Re: [Freeciv-Dev] AI handicap/advantage: simple proposal

[Tony & <stuckey@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Tue, Oct 27, 1998 at 09:40:32AM +0100, Massimo Campostrini wrote:
> If I understand correctly, the "hard" AI knows everything and it can
> ignore government max rates.  

        Well -- knows the entire map.
        It doesn't know tech, etc.

> I have a very simple proposal, which would automatically implement
> many levels of handicap/advantage: forget about know everything and
> ignore rates; instead, multiply AI's research and tax revenues by a
> constant amount, e.g. in 20% steps:
> 
> AI factor = 1.2^(level-6)
> 
> At level 0 the factor is 1/3, and this should be good enough for newbies;
> at level 12 the factor is 3, and this should make things more interesting 
> for expert players.  Of course, level can be even bigger, or negative.

        This is the approach that Microprose took.  They use something very
similar to 1.6-(0.2*level) where level ranged from 0-4.

        I don't like it.
        While it's probably the easiest and most comprehensive handicap,
it's just damn annoying.

        If the AI players are exploring different paths up the technology
tree, then they will foster exchange of technology between civilizations.
Freeciv is lacking a lot in this area, and I think that including this
aspect of the game will change the dynamics a lot.
        The AI can do things like determine if a city is going to increase
in population 2 turns before the granary gets built, and throttle the city
growth to get the granary bonus of keeping 1/2 the foodbox.  Human players
regularly do not take the time to work with details like this.

        Basically, I think there is still a lot that can be done with the
AI to make it more competitive.

        I also still have the dream of making more cognitive support for
human players.  When you click "End Turn", the game should check for things
like your civilizations going into Civil Disorder next turn, and give you
the opportunity to pre-empt that.  Printing a message about the
aforementioned granary issue would also help novice players.
        Things like this would also bring new players to a higher level of
play faster.
-- 
Anthony J. Stuckey                              stuckey@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"When I was young, the sky was filled with stars.
 I watched them burn out one by one."  -Warren Zevon