[Freeciv-Dev] Re: AI Generally

["Erik Sigra" <sigra@xxxxxxx>]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Thue Janus Kristensen" <thue@xxxxxxx>
To: <freeciv-dev@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, June 02, 2000 11:57 AM
Subject: [Freeciv-Dev] Re: AI Generally


> On Fri, 02 Jun 2000, Massimo Campostrini wrote:
> > "Sam BC" <sambc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> writes:
> >
> > > Correct me if I'm wrong, but the current code is pretty much opaque
(or at
> > > least only translucent) and hard to build on. Maybe after the next
version
> > > release it might be worth thinking about completely re-coding the AI
in an
> > > experimental version, even including both in source with a
compile-time (or
> > > run-time but the executables will be big) option.
> >
> > The current AI code looked completely opaque to me as well.

> > If you plan re-coding the AI, consider writing it as a client-side
> > AI.  Then we can have AI tournaments!  The main (dis)advantage is
> > that it can't cheat.
> >
> > I don't know if anything is missing from the server to support
> > client-side AIs.  As a minimum, a command to launch one or more
> > client-side AIs on the server's host would be nice; maybe just
> > modify "create" to accept a second optional argument:
> >
> > create <player-name> <external-AI-program>
> >
> > Regards,
> > Massimo Campostrini
>
> I too agree that the AI code is opaque, though some of it work quite
> well, that doesn't help if it is impossible to modify. Though I did
> already "save" parts of ugly AI-related opaque code in
> handle_unit_move_request() and the goto. (not accidentally the parts
> needed in any case)
>
> I also think the right war to code a new ai is to make it client side.
> That would accomplish:
> 1) You very easily get clear of the ugly legacy AI code
> 2) The AI will have it's own thead, making it possible to make it use
> much more CPU without completely stalling the player (the server will
> currently not take new input while the AI is running). For single player
> games you could just disallow the human player to move units until the AI
> had finished, but he could still look around and manage cities in the mean
> time.
>
> -Thue
>

I'm wondering how the saving of games will be done with client side AIs.

With server side AIs, the `AI-mind´ (long time plans, strategies and
knowledge, the kind of things that human players save in their brains
between their playing sessions)  can be stored in the standard savegame
file.

But with AI-less server, the standard savegame file only contains `the state
of the game´ and nothing else. Do you plan an approach where every
AI-clients saves a `Mind-File´?

I can't think of any other solution. Not saving a Mind-File could maybe
result in an AI-player after a reload wondering "What was my intention with
this transport full of hoowizers? Where did I plan to unload them? Where to
send them after that?" or "How was my civilisation organized into regions
and what were the priorities of thoose regions?" or "Wich of the players was
mean to me so I started building these nukes? They are ready now!"