Siege Re-inforcements

[Navajo Joe]

Guys,

I have noticed something with the Battle AI, that I believe did not exist with 6.1 and 6.2. Firstly you as the attacker, lets say sieging a city, garrison is inside, you are attacking the south wall, there is an enemy re-inforcement army north of the city, they are counted in battle odds. On attacking they do enter the north gate, or even the east or west gates, but come all the way down to the south wall. The same happen with a castle/fortress/citadel, they appear to use the assaulted wall gate.

As anybody witnessed as the defender, an allied re-inforcement, enter the settlement, via any gate other than the wall being assaulted.

By what I am seeing it would appear the BAI as been changed to do this, but cannot imagine that was the intention.

Navajo Joe
SS Development Team

[Quark]

All my settlements are cities to give the AI a chance to get me, but I have had three walls beseiged at the same time. It depends on whether they have catapults etc. If yes, then they will knock down my walls, and enter from more than one front. If no, they all pile around slowly to the one gate and my life is so much easier.

There does seem a issue with cannon though as they often have trouble positioning themselves for attack.

What I have rarely seen is the AI staving me out and forcing me to come out and play. When facing the mongols with their cavalry hordes, I would get slaughtered if they made we fight outside, inside its far easier to kill them.

[Navajo Joe]

Quark,

Thanks for the good feedback, but its you that is attacking and the AI is defending. In 6.1 the AI use to enter the settlement by the nearest gate to re-inforce the settlement, now it meanders around the walls to where the human player assaulted. I strongly suspect if you are the defender if an allied re-inforcement arrives, they will do the same

[Lord Blackfyre]

Yeah exactly the same in my experience, only ever played 6.4 though

[Vissewalde rex de Gerzika]

I also noticed something unnatural regarding sieges, not like this trough - i assaulted a town with a wooden wall - there was only 1 unit inside but about 6 units outside that were as reinforcements - destroyed the gate and killed the single unit inside and started placing out my armies at the town centre to defend it, but to my surprise the AI just stopped its reinforcement armies and didnt move, i could have gone after them, but i decided that i would just exit the battle once the time for the town centre runs out, and when i did exit the battle all the reinforcement armies just died even trough i didnt touch them (i was attacking a rebel settlement btw).

[Navajo Joe]

I also noticed something unnatural regarding sieges, not like this trough - i assaulted a town with a wooden wall - there was only 1 unit inside but about 6 units outside that were as reinforcements - destroyed the gate and killed the single unit inside and started placing out my armies at the town centre to defend it, but to my surprise the AI just stopped its reinforcement armies and didnt move, i could have gone after them, but i decided that i would just exit the battle once the time for the town centre runs out, and when i did exit the battle all the reinforcement armies just died even trough i didnt touch them (i was attacking a rebel settlement btw).

Funnily enough that was what exactly opened my eyes to this problem, I had the besieged the Fortress of Caesarea, attacked the south gate, dealt with garrison, but the Seljuk re-inforcement approached from the North, passed down the east wall to the south gate. They should have gone to the westgate and entered the fortress. Needless to say once i realised they were coming south, I parked my spearmen in the entrance, archers on the walls, they arrived and sat there, sitting ducks. The result was end of Fortress, end of both Seljuk armies and end of faction

[tudor93]

I also noticed something unnatural regarding sieges, not like this trough - i assaulted a town with a wooden wall - there was only 1 unit inside but about 6 units outside that were as reinforcements - destroyed the gate and killed the single unit inside and started placing out my armies at the town centre to defend it, but to my surprise the AI just stopped its reinforcement armies and didnt move, i could have gone after them, but i decided that i would just exit the battle once the time for the town centre runs out, and when i did exit the battle all the reinforcement armies just died even trough i didnt touch them (i was attacking a rebel settlement btw).

It is indeed odd that the reinforcement army just stood there and did nothing (well... in fact, it isn't; the AI is really retarded). But it's normal for the reinforcement army to disapear even if you didn't touch them because they are rebels; if the rebels loose the battle it doesn't matter if they have even 1 stack left because it will dissapear.

[Navajo Joe]

It is indeed odd that the reinforcement army just stood there and did nothing (well... in fact, it isn't; the AI is really retarded). But it's normal for the reinforcement army to disapear even if you didn't touch them because they are rebels; if the rebels loose the battle it doesn't matter if they have even 1 stack left because it will dissapear.

Tudor93,

On 6.1/6.2 any AI re-inforcements in a siege would enter via another entrance and go straight to the central plaza and then find you. This appears to be no longer the case, the AI has been changed to do this. I believe vanilla uses any entrance it so pleases.

Edit: I have noticed in Bugs Forum, that we have regular CTD's with AI re-inforcements, which makes me think whether the change in AI behaviour and the CTD's are linked. I would be interested to know whether people are getting CTD's on field battles or is when the AI commits the garrisom from a settlement with another AI re-inforcement

[Hadrian I]

Tudor93,

On 6.1/6.2 any AI re-inforcements in a siege would enter via another entrance and go straight to the central plaza and then find you. This appears to be no longer the case, the AI has been changed to do this. I believe vanilla uses any entrance it so pleases.

It must be the mod "Really Bad AI"? Wasn't it updated from Stainless Steel 6.1 to Stainless Steel 6.4?

[Strengelicher]

Never noticed the phenomenon you are describing in 6.4. I shall keep an eye out for it.