Prior 1.19a analysis here: https://forums.elementalgame.com/404867
Purpose: Analyze strategic AI behavior to help identify issues and hopefully help improve the game.
Scope: Basic block and tackle strategic actions such as exploration, expansion, city improvements, etc.
Scenario:
- Large custom map built from "Ovia" - created an island so I can cycle turns, reduced starting positions to 10 and spread them out
- Ridiculous across the board
- Max players
- Normal pacing
- Custom sov
- Playing as Umber
- Used Ctrl-U cheat to see entire map
- Used Ctrl-Z cheat to cycle turns
Saves:
Faction Concerns:
- Pariden
- S12 FP5 (1 city) - housing, unit queue, spouse on city but not in city
- S24 FP5 (1 city) - housing, unit queue, spouse on city but not in city
- S36 FP5 (1 city) - housing, unit queue, improvement queue, spouse on city but not in city
- S48 FP6 (1 city) - housing, unit queue, improvement queue, spouse on city but not in city
- S60 FP6 (1 city) - housing, unit queue, improvement queue, spouse on city but not in city
- Kraxis
- S12 FP5 (1 city) - unit queue, spouse on city but not in city
- S24 FP12 (1 city) - unit queue, spouse on city but not in city
- S36 FP25 (1 city) - spouse on city but not in city
- S48 FP38 (1 city) - spouse on city but not in city
- S60 FP38 (1 city) - spouse on city but not in city
- Gilden
- S12 FP5 (1 city) - housing, unit queue, spouse on city but not in city
- S24 FP5 (1 city) - housing, unit queue, improvement queue, spouse on city but not in city
- S36 FP5 (1 city) - housing, unit queue, improvement queue, spouse on city but not in city
- S48 FP6 (1 city) - housing, unit queue, improvement queue, spouse on city but not in city
- S60 FP6 (1 city) - housing, unit queue, improvement queue, spouse on city but not in city
- Resoln
- S12 FP5 (1 city) - none
- S24 FP11 (2 cities) - none
- S36 FP22 (3 cities) - no unit defending additional settlement
- S48 FP41 (3 cities) - no unit defending additional settlement
- S60 FP69 (4 cities) - none
- Yithril
- S12 FP5 (1 city) - housing, unit queue
- S24 FP8 (1 city) - none
- S36 FP11 (2 cities) - improvement queue, no unit defending additional settlement
- S48 FP30 (2 cities) - none
- S60 FP43 (2 cities) - none
- Magnar
- S12 FP5 (1 city) - housing, improvement queue
- S24 FP15 (1 city) - none
- S36 FP19 (1 city) - none
- S48 FP17 (1 city) - none
- S60 FP37 (1 city) - none
- Tarth
- S12 FP5 (1 city) - housing
- S24 FP9 (1 city) - none
- S36 FP20 (1 city) - pioneers (not settling)
- S48 FP31 (1 city) - pioneers (not settling)
- S60 FP26 (1 city) - pioneers (not settling), available champions
- Altar
- S12 FP5 (1 city) - housing, spouse on city but not in city
- S24 FP6 (2 cities) - unit queues, no units defending settlements, spouse on city but not in city
- S36 FP27 (2 cities) - no unit defending additional settlement, improvement queue, available champions, spouse on city but not in city
- S48 FP29 (2 cities) - no unit defending additional settlement, spouse on city but not in city
- S60 FP51 (4 cities) - none
- Capitar
- S12 FP7 (1 city) - housing, unit queue, improvement queue
- S24 FP7 (1 city) - housing, unit queue, improvement queue
- S36 FP7 (1 city) - housing, unit queue, improvement queue
- S48 FP7 (1 city) - housing, unit queue, improvement queue
- S60 FP7 (1 city) - housing, unit queue, improvement queue
Summary of Observations:
- URGENT PROBLEM: apparent broken xml tags with Capitar, Pariden, Gilden, possible Umber (unknown if Umber has problems since played as Umber)
- Great improvement on goodie huts since 1.19a - but I noticed ungeared sov's exploring and getting smacked around by mobs (that's dangerous since the entire empire will collapse if they die, no fun for your enemy to just go "poof!")
- Some spouses remain stacked on city but not within city
- Altar is the only spouse that left the capital
- Recommend giving sovereigns and spouses xp per turn or have them explore the world (being careful of course)
- Cursory pass - spouses or sov's are still not being geared per gildar and tech levels
- AI doesn't seem to weight housing as much as it should - i.e. on ridiculous why does it need a workshop or other improvement before housing when it has 10+ prestige a turn and all the other bonuses? Recommend AI on ridiculous is hardcoded to build x number of housing units or get population to y value before building anything else.
- AI seems to randomly leave the unit or improvement queues empty on occasion - they should be building nonstop on ridiculous due to the resource buffs. Recommend some kind of check is done to ensure those queues never remain empty.
- Tarth's pioneers just sat there next to city and wouldn't settle (pathing?)
- Other than the serious problems with apparent broken xml tags, I had more "nones" this go around and it appears the AI is hiring champions more often. If the AI would just keep the sovereign, spouse, and champions geared it would go a long way to making the AI competitive.
Brad - thanks for the work on the goodie huts. Can you please figure out what's wrong with those factions noted above and help the AI gear the champions? Thanks! 
For 1.19c analysis please see here: https://forums.elementalgame.com/405436
