Smartest thing the AI has ever done

Tom DeMille · August 18, 2000, 14:53

OK, we all know the AI is not what you would call intelligent. The "Most dumb AI" thread got me to thinking if the AI has ever acted anything but dumb.

So, anyone been the subject of a brilliantly executed AI strategy? I can think of a few occasions when the AI has managed to launch a spaceship that is scheduled to land the year before mine.

This could be considered smart, although to me it smells suspiciously like cheating.

The only smart AI move that comes to mind is while I was playtesting OCC15. I had parked a single legion in a fort close to the AIs capital, and next turn he brought up a unit and bribed my legion. Again, a cheat since all AI units can be used to bribe. But still, for the AI to bribe instead of just attack like it always does struck me as a great move.

jpk · August 18, 2000, 15:48

The AI will often build a city close to one of the human player's cities and then position the workers so the city is invisible to the human player who does not scout around.

DaveV · August 18, 2000, 16:02

I'll often have a fortified unit sealing off a chokepoint. The AI will often build a city near that unit, then demand that I honor my treaty by withdrawing. I either have to break the treaty, or withdraw my blocking unit.

Another cute AI trick - they'll send caravans past the chokepoint. These caravans then start pillaging my improvements! I have a choice between attacking the unit and breaking a treaty, or bribing it (usually for an outrageous amount of money).

Bohlen · August 18, 2000, 16:19

The smartest thing the AI has done is to actually form an alliance with me. That makes them last on the hit list, unless they stab me in the back. That way their citizens can enjoy life for a while...at least until we swallow them up....

Seriously, now. I've seen the AI move barb leaders that are close to an AI civ in ways that they would never move when around my civ. When a leader is paired with one unit around a city, that leader usually stacks with the attacking unit at the end of the barb turn so that you have to wait until the attacking unit is destroyed by your defender before capturing the leader. I've seen the AI not use this stack around AI cities. What happens then is the AI civ attacks the attacking (now defending) unit with its own unit, then goes after the leader with a 2 movement unit. All of this because they didn't stack. The AI loves to help itself out by controlling how barbs move around its own civs. Doesn't seem fair, does it? Maybe not the smartest thing, but it's the only one I can think of right now.

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Proud Warrior of the O.W.L. Alliance

August 18, 2000, 18:28

The smartest thing an AI has ever done against me was:
In an OCC game, I had just got to 80 sheild production, and then the AI built a city on a mined hill in my radius. They grew it to size two, and then took the riflemen in it and sneak-attacked my city. It of course killed one of my alpine troops before dying

. Then I was stuck at 76 sheild production because of an undefended size 2 city that I couldn't conquer because I was playing OCC!

Then, here is the killer. They built a f***ing spy and stole space flight. I could not beat them because I was building a structural every turn. I ended up losing the space race because of that f***ing city!

[This message has been edited by SilverDragon (edited August 18, 2000).]

cavebear · August 18, 2000, 18:38

The wall between "smart" AI play and "cheating" (through knowing things it cannot know) is a very thin one.

Still, I have to admire the way that the AI will sneak in a settler and establish a city in my midst. It is very careful not to use any resource squares that would give away its presence when I look at my adjacent city. And *that* is something worth considering in MP play with humans!

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tonic · August 18, 2000, 19:32

OCC15 was full of AI "incidents" with the overlapping two cities in a very compact overcrowded island.

One could attribute "intelligence" to the
[list][*]constant sabotage activity by AI diplos including the stealing of the most advanced tech (smacks of cheating though) - impossible to avoid with all squares roaded and only two squares between the two cities. I guess the AI's use of diplos is so rare that when it happens we think it's intelligent.
[*]ability of the AI units to respect your occupation of the overlapping squares when at peace - no mean task considering how hemmed in they were. I don't think I had to use F3 to ask Nicosia to withdraw its troops.
[*]fact that late in the game after most of the AI city territory was railroaded its mobile units knew how to stop looping the RR-loop around the city!

However their settlers were not so smart - they terraformed the the overlapping forests to plains for my benefit!
[This message has been edited by tonic (edited August 18, 2000).]

Smash · August 18, 2000, 20:26

In one of my very first trys at OCC, 2 different ais sabotaged 9 improvents in 1 turn with diplomats.They also stole 13 techs in 2 turns.That was cheating but smart.(my dips can only steal 1 per city).

side note-I started bribing and ended up with 17 diplomats in my city.After that I let them come thru uncontested.Every espionage attempt after that failed.
So if you want to stop diplomats,station 17 in your city(s)

Six Thousand Year Old Man · August 21, 2000, 15:03

I've seen the AI clean up pollution in my territory, too. The latest incident was cleanup of a contaminated square which had resulted from my nuking a 'chokepoint' city and then capturing it. Very nice. I wouldn't have got around to cleaning up for a while, what with AI armor running around loose on that side of the city.

I also notice that whenever I capture an large, developed AI city, there's never any pollution around it despite the dozen or more smokestacks... either that's a smart AI, or a cheating one.

STYOM

(Yes, I'm new here)

Ming · August 21, 2000, 18:08

Since anything the AI has ever done that even appeared close to being smart was probably just luck...

The smartest thing the AI has ever done is PAY ME TRIBUTE so I don't kick his butt off the planet... but come to think of it, I usually do that after they pay anyway...

So never mind...

