You couldn't make it up...

[Tora]

The AI ganging up on the human player has often been an unfortunate feature of TW games, and judging by recent comments about map-wide pursuits on here has reached it's zenith in Attila.

However new levels of absurdity seemed to be reached after I, as the Huns, upset one of the Sassanids' numerous puppets. No less a personage than King Khosrau himself, with 3 full stacks, forgot he was at war with 7 other states and pursued my weakened 2 stacks from the Danube, through Dacia and into Belz. Now outnumbered about 4 to 1, and with winter in full swing, we stumbled through the snowy forests into Oium, next stop the Baltic. Only to run headlong into another puppet. The Desert's Dread, a full stack, all the way from one-province Mazun, complete with king. And camels. 4 units of them.

This was absurd enough but what stretched credulity even further was that despite the distance and conditions, there wasn't a mark on them. Attrition had reduced the Huns by two-thirds but 'The Dread', obviously at home in such conditions, were 100% intact.

Can't wait for the next patch(es).

[syress]

mate i have been defending against double stacks all day. i have half the world at war with me when i have done next to nothing to offend anyone.
The AI are just crazy, i am barely holding on.
i just had to defend against 5500 men!!
With my army of 2000!

In that same turn another three stacks started approaching the same settlement i just defended. Now i am facing another 5500-6000 army.

Cant initiate trade, cant use most of my diplomatic options, and i am barely able to build up before being ganged. Like cant say its not rewarding when you beat all these armies back, but a little balance is needed.

[Tora]

Well my suffering is at an end now, was on the ropes somewhere in Germano-Sarmatia, and finished off in a quick left-right combination by several factions with a grievance. Sassanids(at war), Mazan(puppet), Greuthingians(trespass), Venedians(just for the hell of it apparently). One explanation could be that if the AI can select the War Target option like the player, then it's possible that all other logical considerations are overridden, other than 'Get the **s'.

Does Radious' mod do anything to change this farce? If not, I think that's it until the next patch

[Aenima]

As much as I like Attila it really does suffer from immersion killing and logic defying stuff like. Sassanids in Germany for you vs Caledonian and Jutes sailing down to Spain for me, it just feels pretty ridiculous. I know it's just a game but when you have successive stacks of highland barbarians sailing down to attack Spain.....bruh.

[Huberto]

As much as I like Attila it really does suffer from immersion killing and logic defying stuff like. Sassanids in Germany for you vs Caledonian and Jutes sailing down to Spain for me, it just feels pretty ridiculous. I know it's just a game but when you have successive stacks of highland barbarians sailing down to attack Spain.....bruh.

In my Vandal play through this was the campaign -- British Isles and Scandanavians returning every two years to Spain on a transport cruise to get slaughtered -- only to return again and again. Surely this must be a jokey metaphor for the modern European holiday.

Eventually I moved a fleet out into the Atlantic and then we just played you-can't-catch-me until they started coming by land again. It became farcical and boring. But it wasn't until I got a bunch of agents out and removed fog of war that I understood the AI had no interest in perpetuating or sustaining itself on the campaign map, it was only interested in frustrating and slowing down the player.

Glad to see people have played TWA enough now to recognize the CAI for what it is...

[Cope]

In my Vandal play through this was the campaign -- British Isles and Scandanavians returning every two years to Spain on a transport cruise to get slaughtered -- only to return again and again. Surely this must be a jokey metaphor for the modern European holiday.

Lol, I'd + rep you if I could. Transport cruise ha ha.

Eventually I moved a fleet out into the Atlantic and then we just played you-can't-catch-me until they started coming by land again. It became farcical and boring. But it wasn't until I got a bunch of agents out and removed fog of war that I understood the AI had no interest in perpetuating or sustaining itself on the campaign map, it was only interested in frustrating and slowing down the player.

Glad to see people have played TWA enough now to recognize the CAI for what it is...

Again, excellent point. I couldn't have put it better myself.

[Lugotorix]

As much as I like Attila it really does suffer from immersion killing and logic defying stuff like. Sassanids in Germany for you vs Caledonian and Jutes sailing down to Spain for me, it just feels pretty ridiculous. I know it's just a game but when you have successive stacks of highland barbarians sailing down to attack Spain.....bruh.

By this point the highland barbarians had COME from northern Spain. It's not that far-fetched.

