What does mobilize mean?

[miral]

In the AI editor, with which I have been experimenting, there are two settings, one for 'the % of units of the AI in a defensive situation that will be mobilized', one for the % of offensive units.

What the heck does this mean? I'm sure someone will now quote me the relavant section of the manual, and I hope you do, but I have no idea what this means. With offense maybe it is the % of total units an AI will try to attack with in any given turn, but what could defensive mobilization mean? Surely this is determined by the human player and other AI's? I mean if an AI is attacked, don't all of its units that are attacked defend themselves? Thanks.

[xBoroNx]

I am 95% sure it means the AI will try to assign enough trucks/halftracks etc. to its units that they have wheeled/tracked movement. So if you use 100% then the ai should theoretically build a fully mechanized army.

[miral]

Thank you very much. A confusion of words. Perhaps the item should read 'the % of units the AI will attempt to MECHANIZE'. This makes a big difference in trying to get the Ais to build certain kinds and shapes of armies.

[mtvaill]

I think it means the % of units that will be 'stationed' behind front lines to guard VP areas (cities, ports, etc) versus the % that will be 'mobilized' - i.e. sent to the front lines to either attack along the front (when AI is in offensive mode) or defend the front (when the AI is on the defensive).

[miral]

mtvaill, that actually sounds more logical. Only problem is, while the defensive default for this is 20%, which sounds just a bit high, the offensive is 50%. And I can't imagine an army stationing half its total strength behind the front while it is launching offensives. But if this is so it would cripple the AI's ability to fight effectively. However, I have not experimented with these settings much. Will start lowering and raising them sigificantly to see what happens. Thanks.

[miral]

mtvaill, whoops, got it backwards. I see what you are saying. But if this is true then the default Ai will send only 20% of its troops to the front to defend. Either way, your logic sounds good, but the numbers of the defaults seem ridiculous. Now, if the default % was 80% defending front and 80% at front to attack it would make sense. But I can't see that the numbers work here.

[miral]

xBoronx, I found two settings in the AI editor that let you 'always mobilize armor' or 'always mobilize artillery' (nos. 164 & 165, which, for these two types of weapons, overrule the settings for defensive and offensive % and this would tend to support your interpretation. But...units that are mechanized are so whether they are used in an offensive or defensive role. So I am completely confused. Perhaps the designer or one of the moderators or playtestors could supply an answer?

[xBoroNx]

You could make a quick test scenario and set all the mobilize values to 100%. Then let it run a few turns and then look if the ai only attacks you with mobilized units or if there are also some units with foot or artillery move.

[miral]

xBoroNx, Good idea? Will do so and report back. Thanks.

[PDiFolco]

I suspect there's been some translation glitch here,   "Mobilize" in game means "gets mobile", by adding horses, trucks, Halftracks, whatever.
That should maybe have been called "motorize", but it won't have been proper for Horses... "Mechanize" is a little different as it should mean "add *armored* transport" - ie halftracks.
In the end I'm not sure there's a single English word for it...Maybe, being French it was easier for me to understand the confusion [X(]
What's sure is that AI will add transport SFTs to units according to "mobilize %" or "always mobilize xxx"

[mtvaill]

Vic, tweber, seille, somebody, could you clear this up please?

[seille]

Sorry, but i can´t help here. I´m not really a editor expert especially for the
AI settings. Vic could probably help, but he´s on a trip actually for some days.

[miral]

Ok, this becomes more and more confusing. It seems to refer neither to the % of units mechanized (or horsed), nor the % held back in interior of country. I played a series of games with the mobilize % set to 100% for offense and I was constantly attacked by enemy units with NO kind of transport, just infantry. I set it to 100% for Defense and very few units did not go to the front.

Also, and this is very strange, AI editor settings nos. (can't remember and dont have it in front of me but it is in the last ones, the 250's) give you three settings for the kind of SFtype in a unit to always mobilize. This would seem to say that some parts of the same unit can be mobilized and others not in the same turn.

Also, I did a search of the manual as a .pdf doc and the word mobilize is not in it. We indeed need help from the designer or someone involved in making the game.

[Vic]

Hi guys,
 
sorry for the late reply.
the mobilization % should determain howmany units the AI builds should be equiped with trucks.

[miral]

OK Vic, thanks for answer. Perhaps my changing a number of other Ai settings interfered with this one; in particular, by upping the size of the average AI unit significantly I may have made it difficult for the Ai to equip the units fully with trucks. As I have learned the hard way, many of the Ai functions interlock and some will override others if there is a conflict.

[Jeffrey H.]

Is it possible in this game to have different types of AI fight other AI ?

[miral]

Jeffrey H. Hi, not sure what you mean? Do you mean can you have a game where all sides are controlled by the Ai and you just watch? In the random game, ALL sides fight all other sides, AI and human, though there is a setting that lets you set peace between different nations (I have not tried it but I suppose it works), which would allow for alliance wars.

[Jeffrey H.]

ORIGINAL: miral

Jeffrey H. Hi, not sure what you mean? Do you mean can you have a game where all sides are controlled by the Ai and you just watch? In the random game, ALL sides fight all other sides, AI and human, though there is a setting that lets you set peace between different nations (I have not tried it but I suppose it works), which would allow for alliance wars.

Yeah, that's what I was after. Is it possible to use scripted or modded AI against other AI that use different scripts or mods ?

[rickier65]

ORIGINAL: Jeffrey H.

ORIGINAL: miral

Jeffrey H. Hi, not sure what you mean? Do you mean can you have a game where all sides are controlled by the Ai and you just watch? In the random game, ALL sides fight all other sides, AI and human, though there is a setting that lets you set peace between different nations (I have not tried it but I suppose it works), which would allow for alliance wars.

Yeah, that's what I was after. Is it possible to use scripted or modded AI against other AI that use different scripts or mods ?

As far as I know, you have to have at least one human player, but I could be mistaken.
Howver, if you use events to change AI rulevars based on the "turn", and have one humban player then perhaps you could make this work.


Rick