Fixing the AI money script (preliminary tests)

[The Errant]

I finally got to 200 B.C. so I'm posting the screenies for my game on the testscript.

As you can see there is very little movement until about 230 B.C. which is the magic number. After that things started to heat up pretty fast.
In 238 B.C. the Pontics bought it. And were the first faction to die. The same year the Getai woke from their slumber and conquered Kallatis on the coast.
Around 230 I finally decided to involve myself in continental affairs by expanding into northern Iberia.
The Lusotannan (my allies) had unsuccessfully tried to take Baikor from the Eleutheroi until the opportunistic Carthies grabbed it from under their nose after the Lusotannan had weakened the garrison during several failed sieges.
When I showed up they decided to focus their efforts north. They took Tyde and stayed a good neighbor for a while.
Meanwhile I got into conflict with the Carthies after taking Burdigala and Tolosa. I gave the Carthies Tolosa after they besieged me in order to get them off my back.
I took Numantia as a replacement but the Carthies besieged even that. After repelling a couple of sieges I decided to let the city revolt. The Lusotannan got it, but that started a war in northern Iberia that I tried to avoid so I simply withdrew to Burdigala leaving the Lusotannan in control of my cities. Since the Carthies were unwilling to leave me in peace I decided to vacate Burdigala since a saw a small Lusotannan stack conviniently coming my way. The Carthies were faster and sent a quarter stack from Tolosa to take my undefended city.
This prompted a war between the Carthies and Lusotannan whose results are quite apparent at the final screenshot from 200 B.C.
My next effort a continental conquest was directed at the Belgae region. Where I managed to take Bratosporios after six sieges. The last one occured after I kicked out a Roman sieging army trying to take advantage of the weakened garrison.
The Romans made peace soon after along with trade rights and map information to boot. Weird. So I decided to backstabb them by bribing Bagacos in the next province which belonged to them while they were busy fighting the Sweboz. They tried to take it back with an army but I managed to beat them with a bunch of mercs and an insane general.
Since then their diplomat has been coming to me threatening to attack unless i refrain from attacking the Romans?!
I didn't know what was going on until I disabled fog of war. Apparently Rome is fighting a nice little 5 front war against the Epirotes, Carthage, Sweboz, Arverni and Aedui.
In the rest of the world the Sabyn or on the rise after being stuck in their home province for a long time they finally overcame the Eleutheroi and are starting to look like an empire. The Ptolies are more or less finished.
Around 240 B.C. they lost their home provinces in northern Egypt but managed to survive in the south and west for a long time until the Carthies allied themselves to the AS. Since then the majority of Ptoly holdings have been carved up between the two allies and the Sabyn.
The Greek expedition to Asia Minor is loosing it's momentum although it has cost the AS heavily. The Pahlava and Saka are still not moving although Baktria seems to be on the rise.
Macedon is like the cockroach Sheep mentioned. After being stuck on their little island for a couple of decades they took Pargamon and Ipsos from the AS. Now they have exchanged those holdings for Sardis and Halikarnassos.
The Koinon are steadily moving up the coast of the Black Sea while the Sauromatae are loosing their holdings to the Hai.

The Eleutheroi power was the largest issue with my modified script. I gave them too much and it stalled the faction progression.

Also putting no income cap on the Carthies has turned them into a big white African monster, so no surprises there.

The AS is still too rich. I checked the financial stats and they seem to often get an income of over 100000 which I realised since there is a steady climbing curve on their financial stats that comes rapidly down after hitting about 90000 due to Eminos new script.

Also the Hai have decent income so they can expand in time but the rest of the steppe factions are still too weak/poor.

And the Pontics need weaker Eleutheroi if they are ever going to expand and not just die out. Same goes for the Getai.

[Ower]

the one think i don't still like, is Pahlava and the Nomads. When I finish me curent campain I'll trz to find a solution.

[Sheep]

As you can see there is very little movement until about 230 B.C. which is the magic number. After that things started to heat up pretty fast.

That is also around the time that a lot of the Eleutheroi generals start to die, making their cities easier to conquer.

The Eleutheroi power was the largest issue with my modified script. I gave them too much and it stalled the faction progression.

Yeah, a little too strong maybe. Honestly I don't get my rocks off fighting the Eleutheroi as much as another faction so I don't care too much if they disappear more quickly. Also, since the other factions have trouble with the Eleutheroi but I don't, I end having an empire before they do and that is pretty much game over for them.

BTW, if you care to post your updated code or your entire version of EBBS_SCRIPT, I can host it in the opening post so that people can test it also.

I believe giving factions who have 16-24 600 or 700 and factions who have more than 24 400 or 500 would stop making the big factions as weak as they seem to be getting after they get large, and maybe 3000 for the slave faction would also work, anyone with me? A better version of this would be needed but the question is who would bless us with the work involved in modifying the script?

That is almost exactly what I was thinking. I've updated the first and second posts of this thread with new code.

[Watchman]

Much appreciated, also the second post that can be copy-pasted as tweaking the browser's filters for axfile is a pain in the arse.

