Moddability of AI

**DavidtheDuke** · August 01, 2013, 07:33 PM

Has anyone seen the devs mention the moddability of the AI? I was dissapointed in the lets play with Al Bickman in that it basically turned into a blob given the slightest provocation from a unit.. Hopefully it is at least as moddable as S2's? Maybe a RTW2 modding section should already be created for possible future mods?

**Revan The Great** · August 01, 2013, 08:18 PM

The only thing that impressed me less than the battle AI was Al Bickman's skills as a player.

I know it's the prologue and supposed to be easy, but I don't think anyone really thinks that the AI had some sort of 'stupid cap' on to make it easier for the tutorial. It'll function mostly the same in the campaign as it did in the prologue.

I like that it's aggressive with its skirmishers, but it's far too careless, and lets them get exposed and cut down too easily. It also (like Al) seems to make no effort to fight in a line or assign units individual targets - just throw everything into the fight and see what happens.

**DavidtheDuke** · August 01, 2013, 08:28 PM

Originally Posted by Revan The Great

The only thing that impressed me less than the battle AI was Al Bickman's skills as a player.

I know it's the prologue and supposed to be easy, but I don't think anyone really thinks that the AI had some sort of 'stupid cap' on to make it easier for the tutorial. It'll function mostly the same in the campaign as it did in the prologue.

I like that it's aggressive with its skirmishers, but it's far too careless, and lets them get exposed and cut down too easily. It also (like Al) seems to make no effort to fight in a line or assign units individual targets - just throw everything into the fight and see what happens.

Exactly, it seems to be worse than even Shogun 2. Frankly CA, is good at making the skeleton/framework for games, modders add the meat. That's why I still play MTW2 more than any of the Warscape games.

**Arrow2daknee** · August 01, 2013, 08:33 PM

Originally Posted by DavidtheDuke

Exactly, it seems to be worse than even Shogun 2. Frankly CA, is good at making the skeleton/framework for games, modders add the meat. That's why I still play MTW2 more than any of the Warscape games.

Shogun 2's AI was miles ahead of ETW/NTW and the AI seemed better than Rome 1's. The AI in Total war is usually always bad at launch, at the launch of ETW the AI would line up it's men the completely wrong direction. The AI seemed good enough and will only get better post launch through patches.

**DavidtheDuke** · August 01, 2013, 08:42 PM

Originally Posted by Arrow2daknee

Shogun 2's AI was miles ahead of ETW/NTW and the AI seemed better than Rome 1's. The AI in Total war is usually always bad at launch, at the launch of ETW the AI would line up it's men the completely wrong direction. The AI seemed good enough and will only get better post launch through patches.

True, and S2's definitely was better than NTW and ETW. I just think moddability of AI is key to really maxing out the engine'es capabilities. Hell if CA could just point out the files involved with it and how it generally works I think it'd help out the smart modders out there. What they did with MTW2's AI was pretty incredible.

**Huberto** · August 01, 2013, 10:02 PM

Originally Posted by Revan The Great

The only thing that impressed me less than the battle AI was Al Bickman's skills as a player.

I know it's the prologue and supposed to be easy, but I don't think anyone really thinks that the AI had some sort of 'stupid cap' on to make it easier for the tutorial. It'll function mostly the same in the campaign as it did in the prologue.

I like that it's aggressive with its skirmishers, but it's far too careless, and lets them get exposed and cut down too easily. It also (like Al) seems to make no effort to fight in a line or assign units individual targets - just throw everything into the fight and see what happens.

The battle I saw -- after losing a few units to Al Bickham's bait, half the Samnite army engaged and the other half stood around waiting for God knows what. The last 1/3rd of the battle was the usual AI-gets-flanked while focusing on taking out the player's general. Yay.

Oh well, I don't know if this is any worse than Shogun 2's AI, which was sometimes clever in a R-P-S sort of way. Good news I suppose, since many of us have been fearing this would be worse.

**BunnyPoopCereal** · August 01, 2013, 08:32 PM

Originally Posted by DavidtheDuke

Has anyone seen the devs mention the moddability of the AI? I was dissapointed in the lets play with Al Bickman in that it basically turned into a blob given the slightest provocation from a unit.. Hopefully it is at least as moddable as S2's? Maybe a RTW2 modding section should already be created for possible future mods?

That battle was a joke even if he was just showing off and was being interviewed. He was so bad in my opinion and so rough with the camera that it physically hurt me.

**Revan The Great** · August 01, 2013, 08:41 PM

Originally Posted by BunnyPoopCereal

That battle was a joke even if he was just showing off and was being interviewed. He was so bad in my opinion and so rough with the camera that it physically hurt me.

That's the point, even with how bad a player Al is, he still beat the AI in 2 out of the 3 videos I watched. How he could lose at all with a superior army, and having played the battle at least a dozen times is beyond me. He keeps sending the stupid Italian Swordsmen up into the same trees, to let them get massacred in exchange for routing one unit of Levy Slingers when he springs an 'ambush'.

**Revan The Great** · August 01, 2013, 10:09 PM

I don't know, it doesn't look too great.

I don't hold out much hope for it maintaining a cohesive phalanx line, for example, as Macedonia with a handful of Pike units lined up shoulder to shoulder without each unit running off or blobbing together. I guess we'll see how it goes, but generally not too impressed.