Modding Q--AI DesignCreation

[Krsqk]

I recently added separate designs for each hull size for the design type Attack Ship to an AI design file. When I ran the race on full AI (full tech), I noticed they only built the escort Version, which was at the top of the design file. When I cut/pasted the baseship Version to the top of the file, they only built baseship-sized attack vessels. I know that the AI will mix sizes for designs which specify a range of allowable hull tonnage; is there any way to get this behavior with the designs set up the way I have it?

[oleg]

I am not absolutely sure about this since i never ever actually played high technology start except for "final" design check, but to my best knowledge, AI redesign ship when and only when new advance ih ship components/hull is achived. In your case it is physically/mathematically impossible and AI stuck with the first design in the list

[Krsqk]

I had thought of this, and so I modded research to go faster by orders of magnitude (to take less time to test) with low tech start, but with same result. When I ordered the designs from largest to smallest by hull size, then the AI would use the largest (read: highest up) design it could build. Sorry; I should have mentioned that in my first post.

[Mephisto]

The Ai will not mix sizes any more after 1.60. It will just build one attack ship time. If you want diversity, you have to call the ships by names.

[Gandalph]

This is taken from the history.txt file and should explain:
The Default_Ai_Construction_Vehicles.txt file will now allow for the design name or the design type. The term "Colonizer" is still hard-coded to be evaluated to the needed type of colonizer. When looking for the design to build, the game will look for the latest design which matches the design name. If no match is found, then the latest design which matches the design type will be located. If neither is found, this purchase item will be skipped.

[Krsqk]

So, I can enter the design *name* in Construction_Vehicles.txt now, if I want? I thought I tried that, and it told me "Massive Death Ship" wasn't an accepted design type. I'll have to test that again.

[edit] Oh, look! I'm a "Seargeant" now...whatever that is.

[ 25 April 2002: Message edited by: Krsqk ]

[Krsqk]

Okay, I just tested this, and it did work. I must have had a typo before. Great, now I can specify the exact content of my forces!

[DirectorTsaarx]

I have an interesting question related to this; my problem isn't getting the AI to build particular items, it's trying to get the AI to DESIGN an item. Details follow:

I had a bright idea to add a Temporal Space Yard for ships (since the Temporal races had special Yard facilities, why not ship-based ones?). Anyway, I thought I should make the new ship-based TSY's bigger than standard SY's. Well, the temporal AI's choked on that, creating space yard bases and space yard ships with no space yards (still trying to figure out why it didn't automatically choose larger ship/base sizes, but I'll leave that for further testing). So, first, I limited the new TSY to bases, then I created two designs for base space yards: one was space station sized, and I added the "Star - Unstable" ability to the standard space yard & tried to use it to force the AI to use standard space yards in the smaller base space yards. The AI never created a design for the smaller yard, even when I finally remembered to use different names for the design. At turn 41, the AI created a design for a starbase-sized base space yard, using the new TSY (and LOTS of shields, armor and PDC - kinda scary, really). Now, calling out names in the Construction file won't help because the design doesn't even exist... or will that force the AI to design the ship? Hmmmm... I'll have to test that...

[DirectorTsaarx]

Some more info on my testing: obviously, the AI is set up not to bother with ship/base sizes larger than 500kT until after turn 20 (and ship/base sizes larger than 600kT wait until after turn 41). So that's the main reason it didn't just use a larger base for the initial design (and why it designs an appropriate-sized base later). However, I still can't get it to design a space yard base that calls for the "Star - Unstable" ability. It just ignores the entry completely. I even tried different combinations of "Must Have" and "Majority Comp" abilities; the AI either designs a base space yard with no space yard components, or it ignores the entry.

Any advice?

[Suicide Junkie]

Put it in as the first Miscellaneous ability call.

In other words, treat it just like the quantum reactors on ships.