AI Improvement Mod (1.05 Extended Release)

[Icemania]

I'm still keen to work with Lurchi and Blackstork to combine Research Reloaded with Beyond.

Given the magnitude of the Tech Tree it's going to need some thought and time to come up with new Research Orders.

Since Lurchi is taking a lot longer than I expected, the time I have to help will depend on what else is going on at the time.

Speaking of which ... Beyond Earth ...

[Blackstork]

Btw Civilisation : Beyond Earth have serious AI issues. Apollo game feels too easy.
AI do not manage trade routes so well as played does, and they are OP, and AI sucks with combat/attack timing.
It feels like it would need some mandatory expansion/patches. I've abandoned game from 1 level below Appolo, and started Apollo and still i see i am going to win it quite easily. It already looses its challenge, and its bit undewhelming when i feel that i can win Apollo with just some simple patience and micromanagement. I will get that Apollo acxhievement and will leave it on shelf till they release Ai patch / expansion.
Icemania, it could be worth looking into it, so far you had great sucess

[Icemania]

I just won Civ:BE on Apollo difficulty on Turn 142 on my first try at max difficulty. That said, it was a small map, a large map should be a different story.

At the moment I'm going to avoid large maps as the trade route renewal is extremely micro intensive (like the Explorer micro in Distant Worlds before the explorer automation was improved enough to get by). There is a Mod to extend the trade route renewal intervals but I'll play through the different factions / victory types first, so might as well pick up a few achievements. Then will explore more of the setup options to make Apollo interesting.

The AI is way ahead of Endless Legend though.

[Blackstork]

ORIGINAL: Icemania

I just won Civ:BE on Apollo difficulty on Turn 142 on my first try at max difficulty. That said, it was a small map, a large map should be a different story.

At the moment I'm going to avoid large maps as the trade route renewal is extremely micro intensive (like the Explorer micro in Distant Worlds before the explorer automation was improved enough to get by). There is a Mod to extend the trade route renewal intervals but I'll play through the different factions / victory types first, so might as well pick up a few achievements. Then will explore more of the setup options to make Apollo interesting.

The AI is way ahead of Endless Legend though.

didnt tried that game, if i will try good games i wont have time for modding Civ is very old series i played from Civ I and modded alot (I've been participating for some long time in Dune mod development for Civ VI, and contributed alot of small things and concept and races for FfH modmod offshots.) I have time to make some modding push before DA:I arrives which i expect to be actually good and some change abit from 4x abundance on my monitor.

[nidaren]

Hello there,

Thank you for this amazing mod, having tons of fun with it.

The only thing I noticed while playing as XHumans is that I see all the designs as buildable (including carriers and capital ships) from the turn 1. They all have smaller than 230 size.

Is there a way to "hide them" till later?

Thanks!

[hewwo]

Have you guys tried endless legends? I found that a lot more fun than beyond earth (unfortunately..) Anyway, does the 1.03 version of the AI & extended play nicely with 1.9.5.10? I'm going to start a new game this weekend, so just checking:)

[Icemania]

Agree hewwo, Endless Legends is a very good game and blows Beyond Earth out of the water. The only major problem is the Endless Legend AI. There have been improvements in the latest patch but not sure how significant they are.

I'm playing Distant Worlds with the AI Mod right now with 1.9.5.10 Beta and haven't noticed any issues.

Also hanging out for the Star Trek Armada 3: A Call to Arms release on December 15th.

[hewwo]

Oh wow, I didn't know Sins still was being worked on:) I've played the original but I found it way to much RTS and not enough 4X. However, this looks pretty good... let us know if this mod is worth getting rebellion for!

[Yank31]

Greetings,

Sorry for asking but it... isn't quite clear for me. How do you install this mod?

I already have Extended installed, and as far as I understand you can only have one theme running at a time so, should I put the different files and folders found into your "Extended 1.03" archive OVER those already found in the customization\Extended folder ?

That's what I just did because it made the most sense to me (and Das icons are already in there), but I sort of want to make sure this was the correct way.

Also, I'd like to point out that, even if it seems to be obvious for veterans, it is not for a newcomer. So maybe you should make a little "how to install" text on the OP (especially when you plan to use it in conjunction with Extended, that is...).

Cheers

[Icemania]

Either way will work. If you overwrite the files it will work. Or if you extract into it's own folder/theme it will work.

However, while you can only have one active theme, you can switch between themes whenever you like. Personally I prefer to have a bunch of mods in the customization folder that I can switch between.

Hope that helps.

[Yank31]

It does.

Maybe you should specify, somewhere in the OP, that the "Extended 1.03 version" is a standalone, which does indeed already include the original Extended mod.

Also, I was quite shocked to discover that the tech tree had been changed (most notably colonization) but also the tech themselves (hyperdrives) !! I did not expect that, at all. Yes, I didn't read everything in the OP, but to be frank, it's a bit overwhelming and I figured I wouldn't miss any crucial info after the dev wish-list.

These changes don't seem bad, and they play well, but I really wish they would appear somewhere in a visible spot. Especially because they are not expected in an AI mod. You know, it's like modding Skyrim and this dude did a wonderful thing with pouches, and made a whole solid and appealing mod about them, but forgets to mention that he also changed some stuff about forge and crafting, and hunger, and suddenly your whole mod installation falls appart and... yeah.

