Stop cheating Normal AI!

from AshesoftheSingularity Forums

(Playing version 0.94.18701)

The "Normal" AI is supposedly playing on an equal footing with a human player, but in my tests this evening it clearly is not in at least two regards.

I am playing Substrate vs Substrate on Deneb. I am racing the AI to get control of the first node. It ought to depend upon who has a starting node closer to their base and upon how fast I can click, but the AI always wins.

If I start in Position 1 I have the closest node immediately north of the base. The AI can claim its closest node about a second before I can.

If I start in Position 2 my closest node is to the south, but it is further to go. The AI can claim its closest node about five seconds before I can.

The AI appears to have a bonus to either engineer movement speed or the amount of effort required to capture a node.

 

If I turn neutral defenders on, the AI can claim a node before construction of an assembly plant is complete. The AI appears to be able to ignore neutral defenders. By the time I've manufactured a unit to clear out the neutral defenders on the first node, the AI is already moving on its third.

 

Despite the game text describing the Normal AI as "getting no bonuses or penalties" it appears to be getting bonuses. Or is there some way of reading that apparent grammatical error to make the above behavior honest? (It is two negative alternatives, so it should be "nor" not "or".)

 

I go to the Normal AI looking for a fair fight, but it can grow its economy faster than I can and hence it is not fair.

 

2,617 views 3 replies
Reply #1 from AshesoftheSingularity Forums Top

When the game starts you have to select the engineer and then click on the node to take it. As soon as the game starts the AI can just send the engineer instantly so it will beat you by a second or so. Big deal frankly, Normal is easy to beat so an extra second or two isn't going to make a difference.

The defenders take about a minute to spawn in. You can capture at least one with your first engineer before they start to appear, that is what the AI is doing. Playing the game a bit more instead of writing this may have helped you.

Reply #2 from AshesoftheSingularity Forums Top

Yes, what Ticktoc said. I didn't realize this at first but the creeps don't spawn until 40 seconds in (from what I was told). So, your engineers can cap points in the beginning. If you go right for building an assembly plant, then you are neglecting the early spawn capture.

Siege of Centauri
Reply #3 from AshesoftheSingularity Forums Top

Quoting MartialDoc, reply 2

Yes, what Ticktoc said. I didn't realize this at first but the creeps don't spawn until 40 seconds in (from what I was told). So, your engineers can cap points in the beginning. If you go right for building an assembly plant, then you are neglecting the early spawn capture.
End of MartialDoc's quote

 

They spawn at 1 minute, You have 40 seconds to get engineer into capture range of a node.  I takes 20 seconds to capture the node.