Early version of an AI you can practice TFM against

Forum rules
Please DO NOT POST BUGS on this forum. Please report (and vote) bugs on : https://boardgamearena.com/bugs
FrankJones
Posts: 2450
Joined: 30 June 2024, 00:24

Re: Early version of an AI you can practice TFM against

Post by FrankJones »

A couple other things to take a look at:

https://boardgamearena.com/gamereview?table=888933443

1) Gen 1 - the bot sems to have Ecological experts confused with eccentric sponsor. It played Eco Experts into ... Io Mining.

It had Farming in its starting cards. I don't know whether Exo-experts -> Farming is a good use of a prelude (seems reasonable enough), but it did not buy Farming. It did buy Lichen, which it could have played after Eco experts.

2) Gen 3: Despite numerous placement bonuses, and mineral deposit in hand, it spent all its steel (unnecessarily) on Space Elevator. It missed out on activation that generation and also one later generation.

I realize the awards are tough. It funded a dangerous Landlord which I could have tied if I hadn't misplayed my hand at the end. I realized I needed 3 or 4 standard projects at the end to finish the game, and I forgot I had standard technology. I caught it halfway through, but if I hadn't wasted 6 dollars first, I could have played another tile and tied the award.
User avatar
Lytical
Posts: 81
Joined: 07 May 2026, 00:51

Re: Early version of an AI you can practice TFM against

Post by Lytical »

Bot stuck on Vitor free funding on Hellas, didn't play a single move the whole game.

https://boardgamearena.com/table?table=888964042
AReallyGoodName123
Posts: 10
Joined: 01 January 2025, 21:12

Re: Early version of an AI you can practice TFM against

Post by AReallyGoodName123 »

Lytical wrote: 26 July 2026, 08:48 Bot stuck on Vitor free funding on Hellas, didn't play a single move the whole game.

https://boardgamearena.com/table?table=888964042
Saw that one. Fixed.
FrankJones
Posts: 2450
Joined: 30 June 2024, 00:24

Re: Early version of an AI you can practice TFM against

Post by FrankJones »

Some other minor stuff, depending on how much you want to fine tune your creation:

https://boardgamearena.com/table?table=889376122


Gen 1 it got off to a fast start, I thought I would get buried.

It ended the gen with an unused power plant card for 2 dollars (After plating Earth Catapult), and holding Development center as a likely gen 2 play.

Gen 2 it plays Olympus conference for no reason. It had no other science cards, and maybe Earth Office would come in the next draft. Also makes me even more likely to hate draft science cards.

Gen 3 it drafted indentured workers over Asteroid as first draft pick, and then did not buy the card. Then it took Mineral Deposit (which saved it 4 MC) over advanced Ecosystems. That's odd, I would figure the card hierarchy you programmed would always prioritize adv. Eco over Mineral Deposit. Same draft it didn't buy indentured workers, it bought Windmills with oxygen at 0.

Gen 4 draft it drafted Mining Area over Algae. Questionable. I ended up with great value from Algae while it was spending 23 dollars to do a lot of SP greeneries. It prioritizes animals in the draft (seems to always take them first, often without actually buying them), but seems to snooze on valuable plant tag cards.

It then played Colonizer Training Camp for no reason (Oxygen was at 0 or 1, and I am Saturn systems).

Gen 6 it prioritized Tardigrades in the Draft over Phobos Space Station when I had a big pile of titanium, and miner was perhaps in contention. It ended up buying and playing Tardigrades, getting one point. Seems kind of like playing Dust seals, not considered a good play.

Gen 7 it was doing weird things with prioritization. It played Deel Well heating, leaving energy dangling even though it seemed to be planning to play a city. Which is fine, I guess, because it had two moves for the city: Lava Tube and then Mining area, which it had for 3 or 4 generations but could not use (partly because of bad placement of its commercial district on a metal spot instead of on a card spot next to a metal spot).

But instead of doing Lava Tube -> mining area, it did something els first, then Lava tube, allowing me to place a blocking tile on its intended mining area spot, which it then could not use.

It eventually paid 25 MC for a SP city in a terrible spot solely to be able to then use mining area (very late in the game). This bad city ended up being worth 1 point when it could have ben 5.


It started to stall out in generations 8-10, doing mostly SP cities and greeneries. Less necessarily if it prioritized Algae more earlier.

It seems to like Adaptation technology a lot, even with no apparent use for the effect.

It drafted Birds first in one gen, but didn't buy it. Birds at the end would have cost me a 2-point greenery. It also passed on Livestock earlier. It does not seem to value getting one of the four 1-point-per animal cards.

Gen 10 draft it Took Insulation in the draft - Wise, because banker might be contested. Id then immediately funded banker - meaning Thermalist was no longer possible. Temperature was done. For 3 Dollars, it could have insulted 10 heat prod into money prod, but it didn't buy the card.

With Miner now almost deadlocked, it then spent all its steel, partly to play mining area (it could have just used 2 dollars), and partly to play a completely unnecessary Fusion power. It had no cards requiring energy, and temp was done, and if it wanted a card from Olympus, it could have played Media Group and special design for free and Gotten the same card from Olympus, while also having Media group in play for the final gen. And saving its 4 steel.

It then spent all its titanium on Callisto Penal mines, a very mediocre gen 10 play against Saturn Systems. I would want it to do media group - special design and maybe it draws a better space card or just a better card. Antigrav was still floating around.

Gen 11 draft, final gen, it took optimal aero with no space events in hand (and really none worth playing anyway at that point with all the good ones having been played or irrelevant.

With Miner still possibly contested, it then drafted Convoy From Europa (useless) over building industries, a 4-steel swing. If it takes building industries, I can't use all my metal. Then it actually bought Optimal aero. waste of 2 dollars.

Then it did two SP greeneries and sold its cards, even though it had no yet used inventor's Guild or Space elevator. Definitely better to look at the IG card. It could have kept a 1-point card and played it.
Post Reply

Return to “Terraforming Mars”