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NorthSwordsman
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Part of the problem is that the no AI program in existence now or in the future will be able to think like a person. It can approximate it, but it will not have the quirks and flashes of inspiration that a human has. I doubt that the AI can be improved to the point where it can outsmart a person.
NS
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Avenoct
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NC, USA
Apr 2001
time: 00:14
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Like Ned said, we've been trying to come with ways to help the poor AI, and I have to say giving it a former in the beginning makes a big difference. True, when it comes down to conquest the AI doesn't cut it, especially defending itself, but give it a former in the faction text and you'll see a bit of a difference. If you are going to go so far as to give it units that it might use you've left the realm of playing to win and might as well play the infamous 'switch sides every x years' scenario. The trick is to have a random map generated, not know diddly about where the AI is and what it is up to and then find out to your horror that the other factions have snapped up all the SP's and are teaming up to send some shard hovertanks to mop up your faction. Personally I can't stand fighting an AI that I've determined no longer has a chance. I quit 4 out of 5 games along about the time I get either 2 submissive factions or the Cloning Vats. At that point I know that I've won and as the turns get dreadfully long I get bored with it all and quit, maybe pb'ing everyone for a last laugh.
A second thing I wish for the AI in the future (see the post about hardest SP game I've ever....) is a recognition of this point, or better yet, an anticipation of it. If the AI factions could see that you were going to corner the game (say when you start developing a tech a turn, or when you have better miltary units than any other faction..etc..) maybe it would be a good time for them to team up and attempt to annihilate you? Submissive factions should be able to make some secret pacts with your chief rivals..it should be easy enough to code for say, three scenarios it might choose from. One, your submissive demands some tech or pretends to be framed by you, then distributes the tech...Two, is given every captured base of yours by the enemy faction in exchange for launching a massive probe invasion or Three, your submissive blatently pacts with all the other factions and invites them all over for tea before inviting you to join the League of Nations, price?: all your tech and an SP base or two.
True, once you arrive at the endgame it's only a couple turns to build the Voice of Planet and Ascent pronto. I've often saved up so many AA's that I get to about Transcendent Thought 31 (which increases ecodamage?...) as these are built, but the AI is totally helpless in the endgame. It's the beginning where the major differences can be made with ease..design custom factions, give them extra units, etc., but the most elegant differences must be made to the midgame. If you weight the beginning as to give the AI advantages in addition to it's major advantages at Transcend level, you create a game imbalance in the hope of creating a challenge. That's fine, but it's precarious. Too much and you are fighting a single-minded war to keep up (IE probe teams). Furthermore, if the AI factions are so muscular as to get all the early SP's you are going to want to take them over later, which narrows the game. What is an ideal enemy? One whom you respect as you respect your own forces. Midgame, midgame, midgame...
AI slipups? How about the time Lal Terraformed his own base into the sea, sans pressure dome? It was almost like he meant to landbridge but misstyped (misinformed his Corps of Engineers)...
-Smack
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NorthSwordsman
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Post deleted- it was a dumb comment. Sorry.
Last edited by NorthSwordsman on 05-07-2001 at 12:40
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Googlie
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Commanding Officer, CRYPTEIA
Apr 1999
time: 21:14
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quote:
Originally posted by Smack
My next project is to figure a way to give each faction a supply crawler in the faction text. I wish a supply foil would be possible but it's not a basic unit...maybe there's a way....mutter mutter....happy crawlering,
-Smack |
You can add a supply foil to the alpha.txt and alphax.txt. The AI doesn't build them very often, but I have played a game where the PKs built a slew.
eg, for alphax.txt, under #UNITS
add a 24th category (and remember to change the number from 23 to 24):
Foil Supply, Foil, Supply, Scout, 10, 0, 0, IndAuto,DocFlex, - 1, 00000000000000000000000000
It'd be the same for smac's alpha.txt. Add the line to the end, and remember to increase the # from 14 to 15
The graphics look funny, but if you add armor or trance they become normal again (course the AI doesn't add armor or trance)
G.
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Ken Hinds
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And zigging back towards the thread topic a bit. I want to thank all the unit idea contributors for providing me with encouragement to attempt using the workshop features for myself.
I get tired of watching my formers and Colony pods get blasted by anything and everything. In my last game I got plasma steel early and decided to add some armor to the formers. It didn't help enough against mindworms, but came close. I also dicovered that if you upgrade the weapons when the chance comes you can build some of the advanced units long before the Production Chief would normally offer them. Ex: Needle jets with Plasma Steel armor became Needle Penetrators.
Thanks again,
Ken
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Ken Hinds
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quote:
Originally posted by Ned
Ken, I have never put armor on a plane. What is it, again, that happens when you get a new weapon?
Ned |
Ned,
What I've found, but others may already know, is that if after the Production Chief finishes the new weapons design offerings you go into the work shop and add that new weapon/armor to items that he chose not to upgrade then you can sometimes get items that you would not be offered for several more advances or even total new designs that don't fall in the normal paths.
I haven't played enough of SMAC (V1.0) yet to know what the normal paths should be so maybe this is old to some of you. And I'm not talking about the "mk(?)" designation. For example I just took an infantry Scout patrol and added Sythmetal armor to it and got a 1-2-2 sythmetal scirmisher(sp) with the option to obsolete the sythmetal sentinals. This was without mobility yet. I've never had this item come up in a "regular" build path even though I've played at least a couple dozen games. Now I had found a unity rover in a pod so that may have made some difference even though I couldn't build scout rovers.
Ken
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03-07-2001 14:07
declared vendetta. I saw him producing a very odd unit.... and the design appearance when it finally showed up near one of my bases was rather... comical...
Anyone else seen this design before? I thought it was impossible to assign terraforming attributes to warcraft? 
Makes you wonder sometimes....
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