How can I tell if GalCiv is using the Metaverse for AI...

There is no communication betweem the game and stardock during play.
Once you have won a game, you get a screen that ask you if you want to submit your win to the Metaverse. Only then does it get posted.

There will be improvements to the AI's by the analysis the winning games. To my knowledge the mechanism to do this has not been communicated as this time.


~SDC~

Because of privacy concerns, we do not have the game communicate information back from the metaverse.

What we're going to be doing in the near term is analysing the data sent to the metaverse and then make changes that way.

In the long term, we hope to allow players to download automated AI "updates" but that won't be for awhile.

OH! So my losing ability is only due to the current
intelligence of the AI, not the intelligence of the
building masses?
Either gonna have to get smarter or practice a whole
lot more.

I distinctly remember reading somewhere (the forum I believe) that this was a feature that set the A.I. apart from other games. But the feature is not implemented yet, hmmm. I certainly hope this comes to fruition and will be very disappointed if it doesn't. Please make this the game with a "learning A.I."

~SDC~

Applying liberal amounts of wild conjecture to the scraps of info I've managed to glean, I don't think there was ever going to be a 'client side' learning AI. However, GalCiv seems to have been designed with modular AI components for easy replacement.

So presumably, SD will use the metaverse info to identify and eliminate blind-spots and exploitable holes in the AI code, and SDC will permit quick and painless updates to the AI as soon as they become available. Natty.

~SDC~

Vernmeister,

Actually, one of the features was how good the game's AI *already* was, out of the box...the fact that there are 6 different AIs and that they get to play the game just like the player (ie, without having lots of free money and units thrown at them). The initial game's AI is supposed to be (at the higher levels, at least) just like playing really good human opponents. The idea, then, is that you're playing worthy opponents, but not having to deal with human foibles (disconnects, swearing at you, calling you a cheater, etc).

I always got the impression that "teaching" the AI based on Metaverse submissions was something that would happen down the line. For one thing, there have to be a number of Metaverse submissions before there's anything *worth* teaching the AI.

Secondly, the impression I always got was that our submissions to the Metaverse would be analyzed and this analysis file would be sent to Stardock employees. They could then look this over and decide to implement the better strategies into the AI. For example, if a number of people found an easy way to exploit an AI weakness, the analysis could show them this and they could then adjust the AI so it no longer has that weakness...that sort of thing. Then, once they've done these adjustments, they can make these updated AI files available as downloads through Stardock Central.

Further, as Brad pointed out, they will eventually create a specific AI that will play just like a specific high-ranking player on the Metaverse. Then, if you want the experience of playing against, say, Midnight-Louie, you just download the Midnight-Louie AI update from Stardock Central and apply it to your game (maybe in the races setup screen, they'll add a field to choose specific AIs for each race, with default being that race's original default AI?). Viola, you get a computer player that will use the same build orders and general tactics as Midnight-Louie has in his submitted games.

That's how I've always understood that the Metaverse/AI thing will work. So, I don't think it's any kind of false advertising at all.

~SDC~

I appreciate all the input. I do look forward to playing the game, and seeing what happens on the A.I. front.

Thanks again,

Vern

~SDC~