Odd AI Behavior
from 
GalCiv2 Forums
GalCiv2 Forums
I was testing for any odd behavior on the part of the AI with regards to sending colony ships to unexplored planets - which I failed to find. I tripped over a few other things, however, in the process.
1. I was playing with the Arceans on the map. The Arceans loooove their constructors. Seriously, you can hardly play a game with them without having them set up 'minefields' of starbases.
Just seems to be the way they play. But I noted one instance in which they had three constructors idling away, while one constructor set up a starbase elsewhere. While the starbase could only take one extra module (it was very early in the game), all three constructors immediately went to improve the starbase. It seems that the AI's procedure for upgrading starbases could use some refinement, at least in early-game where there's not a lot of upgrades for them.
2. What I was looking for was either blind sends of colony ships, or colony ships being sent on courses to take them straight to habitable planets they hadn't scouted yet. I didn't see any. I *did* see, however, the Terrans send out a freighter on a direct course for a minor civilization clear across the map. I don't know how they could have come into contact with these guys - I was shooting down every single ship in the game except colony ships (which I never saw), and their territory was some 5 sectors away. Their freighter, in fact, appeared to have been made especially to set up this route, with a range of 5.7 sectors, when the standard freighter design has 1.2 sectors. If I understand it correctly, the only way to come into contact with a civilization is to get its ships or planets in sensor range. If that's true, there's no way they could have contacted these guys - much less know right where their home planet is to set an exact course.
3. The AIs were all set on 'Bright'. Even so, they really need to put more emphasis on fielding fleets. They made a number of heavy fighters to try and shoot down my interdictor, but they kept coming at it one ship at a time. If they'd combined even two or three of their fighters into a small fleet, they might've been able to take me.
That's pretty much it. I think I'm going to go back to just playing the game at this point and stop hammering it with tests. Even if the game has a few quirks in its AI behavior and places it could be improved, it's still a ton of fun to play, and the AI is a lot smarter and more fair than any other game I can think of.
crickel
1. I was playing with the Arceans on the map. The Arceans loooove their constructors. Seriously, you can hardly play a game with them without having them set up 'minefields' of starbases.
Just seems to be the way they play. But I noted one instance in which they had three constructors idling away, while one constructor set up a starbase elsewhere. While the starbase could only take one extra module (it was very early in the game), all three constructors immediately went to improve the starbase. It seems that the AI's procedure for upgrading starbases could use some refinement, at least in early-game where there's not a lot of upgrades for them.2. What I was looking for was either blind sends of colony ships, or colony ships being sent on courses to take them straight to habitable planets they hadn't scouted yet. I didn't see any. I *did* see, however, the Terrans send out a freighter on a direct course for a minor civilization clear across the map. I don't know how they could have come into contact with these guys - I was shooting down every single ship in the game except colony ships (which I never saw), and their territory was some 5 sectors away. Their freighter, in fact, appeared to have been made especially to set up this route, with a range of 5.7 sectors, when the standard freighter design has 1.2 sectors. If I understand it correctly, the only way to come into contact with a civilization is to get its ships or planets in sensor range. If that's true, there's no way they could have contacted these guys - much less know right where their home planet is to set an exact course.
3. The AIs were all set on 'Bright'. Even so, they really need to put more emphasis on fielding fleets. They made a number of heavy fighters to try and shoot down my interdictor, but they kept coming at it one ship at a time. If they'd combined even two or three of their fighters into a small fleet, they might've been able to take me.
That's pretty much it. I think I'm going to go back to just playing the game at this point and stop hammering it with tests. Even if the game has a few quirks in its AI behavior and places it could be improved, it's still a ton of fun to play, and the AI is a lot smarter and more fair than any other game I can think of.
crickel
