Robots: Please Send Help (v3.02)

from GalCiv3 Forums

I've played through 3 games as the YOR on the 3.02 build. Long story short:

Dependence on Promethion absolutely cripples robots. Please consider making "Build Population" require no special resources.

The recent v3.x move to make 1.0 pop units the minimum for colony ships only makes the problem worse.

Here's how it usually plays out:

I start with 5 pops on my homeworld. I build 2-4 colony ships and try to grab what i can while the gettin's good. Because of the 1-unit colony ship minimum, i'm out of administrators and also out of population, my homeworld now down to a skeleton crew. Now there is simply no way to expand any further, the production rate is crippled on every colony i have, and there is no good way to dig out of that hole.

And it stays this way for a very, very long time unless you happen upon a big clutch of Promethion. If you don't, there may not be a way to get any, especially if playing against high AI which will not trade any to you. In resource-poor galaxies, robots don't stand a chance.

It goes this way for the AI as well. Here are some stats for the AI populations at turn 36 on my most recent game (mixed AI difficulties, no invasions have occurred yet).

Organic AI populations: 119, 39, 34, 32, 20, 19, 19

Robots: 9, 7, 7 (myself)

It used to be that the YOR and other robotic civs started out slow but became a freight train if you let them alone too long. I thought this was an interesting way of developing them. Now however, they are extra gimpy and can't find a way to be much better. Removing the special resource requirement from their Build Population and increasing the build time would fix the issue.

24,594 views 5 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

Well when i play the slynn i try and build a promethium starbase really quick. I guess this should be the first ship you should build. 

First im not sure why assemblies should be harder to build than cities since you build your population, not get it automatic. 

I also agree that it would be nice if the yor colony ships were smaller population.

Reply #2 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

Interesting perspective.  I have to say,  I've had much better luck -- but I make scouting/Promethion and better mining modules an absolute priority with any synthetic.  Once you have 2nd level mining and you're getting 0.5 a turn (from just one mine!), that's a new pop every other turn.  Early game that is limited mostly by production,  not resource scarcity.

I would call for the opposite -- please don't get rid of the Promethion cost!   It is the only thing that will act as a brake on what would otherwise be exponential growth of synthetics.

From your tests it doesn't seem like the AI is doing this,  and thus handicapping itself pretty severely.

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Reply #3 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

AI is not told to build population. (Not listed(GrowthUnique) in Governors.xml)

Reply #4 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

Quoting Horemvore, reply 3

AI is not told to build population. (Not listed(GrowthUnique) in Governors.xml)

oh, really... that very unfortunate if you happen to be a robotic AI.

Reply #5 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

Maybe it isn't in the XML,  but I have a feeling it has to be programmed somewhere.   Synthetics being stuck with the original pop the whole game would be crippling and show up instantly in any testcase.