Incidentally, that very first entry -

monitor_event CharacterTurnStart FactionType egypt
and AgentType = admiral
and not FactionIsLocal
console_command add_money egypt, 1200
end_monitor

- am I reading it wrong or does it give the AI Qarthies 1200 per every admiral around...?
While I can see how that could be useful for letting the AI maintain proper fleets, as befits one of the greater sea-powers of the period, I can also see how that could contribute to turning them into the Abominable Snowman of Africa and running roughshod over their neighbours by raw finances...

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

am I reading it wrong or does it give the AI Qarthies 1200 per every admiral around...?
While I can see how that could be useful for letting the AI maintain proper fleets, as befits one of the greater sea-powers of the period, I can also see how that could contribute to turning them into the Abominable Snowman of Africa and running roughshod over their neighbours by raw finances...

Too bad the AI can't 'see' this bonus and know that it is safe to build ships. But yes, that is there since Carthage was such a good sea power, not to cripple them if they ever chose to expands such.

[Sheep]

Much appreciated, also the second post that can be copy-pasted as tweaking the browser's filters for axfile is a pain in the arse.

If you have an easier one, let me know and I'll update it. I just used the one that TheErrant used.

Incidentally, that very first entry -

monitor_event CharacterTurnStart FactionType egypt
and AgentType = admiral
and not FactionIsLocal
console_command add_money egypt, 1200
end_monitor

- am I reading it wrong or does it give the AI Qarthies 1200 per every admiral around...?
While I can see how that could be useful for letting the AI maintain proper fleets, as befits one of the greater sea-powers of the period, I can also see how that could contribute to turning them into the Abominable Snowman of Africa and running roughshod over their neighbours by raw finances...

That is from the original EB script, I just left it in since it didn't seem to result in a massive Carthie expansion.

[Wolfshart]

One thing I did notice on my Romani campaign and an unmodified script is that the Carths naval power seems to be limited by the huge Rebel/pirate naval presence in the Med. Only after I take my own navy and destroy a good portion of the rebel navies does the Carths navy get to do any thing appreciable. Are those powerful rebel navies seeded throughout the Med to hinder the AI or the player? To me it seems like they are limiting the AI to much.

[The Errant]

One thing I did notice on my Romani campaign and an unmodified script is that the Carths naval power seems to be limited by the huge Rebel/pirate naval presence in the Med. Only after I take my own navy and destroy a good portion of the rebel navies does the Carths navy get to do any thing appreciable. Are those powerful rebel navies seeded throughout the Med to hinder the AI or the player? To me it seems like they are limiting the AI to much.

The Eeutheroi or rebels are the last unplayable faction in EB. So while they may seem to you just as a collection of different independent territories they are basically an another AI controlled faction. Collectively they control more territory than any other AI faction, so if they get those territories to turn a profit they will have no problem fielding a massive navy and be able to pay the upkeep for it.
What they can build is determined by what faction is listed as the founder of their settlement, and fortunately their naval construction is limited to low-medium end naval units. But such units are often cheap, and can therefore be fielded in a very large number. Same as if you field a couple of stacks of your weakest most inexpensive levy unit.
Add to that the AI is more focused on controlling land based territory often neglecting the naval aspect since it's rewards are not clearly apparent to it. Bottom line. As long as there is a Eleutheroi settlement that can build a naval port, your likely to sea large rebel/pirate navies running around the map, causing you trouble.
On the bright side I actually saw the AI Seleukids field a "Huge Polireme" in the Persian Gulf and Red Sea. A full stack of the best pirate ships can't match that single monster of a ship.

[Redmeth]

What worries me is that factions that start out big (Seleucids, Ptolies) and receive a smaller bonus will have trouble developing their infrastructure and that is not good, I know that for the first 5 years(?) or so the AI gets larger bonuses but maybe for the first 10-20 years everyone should get the 1200 per turn including the big factions and these modified bonuses that depend on size should kick in after they had time to build their infrastructure (mines, ports, roads) and affect the spawning of elite stacks not stopping them from having a proper infrastructure or their ability to train elite troops (high level MICs in most provinces)

[The Errant]

That is also around the time that a lot of the Eleutheroi generals start to die, making their cities easier to conquer.



Yeah, a little too strong maybe. Honestly I don't get my rocks off fighting the Eleutheroi as much as another faction so I don't care too much if they disappear more quickly. Also, since the other factions have trouble with the Eleutheroi but I don't, I end having an empire before they do and that is pretty much game over for them.

BTW, if you care to post your updated code or your entire version of EBBS_SCRIPT, I can host it in the opening post so that people can test it also.



That is almost exactly what I was thinking. I've updated the first and second posts of this thread with new code.

Sorry. I'm on my second testrun. And with a remodified script. Good news is, I got the Pahlava moving and the Eleutheroi tuned down. Bad news is the Baktrians are expanding like crazy, and cutting off the Pahlava expansion south. Seems like the Baktrians need some serious nerfing.

edit. Don't worry Watchman about the Carthies naval support. Eminos64 new piece of script can put a treasury cap on them. If they keep getting too much mnai we can allways lower the values of the tresury cap so once they reach that magic marker of 100000 mnai or lower they come crashing down 30000 or 40000 mnai. They will still be powerful and able to field good stacks but not overpowered. I lowered the values for the AS and so far they seem to be behaving quite nicely.