Did the easy AI get easier?

from GalCiv2 Forums
First off I'm not really complaining about this, if I want more of a challenge I'm well aware I can tweak the setting up and get my ass handed to me. Mostly I'm just curious. Back when I played in 1.0X and 1.1 the AI on "normal" was a reasonable opponent for me, "challenging" was about the limit of what I could handle. I came back to the game recently after a long absence and, in DL anyway (I'm finishing up my last DL game before diving into DA) "challenging" seems to be... well not very challenging anymore. I'm just wondering if I got better or the AI got easier. Has the gap between "challenging" and "tough" grown? Because tough should be the AI playing its best game, as I understand it, and challenging doesn't seem to be anywhere close...
8,112 views 7 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Im not certain from your post whether youre looking for it to be more challenging, or less, but DA is much more challenging in general than DL, if only becaue some of the cheesier tactics in DL have been supressed( to be replaced by new ones, Im sure). But yes, with the + CPU option enabled, the AI is much more challenging, even without cheating on the higher difficulty levels. If youre like me, you could well find yourself playing at a level or two lower than you were playing in DL, at first.
Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
The AI in DL has bounced around with the various gameplay changes (a couple of new levels were added at the low end in 1.4 and all the levels were adjusted, IIRC). However, the AI in DA is significantly improved as compared to DL.
Star Control: Origins
Reply #3 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I'm aware of the substantial AI improvements in DA (thanks Brad!) but am just trying to sort out what the deal is in DL. With AI improvements over 4 patches I'd assume tough must have gotten harder, so I'm suprised that challenging seems to have gotten easier.
Reply #4 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Here's a thought. I'm always forcing max CPU usage for AI's, regardless of difficulty setting. I know there was discussion of adding more "fuzz" to the thinking processes of the lower level AI's. Is it possible that increasing CPU time for lower level AI's actually results in more fuzz and thus reduced performance at settings below tough?
Reply #5 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Not saying this to be a smartass, but did you consider that maybe you just got better at the game with time? Im told it happens , though I have yet to see it in my case.
Reply #6 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
It's certainly possible (and I'd love to believe it), but I don't know why I'd be better at the game after a long gap not playing it than I was when originally playing it. By all means, if I'm the only one noticing this it's probably just a change in my own play style for the better. Sometimes taking a long break ends up curing you of bad playing habits and lets you take a fresh look at things. But I figured it didn't hurt to ask to see if this was a "real" affect or just a subjective thing.
Reply #7 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
In order of difficulty (hardest to easiest) I would rate:
1.31
1.4/1.2 (just about equal)
1.11

Subjective of course.