AI: Guard your transports please

from GalCiv2 Forums
I thought the AI was being improved in 1.1 Beta? This is just ridiculous:

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This is on Masochist difficulty, beta 1.1 (happened in all versions but I was waiting patiently for a patch, I have given up on the patient part) The Arceans sent NO WARSHIPS, only unguarded transports...and in a pack. I can't think of a worse move to make.

The only thing I can think of is that I sent a couple of planet defending ships to kill a few starbases that popped up in my borders and left a few planets undefended for a few turns. Does this absolutely cripple the AI?

This insanely bad AI is really ruining the fun out of the game, it's not fun to win anymore, it's like beating up on a handicapped person. The AI in Civ has always been able to keep it's transports with ships and it's artillery covered with it's stacks of units, I don't see why this is such a huge game-breaking issue in GC2.
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Reply #1 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I experienced the same thing. But as you talk of Civ, that behavior may be due to the undefended planets.
In Civ 3 it was an exploit tactic to leave a little useless far away city undefended. The AI in war with you will
go for it and withdraw troops from it's border heading straight to that city ignoring anything else.
Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Let me guess, the ships were also slow.

If the AI is going for the quick strike on an undefended planet it needs to:
1) actually have quick ships.
2) unfleet them, so they can't all be taken out in 1 attack.
3) Use sensor ships to check if they path is clear.
4) Don't send more than is necesarry. Just in case they're intercepted.
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Reply #3 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
The AI can't see you. Ever sent transports around, to have them lynched? I have (too lazy to guard)
Besides, Frogboy reported that if it looks safe, they WILL send unescorted transports, and this is experimental. They AI hasn't been finalised, and lastly it's a beta! It will obviously have problems, a lot of these features havn't undergone testing don't forget.
Reply #4 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I've seen the 'mega fleet of sitting ducks' phenomenon a few times myself.

I think the problem is that the AI doesn't appear to consider time as a factor in it's 'sneak attack' evaluation. It's a great strategy to send an unguarded transport to an undefended planet if it can get there in a single turn. It's more risky if it will take two turns to get there. If it takes 20 turns, forget it. Any intel you have on the target area is totally useless.

The AI must have some notion of how likely a region of space is to contain enemy ships. It has to be able to project that estimate forward in time by having having high-likelihood regions expand into low-likelihhood regions.
Reply #5 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Re: Unguarded Transports

Guarding them in case of war is going to be DOUBLY more important in 1.1, as the growth rate will make replacing those transports prohibitive.
Reply #6 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I don't think they have it right yet, but what I am seeing in 1.1 Beta is fewer undefended transports, but a definate tendancy to make the undefended ones faster and send them after undefended planets They are not ourtragiously speedy, but they are upgraded for speed. I am somewhere in the early-mid game right now, and the AI ships are at move 3, but the transports are 6-8. My ships (underspeeded atm, I know) are still at 6. He actually made me work a bit in one advance.

I like the notion of adding a check by the AI for number of turns to target before sending an unguarded transport.
Reply #7 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Yes true AI is wonderful but at the same time has holes so big I can walk through them. It would be better if the AI was more cleaver about the way it handles transports, hopefully this will happen soon. However I send unprotected transports all the time, the AI can't do to me what I do to him because his shps are very frikin slow! I think I shoudl mod all AI races to get free +2 speed pick :/