Keeping the AI from starting Secret Projects

Mr. Harley · February 11, 2004, 01:23

I'm new to CMNing, though I've made my own test scenarios in the past when I only did solo play. I am trying to make a tougher AI with good terraforming, extra initial research, and multiple bases. The problem is that it gives them too much of an advantage in completing SP's. So I set the Govenor's active and checked the box indicating the Govenor could not complete Secret Projects. I also queued base facilities that should have kept them busy for at least 20 years. No go. Those bases (mineral resources/mines) went ahead within the first five years and started them anyway. How can I do this while still leaving the AI in a non-conquer mode?

Maniac · February 11, 2004, 08:53

In the alphax.txt reduce the importance of SPs to zero?

Mr. Harley · February 11, 2004, 09:16

Will all of the players need to modify it also - this is PBEM, I've never tried to do anything serious with the alpha.txt.

Maniac · February 11, 2004, 10:07

Hmm, can't say, I must admit.

A lot (but not all) of things in the alphax.txt are kept in the save file, so that not every PBEM player has to get an edited alphax.txt, but AFAIK no one has tried changing the SP importance values yet.

Mr. Harley · February 12, 2004, 10:47

I guess I'll have to try editing it, save the scenario, then restore the orginal .txt file and play a bunch of turns to see what happens. I'll post when I get it done this weekend, my 11 month old eats up alot of my time.

Mr. Harley · February 12, 2004, 12:17

Maniac, I tried finding a line for AI interest in Secret Projects in the Alpha.txt. No luck. All I can see are the choices for growth, power, wealth, and tech. I could try monkeying with those, but that would produce other undesired corollary effects; i.e. Conquer will eliminate that problem and then you have an AI that defeats itself. Sigh. I'll have to monkey around some more.

Googlie · February 17, 2004, 01:20

AFAIK the AI's building of SP's can't be eliminated entirely.

You can take SP's out of the game completely, via the scenario ediitor and the scenario rules.

Best I can do is to set the SP's as objectives thru the scenario ediitor, then set each AI faction's strategy to attack objectives. They then don't seem to want to build them quite so readily, focussing more on building an attack force to go after the human controlled bases that have SP's in them

G.

Mr. Harley · February 17, 2004, 21:49

Googlie, I'll have to try that. Thanks.

GeoModder · February 19, 2004, 19:17

Mmm, a thought. What would happen if you changed the 'interest' fields of those SP? If they were all put to zero, would the AI then still consider them worhtwhile building?

Edited by Geo

Btw, with interest I mean growth/conquer/build/research to 0