"AI Balance" mod idea - feedback appreciated !

[MStavros]

Hm...I wonder..what if someone makes a mod without LI?

Than the AI wont be able to build weak armies!

[Tuna-Fish]

MStavros: try playing a map with some (like 5 for every player, starting under indie control) preset good (fortified city) castles. You'll be suprised how much better the ai handles it's recruiting when it has some extra castles lying around.

Alternatively, try Orania Nasty Edition, made by Peter Ebbesen (I think). If OraniaNE isn't enough, ally all the computers in it together...

[PDF]

Originally posted by MStavros:
Hm...I wonder..what if someone makes a mod without LI?

Than the AI wont be able to build weak armies!

Great idea ! I'd incorporate that in my mod
At least I'd fire all the "totally useless" Light units (Cardaces, Slingers, Velites, Archer Lt Cav...), but keep the better ones (Peltasts, Archers obviously).
It won't prevent the AI from building Indy militia though...

And indeed Nasty Orania, and some other maps, are a real challenge. But what I want is to have a "better" AI independently of any map.

Lastly I'd add 2 features
- Increase the starting armies so that AI nations will have a usable force right from the start (let's say some 50 units, with HI, missile, and some cav if possible)
- Give all nations an extra Astral site (2 gems or so) and maybe a Gold or Resource site. As I don't think a province can have more than 4 sites adding 2 won't be doable for all nations, but 1 should be ok. Drawback is that a player will get that stuff if he invades the province... No self-destruction flag exists !

[Pocus]

2 comments:

Some starting nations have already 4 sites (Mictlan).

The cost of all light units should be lowered (from 20 to 40%) IMO, as the AI also like to build tons of independant crappy units. Also as we know that few players if any build light troops, then it would be better to fix the situation as a whole.

[Pocus]

alternatively light units should get a boost in defence... (taken from the thread speaking of LI and terrain)

[Tris]

Wouldn't the ideal AI feel like playing against a human? I know that the guys who write GalCiv upload game files from players, and adapt the AI to play more like the best players.

Perhaps an idea for Dom3, but still a nice one. You could adjust it's tendancy to build fortresses, what preference it had for fortress provinces, what spells it targetted for research based on nation/pretender - lots of things.

[Pocus]

mmmh, can we keep focused on what the players can do, without waiting for the devs, in improving the AI? A perfect AI ok, but in 2071 it will be a bit late.

So back to topic, I would goes as far as propose as the boosted AI dont consider resources as a limitation: all units cost only one resource, the limitation deriving from his gold income, and thats it. This way, the capitol would be enough to churns out tons of units, *if gold is here*. As I'm pretty confident the AI is not cute enough to understand that a light infantry (10 gold 1 res) is even more crappier in the new system compared to a HI (10 gold, 1 res), you can be sure we will still see plenty of light national units, threading with the usual hords of recruited independants.