AE against the AI

[PaulWRoberts]

Hi all,

I really love everything that it appears AE will be, and I know that truly dedicated players will be in heaven with this one. Heck, even if no one ever played the game, the project would be a monument to the kind of detail and realism *possible* in wargames.

All the same, I have some worries. This thread is to ask if anyone has plans to invest in AI improvement and scenario design.

I will almost certainly never be able to play WitP AE against a human. I would be an infuriating PBEM opponent, as my job and other pursuits run hot and cold, and there are unpredictable times when I wouldn't be able to do a turn for days or even weeks at a time. My opponent and I would almost certainly lose interest in such play before the summer of 1942.

That leaves the AI. I understand that it has been improved, and I've even heard that it is programmable from the user side. Will that really happen? Given the PBEM-focus of most die-hard players, are there experienced users who will dedicate themselves to improving the AI for the rest of us?

Likewise, will there be more shorter scenarios available in the future? What I've seen so far is Coral Sea, Guadalcanal, and the Aleutians. Are any scenario makers planning to make manageable campaigns or chunks of the war available for play against the AI?

I'll probably pull the trigger and buy the game right away, if only to support Matrix and the dedication of the team. But I'm hoping to hear that, for a player like me, AE will be a living game and not just a monument.

[RSGodfrey]

Hi Paul, glad to see that I am not the only one thinking in these terms and you hit the nail on the head by distinguishing between 'a living game and not just a monument'.

I too will be restricted to playing the AI and limited in the time I can devote to research and micromanagement. WitP:AE is too expensive to become a purchase that is regretted.

Richard

[Erik Rutins]

It will certainly be a living game and we are eagerly awaiting feedback from the community so that we can figure out which rough edges may still need polishing and where to target our improvements. Bugs will obviously be fixed and we have quite a few more usability/playability improvements we'd like to make as well. I think that with the 40 mile/hex scale which is closer to UV than WITP, along with the improved editor, there will also be a lot of opportunity for more small scenarios (I'm sure someone has already thought about converting the old UV scenarios over, for example). With that said, I think that for players who have played WITP, the release AI in WITP AE will come as a very pleasant surprise.

Regards,

- Erik

[Andy Mac]

Well all I can say to that is I am a dedicated PBEM player who had never played v the AI until I got involved in AE and I have spent pretty much every free moment of the last 18 months tinkering with the AI.
 
Is it perfect no I hope to improve it and will be involved in that process for a couple of patches probably whether I will be leading beyond that or someone else will or the forum using the exceptional scripting tool will be doing it I dont know but I will be doing the first few AI updates which will capture feedback from the first wave of players and I believe continue to improve the AI within the bounds of the code.
 
I dont want to say any more about the AI because its to easy to spoil it
 
Andy

[Wirraway_Ace]

ORIGINAL: Erik Rutins

....I think that with the 40 mile/hex scale which is closer to UV than WITP, along with the improved editor, there will also be a lot of opportunity for more small scenarios (I'm sure someone has already thought about converting the old UV scenarios over, for example)....
Regards,

- Erik

Yes, I am already thinking in terms of UV's scenario 17 for AE.

[Andy Mac]

Erik beat me to it !!!
 
I am sure the forum will do other scenarios as well the editor makes it easy.
 
Andy

[kaleun]

I used to play AI exclusively in the old Pacwar days. When WITP came out I played a little against the AI, and then became an exclusive PBEM player.
Now I'm looking forward to playing the AI (Until my three PBEM games are done)
SO, thank you for tweaking the AI.

[PaulWRoberts]

This is all great news to hear!

I think there are a lot of players out there who would never get far in a full war campaign but who would love to game more limited campaigns with an engine this detailed and advanced.

[Terminus]

ORIGINAL: Wirraway_Ace

ORIGINAL: Erik Rutins

....I think that with the 40 mile/hex scale which is closer to UV than WITP, along with the improved editor, there will also be a lot of opportunity for more small scenarios (I'm sure someone has already thought about converting the old UV scenarios over, for example)....
Regards,

- Erik

Yes, I am already thinking in terms of UV's scenario 17 for AE.

You'll find it so easy it'll make you weep with happiness. This is without exception the easiest-to-work-with game editor I've ever seen.

And that's only about 4% exaggerated...

[dazoline II]

All well and good about an easy to use editor.

The hard part / time expensive part is the research. Does anyone know which UV small scenarios are the most well researched?

Does anyone even care if the UV scenarios are not as well researched as AE?



Anticipating the answer... Well go research it. [8D]

[Wirraway_Ace]

ORIGINAL: dazoline II

All well and good about an easy to use editor.

The hard part / time expensive part is the research. Does anyone know which UV small scenarios are the most well researched?

Does anyone even care if the UV scenarios are not as well researched as AE?



Anticipating the answer... Well go research it. [8D]

Most of the UV scenarios are hypothetical in order to give the IJN and IJA a fighting chance.

[mussey]

There are many of us that play exclusively solo vs the AI, and based on all I've read it should provide many hours of enjoyment, and make the game playable again, especially for solo players tired of the same routine/scripts. There is an abundance of fine ideas/concepts on this forum for future patches as well, and I have no doubt that modders will jump on aboard too with new AI scenerios/scripts, etc.

[Mundy]

ORIGINAL: Wirraway_Ace
Most of the UV scenarios are hypothetical in order to give the IJN and IJA a fighting chance.

I figured it was an unfortunate by-product of being able to play the war from Coral Sea through the Guadalcanal campaign. That darned battle of Midway interfered with things. [;)]

M-