Being able to set AIs to prefer fuel types?

[JC_Denton]

This is probably a "FBS item" idea, I couldn't find one like it in the existing list.

It would be nice to be able to set AIs to prefer certain types of fuel.  E.g. Michigan Electro should try to make a go of it with electrics.  I've been modding in some historical companies, and it doesn't feel right that companies that built steam or electric cars historically instead are building petrol or E85 cars.

My current thought is it should be moddable as part of the AI behavior, where if one fuel is 1.0 and the others are 0.0, the company would only ever build that fuel type.  Which might be bad for their long-term prospects, but one could argue that is realistic.  A mix could lead to preferring a certain fuel while it appears viable and gradually migrating, with unset (-1) for all types being the current behavior.

[Eric.B]

So I don't lose it, I moved the thread to the suggestion forums.

We have a method of controlling all AI companies, but not individual companies. I think this bounty would be best after the community funds the individual component skills bounties. With that bounty, your choices in researching specific components become significantly important.


That said, with the behavior values, if you set fuel stuff to 1, the AI will select more fuel-efficient designs. Although fuel popularity will often override that weighting.

[JC_Denton]

Ah, I see, those would be:

#57 - https://www.ventdev.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=3839
#58 - https://www.ventdev.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=3840
#59 - http://www.ventdev.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=3841

And there are various other ones that require #57 as well. But I believe the ones above are the most relevant. Company A could make great diesel engines and poor gasoline ones; Company B could make okay diesels and very good gasoline ones.

I agree that ideally, this would follow upon those changes. A part of me still thinks the AI preference for certain fuel types could be separate, and provide the immersion difference if not the full specialization.

Thanks for both capturing this as a suggestion (note to self: I can create threads in this forum) and connecting it with other related bounty items!

[Eric.B]

I agree that ideally, this would follow upon those changes. A part of me still thinks the AI preference for certain fuel types could be separate, and provide the immersion difference if not the full specialization.

The problem with that is that many of these obscure designs are economically inefficient and would lead to the company quickly bankrupting if they are stuck with the static values for those sub-components.

The AI won't be able to run an electric car company in 1900 if the game has static electric design values throughout history. With these bounties, a 1900 electric car company would at least stand a chance at improving the technology to a level that could compete with gasoline.

[JC_Denton]

Oh, that makes sense. It definitely is not profitable making electric cars in 1900 currently!

Although I somehow have made a profitable electric car in 1912. Along with two unprofitable ones that more than cancel it out... there's a reason EVs are less than 2% of my total sales.

[Eric.B]

I have added the original request to bounty #323: https://www.ventdev.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=4490