[freeciv-ai] (PR#3663) Re: [Freeciv-Dev] Re: (PR#3665) [PATCH] Thanks for the really addictive game, guys!

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

On Sun, 9 Mar 2003, Per I. Mathisen wrote:

> On Sat, 8 Mar 2003, Mike Kaufman wrote:
> > frankly, this patch or one similar is not going to make it in for the
> > reasons mentioned previously. A better solution might be to require the
> > easy AI to limit government rates like humans.
> 
> It already does this.
> 
> > But really, all this cries out for user-configurable ai difficulty levels
> > defined in rulesets.
> 
> We need to think hard about replacing the handicap system with something
> better. Preferably something that is remniscient of Master of Orion 2's
> race selection. Then players can give their AI counterparts whatever
> handicaps they want.

Whatever handicap system we come up with, we need to decide how are we 
going to solve this praticular problem:  AI researching too fast on easy 
level.  Why this happens?  I guess because AI knows the best strategy -- 
to go for the republic straight away.  So possible solutions might be:

1. Tweak AI goverment selection.
2. Tweak AI rates selection (make it like luxury, say)
3. Tweak AI expansion parameters, make them dynamic, so the desire to make 
new cities _decays_ with #of cities.
4. Introduce level-dependent AI research handicap.

Number 4 is an immediate and easily adjustable solution.  It seems that
most people are against it on ideological grounds.  Well, I say, if
ideology stands in the way of making the game more playable for more
people, stuff the ideology.

G.