fleets just stationed outside its enemies target Planet. Or some obscure warp point.

2: AI Attack State.
This is when the AI analyzes whether the Attack is a valid attack or not.
If it is a valid attack still, then it is simple; the AI attacks an enemy system with the intentions to conquer it.

[ June 06, 2003, 06:58: Message edited by: JLS ]

[JLS]

Originally posted by cybersol:
So at some point your race switches from exploration to infrastructure without ever encountering another race? Does infrastructure ever occur after first contact?

Yes;~ Cybersol. First Contact usually triggers the AI’s Infrastructure state if that contact is near its/there Claimed territory.

The AI Infrastructure state is where the AI builds up its planets and concentrate on defending its systems.

Also, I see an "Incursion" state, but not a "secure holdings after incursion". If incursion is when someone else attacks, then the question becomes how is it different from defend (short term)?

The answer to this, is MOD related, and I can only answer in terms of the way I set up AI Campaigns files.
Please post the question on the AIC thread; in the mean time, I will think the answer to your question thru

[ June 06, 2003, 01:19: Message edited by: JLS ]