Rate the SP AI...

Kuroth1 · #1 May 9th, 2004, 05:57 PM

Vote on how good you thing the current SP AI is in DomII

guybrush threepwood · #2 May 9th, 2004, 06:44 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Kuroth1:
Vote on how good you thing the current SP AI is in DomII

Hmmm... I kind of lack an option for "Find SP with the current AI enjoyable, but would love improvements in this area".

Cheezeninja · #3 May 9th, 2004, 06:51 PM

you need an entry for "The single player AI is no better than decent, but the game is so complex that until you pick up the learning curve it seems impossibly hard and then gets exponentially easier"

Thats how it seems to me anyway. Right now i probably couldnt win a game with arceseophale set on normal but i can 9 indep/impossible AI games with Ermor, Marignon, Abysia, Caelum, R'lyeh, Pangea. (all the easier ones, in order that i learned them). Its all very relative, which is why the more scragly veterans have to modify maps to make it everyone vs them, or just play MP.

Kuroth1 · #4 May 9th, 2004, 07:06 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Cheezeninja:
you need an entry for "The single player AI is no better than decent, but the game is so complex that until you pick up the learning curve it seems impossibly hard and then gets exponentially easier"

Thats how it seems to me anyway. Right now i probably couldnt win a game with arceseophale set on normal but i can 9 indep/impossible AI games with Ermor, Marignon, Abysia, Caelum, R'lyeh, Pangea. (all the easier ones, in order that i learned them). Its all very relative, which is why the more scragly veterans have to modify maps to make it everyone vs them, or just play MP.

Good point Cheezeninja...

HotNifeThruButr · #5 May 9th, 2004, 07:17 PM

That's funny, cheezeninja, I found C'tis, Tien Chi, Vanheim, Man, Pangaea and Marignon to be easy ones. Abysia, Ermor, and Caelum trounce me often, while Ulm, Arcosephale, Pythium (dunno why, on paper they seem kinda weak), Machaka, Jotunheim, and the sea races are impossibly hard for me.

Without buying Fishermen or Ship Wrecker mercs to storm a sea province, I can't get to the oceans quick enough to stop an R'lyeh or Atlantian threat. Raids from the oceans is also hard to stop for me, since one ocean province borders on a lot of land provinces.

Advice?

Edit: I voted for SP is fun and AI is good.

[ May 09, 2004, 18:18: Message edited by: HotNifeThruButr ]

MStavros · #6 May 9th, 2004, 07:39 PM

Good poll.

Wauthan · #7 May 9th, 2004, 07:39 PM

I find the SP AI to be able to utilize many, if not most, of the options available to it. That said it can use a little "help" to make it a real challenge for experienced strategy gamers.

Adding a few forts to a map, in key provinces, gives it the ability to create more national units. Making the militia line units sacred removed the hoarding of weak units.

The most glaring weakness I found is an inability to take advantage of special sites or even to look for them. Neither does it seem to use gems in an efficient way, boosting spells rather than itemforging or unit summoning.

I can still get my arse kicked by a Mictlan normal AI. As usual the strength of an AI is micromanagement and unit transportation. The tedious bits of strategy where I make frequent mistakes.

Gandalf Parker · #8 May 9th, 2004, 07:58 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by HotNifeThruButr:
Without buying Fishermen or Ship Wrecker mercs to storm a sea province, I can't get to the oceans quick enough to stop an R'lyeh or Atlantian threat. Raids from the oceans is also hard to stop for me, since one ocean province borders on a lot of land provinces.

Advice?

Jotun with Water Cult.
Ulm with water cult
Anyone with Wyrm
many with Blue Dragon
actually many with water cult and/or a water entering god.

I find that many games built around multiplayers, IF it has an AI Im surprised if it holds my interest to the end of the tutorial. I think Dom2 AI is better than that but I dont mind looking for ways to improve it.

But even if someone said Dom2 AI was only good until you learn the game, if you learn all the nations and themes thats still a good year of gaming. Well worth the price

[ May 09, 2004, 19:01: Message edited by: Gandalf Parker ]

HotNifeThruButr · #9 May 9th, 2004, 08:33 PM

Ulm with Water Cult? I don't think that'd be very good, since Ulm is designed to take 3 degrees of drain without having an effect because of the smiths, and water cult requires at least 1 magic scale.

BTW, why only Ulm and Jotunheim? Don't all races have access to water cult?

Wauthan · #10 May 9th, 2004, 08:44 PM

Basic Ulm with watercult would not be a good idea since they lack sacred units. Scuba Marignon is a lot more scary. Drive by priesting is though without them storming the beaches. Cheap massable flagellants and though knights of the chalice can take on atlantis and R'lyeh if they have a good blesseffect backing them. Not to mention what submarine inquisition can do in a dominion push strategy.