Edwin P.

In Blashy's AAR it stated that "April 1940...UK Corps arrived from the around the cape, landing on Alexandria." "All troops (allied) evacute Egypt, they leave one damaged cruiser next to the 2 arrows to block access to the Allies." In the Event that the AXIS AI decides to launch an major offensive against Egypt: a. Will the AI (ALLIED) sometimes consider evacuating Egypt if the cause is hopeless? b. Will the AI sometimes follow Blashy's strategy and leave a damaged (Axis) cruiser in the Red Sea to block acces to the Allies. c. After conquering Egypt will the AI know to return units to Europe to assist in the fight there? d. Will the Allied AI sometimes send (as per the AAR) reinforcements to Egypt? e. Will the AI foolishly launch a Middle East Campaign if the Italian navy is decimated and the Allied Fleets control the Mediterrean? [ December 02, 2005, 02:44 PM: Message edited by: Edwin P. ]

Thanks for the update HC. Good to hear that the game is very close, the balancing is about right, and the feedback on new features is positive. Looking forward to the new screen shots. [ December 01, 2005, 09:17 PM: Message edited by: Edwin P. ]

Terif, thanks for the links to the PL-Course. I learned alot that I did not know.

PS: Here are some tips for an interesting game against the AI a. Attempt an early Sea Lion b. If you find you are winning as Axis against the Allies too easily DOW Turkey and Iraq. PS: If you reduce a port to zero your naval units and transports can pass through it. Very useful for sending the Italian Fleet and Transports thru the Turkish Straits or Gibralator.

They don't overwrite the existing campaigns as long if they have a different file name.

Try attacking Russia early (after conquering France, Low Countries and Denmark) you will find that their army is very small (as is yours).

John DiFool the 2nd, thats a great idea - AI on AI games for player scripted AIs.

Making a good AI is not easy, as Rambo often says. So why not give the AI an unpredictable bonus and make sure that it knows how to use it to the best advantage. Example: Random Axis Bonus Units at Genius AI Level 20% - 2 German Bombers 20% - 2 German Subs 20% - 2 German Rockets 20% - 2 German Fighters 20% - 1 German Carrier This would add some unpredicatable variety to the game, and it would not be hard to implement at this basic level. At a more advanced level the AI might get bonus units with specified mission orders that would limit their deployment options to a specific theater until the mission is accomplished. Example: 5% - 2 Bonus Fighters, Mission: Egypt 5% - 2 Bonus Fighters, Mission: Russia 5% - 2 Bonus Fighters, Mission: Defend France 5% - 2 Bonus Fighters, Mission: Any In the First example the AI would deploy these fighters to North Africa until Egypt is conquered (or the home country is invaded).

JerseyJohn, I like you concept of a war in South America. Really different and unique. And naturally the accompanying historical background was superb. As you said the game would need Jungle Terrain, and in my view impassable Mountain terrain tiles too for sections of the Andes Mountains. Jungle Terrain Idea - Enemy can't spot you unless you are adjcent. - Air Units can't be based in Jungle Terrain, unless Engineer builds airstrip. - Armor units can't enter. [ November 29, 2005, 11:48 AM: Message edited by: Edwin P. ]

Will the Axis AI occassionaly attack Russia very early in the conflict? In SC1 it never did, while as a Human I would sometimes attack Russia before it had a chance to annex the Baltic States and build up its army. (Attack Russia early and their army is non-existant). Perhaps the USA should not enter the war in Europe if the Allies are winning the war in Europe? ie: UK + French Produciton > Axis Production = USA Remains Neutral. In SC1 I though it unrealistic to see the USA entering the war when French troops occupied Belgium and Russian troops had taken Warsaw.

Q4. To have the AI execute additional routines - ie - attack Spain - I found that you need to play at Plunder +2 and Experience +1. The AI does not become smarter it will just be more likely to attack Greece and Spain. Q2. Going against the AI at level +2 experience is hard. As you said the best strategy is to fight a defensive action. I usually play at AI plunder +2 and +1 experience. Q4. Yes, the AI operates his units too much and needlessly waste MPPs.

Note that as proposed this would be triggered by the Axis player at his discretion. A popup box would ask the Axis player if he accepts the US peace offer. Accept it and the game ends normally.

Keep Going

As I recall; The first chit = 5%, the second chit 4%, the third chit = 3%, etc. So 3 chits give you a 12% chance of an advance. I aim for 2 chits in each area that I focus on.

