This is in regards to playing in 1v1 against the AI on a single lava planet (1200 radius). It might be a bit long-winded, but I hope you will understand my observations. Main Observation: The AI commander stays in the general vicinity of its starting point despite any number of defenses on my part. In multiple cases I have turtled by building all manner of defensive structures all around the perimeter of my base. After having established my position, I normally surround the enemy. However, in recent cases I have attacked consistently from a single direction. In my last game I tested my suspicion by building a defensive compound near the AI base. After establishing strong control of the orbital layer with orbital fighters only, I began construction of the forward base. The base consisted of 20+ Hopkins (specifically meant to be just out of range of the AI commander's average position), T2 laser turrets, T2 flak cannons, T1 missile turrets, Umbrella platforms, and an anti-nuke platform. I essentially made an unbreakable hard-point, which was accompanied by land/air area patrols. These patrols where set back and away from the enemy as backup; they were meant to ensure the construction of the forward base. The area patrols were automatically resupplied, and I consistently made sure to withdraw any land/air units that strayed out of the patrol area. Even though there was zero resistance from the side opposite to my attack, the AI consistently tried to build new structures (normally factories, not turrets) that were within the "well known" firing range of my extensive Hopkins battery. I say "well known" because at this point I have been away-from-keyboard (afk) for 30+ minutes and the AI is still doing the same thing: futilely attempting to build structures within my firing range just because it is nearby where the AI commander initially landed. While the AI does build new metal extractors in the opposite direction of my attack, it appears to be a matter of statistics. The AI attempts to build the same way in all directions; those build orders that succeed remain...those that do not are destroyed...over...and over...and over...and over... So, if the AI commander spawns near you...you can expect to win simply because the AI is not smart enough to build/fortify in consideration to your specific position. The AI just tries to build/fortify the area it initially designated as its start point at the beginning of the match. In conclusion, the AI consistently tries to build new structures in areas where it is currently under fire and has been under fire for 30+ minutes with myself being afk. The AI commander can literally see the barrage of Hopkins shells falling several steps out of range consistently for 30+ minutes. The AI commander could take 1-2 steps towards my base and be destroyed, but it decides to "hang out" just outside of range. Furthermore, when I launch my final attack the AI commander appears to consistently sacrifice itself, instead of attempting to escape to build more elsewhere. And the places to move are plentiful on these 1200 radius planets where I have confined myself to my base and the metal spots are maxed out. And the AI has had 30+ minutes to try to expand elsewhere, but consistently does not.... PS: Please keep in mind that I have not dominated the planet. I only controled my compact base (on a 1200 radius lava planet) and the area around my forward compound. After having only attacked from a single direction, with no resistance from any other direction, the AI consistently fails to effectively move into the uncontested area.
The first, biggest questions I would have on this is, which AI were you playing against? There is a notable difference in how (and how fast) each AI will react to player actions. Basically, if you aren't playing against the absurd AI you are fighting an artificially suppressed AI. If this was against the absurd AI, of take a video and add it to the sorian AI thread.
The normal Ai is very very limited in behavior so it is not really representative of a good player. It simply doesn't play well to make it easy for other players.
What the commander? Sometimes they do that when they know they have lost. As I'm not sure the AI is allowed to GG and delete their own units.
maybe in that case if the AI concludes that it realy IS beaten from the information it has there should be some sort of " hey i have lost you can Ctrl+k me now ... butthole -_- "