Flaw in AI recognition of aggressor

Hi all,

I think I found a flaw in AI's recognition of aggressor. I've just finished a painful level gigantic map with 5 opponents, and got through them one by one by parking my transports and attack ships next to their planets to provoke a declaration of war (it happened even with the friendliest of neighbours). Even got help from one of the other factions that also finally succumbed.
5,814 views 7 replies
Reply #1 Top
How's that a flaw? If I had that shite sitting near one of my planets, I'd consider it an aggressor, too! You're the one provoking it, so why not change your behavior if you don't like the AI's reaction? Couldn't I equally say that if the AI didn't react, that would be a flaw in its recognition?
Reply #3 Top
The flaw is in the OTHER opponents NOT recognising this as a tactic.



OK, but I still don't see it as a flaw. How would you draw the line between programming an AI for such a tactic and making it "stupid" in the sense that it would not react to transports and war ships right outside its planets? Sorry if I don't understand, but it seems like too much to expect. Furthermore, if this were being done to you, let's say in a multiplayer (other humans) environment, how would you be able to tell whether it was a tactic to get you to provoke war, or if that guy was really going to swoop into your planets at any point?

One of the worst ways I've heard of people exploiting this is when they put a transport right by another civ and then gift it to a different one to start a war between those two. I'd say in that case the AI receiving the "gift" needs to do a risk/reward analysis, if that's even possible. It's often too easy to give an AI a Trojan Horse. But I really don't see what else could be done about the AI who is being threatened, do you?
Reply #4 Top
I would prefer to see the AI simply massing up ships to protect its planets than to blindlessly declare war when there isn'T a wall of paper to protect them.

The AI doesn't prepare itself to war before being IN war. He simply moves its ships around, not seeing the inevitable (Except if he wants to start the war himself, as the agressor)
Reply #5 Top
Once, the arcean empire gave me 2 transport to help me.

I was bringing them back to my battlefield when the arcean declared war on me for having transports near their planets. Now, that's a flaw!
Reply #6 Top
What I hate is when I am massing transports and stuff in one empires space, and someone else sees them, and declares war on me.
Reply #7 Top
In a v1.2 game, at the end of the second year (playing as Thalan Empire on Masochistic against 9 majors and 2 minors, gigantic map, everything abundant, very fast research) and I have 75 planets of ~300 in the galaxy. I have taken out the Terran Alliance (except for Mars) and the best (10+ PQ) planets of the Drath Legion. I made peace with the Terrans and Drath because all their remaining worlds are revolting. Why invade them when they will soon join my empire on their own! I have redirected my warships to the Korx Consortium and I'm building 15 troop transports to overrun them but I need to be quick as the Torians have just declared war on them. The Drengin's have just declared war on the Iconian Refuge and one of the minors, so I'm preparing to capture the minor's planet and its 2 resources before them. My relations with the AI varies from Cool to Warm, so it seems the AI will let me pick them off one by one until it is too late. I guess I'll have to try Obscene and Suicidal in my future games for more of a challenge.