Sten Sture · August 21, 2000, 19:04

The AI asking for a cease fire is pretty smart when their city is undefended (you ain't got no flag) of course being granted a cease fire under those conditions is somewhat rare...

tonic · August 22, 2000, 00:14

jpk: if one could always depend on them to do that, OCC would be a cinch. In any case, in the game I mentioned they were so stuck on the silk-to-wheat conversion groove that much of my time was taken with my Armor terminating their Engineers in the late game.

Sten Sture: Except when you're in Democracy "Overruled by Senate, ceasefire accepted,".

jpk · August 22, 2000, 00:58

tonic, I recall a game where an AI settler came over to one of my cities and started to clean up pollution. Very nice seeing as we were at war.

jcarkey · August 22, 2000, 08:02

The AI handles ZOCs good at higher diffuculty.

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Sieve Too · August 22, 2000, 09:42

A couple smart things the AI does:

AI Caravans have infinite patience, always seeking out your city that is furtherest from their territory, yielding the maximum bonus.

AI Fighters are uncanny Engineer finder/killers.

Late in the game, AI always offers cease fire instead of peace so they can still roam around your territory and sit on your mined, railroaded wine squares.

If you have UN, the AI just simply won't talk to you so that you can't force peace when you want.

AI + UN = your worst nightmare. On the AI's turn: "The Mongols declare war". Bomber attack X 8, Armor attack X 8, take city. "The Mongols wish to talk to you" - No way you say? Too bad. "UN brokered peace treaty". Your turn: can't retake city without delcaring war and hurting rep. Can't do it at all under Democracy.

Nuke followed by Paratrooper.

So you have 12 of your units surrounding an AI city that you just took? Expect a nuke on the AI's turn. Pollution? That's your problem.

arii · August 22, 2000, 10:58

Couple smart/lucky move from the AI:
use the bomber/land unit trick, it's a pain in the ass to destroy the stack
force you to a cease fire, but is usually sneak attacking 1-2 turns later
build city walls in almost every city

Laertes · August 22, 2000, 11:12

I have often been pleased to see the AI build ships in single square lakes.

However, the AI once built a caravel in just such a lake to avoid my ZOCs of fortified units and attack my city on the other side of the lake.

SCG · August 22, 2000, 11:19

quote:

Originally posted by Sieve Too on 08-22-2000 09:42 AM
AI Caravans have infinite patience, always seeking out your city that is furtherest from their territory, yielding the maximum bonus.

except that I can't remember the last time an AI caravan actually delivered a good in demand after that long trek.

The most annoying thing (not ready to call it smart

)i've seen the AI do is buid a city that overlaps a heavily defended location of mine and immediately insist I remove my troops from their city. I've taken to putting several caravans/freights in my fortresses just for that occasion.

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April Cantor: Sire, in order to expand further we must first gain favor of the King

SCG: darn, I've never really got the hang of that tribute thing, guess it will be a long time until i make prince

*goes off and starts gifting gold and techs*

St Leo · August 23, 2000, 00:49

So, anyone been the subject of a brilliantly executed AI strategy?

Do event-generated units count?

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St. Leo
http://ziggurat.sidgames.com/
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The Mad Viking · August 23, 2000, 13:36

Attacking my city with a fighter first, then following with two bombers after. The fighter used up my fighter scamble, sacrificing itself, so that each bomber could destroy an infantry unit.

Just played against the Romans

who repeatedly made and broke peace treaties, accepted tribute and promptly re-attacked, etc.

Andromeda · August 24, 2000, 00:10

Don't know whether to call it smart, or just downright cunning..........

The AI landing a unit on your continent, near a city, in order to talk to you. Then, after signing a treaty and promising to withdraw, it 'forgets' to re-embark its unit, which promptly goes 'walkabout'.

If the unit is a settler, it can be lethal to let it get away with this.

Bohlen · August 30, 2000, 10:21

Man, I hate that! Just when I think I'm going to have a war free game, the AI comes in and builds on my modest sized island. No war? No way!

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Proud Warrior of the O.W.L. Alliance

August 30, 2000, 10:46

the smartest thing I've ever seen by the AI was nuking one of my cities and then putting a Paratrooper in it!! they've done it one time, I was playing on Chieftain... since then I've never seen that again, not even in Deity

jpk · August 30, 2000, 15:17

Andz83, I've been nuked followed by a paratrooper at the Deity level. In the game I am currently playing the Rusians and I traded Moscow back and forth a couple of times. Now the Russians are no more.

jpk · August 30, 2000, 15:19

Another thing came to mind. AI units will often be located 8 squares from a city of the human player. If the human player destroys the unit with a stealth fighter it can't get back.

Deathwalker · August 31, 2000, 08:18

Two of the smartest things the AI ever did to me was:

First I was building a space ship but I was going for the complete one and his was part built, I launched mine and the same turn he launched his, what I did not know at the time was that he only had one set of life pods and all engines and fuel so he got there ahead of me, a few times now when in a space race they would wait till I launch mine and then lauch also they always build it for speed. P.S why does he sometimes have more engine than fuel?? :-)

Second when I have a bottle neck it would send cavavans into amy teritory and pillage, and I had to attack him, upsetting my other nieghbours.

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I have walked since the dawn of time and were ever I walk, death is sure to follow

Scouse Gits · September 1, 2000, 05:14

jpk - I too had found that and just assumed it was happenstance - I have however come up with a counter-measure - on the turn the SF is dispatched to do his evil deed two engineers are sent out to rush build an advance airbase to rescue the returning fighter...

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