SMACX Thinker Mod

[Buster's Uncle]

Oh. ZIP I can upload. In fact all of my releases are ZIPs. I just thought maybe you have some magical way to reference GitHub so I don't need to upload **every** release! 😁

Actually, never mind. I see that it accepts file OR URL. So I just pointed to my release page.

Can you correct the name of my download and remove parentheses from title? I didn't notice you have a base game field already.

I'll go have a look.

But yeah, no; I never even been to GitHub, and I'm no tech wiz.

[Buster's Uncle]

I removed (smacx mod) entirely - you can edit the CNN post yourself, to control what's displaying on the Front Page.

[Rocky]

It has to be noted, the last update mainly changed the unit movement. I didn't make many changes to production choices with some exceptions. V2.3 increased the priority given to faster land/sea units because I noticed the AI built way too few rovers in some test cases. AI should also build foil probe teams earlier and more often. That should help with scouting because one play tester reported, in the earlier versions, the AI took really long time to make contact with other factions.

Speaking of test games, I think the AI should now be an adequate opponent on Veteran's map. Combined land/sea operations are very hard for the AI but I think Thinker is getting there. It might be very interesting to setup some kind of a multiplayer style "always war" scenario on that map. In test games it took Thinker about 230 turns to completely conquer vanilla AI on the other side of the map, so there we have it. Tactically the AI might still make many errors that cost numerous units though.

I'm using 2.3 and I noticed how the Ai had no problems finding me. I often encounter early Foils and Transport ships. The AI also has a preference for fast units like you said. The ocean is swarming with Battle/Probe Cruisers, and Tanks/Rovers are the most numerous units on land. The AI is also crazy good in blitzing an opponent.

In my last game the Believers had around 25 bases on one continent. I think the Pirates captured most of them within 10 turns, with the University coming in from behind and getting the remaining few in 2-3 turns. Poor Miriam had one city left on the ocean, but a couple of Pirate ships were moving towards it. The Morganites made a landbridge to the island of the Gaians, and then invaded with around 25 Tachyon/Shard Tanks, taking all of their core cities.

It really adds to the immersion seeing factions actually trying to conquer each other with a large army.

I'm happy to hear about the land/sea combined invasions. Sounds awesome. Are you planning to introduce this for the next version?

[Alpha Centauri Bear]

Oh. ZIP I can upload. In fact all of my releases are ZIPs. I just thought maybe you have some magical way to reference GitHub so I don't need to upload **every** release! 😁

Actually, never mind. I see that it accepts file OR URL. So I just pointed to my release page.

Can you correct the name of my download and remove parentheses from title? I didn't notice you have a base game field already.

I'll go have a look.

But yeah, no; I never even been to GitHub, and I'm no tech wiz.

You don't need to. It is a simple page with downloadable zip version links. Try to go by "Download" link in my mod that I have recently created and you'll see.

I am just asking if you can correct the title of the download **post** in download section that you advertised. Strangely, I cannot edit it even then I am an author.

[Buster's Uncle]

I'll go have another look - I thought I got that.

[edit to spare Induktio that much derail.]  I did get that, in Downloads.  You might want to get that on the ChironNN post, which is what's showing on the Front Page.  I assumed you'd rather have your name on the edit notice than mine, and thread- starters can edit their titles here.

[Induktio]

> I'm happy to hear about the land/sea combined invasions. Sounds awesome. Are you planning to introduce this for the next version?

Bro, it's already included in v2.3.

What I'm saying is that it might still need some further tweaks even though the basics are there. You might want to try tech stagnation also if the AI gets to advanced techs too fast.

I wanted to implement some real naval invasions for the AI and that wouldn't have been possible without rewriting unit movement almost entirely. Now it also has separate logic for planning the invasion route, e.g. stack up point on mainland base -> sea transport -> beach landing zone. Only one such route is active at one time and the AI also tries to use combat ships to cover the transports on the route.

For all units the AI is broken into big picture strategic thinking (where should this unit move?) and smaller scale tactical decision making (which unit to attack on the nearby tiles, if any). For air units the rebasing logic also works differently, it shouldn't move massive stacks of air units around with no reason anymore. Rebasing is sometimes bad when it wastes the turn. Though I have to note currently it doesn't handle Copters very well, so it's advised to disable that chassis anyway.