UPDATED Allied AI Strategy Variants for USA vs AXIS Subjugated Europe Allied AI Option 1: Fortress America (a purely defensive strategy by the AI) Allied AI Option 2: Liberate Europe Allied AI Option 3: American Invasion Fleet appears in Red Sea poised to liberate Egypt. (Scripted - aka Siberian Transfer but USA units appear in Red Sea. If successful then neutral Turkey may join Allies.) Allied AI Option 4: American financed Red Army from Siberia appears in the East as partisans rise up in their support. (Scripted - aka Siberian Transfer but at a random time and place (north or middle or southern Russia) with partisan units also appearing.) The USA Allied AI will randomly select one of the following Variants if this scenario is triggered by the Human Axis player rejecting a peace treaty with America after defeating Russia and the United Kingdom. 20% Allied AI Variant 1: Option 1 20% Allied AI Variant 1: Option 2 20% Allied AI Variant 2: Option 2 and 3 20% Allied AI Variant 3: Option 2 and 4 20% Allied AI Variant 4: Option 2, 3, and 4 An unpredictable endgame with 5 possible Allied AI strategies if this scenario is triggered. The human controlled Axis player will be unsure if or where the American Liberation forces will strike in their campaign to liberate Europe from Axis control. Updated USA Bonus Explanation USA Pacific Fleet arrives in the Atlantic ---- Uses Modified Siberian Script for arrival of US Navy Pacific Fleet in Atlantic. ---- USA launches Europe invasion only after Pacific Fleet appears. ---- Needs AI Routine for Liberating Europe and timing of said Liberation Invasion, in addition to routine for securing control of Atlantic and defending North America. [ November 28, 2005, 10:58 PM: Message edited by: Edwin P. ]

The Fantasy Axis Invades USA Scenario In Sc2 the Allies will automatically surrender if the UK and USSR fall to the Axis. Though, it will not come to be , I would like to see an option for a human player to continue playing for 2 years if the USA remains unconquered. Example 01: Human Axis conquers AI controlled UK and Russia, popup occurs - USA offers to sign peace treaty. Human Axis player accepts, then game ends. Human rejects then game continues with production of USA rising to 500% AND USA receiving Pacific Fleet (and scripted partisan uprising in Russia). This would allow the human Axis player to continue the war against the USA and its vast economy to see if the Axis can truely conquer the USA. Example 02: Human Allied player loses UK and Russia to Allies. Then Popup occurs - Germany demands surrender of USA. If the Human allied player accepts then game ends. If the Human allied player rejects then game continues. This would allow the Human player to play as the USA against Axis controlled Europe and to see if the USA can liberate Europe from the AI controlled Axis Alliance. --------------------------------------------- NOTE: Proposed USA BONUS's if War Continues Past surrender of UK and USSR USA Production Bonus: 500% USA Naval Bonus: Pacific Fleet USSR: Partisan uprising in USSR if UK or France or Italy liberated leads to appearance of 10 to 20 partisan units in USSR if Allies are AI controlled. ----------------------------------------------- Allied AI Variants for USA vs Germany/Italy Controlled Europe (with France, USSR and France surrendered) 4 Strategy Variants for Allied AI 1 or 1&2 or 1&3 or 1&2&3 :eek: Allied AI Option 1: Standard Battle for the Atlanic Allied AI Option 2: Surprise, American Invasion Fleet appears in Red Sea poised to liberate Egypt. (Scripted - aka Siberian Transfer but USA units appear in Red Sea) Allied AI Option 3: Surprise, American financed Red Army from Siberia appears in the East as partisans rise up in their support. (Scripted - aka Siberian Transfer but at a random time) The USA Allied AI will randomly select one of the following Variants if this Scenario is triggered: 25% Allied AI Variant 1: Option 1 25% Allied AI Variant 2: Option 1 and 2 25% Allied AI Variant 3: Option 1 and 3 25% Allied AI Variant 4: Option 1, 2, and 3 Thus, an unpredictable endgame against the AI if this scenario is triggered. --------------------------------------------- AI Strategy for AI Axis vs surviving USA AI Option 1: AI attempts to conquer USA AI Option 2: AI focused on defending Europe AI Option 3: AI aims to conquer remaining European countries. Axis AI Strategy 1: Option 1 Axis AI Strategy 2: Option 2 Axis AI Strategy 3: Option 3 then 2 Axis AI Strategy 4: Option 3 then 1 [ November 28, 2005, 10:26 PM: Message edited by: Edwin P. ]

I agree with the JerseyJohn's analyssis. The key element that disappointed me with SC1, although the game engine is great, was the too-predictable strategic level AI. And as he stated above - "an AI that can function largely on simple decisions while setting, and sticking to, an effective long range strategy." - in my mind is key to developing a good AI for SC2. At its simplest level the long range strategy for the AI could be deciding between a Sealion vs Control the Med Strategy vs Nordic Conquest vs Russia First or a Russia early strategy. PS: Russia Early Strategy (10%) - Axis attacks Russia before it has had time to build up a strong army and annex the Baltic states. I have tried this against several PBEM humans and the AI and its most interesting as it totally changes the game for the Russian player. Since it is largely land based it would be relatively easy to implement. PS: It was indicated in an earlier post that the AI FOW Option Off, Human FOW On will be in the game. PS: With AI scripting it may be possible to make the AI much more unpredictable in SC2. [ November 28, 2005, 01:40 PM: Message edited by: Edwin P. ]

