What features does the AI *not* know how to use now [3.4]?

  • We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.

pmchem

Major
24 Badges
Apr 13, 2018
625
1.237
  • Shadowrun Returns
  • Stellaris: Nemesis
  • Stellaris: Necroids
  • Stellaris: Federations
  • BATTLETECH: Heavy Metal
  • Stellaris: Lithoids
  • Stellaris: Ancient Relics
  • Stellaris: Megacorp
  • BATTLETECH: Flashpoint
  • Shadowrun: Hong Kong
  • Shadowrun: Dragonfall
  • Stellaris: Distant Stars
  • BATTLETECH - Digital Deluxe Edition
  • Stellaris: Apocalypse
  • Stellaris: Humanoids Species Pack
  • Stellaris: Synthetic Dawn
  • BATTLETECH
  • Stellaris - Path to Destruction bundle
  • Stellaris: Leviathans Story Pack
  • Stellaris: Digital Anniversary Edition
  • Stellaris
  • Pillars of Eternity
  • Crusader Kings II
  • BATTLETECH: Season pass
In my opinion the AI is now in its best state since the game switched from tiles to pops a long, long time ago. It's really good stuff.

But, Stellaris is a vast and complicated game. I'm wondering, what does the AI not know how to do in-game? What features does it never use?

e.g. if the AI didn't know how to terraform planets and never did it, I'd say "terraforming". I'm really not sure which features the AI makes zero use of these days. Anyone have examples?
 
  • 6
  • 5Like
Reactions:
Well, I can say that the AI definitely knows how to terraform these days. They did it extensively in my last game pre-Cepheus, and I saw them doing it in my first Overlord game yesterday as well. Though for a long time, it didn’t terraform or make ecumenopoli, so that’s been a big improvement.
 
  • 4Like
Reactions:
Well, I know that the AI can propose contract changes as a subject. And if you don’t have the influence on hand to reject the changes, they can force it through. It was annoying when my subsidiary went from paying me 75% of their basic resources to only 45%.
 
Well, given that I have to wait for 1K influence in order to force my subjugation proposal through the 1K of influence the AI is already sitting on, I'd hazard they're not bothering to do much spying. Like a very occasional smear campaign, right? You see a pop-up every so often. But probably not much else going on. No extorting favours, stealing tech or arming privateers.
 
  • 3Like
Reactions:
  • They don't get colony events, even ones that would normally be guaranteed by planetary features or modifiers.
  • There are a lot of planetary decisions that are player-exclusive, including the three special designations (which it will still waste time researching. It also can't use the decisions to remove them if it conquers one - machines can get stuck with CG upkeep on a Resort world!), Caravaneer monuments and buildings, and Martial Law.
  • Chemical Bliss living standards, although I can't say I ever use it as a player.
  • The strategic resource edicts.
  • Strongholds and fortresses.
  • I'm not sure if they ever make trade deals between each other (I can understand not wanting the player to be spammed by requests)
  • They only reform their government to add a 3rd civic or to replace invalid civics or authorities.
  • They don't send ships out to explore the hyperlanes in claimed systems, they just use auto-survey.
  • Suppressing and promoting factions.
  • They assign species slavery types based on its traits in a vacuum, so they can't notice that they have a specialist shortage and should maybe make them indentured servants even if they don't have research traits.
  • They can no longer build habitats over planets that don't have a mining or research deposit.
  • They at least used to only be able to sell resources on the market if they were going over storage capacity, leading to stuff like Lithoids spending decades hoarding food from hydroponics bays without using it for anything. Not sure if this has been addressed by the recent economic improvements or not.
  • I'm not sure if they're capable of replacing starbase modules or buildings.
  • They have difficulty keeping envoys on a single assignment, opting to switch them whenever they come off cooldown.
 
