Matrix Games Forums

Only in mega campaigns.

Yes, mostly.

Er... there's no option for that one.

You "Exclusive AI" players should try PBEM if you haven't. I started PBEM about a year ago after years of solo play (since SP1)and I haven't gone back since (except MCs).

I get bored playing the AI. I cant get into an AI game like I do a pbem. Human opponents are much less predictable and smarter (usually;) ) which of course makes for a better game.

I will set up things to test them out, and even then usually just play against (with ) myself setting both sides to human control instead of letting the AI do it.

I picked only in MCs because if I want a great game, I will play my MCs.

The scenarios are good, just the MCs are better.

And Battle mode, well that just don't do it against the AI. The AI just can't think well enough in Battle.

...so this reinforces my belief that a competent computer opponent, at least for a third of us, is a main contributor to the lasting popularity of a given title. As far as SPWaW is concerned, the AI leaves a lot to be desired, but there are times when the AI's force-choosing routine works well, and I've been beaten up by it a few times. Of course this applies mainly to set-piece assault missions, as this AI is pretty weak in meeting engagements. I recently played a USMC amphibious assault in the 12th battle of a long campaign, and the Jap AI defenders deployed a cave/artillery position defense in depth that chewed up my men and my Shermans at an alarming rate. I have rarity set to "off" to give the AI a better range of choice, so decisive victories are not so easy to come by. Even after close to 4 years of playing SPWaW, I'm still learning, and I'm still getting surprises.

I'm an AI'er, as I haven't gotten up the guts to actually ask someone to put up with my schedule for PBEM. (I tend to run in cycles - love that bipolar disorder - and sometimes go quite a while without playing *anything*. <sigh> Don't want someone to get involved in obliterating me, and then have me disappear for a month or so...)

What I would *love* to see is an adaptive AI package -=something that game designers could leave a "hook" for it to be added as a third-party item, with lots and lots of options; of course, I'm a greedy bastard, and I want this kind of thing for everything from SPWAW to Starfleet Command to Halflife to...

Prob is that AI is just that: artificial. Automated "bots" for first-person shooters can seem awful smart when they're properly equipped with "route" files, telling them where to go and under what circumstances. (My experience has been mainly for Halflife mods: CounterStrike and Day of Defeat.) Send the bot in without that kind of data, and they can be awfully dumb - they don't have the analysis-of-data functions that humans do, and maybe won't figure out to jump over the fence or whatever. In SPWAW, waypointed AI attacks can be tough... but once past the waypointed stuff, or if there's none programmed, the AI tends to swarm the victory hexes by the shortest possible path, with some small excursion to chase after visible forces. (this can be seen quite blatantly in "Wittman's Gamble", where the majority of British tanks decide to park on the VH - like unto 18 various Cromwells and Fireflys; the ones with limited movement [by way of editing for scenario accuaracy, I expect] are the only ones not to join that particular rave.)

Ah well. Just my whine for the moment, I guess... if I ever get around to humans, it could get entertaining. <G>

What the AI lacks is all those little tricks that real players use:
Where to drop smoke, dont charge the woods with your armor, get that tank to spin so you can get a side shot with your AT gun, send out a recon screen first to find the week spot......etc., etc. etc......

All the AI can do is pick a mixed force and then advance with it. It relies on greater numbers to be challenging rather than tactics.

It would be possible to code in the little tactics but there are so many possible ways of dealing with different situations and the considerations (how heavy is the enemy unit, what do I have in the area to deal with it? if there isnt anything in the area, can I afford to bring something from somewhere else to handle it? How heavy of a unit do I need to bring in to hit it etc. etc.)

It could be done but would be a huge effort to accomodate all the situations and to give the AI enough options to not make it too predictable.

Or they can just steal VikinNo2's brain and put it on line for the AI to access:D

I DO play AI almost exclusively and tweak the scales to compensate for the AI weaknesses.

My favorite tactic is to go to the HQ screen and change my armor forces and/or my infantry forces and make them AI too (in the HQ screen), this invariably causes much teeth gnashing as I usually have no idea where my damned AI is going (I dont waypoint them) except sqds dont stay with each other and usually get involved in a furball before I'm ready to support them... makes for interesting fights when you lose 1/3rd of your units 12 turns into the game.

I heartily agree that the AI tends to bunch up on VPs and doesnt perform even basic defensive tactics once they achieve thier objective...

nuff said about that...

I voted yes,exclusively.Just started playing the game.

ony in campaigns ... and have to be good campaigns.

In campaigns(mega). Useful for testing things out, sometimes some scenario, if there's not enough PBEM turns for the day.

Originally posted by TheOverlord
I get bored playing the AI. I cant get into an AI game like I do a pbem. Human opponents are much less predictable and smarter (usually;) ) which of course makes for a better game.

I will set up things to test them out, and even then usually just play against (with ) myself setting both sides to human control instead of letting the AI do it.

I'm pretty much the same type of player as TheOverlord. Except that I'll quite often set both sides to AI and see how the various forces work out against each other. It doesn't really give a great picture of how that next PBEM might go, but you can help you readily spot deficencies in your force selection (if you have any).

Most of the scenarios and all of the campaigns (AFAIK) are only suitable to play against the AI. There are a handful of Scenarios that play well from both sides, but most PBEM opponents want to select their own units for mayhem, not play someone else's. No matter how historically accurate. :rolleyes:

play "russian steel" or "stalingrad" if u think the comp is no challenge....but with "normal" battles i don´t play AI anymore.
PBM is the way to go....i wish HoI could be played by mail, too.

but that is off topic....

AI only - its all I have time for!

I play mostly against the AI. PBEM takes to long - I lose the flow of the battle. Now if I could find somebody that is on the same time table as me and wants to play on-line - I'd love it. Now to find 2 or 3 hours to do that in.

I even have it set up on 2 computers at home and play my son over the LAN - but he's still learning strategy.

Figmo

agreed. would be great to have a bunch of SPWAW players in your near area to do some H 2 H battles.

but i even don´t know ppl. who like wargames in general here