Hints for a better AI.

[TaoJah]

Here are some of the chances that I think would the AI perform alot better, especially in defence.

I am not a game designer so I don't know if these are even possible to implement, but they'd be nice...

- Don't use airplanes as front troops.

... after a Sealion, the airplane east of London should retreat instead of attacking some ship

... airplanes in Russia should retreat to defensive position, giving air support to cities that are under attack, instead of attacking troops and get killed

- Defend cities better.

... don't "protect" Paris or Alexandria with a HQ

... keep a fully entrenched unit in Moscow

... always have entrenched corpse in the two hexes between rivers north and south of Stalingrad

... perhaps add one unit east or west of London

- Keep the same goal for units over different turns.

It should be possible to assign a certain task to a unit and make it do that task, without recalculating the task every turn. This will not only prevent the operating/moving back and forth, but also ensures higher entrenchements.

- Build some fortifications with Russia.

... build a fortification north of Leningrad

... build fortifications north and south of Stalingrad (in the hexes between the rivers)

Both targets should be alot harder to take if AI garrisons the fortifications and keeps them entrenched.

- Defend London better with the Royal Navy.

Station the ships that are now always around Scapa Flow and Edingburh in London. I am often able to do a Sealion in early 1940 without any British ship near London.

[Edwin P.]

Excellent points,

One item I have asked for in other posts is a plan for Air Units and an option with Garrison units to tell it which type of unit to use.

As you observed too often the AI garrisons a city with a HQ unit or an Air Fleet or a Rocket unit.

Futhermore, the game does need a plan for engineers. As you noted they never build fortifications and and are used as ground pounders by the AI.

I would also like to see the AI track how often the human opponent does a Sea Lion and use this to guide its strategic planning.

Example: If the Human Opponent is 50% likely to execute a Sea Lion then position the AI forces accordingly. If the Human opponent is 10% likely to execute a Sea Lion then take a chance and send forces to North Africa or elsewhere.

[xwormwood]

@engineers:

why isn't it possible to fortify cities?

or better: shouldn't it be possble to fortfy them?

to prevent meaningless "i fortify every city"-actions there could be some pnishment like a

"a fortified city can't produce as much as an unfortified"-reduction: less income, or even less supply.

[TaoJah]

Originally posted by xwormwood:

@engineers:

why isn't it possible to fortify cities?

or better: shouldn't it be possble to fortfy them?

Well, with fortificatiosn giving you 3 entranchement at the start of every turn, the fortifications are alot more usefull in Russia then before.

Once there is a proper D-Day, they'll be of good use in France too, but that will have to wait, I guess !

[Retributar]

In reality, 'Bombing' a City would make it into an 'Instant-Fortress', by the same token, manufacturing/industrial capacity would be reduced!.

Perhap's this aspect could be fine-tuned in the game, as for example, incrementally increasing Fortification-Capability as the City is reduced to ruins!.