Abbasid111 Posted April 20, 2016 Share Posted April 20, 2016 Very nice write up. I hope it gets some new people to try the demo. I think pixel rappen is the latest thing in hip hop! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnarly Posted April 20, 2016 Share Posted April 20, 2016 (edited) 7 minutes ago, Abbasid111 said: I think pixel rappen is the latest thing in hip hop! Boom-tish! (or beat-box?? ) Edited April 20, 2016 by gnarly 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abbasid111 Posted April 20, 2016 Share Posted April 20, 2016 Beat box of course! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grunt_GI Posted April 20, 2016 Share Posted April 20, 2016 Interesting write up...I know you said you don't play QB very much, however I consider them really the best part of the game for me. I often only have 30-45 minutes to play, so a good QB provides just enough CM...also the AI has really improved over the series and is outstanding in CMFB. I think QB really add something to the single player replayability and overall value of the game..in addition to the excellent modding and scenario building community. Overall, very well done, hopefully it will put more beer money in the BFC gang's coffers. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wodin Posted April 20, 2016 Author Share Posted April 20, 2016 (edited) I've sent Boris a small update with regards to QUick Battles and a scripted AI as someone here mentioned. I can't promise it will be updated as he has, poor chap, had to deal with my constant edits that kept wrecking all his hard work with layout etc. It's only a couple of sentneces but will add another engine con and explain the reason why Quick Battles aren't suited to solo play. I know I could really add another good paragraph or two to really make the review complete and satisfy issue raised here. However I think I'll just take everyhting on board for the next review I do. Otherwise I could probably keep goign abck for another week or so:). Oh as for the name Huertgen, I had sent the article in with that spelling. It seems someone has changed it at some point after it left my hands. I've sent possible culprits to the shed of doom for a day or two, use your imagination why the shed is the shed of doom.. Grunt_GI I understand that. However I see alot of posts where people are moaning about the AI and it turns out they are playing a Quick Battle. So to be on the safe side and make newbies aware before jumping into QB that it migh not give them the fight they are after. As for replayability. Honestly I've never got to a stage with any of the games where I've run out of Single Player scenarios, far from it in fact. SO for me the Quick Battle AI thing ha snever been an issue as I have never actually needed to use it and as I say I just see it as a Multiplayer feature. Edited April 20, 2016 by Wodin 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wodin Posted April 20, 2016 Author Share Posted April 20, 2016 (edited) Poor Boris has agreed to add the extra Quick Battle scripted AI info. The feedback that bothered me the most was saying it seemed like I whitewashed any problems, I really don't want the review to be considered just a fan boy love letter. So I think a couple of sentences highlighting the scripted AI aswell as explaining why I think QB is best for multiplayer only, kills two birds with one stone (well scares them abit)..I highlight a con and explain the AI a little bit. Edited April 20, 2016 by Wodin 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wodin Posted April 20, 2016 Author Share Posted April 20, 2016 OK new edited QUick Battle Info now in review "There is also the Quick Battle feature, which I profess to never use, as I only play against the included AI (plus, the Quick Battles really aren't suited to this and are more for multiplayer use). The reason why quick battles aren't suited to single player is that the TAC AI is scripted, which means it doesn't really work that well in Quick Battles. This is one of the downsides of the engine, and a real bug bear for some. That's not to say the Tac AI is useless, when it comes to the scenarios and campaigns, those clever scenario designers end up weaving their magic ,with the result that many of my pixel truppen have come to a terrible demise and the AI march of victorious. I've never found this to be an issue, as there has always been more than enough content for me in the games without ever needing the Quick Battle feature." 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Macisle Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 (edited) Some tips for bringing out the best in the QB AI: Be the Attacker and choose Probe as the battle format. If you have reached a comfort level with the game mechanics and basic tactics, give the AI a numbers advantage. 40% or more is best if you are an experienced player. Choose the AI's units for it so you can make sure that it has adequate armor, if you are going to give yourself armor. By "adequate," I mean give it an armor advantage in quality and/or sufficient numbers to give you something to chew on, despite your tactical advantage. Also, give the AI higher quality infantry than what you are going to get. (EDIT) See MOS:96B2P's post below for important info on how to group the AI's units when you select its force. Despite your being the Attacker, give the AI at least as much infantry as you are going to have--maybe more. Give the AI multiple FOs and lots of artillery. If you are going to play as the Defender on a map that is easy to defend (like an urban map), give the AI a 3:1 infantry advantage and a beefy armor advantage as well. Adjust this down depending on how Defender-friendly the map is. IMO, the two main issues that currently hamper QB vs. AI play are the AI's tendency to choose inadequate armor/vehicle assets (would be great if the game would scan what the player has chosen and choose accordingly when using Automatic selection by AI) and its general avoidance of buildings. Choosing the AI's units for it takes care of the first problem (at the cost of some FOW, but it's worth it). The second is a bigger problem, but can be somewhat/largely alleviated if you give the AI enough of a numbers advantage. By following the above "house rules" I usually have a lot of fun with QBs vs. the AI. Edited April 22, 2016 by Macisle Added a great piece of advice someone else posted. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOS:96B2P Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 6 hours ago, Macisle said: Some tips for bringing out the best in the QB AI: <Snip> Several years ago @womble posted the below advice about picking units for the AI. I had saved and used this when playing against the AI. I play mostly PBEM now but as far as I know this method still works. I paraphrased some of what womble said below so any mistakes or inaccuracies are mine. When you're picking AI forces yourself, mitigate the "putting units in inappropriate groups" problem is by making sure there are enough formations in the force to have "some of everything" in each group. Rather than picking one Battalion "head", then chopping out everything but the AT platoon (4 guns) and a company (3 rifle platoons and a heavy platoon) of infantry, pick four Battalion headers and chop out everything but one AT gun, some Rifle squads and an MG or two from the Heavy Platoon for each Battalion. AFAICT, the AI assigns alternating Formations to the default 2 groups, and will leave one group empty if you just pick the one Formation. Or if you pick a Formation for infantry and another for Armor, you'll have all the Infantry in one setup zone, following one set of orders, and all the Armor elsewhere, operating according to a different timetable which probably won't support your infantry's route. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Macisle Posted April 22, 2016 Share Posted April 22, 2016 (edited) 9 hours ago, MOS:96B2P said: Several years ago @womble posted the below advice about picking units for the AI. I had saved and used this when playing against the AI. I play mostly PBEM now but as far as I know this method still works. I paraphrased some of what womble said below so any mistakes or inaccuracies are mine. When you're picking AI forces yourself, mitigate the "putting units in inappropriate groups" problem is by making sure there are enough formations in the force to have "some of everything" in each group. Rather than picking one Battalion "head", then chopping out everything but the AT platoon (4 guns) and a company (3 rifle platoons and a heavy platoon) of infantry, pick four Battalion headers and chop out everything but one AT gun, some Rifle squads and an MG or two from the Heavy Platoon for each Battalion. AFAICT, the AI assigns alternating Formations to the default 2 groups, and will leave one group empty if you just pick the one Formation. Or if you pick a Formation for infantry and another for Armor, you'll have all the Infantry in one setup zone, following one set of orders, and all the Armor elsewhere, operating according to a different timetable which probably won't support your infantry's route. Yes, that's good (and important!) advice. I use that too, but forgot about it (has become second nature) when I posted. Thanks for adding it! Edited April 22, 2016 by Macisle 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wodin Posted April 22, 2016 Author Share Posted April 22, 2016 Your more than welcome to post this info in the comments below the review:) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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