AI setup repetitive or not

[baldbrother]

Do the AI setups change from game to game or is it a case of once you've played a few times, the placement of troops etc becomes obvious?

[Phoenix100]

It's a dynamic AI, not scripted, so it should be different each time, depending on those factors which cause it to choose its initial set up. The developer has said if you set up differently then - at least once the AI realises this (once there's contact) - then it will obviously behave differently. However, I'm not sure if its actual starting set up positions are the same each time for any given scenario. I can say that having played it a few hours now, doing one scenario over and over again, each and every battle was slightly but significantly different. In some tanks appeared at different places, in others the enemy units infiltrated through woods instead of coming straight down roads, and then often the arrival (and contact) timings were different. So regardless of whether the initial position is the same the games certainly don't play out the same. It doesn't feel 'scripted' at all.

[kevinkins]

I have studied this in editor mode using my own generated scenarios on the NTC map. The set-up is different almost every time. If you load the scenario over and over and look at the enemy positions (ctrl-shift-D), sometimes the set-up will repeat. The AI seems to want to spread out as much as possible. It often puts HQ units at the every front of the line. It tends to drop some units on or near objectives. To get the AI to concentrate, use a medium to small map and adjust the OOB. The main issue is that the AI can place units in tactically irrelevant places. Either with no LOS, no hope to move or both. This is not so much of an issue with meeting and defend battles. But more so if you want to attack the AI in a advance scenario. The NTC map might be a special case given the craggy terrain. I will be moving to the Germany maps soon and report back.

Kevin