When selecting the faction of an AI you can only select from standard factions, I propose that when starting a game the player be able to select factions they have created for the AI to use. To reduce complications for new players custom factions wont be included in "Random". The way the computer plays custom factions would ideally be using the affinity selected when the custom faction was created, as a well built faction would be optimized to take advantage of the affinity selected by its creator. The AIs main goals could be further modified by some of the more obvious traits. Having "Scientist" could make the AI more likely to focus on tech, a diplomatic affinity like Amoeba that also has "Eternal War" could focus on the next best option. Ideally the AI would be aware of all of its traits as well as its affinity, but the above examples give you an idea.



Although there are a wide variety of standard factions to play against I think this would make single player much more interesting, and it has the potential for use as a story mode simulator (Ie. Playing a variant of the Pilgrims that seek revenge against the UE, adding ship benefits to Pilgrims and "Eternal War" to the UE.). This leads well into the second part of the suggestion, pacts. Unbreakable alliances (either between the player and an AI or between multiple AIs) that can optionally be declared before starting the game (When you choose things like faction, difficulty, and map size/type). Such pacts would bypass the Eternal War trait and would add another potential level of complexity that would be very useful for starting games with a sort of backstory. Expanding upon the Pilgrims Revenge scenario explained above, the Pilgrims could have the Sophon as a permanent ally and the UE could have the Sheredyn. With Eternal War on both the Sheredyn and the UE it would make it difficult to stray from the story.



Only one example of the potential these suggestions have when implemented together, players could generate almost any scenario that tickles their fancy!

So in essense, pacts would basically be pre-selected teams? If so you should state "TLDR: Add teams."

ryousei wrote:
So in essense, pacts would basically be pre-selected teams? If so you should state "TLDR: Add teams."

Assuming it was to long that you actually didn't read it, yes, that is all you would have gotten out of it. >.> The custom AI factions is the important part.

Wait, you can't already make the AI use a custom faction?

What if you start a MP game, ask friends to come in and to use custom factions, and then save the game and reload it as single player?

BlueTemplar wrote:
Wait, you can't already make the AI use a custom faction?

What if you start a MP game, ask friends to come in and to use custom factions, and then save the game and reload it as single player?

That might work, I'm not sure, but the AI would likely preform horrible. Custom factions tend to be built with a specific strategy in mind that may not match the traits of a customs faction. The AI play style is probably tied to its affinity--a faction with the United Empire affinity, for example, the AI would play like the UE. But if you have that affinity, but all of your traits are selected to promote warfare, or science, or something along those lines, the AI wouldn't handle it correctly in all likelihood and give you a very easy/underdeveloped opponent.

I was more thinking that you could make custom factions that the AI would handle BETTER than the default ones...

BlueTemplar wrote:
I was more thinking that you could make custom factions that the AI would handle BETTER than the default ones...

Nice thought, nice thought - would be really cool if this would really work

I suppose I wasn't entirely clear in the main post, the hope is that the AI would look at its traits as well as its affinity. Done properly this should be enough information for the AI to handle custom factions appropriately.



Also loading multiplayer sessions as singleplayer games is something I have been unable to test, but to get a game going with 3 or 4 custom factions under AI control would require 3 or 4 people to help. A lot of extra effort, especially if you don't have that many friends who own the game. :P

That would be nice, but it would probably require too much effort. It's not the separate traits that make a good empire, it's their synergies.

BlueTemplar wrote:
That would be nice, but it would probably require too much effort. It's not the separate traits that make a good empire, it's their synergies.

Traits are already organized into categories, they could be responded to in different ways based on category.

- It could look at all of its fleet and ship traits to determine whether it has an above or below average military potential and what types of ships to focus on.

- It could look at things that affect production and efficiency such as FIDS %+- to affect what governors it uses most on its planets

- It could look at things that affect how it uses heroes (how long it waits to hire a hero, whether it assigns the hero to a system or a fleet)

- It could look at its starting technologies when deciding early-game research priorities

- It could look at diplomatic traits like Naive and Endless War to determine whether it has diplomacy as an option and whether or not it should favour it.



Things like how much dust is started with, how much exp heroes gain, anomalies, influence area, and approval rating should probably already be recognizable by the AI since it would encounter them regardless of traits. On easier difficulties it could always disregard some of these factors so that player-made factions controlled by AI aren't too powerful.