Version 0.99.59 released

[rdklein]

This version contains the new COMPUTER OPPONENT,

we start as an online only update,

the computer oppenent plays different for beginner,e xpert and advanced. In the last though you can choose a homeport, it might wish to override the choosen homepoort, so dont wonder on the message given.

As also messages from the AI player arrrive its best to use a FULLSCREEN modus.

have fun your poc team.

[Alien]

Erster Versuch:
Eine Partie mit 8 Spielern, Start 1975, schwerste Stufe. Alle 7 Computerspieler sind zwischen April und Juli des ersten Jahres Pleite gegangen... (Es haben alle dieselbe Taktik verwendet: Trelyon gekauft)

First Attempt:
Game with 8 Players, start 1975, hard. All 7 Computerplayers went bancrupt between april and july of the first year... (all have bought a Trelyon for the start)

Grüße/greetings

Thomas

[StickyMonk]

Same happened with me, also they all called their ships the same name! trelyon 0!
_________________
Cheers
Matthew

for my ships,cargo and harbors don't visit my web site as they are not there anymore

[Christian Todt]

[rdklein]

Treylon is the only ship making sense (max load for example), and I think there is not much choice in this year for the expert level.
The AI player only uses cargo and container ships at the moment.
I mainly tested the year 1980 for the last test, I will check again for 1975.,

[rdklein]

Attention: I hink one of the problems might be the number of opponents, as they influence each other. Also try with 2 or 4 AI players instead of 8,
I will check this also,

the tatic is to optimize the revenue, taking into account one look ahead (e.g. the next route) and trade of duration of the trip and fuel consumption,
also channel fees, there are some subtile ad hoc multiplieres which I have to optimize slowly, as for example the look ahead multiplier. FOr example if you have a freight for Point Hope and no freight from there, the sum is reduced.
AN other strategy is to keep the ships up to best condition, this avoid bermuda triangle losts (or to avoid the bermuda, which currently is not done).

[Bolja]

How do I download the update? Can't find any link - or am I just blind??

Rgds
Christer Allvin
Sweden
_________________
Started with POC before the Windowsage.

[rdklein]

currently you have to use the online update,

that is the third screen after starting poc just click onto ONLINE update and then select the new version to update (after a while the choice appears).

[Bolja]

OK - found it - thanks for the swift reply

All the best
Christer A, sweden
_________________
Started with POC before the Windowsage.

[StickyMonk]

[Alien]

Bigest problem for AI seems to be running out of fuel.

Thomas

[rdklein]

I didnt have this problem, especially on fuel the ship have a strategie to keep them full, but of cours eseveral wether conditions a long trip and such could leed to a problem,

I would really like to get a saved game for checkout, also we tried 8 players yesterday, only one of them went bankrupt. Please send it to poc@rdklein.de subject="AI Player"

Important: Did you use our orginal XML files for towns and ships or the addons as this might change a lot. WHich makes it hard to debug for me at the moment. IF you have smaller ships in the game (with little bunker) the AI might not handle them properly at the moment, as on the original data set we have most with sufficient bunker, so the AI dont need to care about distance (I will add this later on I think).

[StickyMonk]

I first tryed it without any of the addons as I wanted to just try it out.

After I reinstalled all the hundreds of addons it ran a lot better, in fact it ran far to well on expert im down in 7th place....... I need to rethink my stratagy!

I have never had the problem of them running out of fuel, the only thing that bugs me is different companys name their ships the same, in one of my games at the moment there are 5 ships called Benalder 2.

But all in all its great to have a computer player.
_________________
Cheers
Matthew

for my ships,cargo and harbors don't visit my web site as they are not there anymore

[StickyMonk]

Oh, forgot to say, all ships take only 4-17 days to be delivered no matter what it says in KARA, for instance the Jahre Viking only took 17 days to arrive after the order was placed (the year is 1978).
_________________
Cheers
Matthew

for my ships,cargo and harbors don't visit my web site as they are not there anymore

[rdklein]

I will check for this as the was a date problem with english version which I corrected (maybe only at one place).
As the german use a different date system there was a fault in the code using a hard coded start date...,