Editing the BAI?
I'll say right off that I'm not a serious modder. I have only implemented a few basic tweaks in certain files in older games like Medieval 2 and Rome 1. I know the whole setup for the newer games is different.
That said, there are certain issues that really nag me that I have looked forever for a solution for. The main one in Shogun 2 being the battle AI, or more specifically the defensive naval AI ever since the release of Fall of the Samurai.
So far, I have been researching the modding of the BAI and the responses I've seen indicate that this is "impossible." I'm not sure I agree. The code to mod it has to be buried somewhere, its just not been identified yet.
The problem with Naval AI:
The AI's strategy is to set up a stationary line as far back as they can, broadsides facing player, hug the map edge as much as possible, only break line or engage when the player gets close. When all else fails, the AI on defense will make a break for the edge of the map and camp there, with broadside facing the player. As a strategy, this kind of works in Fall of the Samurai where cannon-armed ships are usual. It does not work so well, however, in the main game or Rise of the Samurai, which are both effected by this change.
In the main game or in ROTS, the defensive AI will set up their traditional ships in a similar line far back in the deployment zone, with bows facing the player. They will rotate in place pointing where the player goes, but otherwise not move or react until attacked. When they're in this "mode," you can see the ships rowing but not moving. This makes it easy to move to their flanks and hit them from both sides (since they don't move, at. all.). When attacked, it seems about 50/50 whether they'll fight back or run to the map edges where they get stuck and become useless (without cannons that is).
When the AI is the attacker, they don't adopt this strategy and instead seek out and attack the player's ships, reacting much more dynamically to player moves. They also don't run to the map edges. Trouble is - about 90% of my naval battles in campaign are with me as the attacker. This becomes very tedious, especially post-Realm Divide when a lot of the game is fending off endless naval invasion attempts from clans on the other side of the map.
I know that before the patch that came with FOTS, the naval AI did not behave this way. And while this naval AI approach is "sound" (if repetitive and boring) in FOTS, it is certainly not useful for the AI in the main game or ROTS.
I don't really like to accept that its "impossible" to mod this. There must be a way to fix it if only the relevant files could be identified.
There are a couple ways this could be fixed. Firstly, the changes made after the patch could be identified and reversed (though someone would have to have access to a pre-patch game which, with Steam, is not conventionally possible). Secondly, if the files controlling the BAI are identified, it might be possible to change it so that in every naval battle, the AI acts as if it were the attacker.
I think its safe to say that the modding community is the only hope of fixing this issue, as CA has moved on from Shogun 2 and is busy trying to fix Rome 2.
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Originally Posted by Destin Faroda
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