A.I is atrocious =/

[shimms]

Gota say I like the new combat system, the graphics and all that, but everething I liked about the game went down the drain when I've played the other night.

The map involved 2 big continents separated by a large ocean. Now I was aiming for a war victory, so after I've completly concquered my continent, I've declared war on several factions that were on the other continent.

the problem came when the A.I didn't know how to move its troops across the water. Seriously, this makes any map that has water completly usless and removes sea battles from the game. Not only that but I feel that the game has now become incredibly easy as I can just develop myself without focusing on military units whatsoever.

The second problem I've had was that during the Modern Era, I've had tanks and rocket launchers, while the A.I still had Pikeman and horsses.
Now I don't know if this is due to the lower dificulty level I was playing or due to the fact that I've had an entire continent at my disposal, but...it completly kicks out the whole game imersing experience, when you see how you can use 3 units to decimate half a continent.

[Telkanes]

What Level were you playing on so we can know where you are coming from?

[TomKQT]

Now I don't know if this is due to the lower dificulty level I was playing

Don't forget that in this game the difficulty level doesn't control how clever the AI is but whether you (dif. below normal) or the AI (dif. above normal) has some advantages.

So on easier difficulties you are researching faster. The question is what difficulty did you use?

[ShadowAesir]

Play on Deity and tell me the game isn't hard, borked AI or no.

[mattlohkamp]

the tech level difference might've been difficulty - but the AI is not so I, sometimes. I have, however, had it come at me with a wave of amphibious units - and my guess is that rather than considering its options and picking a plan of attack most likely to succeed, it randomly picks from a bunch of pre-defined builds, some involving naval superiority, and then goes with that - so sometimes you get a land war in asia, sometimes you get d-day, and sometimes you get death from above.

[Spaceweed10]

Gota say I like the new combat system, the graphics and all that, but everething I liked about the game went down the drain when I've played the other night.

The map involved 2 big continents separated by a large ocean. Now I was aiming for a war victory, so after I've completly concquered my continent, I've declared war on several factions that were on the other continent.

the problem came when the A.I didn't know how to move its troops across the water. Seriously, this makes any map that has water completly usless and removes sea battles from the game. Not only that but I feel that the game has now become incredibly easy as I can just develop myself without focusing on military units whatsoever.

The second problem I've had was that during the Modern Era, I've had tanks and rocket launchers, while the A.I still had Pikeman and horsses.
Now I don't know if this is due to the lower dificulty level I was playing or due to the fact that I've had an entire continent at my disposal, but...it completly kicks out the whole game imersing experience, when you see how you can use 3 units to decimate half a continent.

You played on 'Chieftan', right?

'Nuff said.

[shimms]

I've played 3 levels above chieftan. Regardless how ever, I don't understand why I was able to sit back and get a space victory while the A.I had a masive army but simply refused to traverse the ocean to come at me

[mobyslick]

Well in my game they use the ocean alright. Russia just came and parked a new city on an ice island just off my coast. I have to wonder why the heck they picked that spot as there is much prime territory still available closer to them and they will obviously not be allowed to keep that nonsense city. I have yet to see a sea invasion per se but the age of navies is just now approaching.

By the way if the enemy still had Pikemen they probably didn't use the ocean due to the fact they had no way of protecting embarked units yet. Their best ship was what, Caravel? If you play a game where the ai manages to get better tech before you kill them you might get different results.

[Yyrkroon]

I've also had amphibious assaults from the AI - although admittedly only over short water distances.

I do think there is an AI difference by level. On prince, I'd had the enemy sit still and allow archers to slowly pick apart a superior enemy. On King+, they immediately rush the archers and make an effort to finish off wounded units.

[Overt.Enemy]

The second problem I've had was that during the Modern Era, I've had tanks and rocket launchers, while the A.I still had Pikeman and horsses.
Now I don't know if this is due to the lower dificulty level I was playing

Yes it's the lower difficulty. On the highest difficulty expect to be a tech or more behind the AI. See how good you do then.

