Getting the AI to play as the Empire well...

[Jahled]

Try as I might, I just cant. Anyone got any tips? I've tried lowering production costs, leaving the Empire alone, playing 'turtle,' and gernerally playing like an idiot, but still find the Empire AI painfully stupid. Help! It's not as if i'm new to the game either, i've been playing since 1999.

[UntimelyDemise]

Well, you could always make their special forces cheaper. Make the Noghri and Commandos cost 1 and 1, and watch the fun!

 

Also, change some of the Imperial character's Diplomacy stats...that's the biggest weakness they have. Give two or three characters with low Diplomacy skills a 90 Diplomacy.

 

You might also give some of the Imp characters a little more possiblility of being Jedi...notice that most of them start at 10%, while Rebel characters start at 20% chance.

 

You should have a challenge on your hands if you try these.

[Jahled]

Thanks, but i've done all that. I've even made Palpatine capable of training Jedi and made virtually all Imperial characters 100% Jedi probable.

[ElvisMiggell]

You could try lowering your stats too...

[UntimelyDemise]

Try giving the Empire access to ISDIIs and SSDs right away (Research=0). Maybe even give them Interdictors right away, though that might make the game a bit too hard!

[Jahled]

Curiously, when I enabled the Empire to be able to build ISDII from game start my game kept on crashing as soon as I left the copit. I had to wait until Day 2. I've found though that even if if you do give the Empire insentives like Con Cost for ISD of 1/1 etc the AI still tends not to build large fleets like how you'ld want it to. I must confess to not plaing an entire game with such modified stats. That would be ridicolous. And as for gravity wells from the beginning - that would be hard. But i'm NOT going to give it go!

[UntimelyDemise]

It didn't crash at Day 2 but it did at Day 1? How strange...I wonder what was up with that??

[ElvisMiggell]

Hmmm, i wonder if our complaint might be based on constantly wanting to play Endor over and over again. Think about it, in a galaxy with limited resources, you need to have coverage. Now the Imps are more likely to have a couple of SD's in each sector, rather than two huge fleets i the entire galaxy. It may not be as much fun, but it does make more sense in tactical terms.

And i have come up against fleets with three SSD's in them, plus about 16 ISD II's

I think we need to look at things like the NJO books, there's a lot more little skirmishes and far fewer huge battles, and that makes sound tactical sense.

[Jahled]

Yes..yes...yes...grumble...grumble...point taken, I know what you're saying, but hell; i've never ever ever had a game in three and a half years wear the (Imperial) AI has come close to having a fleet of 3 SSD and 16 ISD II.(And boy do I envy that game you had) That is exactly the nucleus of my original question. Every game i've ever had, either Imperial or Alliance, there comes that point where the AI simply wont match the fleet(s) you've built up against it, before the crunch time of gravity wells..... Maybe the game simply wasn't programed like a chess simulator. Sigh...

[ElvisMiggell]

Yeah, maybe it wasn't, and i do think that big fleets are more fun, the programmers definitely missed out on the AI there. You tend to only ee big enemy fleets when you've got them on the run in a huge galaxy, where they only have a few sectors left.

[the_mask]

Hmm, I usually play with large galaxies, but if I lower the stats for maintenance, then the AI builds more different vessels in a fleet.

[ElvisMiggell]

Well, i guess balance is what they're after in having lots of different ships, only problem is, the tactical controls aren't really specific enough to warrant it, though i guess the AI can handle it.

If i had 3 SSD's and wanted it to look realistic i'd have at least six SD II's and around 20 Lancers. It's all about balance, and i'm not necessarily saying that's a good thing when you want to have FUN!!!

 

[the_mask]

But any mix of a fleet is better than having to beat the same 10 Dreadnoughts again

[ElvisMiggell]

Indeed, repetition may be reinforcement, but in this case its overkill, it's not even implied in our mandate!!!

