In this update, I’ve completed a major stage of work on the AI’s economy.
Over the last several versions, I’ve been gradually rebuilding how the AI understands resources, makes economic decisions, and prepares for its next actions. In 0.2.23, that work has now been brought together into one consistent system.
The AI now understands what it actually needs
The AI is now much better at connecting its economy to its current plans.
Instead of looking only at how many resources it has in storage, it now considers what those resources are actually needed for right now: expansion, army growth, new buildings, capturing territory, or other planned actions.
Because of this, the AI should panic less over every low resource and waste fewer resources on things that do not help with its current goals.
More thoughtful economic development
The AI is now better at deciding:
which resource is currently more important;
whether it should keep saving resources or expand production;
when it needs more workers;
when it needs another resource-producing building;
where the next economic investment will be most useful.
Different parts of the AI also no longer try to make the same decision independently. This makes its economy more consistent and less contradictory.
Fewer unnecessary actions
Worker management and preparation for future actions have also been reworked.
The AI now better accounts for construction already in progress, workers already being trained, and resources that are being saved for a specific plan. This should reduce unnecessary worker reshuffling, pointless buildings, and situations where the AI gets in the way of its own plans.
A more stable economy
A large part of this update is internal, so it may not look as obvious as a new button or a new building.
But this work directly affects how well an opponent can develop throughout an entire match: building its economy, supporting an army, developing new territories, and moving on to new goals without constantly getting stuck or making conflicting decisions.
During this stage, many old rules and exceptions were also removed or reworked, which should make the AI less scripted and more flexible.
What’s next
This major stage of the AI economy rework is now complete.
The next big task is army movement and logistics between islands. I want the AI to better understand where its army physically is, how it can actually move between territories, and which routes are truly available for attacks or troop transfers.
Thanks to everyone who keeps playing the playtest and sending reports about strange AI behavior. Those observations are especially valuable because they help uncover problems that are very difficult to catch with tests alone.