Aurora Single Player AI Artifical Intelligence

[Sithuk (OP)]

I've read about Aurora over on the Distant Worlds forum.   I came across for a look.   The lack of a graphical interface (or mouse scroll wheel zoom!) doesn't put me off.   The passion of the game's supporters is clear to see. 

Learning a new 4X takes a considerable investment in time.   I've been disappointed in the past with poor AI as I play single player only. 

How capable is the Aurora AI? Does the AI "cheat", i.  e.   get bonus' not offered to the human player? I'm reluctant to spend weeks learning a game only to stop playing because there is no satisying level of fair challenge from the computer AIs. 

Any views appreciated. 

Thanks

[Erik L]

Originally, Aurora was designed with no AI. That's a relatively recent addition. However, as things progress, Steve does improve the AI as he goes.

[ShadoCat]

The AI doesn't cheat AFAIK.

The AI is a result of Steve making a game that he wants to play.  So the AI keeps getting better.

One thing about Aurora is that the programming team behind it is Steve.

That means that improvements happen when they happen. 

However, it also means that getting new features added is simply a matter of convincing Steve that it would be fun.

[Starkiller]

It depends, really. Some NPRs are surprisingly dumb, but others are surprisingly
sneaky. The AI will get even better over time, as Steve tweeks it, but it DOES
give a good account of itself, nevertheless. If you're curious, read some of the
fiction in the story section. It's all dramatization of actual games being played,
and the aliens appearing in them are NPRs that give them a hard time indeed.

Eric
 

[Beersatron]

Generally speaking, the AI does not really take into account fuel or maintenance but that is pretty much the only way that they 'cheat'.

[Sithuk (OP)]

Many thanks for the replies guys.  So the AI is good enough to give a challenge?

I was concerned that the AI simply couldn't deal with the level of complexity effectively. 

1) Roughly what percentage of games does the AI beat you? (an AI with no bonuses).
2) How many hours does a game tend to last before you know you can't really lose if you keep playing?

[welchbloke]

Many thanks for the replies guys.  So the AI is good enough to give a challenge?

I was concerned that the AI simply couldn't deal with the level of complexity effectively. 

1) Roughly what percentage of games does the AI beat you? (an AI with no bonuses).
2) How many hours does a game tend to last before you know you can't really lose if you keep playing?

I have never finished a game because I considered it either unwinnable or winnable.  The only reason I have ever finished a game is because either the database has crashed or Steve have brought out a new version and I have updated and hence overwritten the database.  Each game has literally 100s of hours of time invested in them.

[Erik L]

I honestly don't think anyone, including Steve has "finished" a game. There are no set victory conditions.

I suppose you could get unlucky and get a wormhole in the first ten minutes of game time in your home system...

[welchbloke]

I honestly don't think anyone, including Steve has "finished" a game. There are no set victory conditions.

I suppose you could get unlucky and get a wormhole in the first ten minutes of game time in your home system...

That though occured to me after I posted my previous answer.  Even then, due to the random time before it spawns it could be considered as a way to sharpen the wits rather than a game breaker.

Just my £0.02 your mileage may vary....

[Arwyn]

I am in the same boat. I run games till something breaks irrecoverably, or a new version shows up that has features that I really really want.

My current game has been running 5.20 for 25 years in game, and aside from the very beginning of the game (hostile race next door to Sol) its been pretty quiet. I didnt put a certain wormhole event into the game, because my last game had someone running around massacring NPRs before I ever got the chance to meet them.

The AI can be really dumb at times (feeding ships into a jump point they don't every return from) but at the same time, I have seen the AI do some pretty nasty stuff as well, like jumping a huge fleet in unexpectedly.

I am waiting for the day when Steve figures out how to code fighters in for NPR's, then things will get REALLY interesting...

[Erik L]

My current game has been running for about 35 years. I've encountered 3 NPRs in a 5 system radius. One is hostile (-3300 DR), but seems content in his system. He's got a speed advantage over me (13000 tons @ 7000km/s to my 15000 tons @5200km/s). But my other tech seems to be better than his. Recently had an engagement with him. I lost 4 7500 ton destroyers to his 6 ships (spread between 13000 and 6500 tons). I ran out of missiles and evidently he did too as he ran for his homeworld. I let him go because I needed more missiles.

One thing I did differently in this game was to immediately send the ships that experienced speed loss towards the incoming JP. I think this managed to suck his ships closer than they might have come. I had disabled 2 ships with missiles and ran them down to finish off with beams.

The other 2 NPRs are neutral/friendly and I've been working the diplo teams to improve that.