Maybe the AI isn't that bad...

[caralampio]

I'm back playing 6.1 until 6.2 bugs get ironed out. However I've been thinking the 6.1 AI isn't as bad as they paint it. True it allows multiple alliances early in the game but sooner or later some have to be broken, and the new neutrals will frequently backstab you right away! And these broken alliances are not easily reconstructed. I think this works just fine, allowing the player to build his kingdom in the first few turns before thinking about serious wars.

I say the AI isn't that bad, because I just had my sitting apparatus handed to me twice! Yesterday as Venice, Byzantium beat me up. I lost several provinces to them and it was clear that I was going to lose more. I resigned.

Today as Templars, Fatimids beat me up. I figured I would roll over them in a crusade. They totally wasted my crusader armies and proceeded to invade my country! No recovery in sight. End of game. I'm not used to be treated this way by the AI! Maybe I have lost the gift?

Although I do think that part of it is AI cheating. The AI factions have like infinite money to rebuild armies, when the player loses an army it means a slow and painful reconstruction (which cannot be done properly if they keep attacking!)

Now I'm playing a little English campaign to rebuild my confidence :brit:. Scotland is looking more menacing than usual however...

[lordextra0]

I believe the gracul 6.2 ai is better than 6.1
in my current moorish campaign portugal aragon spain england sicily genoa and hre allied against
me and attacked... well with a nice jihad and leaving lots of cities undefended I took out portugal and with the giant amounts of money the moors have at their disposal I bribed aragon until they
attacked spain. So due to the big money I was able to go with 3 fulls stacks... one for sicily and two for iberia now iberia is nearly completely under my control spain is boken(2cities and 1 stack split all over their iberia in smal concentrations) and have conquered sicily (the iland not the nantion) after destroying portugal it got easier(didn't blitz they attacked me first with 3/4 stack)
just so you know i'm using newest rr/rc so the gracul ai is still rc3 so now i'm at war with hre, england, scotland, genoa, aragon(who's pretty much destroing everyone in there path for example france) and spain and except for spain thei are all allies.
actually I don't notice the money script so much, sure they have more stacks than me but when they kill one of my stacks I get like +10000 more money next turn = instant rebuild+mercenaries for filling gaps

[Sonny WiFiHr]

AI tend to mass stacks before attack. Most of my defending battles were in ratio 1:3 (in AI favour). Lots of casualties on my side. Im now totaly in building (I need reinforcsments). Turtling for 50 turns made game far more chaleging. On the other side this also made my generals full stars (3 heroic battles for evey normal and Im always outnumbered)

[Jynx]

That's not the AI. The campaign_events.txt shows clearly that on vh mode the AI get given truckloads of free units and money to make more.

[Sonny WiFiHr]

Not exactly (I play RR/RC cobo mod). You can weaken faction even with total chivalric aproach. Mostly AI travels in two stacks army covering each other. They will mass their armies (AI try to move all armies) before attack and you will be pressed very hard. Money script even vanilla use.

[Point Blank]

Look in config_ai_battle file, at the end:

<!-- ratio of friendly to enemy strength to be considered more powerful -->
<friendly-to-enemy-strength-ratio>2.0</friendly-to-enemy-strength-ratio>

This setting is also used by the AI on the strat map to determine whether they think they are more powerful than you, and are then more likely to attack. Note that the value used is 2.0, whereas in vanilla and many mods its 0.8.

So when using the RR/RC file the AI will tend to be more cautious and build up more before an attack to get better odds.

[Byg]

Look in config_ai_battle file, at the end:

<!-- ratio of friendly to enemy strength to be considered more powerful -->
<friendly-to-enemy-strength-ratio>2.0</friendly-to-enemy-strength-ratio>

This setting is also used by the AI on the strat map to determine whether they think they are more powerful than you, and are then more likely to attack. Note that the value used is 2.0, whereas in vanilla and many mods its 0.8.

