Unfallen has pretty broken stuff going, like unlimited approval and strong boosts with allies, but most AIs just are warmongers, so... xD

I think Unfallen needs extra boost or two. I play 8 player games always which generates most balanced galaxy. I don't take AI's as follow:

UE: I always play as UE simce.
UC: Disabled DLC. Too much of a headache and micromanagement.
Vodyani: I hate the voice acting of her. Sounds like she is ready for org*sm rather than Space dominion.
Sophons: I prefer Vaulters as Science faction over Sophons.
Hissho: I prefer Cravers as warmonger faction over Hissho.

So yeah, Unf almost always lags behind.

Unfallen yeah is also usually a poor performer, but sometimes do quite well with RNG. Needs better vineship management. Horatio and specially Riftborn are often top performers, but that's on vanilla (but in ESG will likely also be the tops)

I played few games including the ESG mod. It feels like Horatio, Cravers shines out quite well while Unfallen lags behind. Nakalim also snowballs if RNG is good enough.

Well I did put a lot of work to make every faction competent. Sophons now are quite decent, can out-tech you really easy. Vodiany and Hissho usually not perform as well as others, but sometimes due to RNG could be top AI players too.

Which AI is challenging (Hard Difficulty ESG) with the mod? Do you have any suggestions? In my games i exclude Sophons, Hissho and Vodyani (also UC but i don't use the hacking DLC anyways)

Huge congratulations Ninakoru! 👏 Your dedication, creativity, and hard work have clearly paid off. It’s awesome to see your contributions officially recognized by the developers and now becoming part of Endless Space 2. Truly well-deserved!

Interesting, thanks! I wondered if there would be more improvements in the mod still that they wouldn't add or weren't able to add. Seems like now it's time to test some updated vanilla ES2 I guess to see how the updates worked.

Ufff, there's no short answer.

If you're playing ESG forget about changing into patch preview, probably will mess things up with ESG.

If playing vanilla, well, I've sent all the major fixes, and many improvements, but ENFER still has some special hacks and other reworks I just couldn't send to Amplitude confidently, that makes AI better.

But stock AI on patch preview will be leaps and bounds better than previously, not incapacitated anymore, ENFER still gives a competitive edge, but not "needed" as before. Also right now there are new AI features that are not currently in ENFER (I'll update the thing when preview goes into official).

So is this mod still going to be needed after this new update?

It's more than just a mod. Your work saved this game for me.
It was hard to imagine a better game experience than I got with this mod! Great job!

@Leya the Ai currently overuses ESG's Coilguns, which are really, really bad. You'd have to wait for an update or manually set the preference for those weapons lower in the XML file.

Tried running this and ESG 1.6 together, ai normal difficulty, pirates normal difficulty, and ai just got completely shutdown by pirates from very early on, didnt build any ships etc... not sure where the bugs stemming from, but yeah.

AI will automatically do the quests if they are offered to them, like the players.

You may need to either:
Give AI a hint of a target system to invade, system to search curiosity, etc
Set an autocomplete after X turns option.

Check on similar quests if there's any AI specification in the Quest XML code.

Im making a new quest line mod with rewards like heroes and system improvements.. how do I get the AI to make use of the quests?

ohhh okay. Makes sense. Thank you for answering so quickly! <3

Are you gonna buff Sophons AI by chance? I notice he's the only one that doesn't gain an extra trait vs everyone else 3 traits as AI :o

@SpookyBooty, you need to replace the DLL again, yes. Most of it minor tweaks and minor fixes, but one about maybe attacking instead of potentially fleeing at the mission target.

I reduced the weighting for the coilguns priority in the XML, few turns later the AI turned up with really decent ships. It actually killed some of my fleets before I could adjust lol. Thanks again for this great mod!

I see that there's a new update on this mod. Do I have to resubscribe and install the new one and uninstall the old one I already have?

You gonna still add now it's the base A.I soon.

thank you!!!

I don't like the way the AI hates my scouts and vine ships now. :) Well done, definitely an essential mod.

Alright, thank you!

Has little to do with this mod, in vanilla would happen just the same, I talked with Cobbs, in ways to deal with the problem (must be solved on the XML config of the weapons in ESG).

