Improvement/tech mods and the AI

I'm well into a sizeable mod for GC2 and play-testing has shown some problems with the Ai with regards to extensive improvement/tech changes.

Firstly the AI doesn't seem to evaluate different output. That is, it's happy with one upgradeable type of building, but not multiple options. For example, if a modded starport puts out industry which is less than a pure industrial building, it'll merrily drop starports on industry bonuses. The same is true for most output with related bonus tiles - if the AI is presented with improvemenst with different values, regardless of whether one is clearly better than another, it seems to randomly decide which to stick on a bonus tile. The only fix I've come up with is to try to keep the number of improvements of particular types to a minimum. So one moprale building, one industry building, one research building etc. Sound familiar?

The AI value for improvements doesn't seem to have much impact on this either.

This limits the value/fun of having different improvements along different tech paths. The AI isn't flexible and is used to the standard layout of the original game.

Further, the AI seems to ignore building Super Projects and Trade Goods that don't have an internal name they recognise from the original game. Not consistently - sometimes they might build one or two "new" types early in the game, but in fact they very quickly give up on this and nearly all social building once militarisation occurs. As a consequence the AI's infrastructure just can't keep up with the players. They're still relying on those core industry and research buildings for production weight, and economy, morale, population and influence all suffer as a consequence. They miss out on all the other benefits associated with other improvements. Again, this may be an issue of not "recognising" modded improvements, and not dealing well with many options.

The AI also struggles with modified starbase modules. It was never any good at upgrading starbases anyway, and now there's a whole new selection of modules it pretty much ignores them completely. Except mining starbases, which it loves and hugs and cuddles

Regardless of all this, the AI is clearly obssessed with military production, followed by research. Everything else is ignored, and social production just stops once it feels capable of putting out troop ships on a regular basis.

The AI doesn't currently support mods to improvements atm, so techs that open up new improvements are also fairly useless. Don't get me wrong - the empire building part of me loves modding, but the AI cannot present a challenge in its current state.

Has anyone got any suggestions on how to make improvement modding work with the AI?

Cheers for reading.

modding

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If you can't make the ai fit the game, make the game fit the ai.
I'm currently working on a mod that fixes all the little unbalances that the ai doesn't understand well.
Industrial tech shouldn't be a bad thing that the player puts off because it's less efficient than the basic factory, if the ai doesn't understand that, then I change the factories, cause I can't change the ai.
Or the Spin control center, I've never seen an ai build this yet, but even if I had, would I be fooled by it and not attack their "superior military"? No? Then I shouldn't be able to build it either. There are lots of other things, but you get the picture.

Well, that's one idea anyways, but it sounds unsuitable to your purposes.
Basically, until we're given the opportunity to mess with the ai and change their priorities there is little point in making cool things that they don't value, or can't use effectively against you. So you're S.O.L. for now, but take heart, they've mentioned they might open up the ai to us at some later point, and given their current track record on fixes and improvements, I tend to believe them.

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Further, the AI seems to ignore building Super Projects and Trade Goods that don't have an internal name they recognise from the original game. Not consistently - sometimes they might build one or two "new" types early in the game, but in fact they very quickly give up on this and nearly all social building once militarisation occurs. As a consequence the AI's infrastructure just can't keep up with the players. They're still relying on those core industry and research buildings for production weight, and economy, morale, population and influence all suffer as a consequence. They miss out on all the other benefits associated with other improvements. Again, this may be an issue of not "recognising" modded improvements, and not dealing well with many options.

actually, i don't think this has to do with modding. i've noticed that specifically in games where i start to get a lead early, the AI stops building unique structures entirely. i'll give them expert miniaturization so that i can steal their hyperion shrinkers, but they never build them.

i believe it partly has less to do with the mod, and more to do with the AI itself. at least, i'm assuming you're using v1.2b for this. the older AI had a problem of overreacting to influence by building massive numbers of embassies and media centers. i agree that they still undervalue economy and farming, because i almost always lead economically even on maso when i don't start off well.

however, i would recommend rethinking your mod somewhat. the AI doesn't have a problem with researching alternate branches of the tech tree, though different AIs value different colors of tech (which do actually have meaning in the game).

it'll also build permenent structures on bonus tiles. that kind of bugs me. however "mismatching" a bonus tile and its structure isn't always a bad thing. i've colonized plenty of planets with two +300% food bonuses that i couldn't possibly use. and on some planets with lower populations, i'll build stock markets on morale bonus tiles if the planet doesn't need an entire morale structure because stock markets provide a minor morale boost.

i'd suggest having the starports do stuff besides industry, though. i rolled the orbital fleet manager function into a starport upgrade (the AI hasn't been building them enough IMO), and i made the hyperion shipyard a regular upgrade as well (i never use it as a galactic achievement).

the only other thing i can say is that putting the "diversified structures" at the end of tech lines (the way stock markets are now) also seems to work somewhat well, since usually the AI has all ready built the earlier versions on the appripriate tiles.

anyway, good luck. the hardest part about modding this game is making sure the AI still knows how to play. i sympathize with your plight; good luck.

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