ORIGINAL: Fishman
See, that result there is proof that the derelict fleet problem is not as bad as it sounds. There are plenty of other derelict fleets out there in the universe, but with one key exception: By the time you get there, THEY AREN'T THERE ANYMORE. The ones YOU find, the AI might not be rushing to grab because they're in YOUR area.
I guess this is more a matter of exploration than any form of ownership of territory.
In my current game I have persistant troubles with a ship graveyard where I met ships of another empire at the time of my exploration. Later, a parade of constructors from different empires came by, some of them very remote, like the other end of the galaxy. Not all AI empires got involved.
So the hypothesis is: AI send constructors as soon as they learn about the site and a constructor is free from other jobs. Learning about it can be through direct exploration or trade/theft of maps.
ORIGINAL: taltamir
I have seen the AI do so...
actually I could swear that the AI for other empires is zelous in grabbing those. while the AI for my own empire (If i turn it on) considers it a much lower priority.
Consider this: How many of your constructors are on auto and how many do you have in total? Even if I leave part of my constructor fleet on auto, it is never all of them.
Or: How fast do you expand and how fast the typical rival AI? Depending on what is going on in your empire, your resource demands and thereby construction needs
may be prioritized differently compared to the AI. I am massively out-expanding and out-exploring any AI in my games and can imagine that this has most automated constructors busy constructing mines and resort or other bases rather than going after abandoned ships (but they do). Of course, this is speculation, I have no idea about whether and how the automation AI prioritizes constructor targets.
