AI & "Overwhelming" Force

[Arjuna]

sport,

To continue my reply. We have also added a unit reassessment history which records what reassessment actions a force has done previously. We then use this to ensure that a force that is not making progress does not keep repeating the same responses. So now a force that has previously tried to bypass will be less likely to bypass this reassessment and therefore more likely to respond in some other manner - eg change formation, launch an attack etc. The user can review this reassessment history by selecting a force and looking at its "Log" display in the Side Bar - neat heh,

So I think that the changes I've mentioned will mean that the AI controlled 30th Corps will be more likely to either bypass or launch an attack agaist the German blocking position at Elst. And if it does launch an attack its armour supriority will have amore telling effect as it shoots the infantry onto the objective. Also you will find that while assaulting infantry in covered terrain will still enjoy a "shock effect" the German defenders at the Arnhem road bridge will more then likely "retreat in place". So while their return fire will be less effective they will stand longer - maybe long enough to recover and deny the British Para assault their objective.

I am very happy with the way this current version of the game is playing. We still have a few things to tidy up and a few more scenarios to design. But overall I believe we've got a great game coming to you. Here's is what Bil Hardenberger, one of our most experienced beta testers had to say on the last build 59.

Just had a chance to finally boot up build 59 last night and I must say that I am very impressed. I think this game has come a long way... I especially liked watching units retreat while maintaining their facing

[sport]

I find that the AI in AA does not always do well in a situation where I group a fair number of forces together in a small geographic area and either defend vigorously or attack vigorously. Two examples:

I can always decimate 30 Corps buy rushing the handful of available units to a town mid-way between the south end of the map and Arnhem, piling them pretty much on top of each other, setting rate of fire to high, and waiting, adding reinforcements to the pile as possible. Even though the rest of the map is largely barren except for German units fighting paratroops around Arnhem and the odd bit of artillery, and even though there are more British than Germans in the southern half of the battle, 30 Corps will, for the most part, not do much flanking and instead attack in dribs and drabs until it is so worn down it is a spent force. Because attacks come in dribs and drabs, the Germans are always able to inflict more serious casualties despite the overall British numerical superiority on the map because the density of German units means a much higher volume of fire. I would think that in real life the British would either press their attack in far greater numbers simultaneously to meet force with greater force or bypass the German forces altogether.

I can also often displace significant German forces from the Arnhem road bridge simply by packing a number of paratroops in a small area and performing a high aggression, high rate-of-fire, high casualties attack. The German troops generally start to fall back into part of the city, even though the Germans are not sustaining large numbers of casualties and even though the bridge is a crucial objective. I would expect the Germans not to retreat in the face of an attack that was on such a critical objective, especially when the attacking force in no way has a significant numerical advantage.

Has anyone else experimented with these sorts of tactics? Will the AI handle this differently next time out?

Thanks.

PS AA is a fantastic game.

[Fred98]

The only game I have ever played that had a great AI opponent, is chess.

If you want a great opponent and you want to lose a lot, you must play somebody else.

If you regularly play somebody in your time zone you can play a campaign. Otherwise you will be playing the favourite battles of other players over and over again.

[Arjuna]

sport,

We have made significant improvements to the AI, which address the issues you have raised.

First up, units are more likely to "retreat in place" if to run would cause them more casualties. In practice this means that infantry will stay put in built up or covered terrain, rather than run out into the open. However, we have significantly modified other "reaction" code to better simulate the shock effect of armour. Armour will now tend to stop and fire from longer range rather than to rush in. It is also more likely to retire if alone in covered terrain and enemy infantry nearby.

Just been called for dinner and it's sheppard's pie. So I'm out of here. I'll finish this reply off later.

See you soon.