The AI

[Palle10]

Hello!

I have enjoyed the Stainless Steel mod a lot. I like the new factions, the new models, the bigger world, ect, however. One thing i really miss. I play Kievan Rus, and i have managed to take whats modern day Ukraine. What I really miss is more aggressive and challenging AI. I play Very Hard Very Hard, and i simply feel as if playing normal or something.

Is there any improvements to the AI on the horizon?

[Caesar Clivus]

Are you using version 6.2 of SS? That is more challenging than 6.1. There are also several campaign AIs to download in the submods section.

[Kaledon]

For additional difficulty you could always try RR/RC+Byg's Grim Reality IV. It does a lot to combat the snowball effect. As well, Grim uses an AI that is more likely to break alliances. I love RR/RC, and BGR is quite an excellent mod as well.

Okay, yeah. You could use BGR without RR/RC... But my love of RR/RC must always make itself felt.

[Ichon]

It depends if you have more problem with campaign AI or battle AI. Personally I think the campaign AI is the worst aside from the battle AI ability to lose generals fast.

If you don't do some things in battles the AI simply can't handle it is able to give you a good fight. The bigger problem is the AI simply wastes so many of its armies on the campaign map. If I ever had to face even 1/3 of a small factions armies at once time it would be more difficult. Usually the most stacks I see is 2.5 vs my 1.5 stack and I can win that... but the AI has enough bonus and armies it could make me fight 4 with 1.5 and that would be much harder already.

[JorisofHolland]

RR/RC BGRIV would be the most difficult I can think off. I don't know much about the AI, it can only be improved so far, but I think SS uses a quite capable Campaign AI. Since campaigns are more important to me than battles (though the combination is awesome) that's enough.

[Gorrrrrn]

From what I understand, there's only a limited amount we can do to influence the CAI.

Many of the things that seem obvious to a human player, the CAI doesn't get at at all.

Short of writing a new game engine we're stuck with a game that looks good, can be modified in amazing ways - but with a game engine that lacks the ability to be a decent CAI.

(Apart from the programming side of things, the AI lacks eyes - human eyes are great at dealing with information, spatial relationships etc - all the game engine can deal with is numbers
and Boolean algebra.)

That said, the CAI should be capable of working out that:
sending a fleet of 20 ships to the coast of Lithuania when you are England and then leaving them there is pointless and deprives your coast if defence and the ability to move armies across the channel;
ditto Gaza (both when not on crusade.)
using a unit with 20 men in it is not the same as a unit with 100 men
moving 10 armies with 1 or 2 units in a crocodile is less efficient than merging them into one big force and moving them
attacking a third faction when you are losing against two others is counter-productive
etc etc

we could script a few of those out of the game if we could address armies without knowing who the general is, and such like.
or if the various CAI files had more parameters we could adjust.

[JorisofHolland]

we could script a few of those out of the game if we could address armies without knowing who the general is, and such like.
or if the various CAI files had more parameters we could adjust.

The infamous name problem. It makes most good ideas of improvement completly impossible.