[freeciv-ai] Re: Exploring madness

[Ross Wetmore <rwetmore@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Anthony J. Stuckey wrote:
> On Sat, Feb 15, 2003 at 02:56:24PM +0000, Gregory Berkolaiko wrote:
[...]
>         If you want to ensure that nearby unknown tiles get covered, you can
> change their desirability.  A simple linear value function of distance will
> ensure that closer tiles get explored before those much further away.
This can lead to some negative effects like you never find things out till
late in the game. And it may serve to keep empires small and compact. When
units finally reach the farthest out tiles, they are a long way from home
and cannot be easily recalled making the to and fro travel a waste.

If you explore in larger and larger loops both the efficiency of the
exploration and the distribution of units is more favourable at all times.

Military units should not in general stray too far. Non-military explorers
should cover as wide a territory as possible to uncover both goodies and
baddies in a timely fashion. So there is some room to tailor different
weighting systems to concentrate on very specific objectives.

Cheers,
RossW
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