Found something pretty shocking today. Or a few of them.
Tons of inconsistencies on AI handling of maintenance.
AI decisions (tax and farming)
This is using the maintenance multipliers for everything EXCEPT buildings which insecticide disabled. (I never knew, omg!)
AI loss of stuff to maintenance
The AI cannot lose units or spells to maintenance at all. Exception is the Time Stop spell.
Used to be all global enchantments lost if at exactly zero mana left at the start of the AI's turn, but insecticide removed that (since it is obviously wrong, both the timing and how it checks actual mana crystals instead of income, maintenance might be still payable!). The AI never had the capability to lose city spells or unit spells or fantastic units this way however :
Instead, the AI willingly disbands all units they assume they can't afford during their turn. So in theory they would never run into the upkeep problem on units anyway - yes this also means they'll rather lose all their units than to cancel enchantments, that they are incapable of.
This disbanding is done using the calculations that include the AI maintenance multiplier, except the buildings which insecticide removed (see above, it's the same change affecting both)
AI maintenance payment
This is where it gets nasty. The AI pays the full upkeep just like the human player. Except for the part that nothing can desert if there isn't enough. It just leaves the AI at 0 gold or mana.
As far as I can tell this means, once the AI has an army they can maintain using the AI multiplier, but not if they were human, they'll be eternally stuck at 0 gold, or worse, mana crystals. I haven't seen the latter yet (summoning so much stuff without being able to afford the cost is unlikely) but the former I see frequently in peaceful games, AI players sitting around with 0 gold for many turns.
I just checked with tweaker, and AI with 33 mana income (45 power, 75% on mana production), and only 5 casting skill, gained a mere 5 mana crystals when I pressed end turn, having a Great Wyrm and some ghouls in play and not attacking anything so it wasn't spent in combat (added the wyrm with tweaker on turn 5) but on maintenance. The active maintenance multiplier was 30% so it was supposed to pay less than 10 mana on maintenance but paid over 20...the full cost of the units and spells it had.
So the above bugs are confirmed.
Not sure what to do here. I guess at least the actual payment for units and spells should include the cost multiplier, but what about buildings? Keep it disabled or restore pre-insecticide functionality?
Also this will make the AI a LOT stronger. I mean, this is, like, a huge boost to their income, one that was supposed to be there but...happened to be missing all the time lol.
Tons of inconsistencies on AI handling of maintenance.
AI decisions (tax and farming)
This is using the maintenance multipliers for everything EXCEPT buildings which insecticide disabled. (I never knew, omg!)
AI loss of stuff to maintenance
The AI cannot lose units or spells to maintenance at all. Exception is the Time Stop spell.
Used to be all global enchantments lost if at exactly zero mana left at the start of the AI's turn, but insecticide removed that (since it is obviously wrong, both the timing and how it checks actual mana crystals instead of income, maintenance might be still payable!). The AI never had the capability to lose city spells or unit spells or fantastic units this way however :
Instead, the AI willingly disbands all units they assume they can't afford during their turn. So in theory they would never run into the upkeep problem on units anyway - yes this also means they'll rather lose all their units than to cancel enchantments, that they are incapable of.
This disbanding is done using the calculations that include the AI maintenance multiplier, except the buildings which insecticide removed (see above, it's the same change affecting both)
AI maintenance payment
This is where it gets nasty. The AI pays the full upkeep just like the human player. Except for the part that nothing can desert if there isn't enough. It just leaves the AI at 0 gold or mana.
As far as I can tell this means, once the AI has an army they can maintain using the AI multiplier, but not if they were human, they'll be eternally stuck at 0 gold, or worse, mana crystals. I haven't seen the latter yet (summoning so much stuff without being able to afford the cost is unlikely) but the former I see frequently in peaceful games, AI players sitting around with 0 gold for many turns.
I just checked with tweaker, and AI with 33 mana income (45 power, 75% on mana production), and only 5 casting skill, gained a mere 5 mana crystals when I pressed end turn, having a Great Wyrm and some ghouls in play and not attacking anything so it wasn't spent in combat (added the wyrm with tweaker on turn 5) but on maintenance. The active maintenance multiplier was 30% so it was supposed to pay less than 10 mana on maintenance but paid over 20...the full cost of the units and spells it had.
So the above bugs are confirmed.
Not sure what to do here. I guess at least the actual payment for units and spells should include the cost multiplier, but what about buildings? Keep it disabled or restore pre-insecticide functionality?
Also this will make the AI a LOT stronger. I mean, this is, like, a huge boost to their income, one that was supposed to be there but...happened to be missing all the time lol.
