why does the majority of the ai do completely nothing?

[Emperor Zero]

it really feels like the only nation who does stuff when im playing uk is france and usa, no one is trying to get africa or asia or south america other then me,france and usa

[ShepherdOfCats]

Well, it costs money to do something and the AI is probably thinking 'why doesn't this human ever do anything?', and I can tell you quite simply it is because I never have any money.

Maybe most of the AI countries don't have enough money to do anything.

[Damedius]

The AI is probably in rough shape and needs a patch or two to get it where it needs to be. The real question is why does Paradox continually release their products like this?

[Zero, Dark Knight]

I think the AI is stuck in an infinite loop, say for instance.

France now needs tools.
French AI makes a tooling workshop.
French AI now needs wood.
French AI buys Swedish wood.

Swedish AI sees tools are cheap in French market.
Swedish AI buys French tools.
Swedish AI now needs wood.
Swedish AI makes a logging camp.

France now needs tools.
French AI makes a tooling workshop.
French AI now needs wood...

-- cycle infinitely, through every country and market...

I think at least, I'm not sure but I'm noticing a trend among many Let's Plays and videos and forum posts about the AI and the market which is making me think this is the most logical conclusion, along with multiple chats with people who have actually played the game.

but if this theory is true then you're ending up with a situation where everyone is buying everything off everyone and no one has an excess, thus meaning the AI would not be able to create a successful or advanced market, it would be basic resources only.
This would also line up with what I'm seeing with them being stuck and failing at making cannons, trains, fertilisers, steel, dyes, and no higher level industry.

and why I think Alex the Rambler I think it was, showed us a France with 108 tooling workshops.

I do wonder if the 'ease of stealing goods' off a market and no controls to stop them except embargo or war, is harming this game.
Also I would propose - if this theory turns out to be correct - that the game needs some sort of button to say "Your own internal market must have 100% needs met before exports are allowed." <- as an option, not a mandatory.

but I suppose there're also mods / workshop items being made to improve all of this, and it's just educated guesswork. I'm not a dev.

[Orki]

somebody wrote here the ai is very minimal just a few hundred lines of decision for the ai , so probably thats why

[Dray Prescot]

Well then put high Tariffs on the sales of your goods (that you need) to other countries, or find ways to keep them out of your Markets.

[Emperor Zero]

Originally posted by ShepherdOfCats:

Well, it costs money to do something and the AI is probably thinking 'why doesn't this human ever do anything?', and I can tell you quite simply it is because I never have any money.

Maybe most of the AI countries don't have enough money to do anything.

i always do stuff so they better step up and start doing ♥♥♥♥ and making some money

[Emperor Zero]

Originally posted by Orki:

somebody wrote here the ai is very minimal just a few hundred lines of decision for the ai , so probably thats why

so the singleplayer ai is basic and basically the bare minimum and multiplayer doesn't work. these are both MAJOR issues i hope the devs fix them or this game will die

[Emperor Zero]

Originally posted by Zero, Dark Knight:

I think the AI is stuck in an infinite loop, say for instance.

France now needs tools.
French AI makes a tooling workshop.
French AI now needs wood.
French AI buys Swedish wood.

Swedish AI sees tools are cheap in French market.
Swedish AI buys French tools.
Swedish AI now needs wood.
Swedish AI makes a logging camp.

France now needs tools.
French AI makes a tooling workshop.
French AI now needs wood...

-- cycle infinitely, through every country and market...

I think at least, I'm not sure but I'm noticing a trend among many Let's Plays and videos and forum posts about the AI and the market which is making me think this is the most logical conclusion, along with multiple chats with people who have actually played the game.

but if this theory is true then you're ending up with a situation where everyone is buying everything off everyone and no one has an excess, thus meaning the AI would not be able to create a successful or advanced market, it would be basic resources only.
This would also line up with what I'm seeing with them being stuck and failing at making cannons, trains, fertilisers, steel, dyes, and no higher level industry.

and why I think Alex the Rambler I think it was, showed us a France with 108 tooling workshops.

I do wonder if the 'ease of stealing goods' off a market and no controls to stop them except embargo or war, is harming this game.
Also I would propose - if this theory turns out to be correct - that the game needs some sort of button to say "Your own internal market must have 100% needs met before exports are allowed." <- as an option, not a mandatory.

but I suppose there're also mods / workshop items being made to improve all of this, and it's just educated guesswork. I'm not a dev.

it seems the france in my game has broken out of this, every one else has barely any thing and their gdp or prestige has barely went up while frances gdp some how has gotten to 300 million in 1860 and has a better gdp than me and is almost overtaking my prestige. they are also joining wars and expanding their colonial empire, if all the ai was like the france i got this game would be amazing.

[Emperor Zero]

Originally posted by Damedius:

The AI is probably in rough shape and needs a patch or two to get it where it needs to be. The real question is why does Paradox continually release their products like this?

because they know people will still buy it and then still buy their dlc. basically low risk high reward and they always have a safety blanket to fall back on

[ShepherdOfCats]

Originally posted by Sextus Pompeius Magnus:

Originally posted by ShepherdOfCats:

Well, it costs money to do something and the AI is probably thinking 'why doesn't this human ever do anything?', and I can tell you quite simply it is because I never have any money.

