Line Inf spam

**Gwarokk** · April 08, 2009, 01:17 PM

I don't know if this is happening to anyone else, but for me the AI of westphalia and wruttemburg just spam line infantry and try to take my fort as France. They've never made a single cannon to attempt to breach the walls. It ends up just being a boring fight where they just run to my walls, I kill them, rinse, repeat. They even field armies of 4000+, all line infantry. I still win with under 900 men.

**JAMiAM** · April 08, 2009, 01:22 PM

Originally Posted by Gwarokk

I don't know if this is happening to anyone else, but for me the AI of westphalia and wruttemburg just spam line infantry and try to take my fort as France. They've never made a single cannon to attempt to breach the walls. It ends up just being a boring fight where they just run to my walls, I kill them, rinse, repeat. They even field armies of 4000+, all line infantry. I still win with under 900 men.

This is because their capitals are only single-slot cities with a Military Governor's building. Until they research, or steal, the Canister Shot technology, they can't even build any cannons.

**Gwarokk** · April 08, 2009, 01:24 PM

This may be true, but it's 1720 now and they have colleges, I would think they would have researched it by now. They don't even have bayonets yet. *shrug*

**Quixote07** · April 08, 2009, 01:38 PM

They can't research anything in the military tree, because the research prerequisite buildings are all built in actual cities.

**Gwarokk** · April 08, 2009, 01:50 PM

Ah that's a bummer, so much for epic fort battles =(

**JAMiAM** · April 08, 2009, 01:53 PM

Originally Posted by Quixote07

They can't research anything in the military tree, because the research prerequisite buildings are all built in actual cities.

Good point, and one that begs the question "Can you receive a tech in trade, that you cannot research on your own due to prerequisites?"

**Quixote07** · April 08, 2009, 01:57 PM

I'm almost certain you can't. you have to be able to research the tech to receive it.

**JAMiAM** · April 08, 2009, 02:07 PM

Originally Posted by Quixote07

I'm almost certain you can't. you have to be able to research the tech to receive it.

Of course, that would make sense, but is that the way it actually is? I wonder...

**Lazy Knight** · April 08, 2009, 04:01 PM

you should also consider that pathfinding and AI absolutely don't manage to deal with forts.

**PB&J** · April 08, 2009, 04:09 PM

Earlier I fought a battle as Prussia.

I had 6 line infantry, 2 grenadiers, 2 militia, 2 hussars and 2 12 lbers.

The AI sent 32 line infantry at me. I managed to pull out a win because of maneuvering and the fact that I had rank fire, but I only have about 200 guys left. Epic battle though.

**Gomer_Pyle** · April 08, 2009, 04:24 PM

Maybe it is worth looking into the research then. Being able to research whatever they like once they got schools? I thought this was possible anyway. But I have never tried a "unplayable" nation yet.

**Lazy Knight** · April 08, 2009, 04:30 PM

That is not true for major factions either,

Each technologie requires a special biulding level to enable it, and a school to actually research it.

I.e for military technologies you will need barracks (only major cities), for cannon technologies you need a cannon foundry (only major cities), for naval techs you need a naval administration (only some major cities).

On the other hand, for Economic buildings you just need the corresponding Farm / Weaver's cottage / Metalworker and for Enlightenment techs the school level is the required building.

**notger** · April 08, 2009, 05:03 PM

In my game, Austria does a line-inf-spam, too. Just encountered a twenty line-inf stack.

(No fun in battle map and no way to win auto-resolve.)

**Lazy Knight** · April 08, 2009, 05:08 PM

If major nations do it as well, it is a case for the brain of this, so you'd better wait untill he gets up again

**Quixote07** · April 08, 2009, 05:24 PM

The AI shouldn't be making 20 infantry stacks.

Here's what I've done, and this is the sum total of my control over that behavior -

There's a string in the campaign_ai_personalities_junction file that lets you describe the proportions an army should have, between cavalry, dragoons, elephants, infantry, and artillery.

I have the proportion set to .5 infantry, .2 cavalry, .05 dragoon, and .25 artillery.

So I don't think there's much more I can do.

**Gwarokk** · April 08, 2009, 06:10 PM

Would having the minors start with military governor's barracks instead make any difference? Is that even doable? As of now they start with the other type, forget the name

**Chevalier IX** · April 08, 2009, 08:28 PM

even if the respective nations start with the requiered buildings to be a military powerhouse,their respective ai will not allow them to prioritise military might over whatever it is their nation is coded for.

**aeoleron9** · April 08, 2009, 09:21 PM

On teching, I noticed a strange thing in an old Austrian campaign: I didn't have a modern uni and haven't even researched separate powers, but somehow I was able to buy/research techs in the lowest level such as Citizenship.

**JAMiAM** · April 08, 2009, 09:50 PM

Originally Posted by aeoleron9

On teching, I noticed a strange thing in an old Austrian campaign: I didn't have a modern uni and haven't even researched separate powers, but somehow I was able to buy/research techs in the lowest level such as Citizenship.

You might have captured one in another region that was already upgraded to that level. I've had similar cases where I've jumped the prerequisites by capturing an advanced settlement building, that I wasn't yet able to build on my own.

**aeoleron9** · April 08, 2009, 11:36 PM

I know about capturing advance buildings unlocking techs, but that wasn't it. I had only two classical colleges and nothing else. It's an old save so it might be borked with all the patches/mods or sth.