[slothMD]

What Level were you playing on so we can know where you are coming from?

It doesn't seem to matter what level you're playing on - at the standard setting, you're playing against an atrocious AI; at the higher difficulty levels, you're playing against an atrocious AI with a lot of production bonuses.

[Jean Plantagnet]

The second problem I've had was that during the Modern Era, I've had tanks and rocket launchers, while the A.I still had Pikeman and horsses.
Now I don't know if this is due to the lower dificulty level I was playing or due to the fact that I've had an entire continent at my disposal, but...it completly kicks out the whole game imersing experience, when you see how you can use 3 units to decimate half a continent.

First of all, the techs needed to cross oceans are not available to the AI yet since you said they are still on just pikemen and horses. I believe the first ships that can are caravels and frigates. Even later I think are the techs needed for embarked land units to cross oceans. This is not the AI's fault, it's user error for the difficulty level.

If you have three super units that can kick the butt of half a continent, I don't think any number of fancy moves by the AI's inferior units would do anything.

[calsaverini]

The first time I've played I went chieftain on a standard map, with all standard etceteras and won the game in a few hours, overwhelming the other nations with more advanced units, as expected in a very easy game.

But I've felt that even considering the fact that I was playing in a very easy difficulty level, it was easier than Civ 4. I might have been lucky, but I felt it was much easier. I'm trying a more challenging game now to see if I was lucky or not.

I'm not particularly good at Civ, though I'm a captive fan since Civ II. I never managed to win a standard chieftain map in Civ 4 in less than 3 or 4 hours without being lucky to have lots of iron, horses and saltpeter really close to my big towns.

I had a situation similar to what was mentioned above: another civ with a significative military superiority failing to attack me and letting me crop its towns one by one with half a dozen units.

I hope some patch for the ai come up soon as people are complaining a lot about it.

[calsaverini]

the tech needed to embark units is Optics, which is not too early in the game but available for pikemen and longswordsmen.

[Jean Plantagnet]

I'm actually wondering if the different civs have different personalities. Like Japan would play up it's military more aggressively and attack other civs while some civs may build up large armies for defense but never attack because they are going for either a scientific or diplomatic victory.

The reason why I'm wondering this is because some players saying the civs are not aggressive and others saying they are.

the tech needed to embark units is Optics, which is not too early in the game but available for pikemen and longswordsmen.

When I was speaking of embarking, I was referring to the tech that lets embarked units cross ocean tiles. There are two kinds of water tiles, coastal(shallow) and ocean(deep). Optics does not allow embarked units to cross ocean tiles so if you are playing on a continents map, that tech alone is not enough for a civ to cross an ocean to invade another continent.

[calsaverini]

When I was speaking of embarking, I was referring to the tech that lets embarked units cross ocean tiles. There are two kinds of water tiles, coastal(shallow) and ocean(deep). Optics does not allow embarked units to cross ocean tiles so if you are playing on a continents map, that tech alone is not enough for a civ to cross an ocean to invade another continent.

Ah yes! You're right. I forgot that. You're perfectly right. I believe you need navigation or something like that.

[deadmeat1471]

Play on Deity and tell me the game isn't hard, borked AI or no.

I did this. I got ♥♥♥♥♥ by samurai :(

[shimms]

I've just finished the game with a science victory. In the end the enemy playing arabia had the entire second continent as he has eliminated all the other civ's and even some city states. His army was 10x as biger then my own, and fully teched up.
How ever not once did he even try to cross the river to come to me. In fact he has not made even any naval units what so ever.

I was expecting a D-day invasion of some sorts but seems to me that was too much to ask >:

[Apheirox]

The AI is horrendous indeed, a real disappointment and a sloppy job for a franchise that's hailed by Sid Meier himself as being built and balanced for the single player experience. As all other problems with this game, expect patches to improve the AI. Until that happens, come online and play me. I had a blast playing online today, it's a lot more tense when you know you are facing human opponents and not some broken script.

