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Originally posted by Bee
I had thought it was already in place. I vaguely remember some of the beta testers commenting on it. I may be way off base, because I haven't looked into it recently but I had thought it would "analyze" your games and determine how best to respond to various tactics (not necessarily use the exact tactics you used, but pull from other games what other gamers did to counter tactics like you are using). Kind of like some huge database or something. Of course, that doesn't remove the need for tweaking, etc if there is a flaw in game balance.
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From what I understand, the game keeps a record of your "general" strategies and tactics. It wouldn't make sense to record your exact dealings each time and use that for the AI, as no other player would ever choose the exact path as you.
Here is a direct quote from the online manual:
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GalCiv is also capable of downloading strategies automatically from the net. Submitted scores include basic information on what strategies were employed (what technologies were researched and in what order, what ships and improvements you built in what order, your style of playing, your moral strategy, the type of strategy employed overall, etc.). The GalCiv AI can then download this information from the Metaverse to improve both the quality of the AI and the humanity of it.
Eventually, Stardock hopes to allow players to literally choose a player from the Metaverse to play and simulate that player (roughly speaking) in a game. The only thing missing would be the time waiting for others to move and disconnects!
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So, it seems that the game is downloading the info behind the scenes and implementing the logic of the other players.
I think recording actual player's tactics and using that in the AI is brilliant. Especially when the computer opponents play by the exact same rules as the human (as they claim).
FWIW, I had a blast with it this weekend playing GalCiv, and if you look at my score in the Metaverse (handle: BoneGavel) you will notice that I am horrible at the game, but still having a blast. To me, this is the mark of a great game; you suck at it and lose, but still have a great time.
One of the few things that is pissing me off is the fact that too many people keep asking me for money. Now, if they are friends and need some cash and I have plent to spare, no problem. But, they always ask when I have negative credits (usually around -300 to -500). When your friends ask and you reject it because you have none to spare, they get a bit peeved. I could see it working like that some times, but for the most part your "friends" should understand and stop asking, or let you respond with "hey, I would love to but I have -790 credits right now and am running a deficit every month".
Another thing that would be nice is the ability to equip ships with different arsenals. I realise that doing this and keeping track of the different abilities of your ships can turn out nightmarish (like Sid M's Alpha Centauri), but I would be confident that StarDock could pull off a simple, yet effective way to manage this.
enjoy