This is a very excessive example, I did not encounter any conflict with your mod (I only run 3). But... just saying, a little bit of info is always welcomed. Maybe I missed it.

At any rates, just some quick and dirty feedback, thank you very much for your answer, and thank you even more for the whole thing. [&o]

[Icemania]

I would recommend reading the OP more thoroughly.

With respect to how to how to install the Mod, near the very top of the OP the following is stated:

ORIGINAL: Icemania
Both downloads are structured as a new Theme and will need to be placed in the "Customization" folder.

Anybody who has seen Das's "how to mod" video that is stickied to the top of the forum will understand that statement. If you want to mix it up and ignore that advice, you have that choice but any problems due to conflicts are at your own peril.

With respect to colonisation, in the OP the following is stated:

ORIGINAL: Icemania
Integrated Francoy's Colonisation Rebalanced Mod including changes to Research Orders, Race Files, Research Costs and Policy Files.

Francoy's Colonisation Mod is also specifically credited in the about text for the Mod i.e. where you switch to it as a theme in game.

With respect to hyperdrives, in the OP the following is stated:

ORIGINAL: Icemania
3. Reduced Gerax hyperdrive speeds and increased late-game hyperdrive speeds. This helps prevent the AI from sending ships and fleets unreasonable distances before they are ready to do so. Pirates will be a little less effective which helps the AI Empires. Late game mop-up operations can be done more quickly. It should also help the Shakturi if the human player has not given hyperdrive research sufficient focus.

I know it's a long list but there are a lot of changes in this Mod and from the start I wanted to be as transparent as I could. There are a number of other changes that may not be obvious unless you read the OP but they are all in the mod for a reason.

[Yank31]

It could sound like I'm arguing, but not being a native user of this language, I'll just say : I'm not arguing, at all.

After reading your contributions on this forum, I would not even imagine accusing you of not being transparent. I probably phrased my thought poorly. What I was trying to say is that the content of your mod does not appear easily, to the newcomer. It feels a bit scattered, all over the OP. I just skimmed, again, the OP, and did not find the reference you just mentionned. I'm probably not the best reader there is, but I did install quite a bit of mods in quite a bit of games in the past decades. To sum it up and put it a bit bluntly perhaps (please do not take offence) : your OP is not very easy to decypher, crucial infos about the mod content does not catch the eye very well. The OP could use a bit of polish, with maybe clearer sections (ie installation / content / changelogs / dev wish list / etc).
I feel that those 2 pieces of information should receive a special treatement, regarding their presentation, because they do feel out of place in an AI modification. Again, they are probably great and the point I was trying to make is that one should immediately know "Oh yes, it will also change the research cost and tweak some techs, which in the end should further help the AI performing better. Ok, great, great."
This is what I was trying to say on that matter.

Regarding your installation instruction, I did catch them the first time (fortunately for me, that's like the first sentence...). I still find them lacking because I did not know if the file I would download was a stand-alone (which would include the original Extended mod), or only your mod, adapted for Extended. Hence why I suggested to specify that it is, indeed, a stand-alone and that, therefore, one does not need to also download the original Extended mod and install it prior, or after, or whatever.

Sorry this is getting a bit too long, just wanted to clarify, not to blotter your thread with nitpicking (which I fear I still ended up doing - for the better, I hope).

[Icemania]

Yes okay, I agree it is time to restructure the OP. It was intended to focus on developer support issues which is why that was at the top. I had also received requests to make the changelogs more visible. However, those horses have bolted, and I can see you can have to read quite a way down if you are new to the mod before getting to anything interesting.

[Icemania]

Okay OP updated, let me know if you find that easier to read.

[Yank31]

I think this is great, much clearer.

It did give me the incentive to actually read more about the content and finally, and rapidly, find about colonization and hyperspeed

Code: Select all

 Installation :
 Both downloads are structured as a new Theme.
 Extract as a new folder in the "Customization" folder, then run the game and switch to the AI Improvement Mod theme.
 
 - The "Vanilla 1.03 Release" file contains the AI Improvement Mod for vanilla.
 - The "Extended 1.03 Release" file is an "all-in-one" package, including both the AI Improvement Mod for Extended, and Haree78's sensational Extended Universe Mod 1.03
 
 Refer to Das's How to Install Mods Video if required. 

Or something along those lines, I admit this is not as easy as I wished it was, to remain both short and explicit.

In any cases, cheers


Edit : hahaha, gotta love how using the "code" "/code" to make things clean, actually turned this post into a visual mess. The irony...

[Icemania]

Updated, cheers.

[Icemania]

Hey All:

ORIGINAL: Erik Rutins
This new update, 1.9.5.10 ...

BUG FIXES
- ensure Shakturi always properly use custom design templates when available

Good news! As of patch 1.9.5.10 the Shakturi now use the custom design templates that are in the AI Improvement Mod rather than Vanilla. Be afraid! Thanks Erik and Elliot. Refer below for a screenshot from a test game and notice the size of the ships ...

[Yank31]

No...

[:-]

[Icemania]

The Shakturi needed an upgrade, they can be beaten without loosing a single ship on Extreme difficulty. Not any more!

Keep an eye on those Cruisers ... HINT: