NPC Mountain Roads

[Bookworm83]

I know that Major regimes get dirt roads for free. I think that is mostly fine if it helps them get around logistic challenges that the AI can't handle. What irks me though is how that interacts with mountains. A mountain for me is a major challenge to run a road through. I can do maybe one hex a turn or save up for the whole length, and it's a tradeoff between that and my units.

That means that when I see a mountain for me it represents a major barrier and roads through it are strategic chokepoints. That is absolutely not the case. The AI can and will run a completely new road through high mountains if you cut off it's first route.

As a result my multi turn effort to break through the enemy lines and cut off their apparently vulnerable supply bottleneck running through the mountain range between me and them turned from a sense of satisfaction to frustration in an instant when I saw a new route pop up immediately after I hit end turn. I can easily foresee that entire mountain range becoming a web of roads over the course of the war.

I think it would be nice if there was at least some kind of obstacle to the AI building dirt roads in rough terrain.

[GodwinW]

Agree (if there's isn't one, they *could* happen to be very industrious/rich).

[zgrssd]

There is one unfortunate truth about gaming AI: It can not plan ahead. Not even a little. Not at all. It lives entirely in "this turn".

It does not know to defend it's supply line. It can not understand the devastating effect of loosing it. The impossible cost it would have to pay to replace it. At best the can give the AI weights to make sure they consider it at least.

As you said yourself, mountain roads are hard to repalce. Like realy, really hard. For a AI that can not plan ahead and not build dirt roads for free? It is dead. It does not defend the route as strong as it would need to. It does not understand to pull it's forces back.

Exactly because taking out that road would be so devastating for a AI that has to pay full price, it does not. Normal encriclement works perfectly. block all the hexes, no supply in or out! But this one is a strategic level supply block. That the AI can not plan ahead for. There it has to cheat with free roads.

[Bookworm83]

Ironically the AI itself is going to make a full encirclement possible. Since as it builds roads across normally impassable high mountains it's opening up a path for my motorized brigades and tanks to get in there and take them.

I mean I can fully understand the logic behind why the AI does this. I just think it would be nice if it weighted things differently. For instance if high mountains had a high cost it probably wouldn't have built those roads in the first place. Which would have kept it from opening up that front in the war and getting its forces in a position where they desperately need roads through high mountains.

That's why I put this is in suggestions and feedback after all.

[Malevolence]

Very much agreed (with all these points).

[zgrssd]

ORIGINAL: Bookworm83

Ironically the AI itself is going to make a full encirclement possible. Since as it builds roads across normally impassable high mountains it's opening up a path for my motorized brigades and tanks to get in there and take them.

I mean I can fully understand the logic behind why the AI does this. I just think it would be nice if it weighted things differently. For instance if high mountains had a high cost it probably wouldn't have built those roads in the first place. Which would have kept it from opening up that front in the war and getting its forces in a position where they desperately need roads through high mountains.

That's why I put this is in suggestions and feedback after all.

That is definitely an angle we can (and should) improove.
The AI should not be so hasty to break the defense that mountains provide, via a cost free road. I would be happy to have that kind of defense against a major regime, until I am ready or attack them from the other direction.

[MatthewVilter]

I also agree. Something has to give here: if not a rules change then at the very least an AI tweak that makes mountain-range-dirt-road-spiderwebs a less common immersion breaking phenomenon.

[cspringer1234]

Maybe there should be a limit on how many hexes of road an AI player can generate per turn? Maybe a delay on how long it takes to lay down roads, I think roads might be better if they had a delay in construction similar to buildings. Then you would see the "temporary" or ghost road, and could go kill it with a unit or something.

[zgrssd]

I keep thinking of a certain song everytime I see this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTeUdJky9rY

[MatthewVilter]

ORIGINAL: zgrssd

I keep thinking of a certain song everytime I see this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTeUdJky9rY

rofl I can just see the music video composed of clips from Let's Plays.