Gunslingr3 Posted August 8, 2002 Share Posted August 8, 2002 I don't think this really classifies as a bug, but I noticed something peculiar that the AI was doing in a game last night. I played as the Allies on Expert +1 difficulty. The Poles held out for three turns, and in that time I disbanded the French airfleet, sent their corps to defend the Alps, and purchased an HQ to bolster my line. As the Germans gathered along the Maginot I deployed the Canadian army and corps to the northern flank, allowing them to dig in behind the Low Countries. I did not move a unit into the mines behind the Maginot as I normally do, instead I hoped that my line of French armies, with an HQ to aid them, could hold for an extra round or two and let me build a unit for that purpose. The French Altantic Fleet was sent into the Baltic to screen for the Kriegsmarine with the Royal Navy right behind them. This effectively precluded a German invasion of Norway, and apparently discouraged him away from Denmark as well. That's when I noticed the problem. The AI devoted all three of it's fighters to hitting the undefended mine behind the Maginot. Even as German units battered themselves on the Maginot, at times driving the northernmost unit down to 2 strength, the Luftwaffe concentrated on driving down the value of the mine. Even this wouldn't have saved me, if the AI hadn't strictly observed the neutrality of the Low Countries (I hadn't the resources to complete my line yet, and the Germans did have a +1 exp bonus which would have made short work of the green French and Canuck troops). The AI continued to hammer on the mine, and as consequence I was able to purchase an additional army and even a tank group for the French while repairing a short line. With the British free from worry of invasion I devoted their production to research and was rewarded with level 4 Industrial Technology pretty quickly. They then focused on purchasing air fleets and researching jet power. The Germans, unable to overcome his fixation with the mine, and unwilling to try anything besides plowing straight through the Maginot, was making only 140 MPPs per turn. The Italian effort was completely stymied by two corps positioned in the Alps and the seizure of Sicily immediately after the Italian declaration of war. The Russians finally decided to set aside their non agression pact with the Germans and in just a few turns had overrun Poland and subdued the Balkan states (who remained neutral given the Axis lack of success). The Yugoslavians saw the handwriting on the wall and joined the Allied cause without any of Uncle Joe's unique persuasion. Berlin fell shortly after and the Italians fell by November of '42, without the U.S. ever entering the war (they didn't care for the British decision to seize Iraqi oil, nor the Russian penchant for greater Slav unity). I'm not sure how AI prioritizes targets or strategy, but it seems clear that the preference for Germany to hit strategic resources with it's limited air power in the beginning of the game doomed it to failure. Even if this had not been the case, the German effort would have been aided by moving on the Low Countries and forcing France to repair a longer line with it's meager resources. Perhaps the propensity to bomb resources (particularly in preference to enemy units) can be prioritized down. Also, if the strategic consideration to invade the Low Countries could ratchet up with the passage of time (in effect, the AI recognizing that battering the Maginot isn't working and it needs a new avenue of advance) the game would be improved. Still loving the game, and trying to figure out how I can hold off the Axis at Expert +2 (those experienced units are SO deadly!) Gunslinger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iolo Posted August 8, 2002 Share Posted August 8, 2002 Leaving a target that's just too tempting for the AI is often a good tactic, I find. Offering up a damaged corps or a cruiser is almost guaranteed to divert their airforce from more important matters. I do it all the time when I'm planning something crucial which I don't want the Luftwaffe to mess up. But I guess you're saying that the AI shouldn't be so easily tempted into bombing the resources of a doomed nation. Personally, I've always found strategic bombing to be a fascinating part of warfare. Since it's under-appreciated in this game's mechanics, I say the more strategic bombing the better!! Bombs away!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfpack Posted August 8, 2002 Share Posted August 8, 2002 Originally posted by iolo: Leaving a target that's just too tempting for the AI is often a good tactic, I find. Offering up a damaged corps or a cruiser is almost guaranteed to divert their airforce from more important matters. I do it all the time when I'm planning something crucial which I don't want the Luftwaffe to mess up. But I guess you're saying that the AI shouldn't be so easily tempted into bombing the resources of a doomed nation. Personally, I've always found strategic bombing to be a fascinating part of warfare. Since it's under-appreciated in this game's mechanics, I say the more strategic bombing the better!! Bombs away!!!Cold blooded thinking there. "Hey guys, I know your steering is screwed up, and you're taking on water like there's no tomorrow, but could you go cruise off the French coast for a bit? We promise nothing will happen <snicker>." At least when the AI goes after wounded naval units he's seeing a return on his effort, those naval units are expensive. Hitting a mine when your troops are close to breaking a line is just silly, not to mention going completely against German doctrine. Plus add to that the fact that all he has to do is break the line and the mine is his anyway. Using wounded units to bait the AI is kind of cheesy but acceptable, having the AI get fixated on a strategic target at the expense of the units in it's way is not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunslingr3 Posted August 8, 2002 Author Share Posted August 8, 2002 Offering up a damaged corps or a cruiser is almost guaranteed to divert their airforce from more important matters. I do it all the time when I'm planning something crucial which I don't want the Luftwaffe to mess up.. I do the same thing, particularly in Russia. Just a few corps performing rear guard can really bog things down (especially if they take two or three units to kill before he advances past them). But I guess you're saying that the AI shouldn't be so easily tempted into bombing the resources of a doomed nation. Personally, I've always found strategic bombing to be a fascinating part of warfare. Since it's under-appreciated in this game's mechanics, I say the more strategic bombing the better!! I wasn't even thinking in terms of a doomed nation (although with that in mind isn't the German hurting himself by driving that mine he intends to soon conquer down to zero?) The problem isn't strategic bombing. The problem is that the AI is engaging in it at his detriment. The most useful application of those airfleets is against the French troops. The French don't have the resources to replace armies, and if the AI concentrates fire from it's airfleets it can quickly whittle through the best French defenses. Right now it's content to let me keep my armies and instead deprive me of a handful of MPP's. If it wanted to hurt the French pocketbook, make the French repair (or worse try to replace) armies. I'm not aware of the mechanics of the AI targeting, but I feel that a unit bordering AI troops deserves a higher targeting priority than a mine, especially for airfleets (strategic bombers may be a different matter). One hex of the Alps shouldn't be the zenith of Axis advance into France on Expert, +1 difficulty. Gunslinger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Straha Posted August 8, 2002 Share Posted August 8, 2002 That's disturbing news. Straha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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