0.8x AI Faction Progression

[Teleklos Archelaou]

So, how are the AI factions behaving and expanding in your game? This is something we quite honestly have very little direct control over, but we do have indirect control. Evidence:

-We were having a bad problem with Baktria expanding directly into the steppe to the northwest after we gave them those two new provinces, but by making the road from Baktra go east on the south side of the river instead of the north, and by making Mazsakata and Bin-kath's provinces touch each other above Sogdiane, we have pretty much stopped this, or at least greatly lessened it.

-We've also kept Hayasdan from heading north so much by allowing passages out of the mountains north towards Uspe, but by not allowing roads, and by altering the province boundaries there too.

So, how is the AI behaving in your games? Minimaps with dates are *particulary* welcome here. I'll start you off with mine. (I'd recommend folks make theirs 200% normal size for ease of reading, but 100% is ok if need be):



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This is in 255, and I've been playing as the Sweboz.

Highlights:
-I'm really loving how Qarthadastim are expanding. Moving along the Mediterranean seaboard in Iberia is just perfect.
-Baktria is moving slowly, but we also are very happy that they have gone after Kophen first and are moving towards India. They have armies on the road to Taxilia right now, but haven't taken it yet.
-Romans had a tough time with Aedui at first, but have recently defeated them in north Italy. In the south they are sieging Syracuse now with a mixed army and a number of Greek units in tow.
-Koinon Hellenon were destroyed.
-Pontos is moving along very nicely. They haven't been too strong in other games I've played, so this is a nice change. Note that Pontos has taken Byzantion too, as well as Ankyra and Sinope and Trapezous and Nikaia.
-Sabaeans have taken two cities and when Gerrha rebelled from the Seleukids, it rebelled to them. Pretty good overall I'd say. No parthians here!
-Nomads aren't faring well it seems. We've talked about doing something to help them out more, but for now they are pretty weak it seems.
-Seleukids have been too strong for Pontos, Hayasdan, Pahlava, or Baktria to make inroads, but of course the Ptolemies are hard to stop, and they've taken Antiocheia from Seleukos.
-Maks and Epeiros are doing ok, but I doubt Epeiros can survive like that. They have to expand or they get crushed.

[Elminster]

If I may make a suggestion....I've played as the Sauromatae twice now, and I can see where the AI is having problems. Nearly every rebel settlement within their reach also has a rebel army wandering around it in addition to the town's garrison. Obviously, a player can overcome this through good horse archer tactics, but I think that the AI often finds itself over-matched when facing all these rebels with its limited resources. Though the armies are well-placed, none of them are very large and I feel this is also a factor, as these initial armies are heavily outnumbered against the garrisons alone. What I did was bring all of my units together and go on a rampage, but obviously the AI doesn't think like that. The Saka Rauka are in a similiar fix, though I haven't tried Sulek yet....

[Teleklos Archelaou]

I've moved around the armies for the Sarmatians for 0.81. The two that were in the west are now closer together and closer to Gelonus also. I think we can expect to see it fall in many of the AI progressions now. Our Saka recruitment was fubar for 0.80, but we think it will be a lot better with 0.81.

[Leão magno]

I only know, as Karthadast, that Epirotes are kicking Rome back to the north and Roma is too fragile, they have not even conquered the northern region of Italy nor the southern one... same with lusitans

[Francisco Montana]

I knew there was a thread like this somewhere. Here's from another thread. This is kinda nice because I've just now entered the continental theater so everything except my recent attack on Aedui's rear guard is AI induced.


235bc - Casse Campaign

Saka faded away around 245bc.

[wphmd]

One thing that I have noticed regarding AI progression (with many builds and with different mods) is that several empires expand well, but that each province is rapidly depleted of all population. This limits the ability of the AI to field advanced armies, as they can never upgrade their settlements. They produce units of 120 to 240 men per turn, but they reproduce at a rate of less than 100 pop. per turn, and it is not long before every settlement has pitifully few inhabitants. Has EB 0.8 addressed this at all?

[Gaias]

Here is my Romani campaign. I think I will post a minimap every 10 years or so, maybe longer intervals.

[Francisco Montana]

Casse Campaign 230bc

[userfriendly]

One thing that I have noticed regarding AI progression (with many builds and with different mods) is that several empires expand well, but that each province is rapidly depleted of all population. This limits the ability of the AI to field advanced armies, as they can never upgrade their settlements. They produce units of 120 to 240 men per turn, but they reproduce at a rate of less than 100 pop. per turn, and it is not long before every settlement has pitifully few inhabitants. Has EB 0.8 addressed this at all?

