[freeciv-ai] Re: (PR#3663) [PATCH] The AI gets tech too quickly at the easy level

["Gregory Berkolaiko" <Gregory.Berkolaiko@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Sat, 8 Mar 2003, Anthony J. Stuckey wrote:

> On Sat, Mar 08, 2003 at 12:43:44PM -0800, ue80@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
> > There are some ideas especially nonattacking AI and so on. easy AI
> > really doesn't cheat .. perhaps increasing the want of buildings instead
> > of settling the hole world. But beginning to handicap with magic numbers
> > shouldn't be the right way. 
> 
>       Indeed.  If the Easy AI isn't easy enough, Diplomacy is the way to go
> to make it easier.  Offering initial Peace to Human players, and only
> breaking that status after being attacked by the Human should make the game
> much easier.

I would ask you to listen to "recreational" players, whose opinions are 
contained in Sam's email and the link he gives.  

Yes, Diplomacy with non-attacking AIs will make _survival_ trivial.  But
it won't make winning easier: once provoked, the AI will come down on the
newbie player like an avalanche, with all it's tech advantage.  If not
provoked, the AI will just blast off to space in 1775.

We can try turning off omniscience, but I suspect the consequences will be 
disastrous.

The appeal of Sam's proposal is that this handicap can be tuned and graded
very easily.  It's not a dichotomy like "omniscient or stumbling in the
dark".  Together with unhappysize (making it high will benefit both AI and
newbie) and cityfactor (making it low will most likely hurt the AI rather
than a newbie), it will make a good set of tools to make game more
manageable for new to the trade.

Writing a collection of hints and tips is also a good idea.  

G.