An unaggressive AI

[ActionMan]

I have made a scenario (CMBO) for a British airbourne assault on German gun positions, fictional but based on the idea of the assault on the Merville battery in the early hours of D-Day. The map consists of a village on an east coast with gun batteries on bluffs to the north and south. The gun emplacements are represented by 75mm and 88mm bunkers on each bluff, with a couple of MG pillboxes too. The aim is for the paras to destroy the emplacements.

The paras are elite and the Germans conscripts (to represent the poor quality garrison troops, many of whom were “impressed” Russian volunteers). To give a better balance for the end result I gave the Germans a bonus of 1000 points. As the aim is to destroy the guns not occupy the ground, I have used one small victory flag on each bluff.

I played the scenario several times as the British to improve the scenario, then I tried it as the Germans. What a disappointment! The AI sent the entire para force to attack one bluff. Naturally they wiped out the conscripts there. But then they just sat there for the remaining 17 turns and did nothing. I presume they dug in and prepared for a counter attack.

The result was that the other gun site was never even attacked, let alone put out of action. The British landings on the beaches were then decimated by the guns of the Vierville Bertha Battery and thrown back into the sea. Eisenhower had to send his other press communiqué about having to withdraw the landing forces. D-Day failed, Stalin took Berlin, Paris and London; and this note is translated from the Russian! (A bit of imagination there, but it gives the idea of the scenario). In the game the Axis forces got a tactical victory.

The whole point is: Why did the AI not try to take both gun batteries, instead of digging in? I know the AI is not very good in attack, but I would have thought it could have detected another target to go for. Should I have used large victory flags? Or is there another way to make the game work if playing the defenders against the AI.

[Kingfish]

Send me the scenario and I'll take a look.

[Alter Ego]

And if you give the attacker +3 experience, any difference?

[Kingfish]

Not really. It would make the AI perform better at attacking the objective it chooses, but won't make a difference in getting the AI to choose both objectives.

[Alter Ego]

Little off topic but in CMC, in each CMBB map will there be 1 or 4 v-flags? (Don´t remember) It will be the same side-effect here if it´s 4 flags. :confused:

[ April 25, 2006, 03:28 AM: Message edited by: Alter Ego ]

[Joachim]

IMHO the AI doesn't go after flags. It goes after your Pixeltruppen. The flags are just a hint for the AI where it should look for the enemy.

Standard procedure (there are only a few exceptions in my memory):

The AI goes for the nearest flag (initially based on its own friendly edge). It captures this flag, then decides for the next - usually again the nearest. The AI usually abandons the first flag leaving but a few stragglers.

The AI tactics are worst if you hide your own units. The flags are just there to help the AI find you - it expects you to defend the flags. So if the AI can't find you, it goes for the flags.

It can happen that the AI sets up on the left and goes for a flag on the right wasting lots of turns for lateral movement. Flags in the AS setup zone can irritate the AI - it sets up somewhere else, then goes for the flag it already owns.

Two-pronged attacks happen if you trick the AI in using different columns - each column one reinforcement slot. Make sure there are flags to act as waypoints.

Another of my favourites is dynamic flags - it helps the AI as it has only one target.

I fear CMBB battles with flags set in the center of the quadrants will severely weaken the AI... OTOH... if in each battle each side initially controls 2 flags the AI hasn't too many objectives and might act somewhat "intelligent" - except for abandoning his flags. The AI needs some slow movers to guard it's rear flags.

CMC needs some good rules about winning battles and holding ground to get the AI to do something intelligent.

Gruß

Joachim