What is the reasons that disappointed the fans in regards to the AI ?

[Akimov]

Wanted to share my observations about the BAI

Re-installed empire, using no Mods, and did some testing with lots of different unit sizes and then added your 1.9. I always faced exactly the same issues.

AI doesn't choose to melee.

I noticed that they never charge bayonets, they accidently run into you.

AI units have a prime directive to not to stay overlapping each other

Everytime a unit overlaps with another it wants to get clear. However when it tries to get out of the way it almost certainly will overlap with another unit so both the muddled units will try and move apart crashing across other units and causing them to all go charging forward to try and get clear of each other. As they all moving at the same speed this is impossible so they keep running until they hit your battle line.

What makes this such a nightmare is that the AI does not have a priority order to avoid getting into a overlap criss cross in the first place. So it will happily criss cross 2 units and only then go mental trying to seperate them


AI units target yours from a central pinpoint

When an enemy unit is ordered to attack your unit it will aim for the direct center of your unit. This causes each enemy unit to start overlapping as he moves in on you. This is partly the cause of the 'melee madness'. E.g. a single unit turns, crosses anothers path, setting off a chain reaction as all his units trying to get clear




To me it sounds like something only CA can fix as they need to remove the AI instruction telling it to always seperate units no matter what the situation is.

Ideally if they added an instruction telling it to not criss cross at all that should help.

[Patton]

I'll weigh in here, but can only do so in a general manner. I do not dissagree that most players never visit these or the steam forums. I do dissagree that they are any more contented then most of us who post. to me at the end of the day I want a game that is playable (read not impossible to beat) has some sense of a thrill even on relpays and some of my most favorite titles over the years going back to my first apple 2c had these elements. I know there are war buffs amongst us always has been. The problem is that thier needs are different then entertainment sometimes. I would like to share some ancient history of gaming here. Before computer games we played the Nepolionic period battles out on Large table tops with 15 mm or 25 mm painted figurines and model buildings and terraign. WE also Never had even one set of "Balanced" rules published that didn't make the rest of the nations army's fodder for the French w/o more numbers or no Old Guard present. And even when you are playing a game as an army that historicly didn't fare well in any period the "player" wants a chance to win anyway. Privately.... in my mind... I keep returning to the old Panzer general series.... Campaign style. Although in the context of the TW series this is herasey since a key desing element is the "Playing of the Nations" I personaly wold really rather play the fleet admirals and ground generals. I think that was one key reason Lusted's M2TW mod was so fun to play, Why Kingdoms was a fun expansion. At the last let us consider what a "perfect" game gleaned from the pages of this column would look like. The AI would simulate the greatest players who could play against the readers And certain countries would be doing what we do when we play them and that would eventually be against us and in some cases several at a time unrelentingly, shuting down ports, raids, and full army battles, while we were saddled with an ecconomy that barely let us keep 12 standing units in an army. I personaly would not play that game.
Peace