Does this game have any sound? is the AI competent

[pvthudson01]

Just had a couple of questions before purchase:

Does the game have any sound effects?

Is the AI competent enough to challenge you all that own it? As in is it aggressive when it needs to be etc etc?

[happyloaf]

There are basic sound effects. They are just things like engines starting and guns firing. I have turned them off. The AI is good on defense (for the most part) and not that good when they are attackers. I have noticed when they are on the defensive and you take a victory hex (especially) a building they will rarely mount a charge if you keep one unit on the hex even if they have a stack of two or three squads and a leader and it is the last turn and they need the VPs. But, overall they take good shots and do move/retreat non-broken units to better defensive positions and will occasionally seem to retreat out of a victory hex to cover 2-3 victory hexes.

[pvthudson01]

Ok thanks. How do you know what the stats on the vehicles and stuff are? Like a PZ IV vs. a Pershing. I mean if you study WW2 you may know the outcome but in game how do you determine shell penetration and armor values? The counters are empty

[happyloaf]

No idea. It is a common complaint actually. The counters just list damage potential from A-F and have some stars for "morale". Honestly, I have no idea how to interpret them other than to use a rough idea from Combat Commander Europe (haven't played much if any ASL). The idea is that you will learn real tactics and not crunch numbers but that's bullpoop. They need to add a numerical value for damage and have a chart to give us an idea of what firepower and its expected results.

[aaatoysandmore]

ORIGINAL: happyloaf

There are basic sound effects. They are just things like engines starting and guns firing. I have turned them off. The AI is good on defense (for the most part) and not that good when they are attackers. I have noticed when they are on the defensive and you take a victory hex (especially) a building they will rarely mount a charge if you keep one unit on the hex even if they have a stack of two or three squads and a leader and it is the last turn and they need the VPs. But, overall they take good shots and do move/retreat non-broken units to better defensive positions and will occasionally seem to retreat out of a victory hex to cover 2-3 victory hexes.

Thanks happyloaf I was just about to buy it but your input has put me back on the fence until I hear more about the AI. I just can't purchase games anymore with an ai that just delays the end of the game and doesn't try to win on "both" sides of play.

Why oh why can't they program a line of code that says if last turn and you need #VP's to win then charge closest unprotected VP or least protected VP area? If the AI is gonna lose anyways I don't see a reason to keep it in holding and not even try to win.

[GJK]

Play ASL on VASL vs another human if you want a "real" challenge or better yet, purchase a Starter Kit for $20 and play it on the table with a friend or gaming group.

Look, TotH is a great way to try out some different things, different tactics and approaches-tinker around. Great to create some scenarios to get that ASL "feel" at any time. Peter has said that in order to make the AI challenging, the game has a handicap for the human player (out of control possibilities vs always in control for the AI). Until computers can learn and anticipate our responses, they can only react in a calculated/random/formulated manner that will often not behave logically and this game has enough complex mechanics in it that is going to make it a challenge for the AI to behave rationally. Peter has done an amazing job with what he has thus far, IMO.

[rico21]

+1
[:)]
This game is not very beautiful,
nor, very intelligent,
nor, very complete,
nor, very this,
nor, very that,
but it has a special and exciting atmosphere,
on condition of not being the type to ask too many questions.

[Ratzki]

I want to see what it will look like after the first major new features update.

[aaatoysandmore]

ORIGINAL: GJK

Play ASL on VASL vs another human if you want a "real" challenge or better yet, purchase a Starter Kit for $20 and play it on the table with a friend or gaming group.

Look, TotH is a great way to try out some different things, different tactics and approaches-tinker around. Great to create some scenarios to get that ASL "feel" at any time. Peter has said that in order to make the AI challenging, the game has a handicap for the human player (out of control possibilities vs always in control for the AI). Until computers can learn and anticipate our responses, they can only react in a calculated/random/formulated manner that will often not behave logically and this game has enough complex mechanics in it that is going to make it a challenge for the AI to behave rationally. Peter has done an amazing job with what he has thus far, IMO.

I've heard that excuse till I'm blue in the face. I've seen AI's that work and work well and at least are programmed to TRY to win. Most AI's I see today are just delaying AI's and it ain't hard to program an ai to just sit there and wait for a trigger.

They can be made to do things it's just that programmers don't want to take the time to do it.

That's another problem with ai's people try to make excuses for them and what the developer has to go through. If they'd stop coddlycocking them buying these "weak" ai games we'd get better games and ai's coming out.

Here's a lesson for you. If a person don't have to work for something he certainly won't. Why put forth any effort when you're going to get the same pay as the next guy anyways.

[GJK]

Well when your game with the perfect AI for an ASL-like game comes out, be sure to let us know.

[Rosseau]

The designers of Campaign Series Middle East appear to have sweated the AI, but I have not played enough to say if it is much better than JTCS. However, based on the complex scripting files I have seen in the game, all that work has got to make a difference.

One well-known issue with Tigers that trumps the questionable AI is hitting the space bar after every AI action. I have had to go into Rico's and other modders' great scenarios and lower visibility to maybe 8-10 hexes to make the game playable (for me).

The game is quite an accomplishment for a one-man "team" but that also means improvements may be long in coming.

[aaatoysandmore]

ORIGINAL: GJK

Well when your game with the perfect AI for an ASL-like game comes out, be sure to let us know.

I've already programmed two great ai's so pffft on you blue. [:D]

And because you were nasty mouth I'm not tellin you which ones either. [:-]

[rico21]

[:D]
I think I found one of the two

[fuselex]

[:)]

[Rosseau]

After further play, I must retract my statement about the hassle of hitting the space bar to move the AI pulse forward. It is certainly practical in order to observe results and generally not such a nuisance.

Played Rico's Totenkopf as Germans. Yes, Russians had the manpower and vehicles to overrun the objective it seems, but were too cautious, especially on the north flank where resistance was nil.

Probably a well-known solution is to set the attacker in "Hold", place a couple of HQ, and then have all the other units come in as reinforcements on Turn 2 using the option to attack specific hexes. The AI does seem to aggressively attack with these settings.

[rico21]

[:)]
I'm looking forward to playing this scenario.

[blackcloud6]

I have been playing ASL since 2005. I find the TotH AI to be very easy to beat. It usually puts up a decent fight at first, probably because you don't know where anything is at, but then at some point in the scenario, the AI collapses and is easily defeated.

So, I've started playing both sides, and with fog of war on it is fun to play. I find it much harder to take apart a defense when I am playing both sides than when leaving it tot he AI to do so. I quite enjoy it this way.