Maybe most of the AI countries don't have enough money to do anything.

i always do stuff so they better step up and start doing ♥♥♥♥ and making some money

So far I've only figured out how to cap my debt limit . . . slowly lol.

In Vicky 2 playing as Portugal, I was usually out of the red within the first year by putting the navy budget in mothballs and the army budget just a very minimal amount.

In vicky 3, I'm demolishing my barracks and ports and my wages and still it's always like 10 pounds in the red. And then all the unemployed military peeps are mad at me and become radical.

Its like there's more control over the budget with various tax types but then again there's not because the sliders are gone.

[Emperor Zero]

Originally posted by ShepherdOfCats:

Originally posted by Sextus Pompeius Magnus:

i always do stuff so they better step up and start doing ♥♥♥♥ and making some money

So far I've only figured out how to cap my debt limit . . . slowly lol.

In Vicky 2 playing as Portugal, I was usually out of the red within the first year by putting the navy budget in mothballs and the army budget just a very minimal amount.

In vicky 3, I'm demolishing my barracks and ports and my wages and still it's always like 10 pounds in the red. And then all the unemployed military peeps are mad at me and become radical.

Its like there's more control over the budget with various tax types but then again there's not because the sliders are gone.

i played the uk so i never had to worry about that ♥♥♥♥ in 30 years i went from 76 million gdp to 180 gdp i don't know if thats good but some how france had 300 million i was shocked how its possible to make that much they also had like a super high standard of living but very low literacy. i have no idea how this game works man some times i go from 100k profit to negative outta nowhere its very confusing

[ShepherdOfCats]

Originally posted by Sextus Pompeius Magnus:

Originally posted by ShepherdOfCats:

So far I've only figured out how to cap my debt limit . . . slowly lol.

In Vicky 2 playing as Portugal, I was usually out of the red within the first year by putting the navy budget in mothballs and the army budget just a very minimal amount.

In vicky 3, I'm demolishing my barracks and ports and my wages and still it's always like 10 pounds in the red. And then all the unemployed military peeps are mad at me and become radical.

Its like there's more control over the budget with various tax types but then again there's not because the sliders are gone.

i played the uk so i never had to worry about that ♥♥♥♥ in 30 years i went from 76 million gdp to 180 gdp i don't know if thats good but some how france had 300 million i was shocked how its possible to make that much they also had like a super high standard of living but very low literacy. i have no idea how this game works man some times i go from 100k profit to negative outta nowhere its very confusing

I think apparently a big part of it is managing trade routes but honestly I wish this was somewhat more automatic and naturally-occurring because I can't really be bothered to look and see what goods I have a surplus of and micro the game into exporting them to the most efficient destinations. The AI, being a computer, is much more capable of doing this, despite its flaws in other areas.

If you need dyes and alcohol though, I'm your man.

[Emperor Zero]

Originally posted by ShepherdOfCats:

Originally posted by Sextus Pompeius Magnus:

i played the uk so i never had to worry about that ♥♥♥♥ in 30 years i went from 76 million gdp to 180 gdp i don't know if thats good but some how france had 300 million i was shocked how its possible to make that much they also had like a super high standard of living but very low literacy. i have no idea how this game works man some times i go from 100k profit to negative outta nowhere its very confusing

I think apparently a big part of it is managing trade routes but honestly I wish this was somewhat more automatic and naturally-occurring because I can't really be bothered to look and see what goods I have a surplus of and micro the game into exporting them to the most efficient destinations. The AI, being a computer, is much more capable of doing this, despite its flaws in other areas.

If you need dyes and alcohol though, I'm your man.

im at 1865 rn and ive done none of that managing trade routes and ive come out fine and the only ai who has actually done well is france, im completely destroying and dominating every one else but this france ai is godly

[ShepherdOfCats]

Originally posted by Sextus Pompeius Magnus:

Originally posted by ShepherdOfCats:

I think apparently a big part of it is managing trade routes but honestly I wish this was somewhat more automatic and naturally-occurring because I can't really be bothered to look and see what goods I have a surplus of and micro the game into exporting them to the most efficient destinations. The AI, being a computer, is much more capable of doing this, despite its flaws in other areas.

If you need dyes and alcohol though, I'm your man.

im at 1865 rn and ive done none of that managing trade routes and ive come out fine

Fine yes, but you'll never be 'France 300m GDP fine', lol. (i'm not intending any mockery here because I'm frankly quite lost myself, but I insist that clicking buttons on a trade screen must have something to do with maximizing profitability).

[Emperor Zero]

Originally posted by ShepherdOfCats:

Originally posted by Sextus Pompeius Magnus:

im at 1865 rn and ive done none of that managing trade routes and ive come out fine

Fine yes, but you'll never be 'France 300m GDP fine', lol. (i'm not intending any mockery here because I'm frankly quite lost myself, but I insist that clicking buttons on a trade screen must have something to do with maximizing profitability).

yeah but ive seen other people play this game and they are worse or on par with me when it comes to gdp and how much they make overall per turn, example would be bokeon and other youtubers. you are right though that stuff is key to making the most efficient economy and will be used by every one once people learn the game, its a big learning curve rn and that was my first actual game so i think i did alright, but for my next game im 100% gonna sit down and actually try to learn the game more in depth and learn how to make my economy even better then those pesky illiterate rich french