I agree, Rambo. Programming an AI to battle another AI would be most interesting. I also agree with Sombra. Most players never play online. Look at how small the forums and leagues are relative to the number of people that purchased the game. I like playing PBEM games (and if anyone wants a game email me) and the occasional TCP/IP game more than the AI, but play the AI more often as 1) its always ready to play and it 2) fits my schedule better.

guinty1, I agree and that is a good strategy vs the AI as it deprives them of MPPs. However, I am looking to make the game more interesting against the Axis AI. In this case having Spain start the game as Allied with the Axis did not help as the AI did not take advantage of the diversion of French forces from the front and the Human controlled Allies easily conquered Spain and Portugal while the German AI knocked themselves senseless against the Maginot line. PS: I tried this twice, in Case 1 the AI only attacked the Maginot Line, in Case 2 the AI attacked the Low Countries in 1941 after wasting many turns attacking the Maginot line and allowing the French to conquer Iberia. :eek: Perhaps a better strategy would have been to have the Spain join the Axis after the Low Countries Surrender as the Allied forces would all be on the Eastern French Border., but I know not how to implement this in SC1, though it could be implemented in Sc2. PS: Looking forward to a much improved AI in SC2. [ November 27, 2005, 10:05 PM: Message edited by: Edwin P. ]

From Previous Posts: 1. The demo will be released when it is ready. Personal Note: 2.Many firms release the demo after the game has been released, not before. Example: the Civ4 demo was released after the game was released.

I know that you can turn events on or off for custom built scenarios. Can you link an event/script to an AI level? I.e. This event(s)/script(s) is active at at AI level 3 or higher. This would make it easy to write a custom scenario whose difficulty would automatically change based on the AI level. Example: #AI=1 Where the AI variable refers to the AI level (from 0 to 5). A zero referring to Human vs Human games. Values of 1 to 5 referring to the different AI levels available in the game from Novice (1) through Expert (5). #AI=5 would mean that this script would only be active when playing against the Expert Level AI (5) or higher. #AI=3 would mean that this script would only be active when playing against the beginner(3) or higher level AI. [ November 27, 2005, 11:13 AM: Message edited by: Edwin P. ]

Note to Playtesters: In Sc1 if you start the game with Spain & Portugal as Axis the German AI will only attack the Maginot Line. In fact, in a game last night the French, and French alone were able to hold the Axis Armies at the Maginot Line until August 1942! This was partially due to the fact that Axis Air would first target units behind the Maginot line or naval units along the German shore as opposed to focusing on French units in the Maginor Line. The Axis AI should have a decision tree that tells it to attack the low countries if the Maginot line has not fallen in X turns. Ie: 1. Does AI attack France via Low Countries or Maginot Line. 2. IF attack via MAGINOT Line > and NO SUCCESS in X Turns Then Attack Low Countries. PS: The GAME was with FOW Off and the AI could see that the Low countries border was not guarded. PS: Perhaps the Axis AI should have a great chance to attack via the Low Countries if the Low Country border titles are not garrisonned. Example: 1. Primary Axis Attack 70% Low Countries, 30% Maginot Line +10% Low Countries if Border titles not garrisonned. +70% Maginot Line if Maginot Tile not garrisonned. 2. If Primary Maginot Line Attack not successful in X turns then DOW Benelux countries. Also, based on Blashy's AAR, I would consider having the French units in the Maginot line start the game fully entrenched. This would recreate the reason why the Axis did not attempt a direct assault against this line of fortifications. Or Perhaps if the French abandon the Maginot Line on Turn 1 then Spain becomes +XX% more pro Axis. [ November 27, 2005, 10:03 AM: Message edited by: Edwin P. ]

I agree, it sould be really good at TCP-IP, but sometimes you just can't find an opponent to play. In Sc1 I would have liked to seen 3 simple(?) changes at Expert Level that would have given a more interesting game vs the AI: 1)AI Bonus Research Chits, as it never seemed to invest enough in research 2)Random Activations for the AI Side: Axis: Spain/Portugal or Turkey/Iraq or Vichy France joins the Axis AI. Allies: Iraq/Ireland and/or Finland joins Allies. 3)Random Reinforcements Example: Allied AI - Allies Receive Commonwealth Reinforcements in Egypt, as the AI would never send any there. Just these three changes would have made SC1 more interesting and less predictable vs the AI without extensive changes to the programming. [ November 26, 2005, 08:21 PM: Message edited by: Edwin P. ]

That said, What does it take to conquer Egypt? How many resources should the AI send to Africa to accomplish the mission? and when? In my view the AI has to decide by turn XX whether or not to attempt a conquest of Egypt. Once this date passes, it should not consider this option unless Egypt is left undefended.