[Generaal Van Heutsz]

I am not a modder but decided to look into data.pack with some of the mod tools I found around and there are big difference on how the cai treat human vs non-human player

[Kjertesvein]

The only way I've managed to hold the waves of the Sassanids at bay is to find key places where the A.I. "have to" go. Invest into fortified Towns and a full stack to guard them and I've now managed to hold 6 stacks and 4 Gandalf tier agents occupied. The agents lowers my provincial revenue (even though I don't tax military regions) while Sauron's army just hangs around the fortified town.


The turn before my frontier settlement turned from tier 3 to tier 4 it was a huge epic battle.


But now they just stand a look, refortify their position every turn.


I don't have the army capacity to break up Sauron's army either, so they are going to stand there for ever I'm afraid.

~Wille

[Cope]

The only way I've managed to hold the waves of the Sassanids at bay is to find key places where the A.I. "have to" go. Invest into fortified Towns and a full stack to guard them and I've now managed to hold 6 stacks and 4 Gandalf tier agents occupied. The agents lowers my provincial revenue (even though I don't tax military regions) while Sauron's army just hangs around the fortified town.


The turn before my frontier settlement turned from tier 3 to tier 4 it was a huge epic battle.


But now they just stand a look, refortify their position every turn.


I don't have the army capacity to break up Sauron's army either, so they are going to stand there for ever I'm afraid.

~Wille

But bro, you lost Egypt.

[Sithrain]

The AI gets something like an 80% reduction to all forms of attrition to help it along on these little tours too, when it isn't immune completely. I was going to try to strip out some of the ai buffs until I realized how many there were.

[Darios]

The AI ganging up on the human player has often been an unfortunate feature of TW games, and judging by recent comments about map-wide pursuits on here has reached it's zenith in Attila.

However new levels of absurdity seemed to be reached after I, as the Huns, upset one of the Sassanids' numerous puppets. No less a personage than King Khosrau himself, with 3 full stacks, forgot he was at war with 7 other states and pursued my weakened 2 stacks from the Danube, through Dacia and into Belz. Now outnumbered about 4 to 1, and with winter in full swing, we stumbled through the snowy forests into Oium, next stop the Baltic. Only to run headlong into another puppet. The Desert's Dread, a full stack, all the way from one-province Mazun, complete with king. And camels. 4 units of them.

This was absurd enough but what stretched credulity even further was that despite the distance and conditions, there wasn't a mark on them. Attrition had reduced the Huns by two-thirds but 'The Dread', obviously at home in such conditions, were 100% intact.

Can't wait for the next patch(es).

The Sassanid Empire in ATW exemplifies everything that is wrong with this generation (Warscape) of antiquity themed Total War games. CA needs to find a way to either reduce the number of stacks minor factions can field or else get rid of those vassal states.

[Kjertesvein]

I don't know what you mean by "lost." These guys beg me to be their allies and to kill all of my former southern opponents. They'v earned some level of independence. I've never seen another faction behave like that, so I'm going to let them live... for now.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

~Wille

[Cope]

I don't know what you mean by "lost." These guys beg me to be their allies and to kill all of my former southern opponents. They'v earned some level of independence. I've never seen another faction behave like that, so I'm going to let them live... for now.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

~Wille

Egypt is probably one the most productive ERE provinces in the game. It has high fertility, a gold mine, wonders in the capital and its relatively safe from AI incursions. I wouldn't give it up to anyone, even a vassal.

[Bouncepass]

In the campaign variables table in the database there are lots of variables for how the AI treats the human player settled and as a horde. Some of them are for distance/attack multipliers. I've toyed around with them and from my playthrough's at least made it so it seems they won't go to the ends of the earth to attack the player. I've also made quite a few other changes. Check it out and tell me your experience so that i can tweak it some more. I've already racked up 60 hrs the past two weeks, gotta have time for other stuff http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showt...WIP-Melior-CAI

[surg3on]

Seems the first mistake was pissing off the Sassanids!

[gary]

so glad i never bought this game.... CA must be laughing all the way to the bank.

[Tora]

so glad i never bought this game.... CA must be laughing all the way to the bank.

Despite the aforementioned absurdities, as well as camels in Lithuania, I think it's been more than worthwhile at around 32 pence an hour. Decided to give it another go as the Franks, using Radious' mod, and it's been thoroughly absorbing - so far....

[soie]

I started a campaign with the Visigoths I started to raze Western Roman towns and cities, I then took over Constantinople (This was the first city I settled in) after that every faction i had met started to declare war on me, from the Sassanid empire to the Geats.