Unit limit for the AI?

**ManuelKomnenos** · December 15, 2010, 08:19 AM

Hello folks,

After a long while I am interested in returning to the world of BC, but I also have a question.

BC is a wonderfully crafted mod and I understand that most people adore the epic scope and length of the game. However, for me personally, one of the greatest flaws in the mod was just the insane amounts of stacks the few remaining empires would end up spawning (usually Kypchacks, Ayybuids and Romans). After having defeated most other empires in the game, the sight of wave after wave of AI stacks in Antolia would always kill my spirit to continue, as it wasn't so much a question of challenge, but simply time. It felt like gold farming in WoW.

All respect do those who prefer the game this way, and I understand that it is difficult to make late game challenging in any other way. But is there some way I can limit the military size of the AI on the campaign map? I don't want to limit it too much though. Only so that my enemies can be overcome at the end, without investing weeks and months.

EDIT: Is there any difference between 2.0 and 2.02 in this respect?

**wudang_clown** · December 15, 2010, 12:28 PM

Originally Posted by ManuelKomnenos

EDIT: Is there any difference between 2.0 and 2.02 in this respect?

There is no significant difference between those two.

Afaik, you can limit recruitment capability of AI factions by modifying EDB - but without a tool that's hardly possible to achieve. Or you can use console command "add_money faction_name, -x" after checking in statistics chart how much money AI factions have. You could also write a script which would just remove money from factions under certain conditions...

I can only promise to change it in BC3, though it is also very possible that it will be changed in any next minor 2.x release.

**Dago Red** · December 16, 2010, 11:46 AM

What end are you looking for? You play until you are the last faction standing in the Middle east? :O

I would suggest upping the difficulty, engaging some house rules, etc to make the game more challenging and playing to some end goal that sounds fun and challenging. By the time you get there, you will have overcome so much that you will already be satisfied and not be trying to destroy every living thing on the planet.

It sounds like scripts in the coming version will cure some of the mid /late game doldrums too maybe.

**Praetorian1** · January 11, 2012, 01:26 PM

Originally Posted by Dago Red

What end are you looking for? You play until you are the last faction standing in the Middle east? :O

why not? lol at first i played tw games till i wipe out all opposing factions, i used to turn on my allies when no enemy factions are left lol, but today i rather start a new campaign than turn on my allies.

**coldfusion21** · December 17, 2010, 03:46 AM

Originally Posted by ManuelKomnenos

Hello folks,

However, for me personally, one of the greatest flaws in the mod was just the insane amounts of stacks the few remaining empires would end up spawning (usually Kypchacks, Ayybuids and Romans). After having defeated most other empires in the game, the sight of wave after wave of AI stacks in Antolia would always kill my spirit to continue, as it wasn't so much a question of challenge, but simply time. It felt like gold farming in WoW.

EDIT: Is there any difference between 2.0 and 2.02 in this respect?

Same here after a while it becomes boring not only because of the ai doing that but also because i am able to do that after i have a big empire.
But this is not this mods problem, is the same in every mod and in original game.

One solution i use in a mod, RS2 (roma surrectum 2 for rome total war) was to give all faction a home area and some bonuses in that area, and penalties like -x to tax, happiness, law in all the other areas. The further the city from your starting area the higher the penalties .That made it harder for any faction to expand and destroy each other, it took some time to find a balance between bonuses and penalties though.

It was a good thing because normally if you double the size of your empire you can double your armies and when you have like 50-60 cities ... well it just gets boring either because nobody can match your empire, or there are a few big empires left that spawns army after army and you end up fighting the same battle most of the time. With these changes you still get more money as you expand just not as much as before, is just a matter of finding a good balance of penalties.

I am only a newbie in this thing but it was not hard because they had a indestructible building used for cultural info in every city that i used to apply those penalties. The whole map was already divided in 15 regions (hidden resources) and each faction started in one of those regions.
Since i see this mod uses aor recruitment it already has those hidden resources created and it should not be hard to do the same thing here.

I have not tried this mod though i am downloading it now and will try to do same here when i have some time.

**trollface** · December 17, 2010, 10:05 AM

keeping the game entertaining after amassing a large empire has always been the bane of M2 and it's mods. BC goes some way towards solving this with the mongol invasion/siege of constantinople (by crusaders)... though this only applies to factions near the 'spawn areas' of these events

**Dago Red** · January 11, 2012, 01:44 PM

Whoa, necro post from 2 years ago....

I have no idea what I was talking about ...It looks like I was responding to someone who's post is deleted talking about some "end"? My point in part was to basically ignore the game engine's imposed "win" scenario and instead create your own sensible goals (based on the historical hints BC gives you, if you need them).

In any case I agree completely with the opening premise, that stack spam should be eliminated, that other than tiny skirmishes, battles should be decisive. This is moot now with RBBR and the direction BC seems to be going, which is good.