AI Defense Leaving Positions - suggestions?

[Renaud]

I'm trying to design a Kursk strongpoint defense by Russian AI. The AI defenders will leave their positions and get wiped out within 20 turns. I know they tend to do that if a flag falls (a 'counter-attack' I suppose), but in this case I moved the flag way to the back and continuously in Rusky possession. The AI still insists on leaving strong points and running out in the open (toward the attacking germans) after about 15-20 turns of battle.

Has anyone had any luck circumventing this behavior?

thanks

Ren

[WWB]

The AI reacts to the following things generally:

1) Flags

2) Map Edges and their friendliness factors

3) Cover

So, if you set them up in decent cover with a flag nearby, it will stay put.

WWB

[Renaud]

I have tried putting flags on each russian strongpoint, but then the behavior seems the same. Not long after you take the first strongpoint, russians from distant strongpoint/flag areas will start leaving their trenches/foxholes and moving in the open toward you. Of course they then get hung up in their own wire and decimated. Also they get completely exhausted from trying to run through lots of trenches and of course the wire. Sad Really. This is where designer-specified AI behavior categories would be a godsend.

I'm going to continue trying various combinations of flags/no flags and different scenario parameters (it's an 'assault' type right now).

Ren

[The Dave Collective]

I do not know if this will work but it could be a workaround. Set the problematic squads up as "exausted" (or whatever the equavilent). They will either be less likely to leave their setup or they will not get too far. Of course if its the later the will die real fast when they can't get back to cover fast enough

[Conscript Bagger]

What happens if you put small flags in the front, and large flags - or multiple large flags - in the positions you want the AI to hold?

[ October 25, 2002, 12:01 PM: Message edited by: Offwhite ]

[xerxes]

The "recapture a lost" flag at all costs behavior of the ai is really annoying. One trick that I've seen in design is to only have a single flag(or a single cluster of flags). The ai behaves far more intelligently in this situation.

For real human players single flag scenarios are bad (in my opinion).

Boy, would it be nice to have some real control over the strategic AI for a single player scenario.

[Michael Emrys]

I've seen this behavior recently in a QB I am playing. The Red troops came rushing out of their nice, snug buildings where they had set up to come out into the open as soon as they spotted the approaching Panzers. Consequently they are getting shot up from far beyond the effetive range of their own weapons to reply. It doesn't make obvious sense, although the battle hasn't progressed far enough for me to tell what is truly the situation here. Sure seems odd.

Michael

[Abbott]

Originally posted by Renaud:

I'm trying to design a Kursk strongpoint defense by Russian AI. The AI defenders will leave their positions and get wiped out within 20 turns. I know they tend to do that if a flag falls (a 'counter-attack' I suppose), but in this case I moved the flag way to the back and continuously in Rusky possession. The AI still insists on leaving strong points and running out in the open (toward the attacking germans) after about 15-20 turns of battle.

Has anyone had any luck circumventing this behavior?

thanks

Ren

If the battle is set to Meeting Engagement rather then Attack/Defense you will encounter this problem often.

Here is a short thread containing some good information on the subject Overcomming the AI.

[ October 27, 2002, 05:04 AM: Message edited by: Abbott ]