Hey, really great mod. Love to see the AI finally fight back. Only problem I had was when playing with ESG 1.6, the AI almost exclusively used the rather useless coilguns on their ships. Is there any possible way one could prevent the AI from using these?

Cheers

Yep, both Horatio and Riftborn get a lot of value in how handicaps work.

Mod is really good so far. Horatio definetly are stonger than the other ai's in my experience. So far a really great mod.

I'll take that as a compliment :)

the AI becomes a little TOO smart sometimes

Thank you for getting back to me. I see what you mean, and I agree that what you mentioned is unfortunate. I just wanted to say that I am very grateful for the update you made for us.

Yep, those are general behaviors i didn't change. Sure I could go further in ship outfitting, but I have other priorities in mind, like better victory pursuing or trying to clear the mess of everything diplomacy-related.

I am really enjoying this mod, especially the modules.
However, I have a small suggestion. The computer AI still uses the modules very poorly.
I would be very grateful if you could possibly fix this AI behavior.
The computer loves tractor beams too much, even when they don't need them.
It doesn't use Mass Enhancers or Energy Enhancers well; it should be changed to use them unconditionally.
They are also too fond of squadron fighters and bombers. It's not an exaggeration to say that's all they use.
If these things are fixed, I think the battles will be more tense and exciting.

Not sure about that, I believe the AI's are running by the host, but I would ensure everyone has the same DLL just in case, as there are new stuff done by the AI other clients may not recognize.

How does it work for a multiplayer run ? Only the host need too change de DLL or everyone ?

You don't need to activate it as a mod, you just need to replace the DLL file on your game folder. The mod itself is a placeholder to obtain the modified AI DLL. Check the discussion topic on installing the thing properly.

So I'm just a little confused. I've done the dll thing, but when its time to order the mods, should it be high or low priority? I use ESG

Nevermind checked it by myself. Thanks for an amazing mod that really improves AI significantly

hi there. I was interested in a mod that actually makes AI ships better in terms of DPS and defense. Does this mod improves the designs as well or just makes use of special modules for role-ships?

No, the mod does actually solve bugs. You are not the only one who have played with it, and it has been tested, over and over, not only by me. If you care to share a save instead of accusing, I could actually pinpoint your problem.

BTW actually I added a default code on ground invasions, not only manages the new ones with the Nakalim DLC, should be able to handle new ones unknown by the AI for mods and such.

I know this is a hassle with updates and this thanks for making mod, it does make AI more competent just introduced this game breaking bug.

Broken mod, AI does ground invasion and armies never actually land, their fleet just sits and stacks more navy for 20+ turns

Okay this is seriously awesome! I bought endless space 2 the day it came out in 2017, but the AI was horrible. As a result, I stopped playing all together, so I am super pumped to try this again!

Fourth paragraph:

Compatible with the latest official version 1.5.60, prepatch preview, ESG...

Is it compatible with ESG mod?

Can we have the minor factions attack you if you're at war with them? Currently they just stay there n dnt attack you at all even if you're at war with them.

I don't really know a single 4x strategy where AI behavior would be easy to get to. I kinda expected the C part, I just thought maybe you have any recommendations on where to start. Maybe some good theory reading or something.

Nah, sadly most of the stuff has to be hacked in, as there's a quite limited exposure for elements to mod, and you need some advanced knowledge of C#, lots of patience and an excellent skill in figuring things out and solving problems... Not the best game to get into AI modding.

Hey, amazing mod! Thanks a lot for your work, made the game much more alive. Night and day difference!

This actually rekindled my idea to do something myself. So I wanted to ask if you happen to have any recommendations on manuals or any information on AI modding for ES2 and in general? My coding experience is kind of a basic one, but I still would love to try.

Nah, Riftborn and Horatio are naturally high performers due to how handicaps work, and how Horatio get a lot from many pop, and how Riftborn focuses in industry.

I'm not working on the AI mod right now. I tried really hard to make other factions to perform better. I'm happy with the results but sure could be further improved.

You working on any other factions? Your Riftborn and Horatio are insane currently lol, you fed them steroids for breakfast lol