Matrix Games Forums

Is it just me, or does it seem like the AI have spies posted in all your Air Squads. It would seem like they were just consistantly lucky if you played without reloading turns like I do (99% of the time it is to test to see what would happen if I changed a few things during that turn).

Couple things I noticed:

1) The AI can tell if you don't have CAP set. Say for a 2 CV TF, if you have both flights setup for CAP, they might not attack. If you rest your air crews, you will get attacked.

2) The AI can tell how many planes are defending a hex/TF. If they have enough, they will send just enough to outnumber your CAP.

3) The AI Japanese Player does not resolve his actions first.

1) The AI can tell if you don't have CAP set. Say for a 2 CV TF, if you have both flights setup for CAP, they might not attack. If you rest your air crews, you will get attacked.

Yes... most noticable when AI planes are set to Airfeild attack - if their morale is low, they will be more likely to attack airfeilds without cap. Same goes for their attacks on transport TFs.


2) The AI can tell how many planes are defending a hex/TF. If they have enough, they will send just enough to outnumber your CAP.


Dunno about the exact numbers but they do send attacks if you have few planes on CAP as opposed to a large number.

2) I spent a good deal of time reloading various turns over a 7 day period. The one consistant from Rabul, is that no matter how many planes I put up (They outnumbered me by about 20), they always seemed to send 15-25 more fighters then I had set for CAP. If you have a save game where you know they will be attacking PM, reload it a few times with various CAP levels.

It is not just you. Sometimes it looks quite funny. Once i made small experiment. I made carrier TF and set all fighters on CAP and all bobmers on training 0. The carrier battle looked like that: AI TF was reacting coming closer and closer to my CF but it didn't attack. It ended being one hex away from my TF and still nothing happend. But as soon as I sent my bombers with escort (so making my CAP weaker) it also attacked.
So AI has info about number of planes and mission set (I think all TF leaders are double agents )).
I think AI needs a lot of improvement. We don't know what the Matrix's priority is - i assume they are more concerned about making good battle algorithms (air battle, naval battle, asw) and implement good network capabilities, than devote the time for improving AI strategy algorithms (which is, I think, the most challenging task).