  • 14
  • 3Like
Reactions:
  • They don't get colony events, even ones that would normally be guaranteed by planetary features or modifiers.
  • There are a lot of planetary decisions that are player-exclusive, including the three special designations (which it will still waste time researching. It also can't use the decisions to remove them if it conquers one - machines can get stuck with CG upkeep on a Resort world!), Caravaneer monuments and buildings, and Martial Law.
  • Chemical Bliss living standards, although I can't say I ever use it as a player.
  • The strategic resource edicts.
  • Strongholds and fortresses.
  • I'm not sure if they ever make trade deals between each other (I can understand not wanting the player to be spammed by requests)
  • They only reform their government to add a 3rd civic or to replace invalid civics or authorities.
  • They don't send ships out to explore the hyperlanes in claimed systems, they just use auto-survey.
  • Suppressing and promoting factions.
  • They assign species slavery types based on its traits in a vacuum, so they can't notice that they have a specialist shortage and should maybe make them indentured servants even if they don't have research traits.
  • They can no longer build habitats over planets that don't have a mining or research deposit.
  • They at least used to only be able to sell resources on the market if they were going over storage capacity, leading to stuff like Lithoids spending decades hoarding food from hydroponics bays without using it for anything. Not sure if this has been addressed by the recent economic improvements or not.
  • I'm not sure if they're capable of replacing starbase modules or buildings.
  • They have difficulty keeping envoys on a single assignment, opting to switch them whenever they come off cooldown.
I really don't want the AI to know how to promote or suppress factions at least until an internal politics rework because it's the only way I can stop every empire from inevitably becoming fanatic xenophile. I usually spawn in my own empires, so I like them to keep their starting ethics and civics.
 
  • 1Like
Reactions:
I really don't want the AI to know how to promote or suppress factions at least until an internal politics rework because it's the only way I can stop every empire from inevitably becoming fanatic xenophile. I usually spawn in my own empires, so I like them to keep their starting ethics and civics.
If the AI was capable of suppressing the Xenophile faction, this would happen less often!

I think AI empires would generally end up supporting their current governing ethics and suppressing the ethics opposed to them, which would generally result in fewer ethics shifts. This is possibly undesirable, but seems like the opposite of the outcome you're concerned about. (The main exception I can see would be if they wanted to match ethics with other members of their federation.)

That said, I wouldn't expect this to happen except alongside a general faction rebalancing that at minimum addresses the differences in potential approval and atttraction.
 
  • 4Like
Reactions:
Has anyone seen the AI use the Quantum Catapult? I would assume they do not know how to make use of it, since they can't even spawn with that origin by default. AI only learned to use their jump drives in 3.3 I believe, so I don't expect them to figure out the Catapult very well
 
  • 1
Reactions:
Has anyone seen the AI use the Quantum Catapult? I would assume they do not know how to make use of it, since they can't even spawn with that origin by default. AI only learned to use their jump drives in 3.3 I believe, so I don't expect them to figure out the Catapult very well
From my understanding, the AI does use the Quantum Catapult, although I haven't seen it myself.
 
  • 2Like
  • 1
Reactions:
I don't know about the new ones, but the AI does not use the original 3 Enclaves at all.

Genocidal Empires also don't use their Envoys to spy, they just sit around doing nothing.
 
  • 2Like
  • 1
Reactions:
Though for a long time, it didn’t terraform or make ecumenopoli, so that’s been a big improvement.
It sorta does, sorta doesn't, make city worlds. It'll activate the decision, BUT the AI specifically doesn't need to remove the Energy/Mineral/Food districts. I noticed this in observer; that requirement is waved for them.
 
They can no longer build habitats over planets that don't have a mining or research deposit.
If they have any planets at all that have deposits, then they should be building over those as a priority anyway.

Unless you’ve seen an AI actually run of options on that front and then stall afterwards this is probably working as intended.
 
  • 1Like
Reactions:
If they have any planets at all that have deposits, then they should be building over those as a priority anyway.

Unless you’ve seen an AI actually run of options on that front and then stall afterwards this is probably working as intended.
Blocking a mineral or energy deposit when you aren't going to use the habitat for reactor or mining districts is a waste of orbital deposit resources, but even if the AI could build habitats without a deposit it's not capable of planning colony design ahead of time like that. Gestalt empires will waste energy deposits this way even though they already get reactor districts on every habitat automatically.

Primarily this hits technologically enlightened empires though, since they're generally stuck as single-system protectorates, although sometimes poorly-placed federation start empires will run into it as well.
 
  • 1Like
Reactions:
Some possibilities:

- They don’t really trade Resources for favors
- I’m not sure if they propose changes to Vassal contracts if they are the Overlord? I haven’t seen it yet.

Politics as a whole is very poor in this game and what does exist is easily exploited by players, especially favors.

As to what the AI really does not do well, in this DLC the relays are not built strategically and seem to almost be haphazard in placement; seriously one neighbor has them built at the far end of some arms .... they provide zero benefit.