I have a solution. play on small unit size

[Slaxx Hatmen]

I have a solution. play on small unit size

Yes but then we have crappy "unepic" battles that look like skirmishes.

[Leão magno]

I took another approach, I just give time to the AI and when I advance, I find huge armies and huge cities; at least, I believe it is because I do not rush into war every turn of the game.

[QwertyMIDX]

We also give the AI some help we populating its cities, if we're running into massive depopulate we can increase that, but we need more hard info. If anyone is having depopulate issues please take screenshot or otherwise record the pertinant information and we'll see what can/needs to be done.

[Francisco Montana]

226BC - Casse Campaign

[Trajanus]

247 BC, playing as the Selukids.

Points of interest;
-The Greeks have completely beaten back the Macedonians, who have been reduced to just one city in Asia Minor.

-The Parthians and Baktrians have both been quite active and aggressive (mostly towards me it seems), though Baktria is sieging a few cities in India.

-Pontus and Armenians have done basically nothing, so far as I can tell. They haven't attacked me all campaign, which I found kind of surprising since I have only light garrisons in the cities near them

-Casse have been unable to expand, at all. They just have one full stack sitting outside their starting city.

-'Spanish' (cant spell their proper name) have more or less been unable to expand, but not due to the Carthage (yet, anyway).

Everyone else seems to be expanding pretty well. Rome and Carthage are both major powers, but the other factions are no slouches either. I will say that Carthage seems to have a lot of full stacks just sitting around in Spain though, quite odd. The Saebeans are trying to expand, lots of armies running around, but I guess the rebels are pretty tough down there.

[Valentin the II]

Map wierdnes report:
-There was a full rebel stack in the center of italy.... Consisting almost entierly of persian royal bodyguards.
-Brits, Sweboz, Iberians and Getai dont expand at all. After 30 yers.
-Several wierd revolts, Selucids lost 2 provinces in Galatia to Casse and Getai through several unususal revolts. Ptolemys lost 1 of theyr provinces to numoros (about 4) arab revolts (you know the brown faction). The wierdest sing, These provinces never belonged to the revolting factions and the local population doesnt like them much.
Are these scripts?
-Rebels in most places are to hard for the AI to overcome.

[Cyrus the Virus]

I don't have a pic of my recent campaign as Casse, but in that campaign Qarthadastim wiped out Romans out from their homelands. Their most southern city was Patavium. That I thought was intresting

[Valentin the II]

I don't have a pic of my recent campaign as Casse, but in that campaign Qarthadastim wiped out Romans out from their homelands. Their most southern city was Patavium. That I thought was intresting

Thats nosing.
In my campaign the romans got wiped out by Epeiros in 230BC.
That was amasing and realy bad for me.
Now as KH I have to contend with both selucids (wich already kicked ptolmeys ahs) and Epeiros, the 2 most powerfull factions on the map .
Phalva is no more thanks to Baktria who now rulles the stepes, they even "inslaved" Saka and Sauromatae.
Makedon and pontos have been destroyd by me.
And Sabyn is now the 4th most powerfull nation on the map (after me and the above mantioned helens).
Basicaly, history has taken a wierd turn in my campaign.

[Cyrus the Virus]

Thats nosing.
In my campaign the romans got wiped out by Epeiros in 230BC.
That was amasing and realy bad for me.
Now as KH I have to contend with both selucids (wich already kicked ptolmeys ahs) and Epeiros, the 2 most powerfull factions on the map .
Phalva is no more thanks to Baktria who now rulles the stepes, they even "inslaved" Saka and Sauromatae.
Makedon and pontos have been destroyd by me.
And Sabyn is now the 4th most powerfull nation on the map (after me and the above mantioned helens).
Basicaly, history has taken a wierd turn in my campaign.

Bah History , fun to hear Sabyn gaining some provinces.
Well its good that it changes from campaign to campaign.
I play is Makedons now.
Epeiros struggles against Romans but took Roma..
Though can hardly see them surviving.

[Martocticvs]

Here's mine so far:



Playing as the Romani.

[Martocticvs]

12 years later...


Carthage doesn't seem too interested in expanding, though they did manage to field a few full stacks in Sicily, allowing me to reproduce parts of the First Punic War fairly accurately. Makedonia is being slowly erradicated by Koinon Hellenon and Epeiros, and the Arverni have somehow managed to take a region from Epeiros (though they are now besieging it again). Getai are expanding well, as are the Sweboz. The Casse don't seem to be able to though.