It's funny how the real experience over this game might be the first one... in reality the AI shouldn't have all the experience we have about this game by playing it over and over...
...but since we have this experience, we pick each time the best choices possible, chosing each time the less-damage possible.
While I see each of you is trying hard to reach scores over 12k/13k, my questions are about "the middle" so here some scenarios:
1) After a super-long journey where you took a lot of damage and lost peoples (but you have databases intact) you find a perfect planet but it does NOT have: ruins, monuments, civilizations. Will you found the colony?
2) Your cultural database is too much damaged (between 50% and 70%) and your journey is too long, when to stop?
3) The dictator: if you fail to jetison him, is the mission over?
4) Less developed civilizations in any status different than benevolent or welcoming: should I ignore the planet despite is a good candidate to prevent any risk of "enslaving / wipe out / 0 contacts" ?
5) Upgrades priority: the two most important scanners for you?
6) At what % of damage to your landing system the mission might be not worth continuing?
....my answers:
1) Personally yes, if I have a ship with 0 probes, damaged construction system and scanners each at 60% or less, isn't worth continue... but I enter in the role of the AI and try to save the mission instead of taking care of the score.
2) Of course I try to find something with monumental ruins, but if not for me the mission is literally over... so whatever doesn't kill too much the peoples is ok.
3) In my experience yes, it will wipe out each good thing in your planet... a super plague I don't know how to eradicate.
4) It's all related in how many probes/peoples left I have: as long is possible I always try to avoid these civilizations...
5) I found 2 main strategies:
- Plan A, prioritize (in order) RESOURCES + GRAVITY+WATER as long you have 100% Scientific or more
- Plan B, prioritize WATER+GRAVITY+ATMOSPHERE as long your science is lesser than 50%
While you can continue searching for Insulated Caves + Airtight Caves to be sheltered by bad weather/atmosphere, it's impossible without technology to handle water shortage + gravity issues.
That's why for me Plan A is a good setup, because your technology can help in surviving against brutal odds as long the planet have resources.
6) For me is 80% the limit. Under this valute the damage to the cultural database (for the most) might be too much to have a healty colony... so in a scenario like that I'll switch to Plan B, search a planet with no big issues to handle with technology and hope for the best.
....and you all?