🚀 go-pugleaf

In comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.strategic Brad Wardell <bwar...@stardock.com> wrote:
> 
> In GalCiv I, I could beat the AI (without using some cheese tactic) way 
> beyond the point where it had started to get bonuses.  In GalCiv II, I can 
> beat the AI solidly on intelligent but not a bit beyond that.

If you think the step from smartest AI without bonuses to smartest AI
with bonuses is too big, you could also reduce the bonuses a bit.
Perhaps the AI is so smart now that it only needs a small bonus in
order to stand up to a human? (Reminds me a bit of a legendary go-player
who claimed he could defeat God (the perfect go-player) as long as he
got the first move.)

On the other hand, just in case there are better GalCiv players than
you, it wouldn't hurt to include settings with much bigger bonuses.
Ofource my preference would be that level of AI intelligence and size
of his economic and other bonuses and penalties would be completely
configurable by the player, but I understand that's not how it's
going to work.

>> Also, the AI should realise that his speed 3 Death Knights aren't
>> going to catch a speed 9 Starfighter, and that adding more Death
>> Knights isn't going to increase the speed. In my current game, a
>> handful of Starfighters managed to tie up a gigantic fleet of Arcean
>> Death Knights while I still had to build my Dreadnoughts with which
>> I wanted to conquer all of his planets. I think I had a single
>> Battleship. He caught me with my pants down, and wasted his time
>> and his fleet on chasing down Starfighters he could never hope to
>> catch.
> 
> This one is more difficult than it sounds.  It now TENDS to not go after 
> those ships but it will still go after them if it thinks it'll catch them 
> off guard.  But no, it won't chase some scout around the galaxy.

Even if it doesn't stand a chance to actually catch it, it may still
be worth it to chase the scout or starfighter away, especially because
a starfighter can still kill freighters and colony ships. The problem
is that it needs to use the appropriate ships. So it should use
corvettes to chase startfighters, battlecruisers to hunt corvettes,
etc. It needs to be as fast or only slightly slower, and just a bit
stronger. And one or two ships is enough. A stack of 10 Death Knights
hunting a single starfighter is silly. Even one Death Knight would be
acceptable (although it should try to replace it with a Corvette as
soon as possible).

> I've passed on your feedback btw, great stuff.  I can't wait to hear what 
> you think of the final game.

I can't wait to see it.


mcv.
-- 
"Serenity is a very personal work with political resonance and a
heartfelt message about the human condition and stuff blowing up.
'Cause let's face it, nobody cares about that 'human condition'
stuff... in fact if you notice it, try to keep it to yourself."
                                        -- Joss Whedon on his new film