AI behavior?

from Stardock Forums
Hi all,

A group of us are working on a compendium of all things strategic regarding GalCiv. I am working on a section entitled "Race AI" and realize I know very little about the differences and behaviors of the AI. Specifically i'd like some info from all of you on:

1) Differences in starting bonuses to each of the AIs, is this hard coded or dependant on the game? Ie i think the Drengins pick War Party and get that 50% starship bonus.

2) Different behaviors of the AIs. All can become warlike given the right circumstances, but obviously the Drengins are more so. Whos the biggest trader of the 5? Biggest pacifist?

3) Who do you feel is the strongest of the AIs? I feal its the Arceans, they tend to out-produce everyone else, but I am not sure if they have production bonuses. Anyway more often than not they are my chief competitor/rival.

Any other info regarding this topic you want to say or discuss feel free to post. In our compendium I will of course give credit where it is due, so if you want your name in lights, post! :)

Thanks!
203 views 7 replies
Reply #1 from Stardock Forums Top
some random observations:

Arceans:
Can be quite painful, best in handling starbases.

Altarians:
Second painful, hardest trading-partner - the usually aren't willing to give you a fair deal.

Torians:
The most pacifistic ones (which doesn't mean much).
Invading their planets is nice 'cause they usually have nearly every enhancement available.

Drengin:
Most agressive, but if they don't get a good start, they are no trouble. Interesting enough, I think they are the race who is the easiest to ally with, but I'm not sure if this is true.

Yor:
Yor?
...a right, those violet robots that usually don't do much and often are the first do die, if they don't have a good start. Quite passive.
Reply #2 from Stardock Forums Top
Thanks for the info. I agree with these comments. I'll add:

Drengins: Most militaristic, pumps most of their economy into building ships.

Arceans: Huge production bonuses (I think?)

Most likely to demand tribute/go to war:
Drengins
Arceans
Yor
Alterians
Torians

Best for establishing trade routes:
Torians
Alterians
Yor
Arceans
Drengins
Fences - Organize your desktop icons today!
Reply #3 from Stardock Forums Top
Most likely to demand tribute/go to war:
Drengins
Arceans
Yor
Alterians
Torians
End of quote

I think this can't be said in general, for the alignment plays a large role, along with other factor.
I'm ususally playing chaotic evil, and the Altarians are usually the ones that are most agressive against me, not the Drengin or Yor...

Arceans: Huge production bonuses (I think?)
End of quote

Nope. The AI only gets bonuses when set to Genius or Incredible, and then the bonuses are the same for all races.
BUT - bonuses could come from political party, and I don't know how it is determined which party the AI takes and if it is different in every game or alawys the same. Maybe the Arceans prefer those partys which give a production bonus and that leads to the impression you got?


[Message Edited]
Reply #4 from Stardock Forums Top
My breakdown:

Dregnin: evil,strongest military aggressive - build up fast by blackmailing everyone weaker than them military for tech and money. A threat early game, but either take over half the universe, or collapse from too many wars.

Altarians: Good, strong military and aggressive. Sort of the good counter part to the dregnin. Not as strong/aggressive military as the dregnin, but tend to be better at making friends/allies. Tend to ally up with the Torians/Arceans.

Arcean: Strong development. If they survive long enough, they can be a very powerful opponent. Good Starbase management (or relatively so, anyway).

Torians: Diplomats. Weak in themseleves, but concentrate a lot on trade and keeping other races happy. Often, even if not allied, going to war with them can cause you going to war with someone else too, as they do a lot of trade with them. Tend to get culturally assimilated by their powerful allies later in the game, if they don't get destroyed by someone in spite of their allies.

Yor - errr, I really don't know what to say, except they're evil and like a toned down version of the Dregnin.

phew, my longest post ever
Reply #5 from Stardock Forums Top
Sorry, Mojo, but "evil and "good" are just settings that you can change - that has nothing to do with the AI itself.
Reply #6 from Stardock Forums Top
#1 by Avatar Frogboy - 5/29/2003 11:02:51 PM In terms of effort coded:1) Drengin2) Arcean3) Altarian4) Torian5) Yor
End of quote


Reply #7 from Stardock Forums Top
Yeah, yellow you're right. I've never played with the alignment settings, so I sort of forgot about that.

Whoops.