AIP's and you.

[Freyr]

Originally Posted by starfox1701

Ok so the AI doesn't have a "resorces are low use this build list" setting. That actuall too bad as that would have allowed for some intersting building alternitives. You know the build handicaps could be of some use here as well in finding a blance I think. Can thoughs be coded in the files?

No, there is no option to use different build lists under different circumstances.

The build handicaps are only listed in rts_cfg.h, and even if I could use them elseware I wouldn't do it. While i'll freely admit that allowing the AI to build heavily discounted or free ships makes it harder to play against, I view that as cheating. In my opinion, the reason it's taken 8? years to get an AI this good is because people have been taking that particular shortcut in lieu of working out how to write a decent AIP.

Originally Posted by rifraf

As for having the AI build ships that I can't I'm not sure what you mean by that? The int_checkTechnologyAvailable line isn't even in my mod since there's no research for the AI to do. Only the human player has to do research. If I capture an enemy construction ship, I would have to build it's research stations and do the research with them before I could even build their ships.

That line allows the AI to disregard the constraints of the tech tree. By doing what I mentioned it would allow you to let the AI build a colony ship that the human could't build at all under any circumstances.

[rifraf]

So you're just letting the AI build colony ships and colonize while challenging you by not letting you do it? So you just have to conquer planets the old fashioned way?

As for what you responded to StarFox with, the build handicaps in the RTS_config, I didn't see a new RTS_config in your test download earlier, how did you overcome those handicap values withough adjusting them?

[Freyr]

Originally Posted by rifraf

So you're just letting the AI build colony ships and colonize while challenging you by not letting you do it? So you just have to conquer planets the old fashioned way?

No, your misunderstanding this.

In case you hadn't realised, most of the planets require more than one colony ship (5, in the case of the M class) to reach their maximum potential.

The AI cannot colonise a planet more than once. Thus, it is at a severe disadvantage versus a human player as it starves for crew. The problem could be mitigated by giving the AI a "super" colony ship that can land 5k civilians that the human can't build.

Meanwhile, the human keeps the normal colony ship that can land 1k civilians. This is much fairer to my mind than leaving the AI crippled and unable to play on smaller maps.

Originally Posted by rifraf

As for what you responded to StarFox with, the build handicaps in the RTS_config, I didn't see a new RTS_config in your test download earlier, how did you overcome those handicap values withough adjusting them?

I didn't.

rts_cfg.h contains way more than just the difficulty settings for the AI and is commonly customised. Overwriting the entire file for something this trivial would be a little rude, don't you think?

[rifraf]

I never did realize that about needing more than 1 colony ship to get full population. I always just let time build up and make the planet recrew to higher levels after the certain time frame has gone by though I guess I never noticed if the AI uses the planet recrew function. I do give each race in my mod a colony ship to start with 1000 people onboard to get things moving.

So you give the AI a colony shipe capability of say 5000 people while you only have ships of 1000 or so? Then you keep the colony ship line in the build list and they build another ship with 5000 people when it's time?

[Freyr]

Yes. That's the idea. Although putting extra crew on a planet does not increase the speed of the crew accumulation from the planet. The only thing that increases that is the civilian population, so that's what needs the boost.

I'd get the AI to build at least a couple of colony ships throughout the game incase it loses the planet. Giving it a colony ship allows it to recolonise either the same planet, or another one.