[JamieKirby1981]

Well, i think what needs to be altered about the AI is not their bonuses on the higher difficulty or their lack of it on the lower difficulties, i think they need to make them able to be more smart on ALL difficulties, while leaving the rest of the difficulty setting stuff alone.

The only sea battles i have had are with barbarians, since they are the only ones building ships, but granted as someone said, the other civs might not even have ship building capabilities yet.

Well, it would be cool to face an AI that isn't given a resource bonus, but fights intelligently, like units going for ranged units (archers, Sieges units etc.) when i am attacking a city.

But serious, a smarter AI can be done without it getting more Resource bonuses.

Though i have found my perfect difficulty, since i am a slow builder and expander, Chieftain is my difficulty to play, it gives me enough bonuses so that my slow playstyle can keep me roughly a tech or two ahead of the AI.

[Overt.Enemy]

I've just finished the game with a science victory. In the end the enemy playing arabia had the entire second continent as he has eliminated all the other civ's and even some city states. His army was 10x as biger then my own, and fully teched up.
How ever not once did he even try to cross the river to come to me. In fact he has not made even any naval units what so ever.

I was expecting a D-day invasion of some sorts but seems to me that was too much to ask >:

Were you at war with him? Maybe he had no reason to cross.

[JK_DC]

Higher difficultes make the AI more aggressive according to the manual. Maybe try that first before you say the game is broken. If people beat deity on a huge world map before 300 turns then I'll believe it.

[InterMPC]

I have read that the different Civs have different 'flavours'. Some Civs prefer to build a navy, some prefer to build an army, some prefer a less militaristic approach all together. I also read that the difficulty level increase both AI strategy and bonuses.

My experience is that Civ V is much easier than Civ IV. (I've played on Chieftain and Prince.) It took me many attempts to win Civ IV on prince, however I'm absolutely smashing them on Civ V and I'm still learning all the idiosyncrasies!

[calsaverini]

The only sea battles i have had are with barbarians

same here.

[Supersomething]

One interesting moment I had with the AI was the random name calling by the AI. I had wiped out Arabia very early in the game, and went to war with no one after that, and casually built my army.

Well I had Rome and the Ottomans on my continent, and they thought I was an alright guy until they started killing each other and eventually got closer to my borders. Then out of no where they decided to call me blood thirsty and get all nasty towards me. I must admit I was a little stunned lol.

[Santino6]

JK_DC what are you 5 years old or something lol

play on deity level lol do you understand what people are saying, man you sound like your defending your football team, grow up man... read what people are saying and dont be so defensive, fraxis will not give you a kiss...

deity has a huge cap, and that does not make the AI smarter, yes the AI will be more agressive but it will not be smarterrrrr.

The AI on civ5 is a joke !!! lol they made this game for kids !!1 go have a read around.... sid wanted his kid to play this game without crying.... lol

[theo1812]

Play on Deity and tell me the game isn't hard, borked AI or no.

Done. The game is still far too EASY on the hardest difficulty. The AI is incompetent!

[Kexin]

I have read that the different Civs have different 'flavours'. Some Civs prefer to build a navy, some prefer to build an army, some prefer a less militaristic approach all together. I also read that the difficulty level increase both AI strategy and bonuses.

My experience is that Civ V is much easier than Civ IV. (I've played on Chieftain and Prince.) It took me many attempts to win Civ IV on prince, however I'm absolutely smashing them on Civ V and I'm still learning all the idiosyncrasies!

Civ 5 is definitely easier thanks to the questionable AI. At Prince level in Civ 4 the AI will relentlessly probe your weakness and send a giant stack of doom to where you are most vulnerable. The AI will also use a relentless amount of spies to steal your tech and subvert your cities whenever possible.