Very Strange....

[Marky]

hey guys (and girls?)

been playing SCET quite a bit recently

and i m in the middle of playing the allies and ridding europe of the nazi scum

and ill admit, things were not going so good

1. i had launched an early DDAY invasion, and it was recently pushed back into the channel with quite a few losses

2. i had invaded and secured NW africa, and tripoli

3. i had invaded sicily, and secured it

4. i had invaded mainland italy, and secured bari, and taranto, and i was just south of rome, wen a stroke of luck for the axis resulted in my forces being pusheddown the italian peninsula, nearly being flanked and pushed right OFF into the Med (it just stabilized)

5. and in russia, things were even worse-

leningrad, stalingrad AND moscow were gone, along with a few other cities

then i saw an opportunity on the russian front, and i ATTACKED with EVERYTHING i had

needlessly to say i took sum heavy losses, but the axuis forces seemed to be WITHDRAWING

whether this was from partisans or sumthing i jus dunnno, but they were withdrawing so i ATTACKED

and they offered very LITTLES resistance, so naturally, i kept advancing

its now about 9 months later (game time of course lol) and im AT the POLISH border, having retaken just about everything except leningrad, riga and odessa !

i mean, at that point in the war, the Axis was doing VERY good, and then they just withdrew, i was like WTF lol?

and now, the red army is even bigger than it was in 41, and im about ready to cross into poland, and of course, once germany falls, i will have flanked the defenders in northern italy, and they simply wont have a chance

funny how sumthing on ONE front can change EVERYTHING huh?

anything like this ever happen to u lol?

[hellraiser]

seems to me you are playing the AI ...

go post your icq in the appropriate thread and try some human opponents. They won't EVER withdraw if they have an edge, believe me

[JerseyJohn]

I've never been a great player, probably never even a good one, but a couple of years back I was playing a lot of PM games and writing a lot of AARs -- for fun, of course, plenty of photos and nonsensical entries.

After a long layoff I began playing the AI; I've always preferred playing the AI regardless of the game because there's no obligation to play a lot or a little, you do whatever you want.

Anyway, I'm beginning to think most of the human opponents I used to go against are easier than the AI in some of the games.

This isn't meant as knock against any of my past oppenents, many of whom shot me out of a cannon!

But here's why the AI plays so well against me, I give it handicaps. Not in the form of MPPs, but in other ways.

Using the scenario editor, if I'm planning to be the Allies, I give the computer Sweden, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria (that way it won't miss then later on -- they don't join the Axis under Random if the Axis has either Spain or Sweden and I don't like using the Historical setting).

That would be a suicidal handicap against a human oppenent, but against the AI I find it leads to a decent game. Also, I place a German 6 pt HQ in Sweden and put all of the Swedish units near the Norwegian border so the AI will get they idea.

An added thing to consider is to move the three French Maginot armies out of the line and coloring the Maginot hexes German, so the AI will have those fortresses later in the game (Sigfried Line) and won't waste it's time and resources battering against the Maginot Line instead of going through the Low Countries.

The AI, as Axis, won't invade Scandinavia, at least it never did when I was playing it. So, in addition to giving it Sweden and that extra HQ, you might consider having Denmark and Norway start with the Allies, so the AI will invade them and grab the plunder.

Give it some leeway and, as you've said, it will give you a fun game.

[Edwin P.]

I have also noticed that the AI usually withdraws too soon or too late on the Russian front. Sometimes, it will begin a rapid withdrawal when Russia is close to folding and then other times it will hold onto its forward line in the south even while Russian Units sweep around swamp in its rear to cut them off. Often I have trapped 8 to 12 Axis units in such an isolated pocket.

In playing the AI, I usally give it 8 unspent tech chits in the game setup and Industrial Tech level 2. I find that this compensates for the AI's tendency to invest very little in technology. I also give the AI 2 or 3 bombers. 2 if Allied (both to the USA) and 3 (to the Germans) if Axis. I find that this helps the AI in FOW ON games.

If you really want a challenge give the German Axis AI 5 level 2 Rockets at Start along with an extra HQ. With this they can roll up the French even if you try the Corps defense and hold onto the Maginot line.

[ December 15, 2004, 02:36 PM: Message edited by: Edwin P. ]

[aesopo]

Heck JJ,

I have given the the German and Italian AI 9999 mpps each plus level two experience at expert level and still would hand its head everytime. Anyone else?