[Elfboy]

How about this: the A.I. seems to prefer building large quantities of cheaper ships. I always have battles with 6 or 7 strike criusers a couple SD's and a SSD (later in the game that is). Hell even in the later years of a long game I am still seeing a fairly descent amount of dreadnaughts. Perhaps if you make SD's extrememly cheap to build and maintain--say 30 maintainence and something low for building cost--they might build larger quantities of them. Make all of the ships that you WANT the A.I. to build easier to create than those you don't. Most of us have played long enough to know what ships give us the largest migrains when a large battle does hit, so use those.

 

I've also noticed that the A.I. tends to fill its fleets with as many fighter craft as it can hold. I like huge battles that contain rediculous amounts of fighters; they are so extremely dangerous that your focus has to go to them first are the whole thing will be a wash. So to make battles more exciting increase the fighter capacity of your chosen ships and watch the swarms of tie fighters come(the way it should be).

 

Now the average fleet size of your oponent will be increased because the A.I. can better afford to build the more deadly ships. They will still spread their forces over the map but they will have more resourses so every fleet will be harder to eliminate. Also the one that you do destroy will be easier to replace due to reduced building time.

 

I havn't tried this idea so I do not know if it would get out of hand. If anyone tries it before me, let me know how it went.

[ElvisMiggell]

I have the solution to your problem, replace the models. Replace the lancer, strike cruiser, carrier etc etc with SD models, then he will build lots of SD's and a few SSD's and maybe an Eclipse too.....

[the_mask]

In addition to the models you could also replace the cards

[ElvisMiggell]

Well, yeah, i kinda took that for granted.

[Jahled]

You could also replace the computer's AI.... but I guess not many of us would know how to do that, or with another human being (I must to confess to never having done that). I tried going to the Lucas arts gaming page the other day but couldn't get to it. Where do you guys play it online these days? I guess we've all got completely different versions of the game now days, what with the new models, cards, construction costs, etc.

If you can play online I assume you can save the game. My games usually last for weeks.(I like it on very slow so I can smoke the odd fag, open a beer, and keep track of what the heck is going on.... )

[ElvisMiggell]

I just read something very nice about a human head, i quote from the Daily Mirror, Friday 20th December 2002;

 

"The 1996 Massachusetts Bar Association Journal recalled this courtroom transcript of a lawyer questioning a doctor.

 

LAWYER: "Before you began your autopsy, did you check that the victim was breathing?"

 

DOCTOR: "No."

 

LAWYER: "Did you check if he had a pulse?"

 

DOCTOR: "No."

 

LAWYER: "Did you check if he had brain activity?"

 

LAWYER: "But why not?"

 

DOCTOR: "Because his brain was sitting in a ladoratory dish on my desk."

 

LAWYER: (Pause) "But is it not possible he could have been alive, nonetheless?"

 

DOCTOR: "Well, yes, it is possible he was alive. But he would only have been fit to study law."

 

 

 

 

Okay, so it's fairly evident that it was a dumb question, but should I be worried by this as I am due to start a Law degree next October?!

[Lord_La_forge]

Star Wars Rebellion/Supremacy is a great game. Ok. So that means, that we don't have to replace all things in the game. We should add to the game, without cutting out anything from it. I don't know how Trying to extend it would be bether, than replaces certain stats and units...

(I have a dream... )

[ElvisMiggell]

Aha, a Hungarian Martin Luthor King!

[Lord_La_forge]

well thank you

[ElvisMiggell]

You're welcome.

[anarion101]

I would agree that the AI could certainly play the Empire a lot better, one of my main bitches is that even on a hard game the computer has never built a Death Star (Been playing game since it was released in Australia). I fixed this situation by making the DS the higest R&D item for ship designs and droped the construction / maintance costs for all units and facilities by 10%(For accuracy use a DS2 card). Remember that if you but your protocol droid to organize planetary garrisons the computer AI will build the most recent R&D design (6 Dark Troopers as garrison troops on Tatooine....Dont think so.). This seems to have worked quite a treat, it certainly gave me a shock the first time the Tactical Officer reported that the Death Star was in the system (Didnt check the Battle Overview before hand.. opps). This is really on a minor fix to the overall problem but it certainly makes you as an Alliance player think more.