[Rocky]

Thanks for the detailed reply. I appreciate it. I've noticed Thinker does coastal invasions pretty well. I've seen several cases where the AI takes coastal bases and manages to keep them.

I'm playing my current game with slow tech. It took a while for me to get used to it but now in the second half it has really opened up the game. With normal tech once Thinker (Often Morganites) got Secrets of Alpha Centauri they rushed through the remaining techs but now there's much more time to enjoy all the new toys. Tech trading and research choices also feel more meaningful.

Do the settings in the scenario editor (Like research priorities or AI behavior) have an effect on Thinker AI or does it only work with Vanilla AI?

[Rocky]

Apologies for the double post but I wanted to add a few things I've noticed while playing. You're likely aware of them but I wanted to mention them just in case.

- I'm not sure if Thinker AI affects diplomacy between AI's but the AI's seem too aggressive in the sense that they don't want to make peace with each other. I've had several large-scale confrontations between powerful factions that became a stalemate with frontlines that barely changed. Some of these wars lasted over 150 years or never stopped. In some cases when the AI did make peace they declared war against each other within a few turns or sometimes even during the same turn.

Some of these wars work well when one of the AI's conquers the other in just a few decades, but in other cases they both spend the majority of their resources on building armies and their infrastructure suffers from it. They're still doing a good job keeping up in tech but the extended wars do feel like a detriment to them in the long run.

- The AI seems reluctant to build Habitation Domes. I noticed that even when bases are stable and have lots of food (Or the Cloning Vats) the AI doesn't give high priority to them. They get built eventually but it can take years before the AI gets to it.

- From what I've seen the AI doesn't build Planet Busters or Conventional Missiles.

- I haven't seen the AI build Flechette Defense Systems/Tachyon Fields/Geosynschronous Survey Pods. Although that may depend on certain conditions. It definitely does build Orbital Defense Pods.

[Buster's Uncle]

We just don't worry about multi-posting at all here.  Edits suck as a workaround.  Post moar when you have another thing to say, thanks.

[Induktio]

> Apologies for the double post but I wanted to add a few things I've noticed while playing. You're likely aware of them but I wanted to mention them just in case.

You might have to post a save game about some of this stuff. I don't know what other conditions or settings you might have affecting the game state in those instances.

> I'm not sure if Thinker AI affects diplomacy between AI's but the AI's seem too aggressive in the sense that they don't want to make peace with each other.

Currently it doesn't affect diplomacy directly. Those features are not implemented. Note: did the factions have antithetical ideologies? Then they might get stuck in long wars.

> From what I've seen the AI doesn't build Planet Busters or Conventional Missiles.

I haven't noticed problems in this regard. Did you repeal UN charter for the planet busters? Otherwise only aggressive AIs might build them.

> I've noticed Thinker does coastal invasions pretty well.

Did you happen to collect any screenshots about the invasions?

> Do the settings in the scenario editor (Like research priorities or AI behavior) have an effect on Thinker AI or does it only work with Vanilla AI?

Research focus affects the AI behaviour a lot. They are referenced in code as AI_fight, AI_growth, AI_tech etc variables. Too numerous to start listing here. AI strategy choices in scenario editor like "Build lots of xyz" are ignored.

[MercantileInterest]

If you suffer the global warming warning and then vote to raise solar shade, does the shade combine the two values.

i.e. if GW threatened to raise sea levels 200m and the shade will lower sea levels 300m, will the final level be -100m lower than previously?

[MercantileInterest]

Another thought: anonymous probe teams.

If a probe isn't yours, you have no way of telling whose it is. As such, you're free to attack or expel at will. In addition, if enemy probe attacks one of yours, the game won't inform you which faction attacked.

[Buster's Uncle]

At will.  I like the heck out of that notion.  Intuitive for the story and illusion-sustaining.

[Rocky]

The AI is building Cruiser Probe Teams in landlocked cities.  It doesn't do it that often but it doesn't seem to make a distinction between land and sea cities. (version 2.3)

[Induktio]

> If you suffer the global warming warning and then vote to raise solar shade, does the shade combine the two values.

I can't really remember, it's been some time since I looked at that code. Maybe Scient might know it.

> In addition, if enemy probe attacks one of yours, the game won't inform you which faction attacked.

It's possible that requires some major patching on the UI code, so not sure about that.

> The AI is building Cruiser Probe Teams in landlocked cities.

That's really strange. Is there any chance the land altitude around the base was changed after building that unit?