interesting experiment in AI force pool

[gwgardner]

Problem: The Russian AI tends to build huge amts of air armies, in the vanilla setup, making for a ridiculous force pool at the beginning of Barbarossa - very anemic in infantry and armor. The Germans just take every objective willy-nilly.

So I decided to alter the preferences for AI production. I set it up for the USSR to prefer divisions over corps, and infantry over armor, and everything more than air units.

Then I played the game out from Sept 39 to June 41, as the Axis. In late June, 41, just before Barbarossa, I hit F1 and changed USSR to human, to look at the force pool.

the results:

1) oddly enough, everything the USSR AI built remained in the deployment pool. None of the produced units were on the map - maybe that's as designed. Not sure why, if it is.

2) The USSR AI built 116 units in the 22 months.

3) 85 infantry units, about 50% of them corps
2 armored corps, 8 armored divisions
10 motorized corps, 10 motorized divisions
1 air army

4) all production was in level 1 units, although by June '41 the research levels were at artillery:3 and armor:2.

Now I think this force pool, for the AI, will make a much more interesting human vs AI Barbarossa. I'll keep playing it and see.

[cpdeyoung]

The AI doesn't deploy units very well, and, as you have seen all the builds stay in "reserve" till conflict.  I think the AI is really, really worried about Japan!
 
That is a more realistic force mix.
 
Chuck

[James Ward]

In one test game I ran the USA had over 100 units not deployed at the end of 1945. I couldn't figure out why the USA PP reserve didn't increase until I looked in the deploy unit screen. Perhaps they were also worried about Japan [:)]

Maybe the AI can be set to begin upgrading once a certainly force level is achieved, both on map and in deployment.

[gwgardner]

I'm hoping that the AI will start upgrading as soon as it deploys.  I will do another F1 after a turn, and see what it has deployed.

[doomtrader]

That's pretty odd.

Algorithm is pretty simple
AI should check are there any units in poll and are there any free hexes to deploy and if both are correct it should deploy it.

Any chance for a save game?

[James Ward]

ORIGINAL: doomtrader

That's pretty odd.

Algorithm is pretty simple
AI should check are there any units in poll and are there any free hexes to deploy and if both are correct it should deploy it.

Any chance for a save game?

There were no free hexes to deploy in in the game I ran. Does the program place a limit on builds? If not, could it? That way at least you could stop the minors from producing hordes of 1-3 divisions in 1944!

[doomtrader]

That way at least you could stop the minors from producing hordes of 1-3 divisions in 1944!

they won't do it anymore as since next update they will have to pay for upkeep.

I think I also might try one trick

[balto]

Is that for just minors.., or all countries?

[gwgardner]

ORIGINAL: doomtrader

That's pretty odd.

Algorithm is pretty simple
AI should check are there any units in poll and are there any free hexes to deploy and if both are correct it should deploy it.

Any chance for a save game?

Here is the save, modded.zip. I could not get it to upload the zip, so renamed it modded.txt. This is zipped immediately before Germany declares war, and with the USSR still as AI.

On the turn immediately upon German declaration of war, the USSR deployed all 116 units onto the map.

[Mike Parker]

Yep that is my experience too.  When you DOW the USSR you will see him build what I call 'rosettes' around cities.  Its basically 7 units centered on the city, you can see them partially if you penetrate far enough the first turn, if not you will notice during the AI turn that it goes to a center on a city then does a jerky dance as each of 6 units are placed in a circle around the city.  First couple of games I wondered what was going on, then it dawned on me.