DarthFormations_for_BI_2.0
Download here:http://www.twcenter.net/downloads/db/?mod=829
Darth Formations for BI version 2.0
These are brand new formations using the new BI engine 1.3-1.6. They are only compatible with BI and BI mods that use the same factions.
New techniques are produced to give to human a challenge fighting the AI as never seen before. You will witness an AI general get protected behind spearmen, coordinated decisive attacks, painful AI skirmishes, envelops, decoy attacks and sacrifices and many more.
Each faction type will use its own strategy and fighting method according to historical facts and gameplay needed for BI.
There are 5 main formations that each has unique swapping alternatives and the total new formation number increases to above 20 formations.
I will describe the tactics involved with them in a few words:
-Roman Cohort Formation
It is a semi-historical formation that is highly versatile and maneuverable. Even when it defends it produces chances for the AI to fully flank the human army and create AI victories that at first seem impossible. The attack is coordinated in 3 basic sections. Right-center-Left. The side that wins flanks and it is all over.
It has no weaknesses. Balance is its effectiveness. Also the infantry units will be deployed as cohort-squares and not as usual blocks.
-Byzantine Formation
This is almost identical to the formation that Byzantines mostly used and it was mentioned in the “strategikon”. (Something like Sun Tzu’s Art of War in the middle ages). It is perhaps the cleverest of all the formations because of the interaction that I have forced the AI to have with its units. When it defends, it produces decoys to the left and when the human army approaches it rains shower of javelins against him. Cavalry has a super role in this army because it is seldom isolated and almost all the time supports the attack in various positions of the battlemap. Center and flanks are supported and the AI cavalry interacts to any human try to win the iniative in cavalry charge. A really cunning formation in which the AI general has very high survive ability and Byzantine heavy infantry use shieldwall to protect him at all cost with unique discipline. The weakness of the formation is that sometimes cavalry can be tricked by human and lose 1-2 units as sacrifice and also it is slow in development. The benefit is the discipline and cohesion of the infantry involved. It has 3 sections.
Top-center-Rear
-Barbarian Formation
This is perhaps the most straightforward tactic for the AI to use. And that is the reason it is effective. It mostly resembles the heroic and simple way of barbarian fighting.
No strategy here, the strongest wins. A powerful central AI attack is created that if human survives it can wipe out the AI army. But in most cases the AI concentrates so much in the center that Human army breaks in 2 and it is uneasy to control it. The human general must support the center with his command radius or else it breaks.
The AI cavalry never really flanks except sometimes from the right. It is always gathered as a mob near the infantry and attacks most times to gaps created in the formation. This formation will trouble human in most cases because AI can control it easily and in 1-2 moves it decides the battle. Its weakness is the increased probability of barbarian commander to die in battle as he controls his army in the heat of the battle. But that is also a benefit because all the morale bonus that he gives creates easy center attack win. Also the formation creates a “barbarian” mob that is a mixed force with no discretion of infantry-cavalry. They will fight together and disorganized. It has one main section, the center.
-Hun Formation
This is the most mobile formation of the AI. The Huns and Sarmatians who can use it will curse the human army with endless chase and rain of arrows. AI will effectively keep distance from human army, will flank, attack-retreat, harass and almost at full with its cavalry. The infantry will be far behind and after the harass will choose a weak spot to finish off the human. It is created as historically as possible.
Weakness is that there is virtually no center concentration of AI army which is scattered in many locations to ambush. This can be won if human army keeps its cohesion and protect with shield wall while counter fire with own missiles from behind. But if the AI has too many horse archers it is impossible for human to keep the 2/3 of his army alive! Mainly 3 sections. It has 1 cavalry harass right, 1 left and away behind a center of infantry.
-Arab Formation
A really awkward formation that can trouble human army. In most cases the AI cavalry will be concentrated in the left with the general commanding it. It will constantly move around and harass human army and provoke it to attack and be isolated. The right will consist the infantry which will attack in the center or left of human army. The human army will have to choose side to concentrate because the main 2-frontal attacks are serious and coordinated. Its weakness is that if human army has enough spearmen can win the cavalry right attack and then the army can concentrate in the left. But sometimes AI makes a so good skirmish that most spearmen will die from missiles or counter attacks if human does not control them constantly. The weakness of the formation is the isolation of cavalry from infantry, which behaves mostly like an ambush force and not like part of the army. But this is the uniqueness of the formation that makes it effective and also resembles historic arab and berber way of fighting.2 isolated powerful sections
-Persian formation
A balanced formation that uses ancient straightforward winning methods. Center missile screen and elephants. A solid center and both flanks protected by cavalry. Coordination of forces is the benefit of the formation and has virtually no weakness except that it can be overstretched and so human army can find weak spots to concentrate the attack. The general is greatly protected by all forces and will last to the end. It has 4 sections. The center is not coherent and will have 2 flank infantry sections. The cavalry will protect flanks and rear from behind and will swap flanks to attack according to needs.
All the above are described as I have managed to help the hard coded AI to behave by forcing it use techniques according to the relativity of formation blocks, distances and unit types. You will notice the above mentioned occur by using the formations with my mini-mod for BI “BI-gameplay-fix-1.7” (http://www.twcenter.net/downloads/db/?mod=797)
The Siege tactics remain the same as I have enhanced them prior to these formations
The human formations are enhanced to a manner that there is no more the difficulty of human to control his formation and alt-click works 99% (I leave the 1% for beta testers…).I would include new human formations but have no time. Will do this in future though.
””””Announcement”””
Since there is again a crucial bug in patch 1.6 (I do not know if it exists in 1.5) that prevents foot-missiles to fire effectively when AI defends it makes my efforts to improve AI futile, since almost every time CA finds something to destroy in every new patch. As I am frustrated to try to fix things only to be spoiled in a new “enhancement” of CA I will drop my efforts to further develop the gameplay experience of the game. I stopped playing the game months ago and now that I have discovered this, I simply do not have the energy to continue. Unless CA creates a decent patch that at least has no such crucial bugs I will retire…..
To test the bug, play a custom battle by giving the option to AI to defend. It will mostly use archers ok only if the general is dead or there are no siege machines.
When it attacks it is very effective ….at least something works. Try with any formation or mod based on BI. The idle stance of foot-missiles is bugged.
If you give precursor ability for example to archers then AI will use them correctly but this is not a solution as it spoils the unit type…
So…My DarthMod_7.0 will be put to a hold and will help only other modders with creation of some formations and some extra as I have promised to them.
Creator: DARTH VADER
Visit my forums:
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=71 (TWcenter)
and
http://forums.rometotalrealism.org/i...p?showforum=34 (RTR site)
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by Ragss
