AI Questions

[Archonsod]

I don't think I've ever seen a path booster on a non-mage unit, barring of course those it's managed to pick up post-battle.
I've not seen it make full use of items such as research boosters and the like, but it's always seemed reasonably sensible with equipping misc items.

I wonder why it wouldnt use the same files for the AI? Probably too limiting I guess. You would have to either define everything in some huge database.

Only if you wanted the AI to use every item. You could always restrict the initial pool of items the AI will even consider forging, then simply define the remainder by type (could be as simple as mage / warrior, could get hugely complicated with preset layouts for thug / SC / Researcher and so forth).

[Gandalf Parker]

Would that work for all nations? Pangaea, and Abyssia, and Ctis, and Oceania?
Would that make it smarter? or stupider?
The database cant be too big since its solo players we are trying to help out. It doesnt matter as much how much thinking an MP game does to host a turn

[Archonsod]

Should work for all nations. Items are drawn from a common pool after all. Unless you're willing to get incredibly detailed you won't perhaps see the greatest combinations, but you'd still see an improvement in the quality of the AI commanders. Pretty much any forged shield is going to be an improvement (in some respect) over the basic shield a commander comes equipped with, regardless of nation.

The database doesn't have to be huge, bearing in mind that the AI doesn't understand how to use many items (like the Chalice for example) there's no reason to include them in the database. It could simply be a case of setting a flag on a specific set of items (differentiate between wizard and fighter equipment for example) and then force the AI to only forge from those lists, and only equip the items on a commander of the requisite type. It's more restrictive, but it would at least deal with the 'superfluous items equipped' complaint.

Of course, you could also use a similar model as the spell casting AI and simply have it run simulations of the best possible item to equip (presumably either from the lab inventory or from all currently forgeable items, depending on how cruel you want to be) based on a simple criteria, e.g. what provides the biggest stat increase. Again, you'll not see it make full use of combinations or the like, but you will see a general improvement in the quality of commanders it fields.