sieges - AI abuse

**SoWeMeetAgain** · January 12, 2015, 08:36 AM

Hello there,

I don't know if this is a widely known thing, if so please excuse me for bringing it up again... I have found that the AI behaves most erratically during sieges and it is easy to "game" them into not using their full force and therefore win with vastly outmatched and outnumbered defenders. Here's what I mean: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfile.../?id=374042338 Defending forces were ~250 men at the start, the attacking AI had ~900. I ran out with my cavalry, shortly attacked the people pushing the ram, ran back (not before suffering huge losses as you can see). Because in the meantime the ladders were erected upon the wall, the AI never bothers to pick up the ram again. And it doesn't even send most units up the ladders, they just stood like you can see in the screenshot, until the timer ran out. I don't think that should happen ... oh and if that's important: I am using the AI that was recommended during the installation, cheers

**SoWeMeetAgain** · January 12, 2015, 08:37 AM

erf... I really have to get used to inserting all < br> before posting -_- sorry for the no-newline-mess. Why is there no edit button or am I just too blind to see it?

**lampros69** · January 12, 2015, 09:25 AM

Originally Posted by SoWeMeetAgain

Hello there,

I don't know if this is a widely known thing, if so please excuse me for bringing it up again... I have found that the AI behaves most erratically during sieges and it is easy to "game" them into not using their full force and therefore win with vastly outmatched and outnumbered defenders. Here's what I mean: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfile.../?id=374042338 Defending forces were ~250 men at the start, the attacking AI had ~900. I ran out with my cavalry, shortly attacked the people pushing the ram, ran back (not before suffering huge losses as you can see). Because in the meantime the ladders were erected upon the wall, the AI never bothers to pick up the ram again. And it doesn't even send most units up the ladders, they just stood like you can see in the screenshot, until the timer ran out. I don't think that should happen ... oh and if that's important: I am using the AI that was recommended during the installation, cheers

I had the same problem with AI attacker sitting on its arses and not doing anything in siege in vanilla; so this problem is not fixed in Stainless Steal? On the alternative, it might be the computer CPU or graphics card issue.

**Byg** · January 12, 2015, 10:30 AM

I can't recall if this deals with the AI in notoriously broken sally scenario, but if anything does, this does.

http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showt...=1#post5026499

I'm assuming the latest SS install does not already include the latest version, but I don't know. I included it in bgrv at any rate.

**Geoffrey of Villehardouin** · January 12, 2015, 09:08 PM

I do not remember ever witnessing this. The AI will normally return to the ram unless there are ladders on the walls, in which case the infantry may climb up the ladders. If the ram is destroyed they will go back to pick up another ram. I have not seen them abandoning the ram and just sitting back doing nothing. I normaly have BGR II and RBAI.

**lampros69** · January 12, 2015, 10:08 PM

Originally Posted by Geoffrey of Villehardouin

I do not remember ever witnessing this. The AI will normally return to the ram unless there are ladders on the walls, in which case the infantry may climb up the ladders. If the ram is destroyed they will go back to pick up another ram. I have not seen them abandoning the ram and just sitting back doing nothing. I normaly have BGR II and RBAI.

What's BGR II, may I ask?

**Byg** · January 13, 2015, 03:04 AM

It's just a supplies submod, but isnt something that affects your issue.

Ps. Don't confuse the campaign AI options in Stainless Steel setup with a battle AI.

**SoWeMeetAgain** · January 13, 2015, 06:13 AM

Originally Posted by Geoffrey of Villehardouin

I do not remember ever witnessing this. The AI will normally return to the ram unless there are ladders on the walls, in which case the infantry may climb up the ladders. If the ram is destroyed they will go back to pick up another ram. I have not seen them abandoning the ram and just sitting back doing nothing. I normaly have BGR II and RBAI.

<br><br>

if you read closely, which I will admit is hard because this stupid forum doesn't like newlines, I said that it happened because the ladders reached the walls in the meantime. But one set of ladders is not enough, obviously. And that's where everything just stopped in it's tracks and nothing moved until the timer went out.

**Geoffrey of Villehardouin** · January 13, 2015, 02:14 PM

I saw that was what seemed to be happening but what I seem to experience is that either

1) they will all rush to the ladders if they lose the ram and the ladders are in place (that was the case with SS 6.1) or else
2) they will fight around the ram until they recover it regardless of the situation with the ladders.

They should not just go back and sit there. At least I have not seen that with 6.4. Maybe try updating Germanicu5' RBAI to the latest version (2012).

**SoWeMeetAgain** · January 13, 2015, 02:54 PM

I see, thanks for the reply

In the meantime I noticed another thing that might have been the culprit here... sometimes one guy of a unit get's stuck somewhere (eg on the wrong side of a wall or terrain) and it screws with the whole rest of the group as well.

Either someone in the ladder group got stuck at the top and they wanted to retreat (don't think so) or someone got stuck in the ram that wasn't supposed to be there and so they couldn't pick up ... at least that's what I think might be the issue, though I had instances like described in the opening post several times, mostly with siege towers though if I recall correctly.

**+Marius+** · January 13, 2015, 03:28 PM

Well the only sure solution is not to attack the AI's ram.

Attacking the ladders and siege towers seems to be a more preferable gamey tactic since the AI retakes those far more often.
Even if they don't retake those, battering down the gates will still result in a far more difficult scenario than waiting on the walls for the enemy to slowly bleed its army to death.