So when using the RR/RC file the AI will tend to be more cautious and build up more before an attack to get better odds.

Are you certain those ratios are used on the strat map?

[Jynx]

And truckloads of free units and money...

[Jynx]

Not as much or with as many free units though.
I think that the AI should be better not the units more numerous.

[Caesar Clivus]

I think that the AI should be better not the units more numerous.

Feel free to put your money where your mouth is.

Changing the AI isn't as easy as you seem to think. AI programmers have to work within a LOT of constraints. They can only change so much and there is soooo much that they can't change because it is hardcoded within the game engine itself. It's like trying to build a car from scratch but only being able to change the colour. That is why the AI has to be given free money. It has to be compensated for the the superior intelligence that resides within the human skull to actually make it competitive in the game. Yes it would be great to be able to make a super-duper AI that acts like a human controls it, but sadly it will never be. Hopefully with Lusted working at CA now, the AI in Empire will be awesome

[lordextra0]

Feel free to put your money where your mouth is.

Changing the AI isn't as easy as you seem to think. AI programmers have to work within a LOT of constraints. They can only change so much and there is soooo much that they can't change because it is hardcoded within the game engine itself. It's like trying to build a car from scratch but only being able to change the colour. That is why the AI has to be given free money. It has to be compensated for the the superior intelligence that resides within the human skull to actually make it competitive in the game. Yes it would be great to be able to make a super-duper AI that acts like a human controls it, but sadly it will never be. Hopefully with Lusted working at CA now, the AI in Empire will be awesome

ai with the intelligence of a human mind would be pretty scary though

[Caesar Clivus]

ai with the intelligence of a human mind would be pretty scary though

Yeah but how cool would it be to fight against in a campaign

[lordextra0]

Yeah but how cool would it be to fight against in a campaign

it would be great nevertheless it won't happen
some like me say unfortunately
others who don't appreaciat being beaten will say fortunately

[Point Blank]

Pretty sure yes.

[LionQ]

6.2 AI is much better; 6.1 is way too easy.

[Piotrburz]

Yea i must agree with Jynx. Even if you blockade all enemy ports, it won't have any significant effect on enemy economy. It will only overwhelm your economy as you will need a lot of ships[3-4 war galley] on each port to blockade it.
It is ridiculous that byzantine empire with 6-7 provinces and blockaded all ports by player, have a 3-4 full stacks of best infantry

[caralampio]

6.1 or 6.2, however I feel that my strategy is not being properly rewarded when I plan a campaign, attack systematically, eliminate the enemy's armies (confirmed by toggle_fow), expect that I have at least staggered them and it will take a while for them to recover, only to find three full stacks confronting me next turn. There's no strategy just brute force. Like in FPS games where enemies spawn infinitely.

And in sieges, where the player is practically forced to use only ladders to assault because his towers and rams are made of tinder and burn instantly. But the contrary is not true, you say: I'll garrison a couple of archers here so they can rain flame arrows on any enemy siege. No use, the AI's towers and rams almost never burn. Sure sure the AI needs help but this leaves a bad aftertaste: I'VE BEEN CHEATED.

[Santiago de Pola]

Sure sure the AI needs help but this leaves a bad aftertaste: I'VE BEEN CHEATED.

I think that the AI, is the one that is being cheated all the time!

Sure, the AI gets the various bonuses, but can it all actually be a match to human wit and intelligence?

I beg to differ..all those "cheats" that AI gets are just small crumbs, compared to the intelligence cheat, that humans are applying to the AI!

IMHO, the best gaming experience is with a healthy dose of house rules..that's why I never ally, use ranged siege equipment, toggle fow, etc.!

[Point Blank]

6.2RC4 has different AI economy, should be less stack-spamming.

[Scorpius_Brutii]

Another AI cheat: their commanders all start with 4 starts on H, and go up to 8 stars in like 2 battles, whilst the player needs 2 heroic victories to even go up 1 star...

Shouldn't the "major battle winner" trait give +3 command?