AI bug with conquered planets/captured ships

Master Belisarius · #1 August 2nd, 2001, 05:05 AM

For my next Version to the Aquilaeian Empire AI, I'm working with an idea that Atraikus used in their innovative and cool AI for the Orks: attempt that the AI could take over planets, using standard ships as Troop Transport, instead the slow and big Transports.

I wanted to design a Troop Transport, that could transport a short number of troops (the idea was take over enemy's colonies not very populated), but also could work as fuel ship and repair ship.
The idea worked fairly well (well, sometimes the AI never joined a Troop Transport to any fleet... but very often, yes).
The Aquilaeian AI conquered with success, several enemy's colonies, and also their fleets had a more wide range to attack far planets.... but (always exist a but!), here is the bug:

The AI never changed the conquered colony, under any Minister control, then, never built anything into their new planet.

I know a similar problem, when enemy's captured using Intel projects: the AI can't use the new ships, because are not under any Minister control.

I sent those reports to MM.

Rollo · #2 August 2nd, 2001, 10:32 AM

Yes, I have found out the same thing. I am currently at the task of making a Space Viking AI for the shipset dogscoff is doing. I want to include boarding and capture planets. The Vikings successfully boarded a Colony Ship full of methane breathers. A great prize for rock dwelling oxy breathers. Too bad the ship was just sitting in space doing nothing. When I turned over AI control manually, it was still doing nothing. Probably it couldn't handle the fact of having a Gas Colony Ship, when they hadn't the tech, yet. It would really be great, if the AI would analyse captured ships with any unknown tech (except racial tech). With warships it worked okay, after turning them over to the AI manually they were included into a fleet.

Master Belisarius, I have one question for you: When testing your AI, did you play as a human player with full AI on? I did that. Or did you have it play as a coumputer player and checked on it from time to time? I was going to try that today and hoping that a "true computer AI" would hand over captured items to the ministers. BTW, where can I find that Ork AI by Atraikus? I would like to have a look at it. I had the same idea of using warships with a few cargo spaces for troop transports, because my regular troop transports were not included into my fleets up to now.

Thank you,
Rollo

Atraikius · #3 August 2nd, 2001, 12:08 PM

Master Belisarius - How long did you wait for them to start building on the planet? I know it took a while before they did anything, but I did see the Orks eventually fill up the facilities and start using thier captured planets - they never did use the pop minister to move colonists around to planets of breathable atmospheres.

The Ork AI was on a ship modding discussion thread a while back. Almost done with them though, just doing the final touches to the pictures - should be posting them on monday at the latest.

dogscoff · #4 August 3rd, 2001, 01:50 AM

QUOTE:
It would really be great, if the AI would analyse captured ships with any unknown tech (except racial tech).
/QUOTE

I imagine this would be fairly easy for MM to implement - the game engine can already assess whether a ship is worth analysing or not. (the moderate/ major/ none resarch potential in the recycle screen) It would just be a matter of performing this test as soon as a ship is acquired by th AI, and then sending to a spaceyard for analysis if appropriate.

------------------
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"I think so Brain but, if you replace the P with an O, my name would be Oinky, wouldn't it?"

Master Belisarius · #5 August 2nd, 2001, 04:02 PM

Rollon: "I have one question for you: When testing your AI, did you play as a human player with full AI on?"

I did both tests. First I was playing as human player with AI on. But after see the problem, I have reloaded the game some turns before take over the planet, and changed the race from human with AI on, to 100% AI race. After several turns, I have changed the AI to human control... and the planet was conquered again, and again has not new buildings and was not under Minister control.

About the Orks, I was using http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/ubbup...ikius/orks.ZIP but you should ask to Atraikius if exist a more new Version released.

Atraikius: I was waiting during 10 turns, and nothing changed. The thing that make me believe that this is a bug, is the fact that the colony was not under Minister control (have not the "face").

Dogscoff: yea, would be great if the AI could analyze captured ships... but I'm not so ambitious! I want that at least, the AI could use the captured stuff.

Baron Munchausen · #6 August 2nd, 2001, 04:14 PM

Don't forget that the technology has to be in the AI_DesignCreation or AI_Construction_Facilities file in order to be used! So, it's really not to the AI's advantage to analyze anything and everything it acquires. It might just lose the use of the ship and still not be able to apply the technology! If you start putting in designs to handle any and every technology it might acquire then weird things could begin to happen. What if it gets level 1 Phased polaron beams? If it's not designed to research them and doesn't acquire any further levels then it'll keep building these wimpy ships with level 1 phased polaron while other races research plain old A-P beam to level 12 and toast those ships from a distance. So there probably need to be some major changes in the AI to make it more 'adaptable' before it should be analyzing things. Maybe it needs to check if the techs on the ship are in its normal research path?

If they would normally be researched then it would be worthwhile for the AI to analyze the ship.

[This message has been edited by Baron Munchausen (edited 02 August 2001).]