Supersize the puny AI stacks!

[Raawr]

Is there any way to stop the AI attacking with such small stack size, IE3 cards? I very rarely complete a campaign and have only reached the Mongol invasion date once, this is due to the fact i get bogged down in so many battles. The AI insists on sieging my towns with puny forces and roams the world with similar size stacks too. This makes me fight every single battle as i simply do not trust auto resolve. I understand that sieging or attacking with a small force is realistic (to tie up enemy forces), but too much and the AI just wastes what could potentially be a force to reckon with if it only combined all the small stacks. I play SS 4.1 and love the changes it made to basic gameplay (no more battering rams braking gates in 4 swings, yay!).

Do CA actually give feedback on this game anymore or have they just presumed the "Well it is riddled with bugs, but the players make their own mods so THEY can fix it" stance?

[N3rull]

Do CA actually give feedback on this game anymore or have they just presumed the "Well it is riddled with bugs, but the players make their own mods so THEY can fix it" stance?

They turned the "ok so we'll make one more patch for them to think like we care a little and move to something else we can make some money on" mode on.
Seriously, mod is an alteration of the game. It is meant to bring in something different, using the given mechanics. But you don't PAY for a mod, whereas you DO PAY for the GAME. If they think they can SELL a BUGGED game and hope someone ELSE FIXES it for them for FREE, then someone hold me tight before I become the first person to commit a genocide with a teaspoon for non-religious beliefs.

PS. As to the meritum of your post... yes, that's something stupid. For instance, Danes attacked me recently, breaking an 80-year-old Alliance. I know (my spies have noticed) that they have three near full stacks walking over the tiny bit of visible scandinavia, all in secure possession of the Danes. And yet, they attacked me with 400 men, who I killed without mobilising anything but the garrison of my nearest town (and that garrison was nothing but militia).
Retarded. In that matter, Mongols are cool. They don't move small stacks - when they hit, they hit with 4000 men.

[Raawr]

If they actually attacked with half decent forces then the whole gameplay would be totally different. I'm playing as France at the moment and HRE took a disliking to me and attacked, but i could handle their attack. Then spain and Milan both attacked me. But i can handle all 3 because they only throw a handful of troops at me at one time, If they threw a 1/2-full stack at me instead of loads of tiny ones i'd be in for a tough time.

I hear on VH campaign though that they build constant full stacks and let loose at you, might have to try a VH/H then in that case. Might even try hotseating to try RP a lil bit. I'm playing Hard/Medium at the moment

[sharky4u]

[quote=Raawr;2566375]If they actually attacked with half decent forces then the whole gameplay would be totally different. I'm playing as France at the moment and HRE took a disliking to me and attacked, but i could handle their attack. Then spain and Milan both attacked me. But i can handle all 3 because they only throw a handful of troops at me at one time, If they threw a 1/2-full stack at me instead of loads of tiny ones i'd be in for a tough time.
I totally agree totally with this thread, I really like SS but the lack luster AI really annoys me. Please don't all shoot me at once but in RomeTW, Gaul or Britannia would never be so stupid in ignoroing/exploiting a weak spot or send a puny force. Agreed that can happen if you have depleated the enemy through attrition and they are sending out small units as fast as they can recruit, but come on with stacks just sitting there, it gets boring. I can't remeber the last time i actually got attacked in the open, seems the only way to go stack for stack is to defend a city or attack.

[snuggans]

that is rather weird...
in my M2TW they are usually above a 50% filled banner, otherwise they stay in the towns.
maybe SS has something to do with this?

[HANDsolo]

SS 4.1 uses a slightly tweaked vanilla CAI. I replaced the CAI with the Lusted's latest CAI for 1.2. It's a lot better. You will need to edit one of the text files slightly due to the new factions added in SS. In either the SS or Lands to Conquer forum there is a thread on using a different CAI with SS 4.1. Lusted explains how to edit the files. Sorry I cant give the link as I'm surfing on my cellphone.

[Sidmen]

How big is the garrison they attack? Is is possible to defeat your army with the army they sent? (Could you do it?) The larger your garrison, the more troops they mobilize to take you down.

[N3rull]

How big is the garrison they attack? Is is possible to defeat your army with the army they sent? (Could you do it?) The larger your garrison, the more troops they mobilize to take you down.

Indeed it is true that AI often uses forces that AI considers adequate. And, well, it sometimes is enjoyable that your tiny army has something to say instead of simply being overrun. Imagine you got attacked as often as you are, but with 3 full stacks of units every time. That sort of game would be nearly unplayable, and definately not winnable in the given amount of turns.

As it is though, it seems hilarious.

[NobleNick]

...I very rarely complete a campaign and have only reached the Mongol invasion date once, this is due to the fact i get bogged down in so many battles...

It seems to me that this would ensure that you reach the Mongol invasion date every time. Isn't it when you finish the game early because it is too easy that you would miss this date?

[ulrien]

easy to fix, get SS and mod it so the ai can recruit units with 0 upkeep