Does the computer use siege units in Conquests?

[MrWhereItsAt]

Most recently the AI has used Arty in cities to bombard my bombarding Destroyers. That's offensive use, I guess. Only thing - it's always just one Arty per city.

[Jaybe]

AI artillery being used against NAVAL targets has occured since PTW 1.21.

I DO wish they would use them offensively during their turn. Even if they never moved from their cities.

[dexters]

Whatever code they used to beef up the naval aspect of the game (i'm really impressed with the humongus fleets the AI pumps out) should be applied on the arty as a kind of transport (arty) escort (defense).

on a trial basis perhaps in the january patch to see how it works. If it doesn't work out, the feature can be taken out in the final part slated for later in 2004, if it works out, then good.

I'm sure there are ways for the human player to benefit from this. But my thinking is, as long as there is the threat the the AI can push bombard units offensively, it's going to make the human player's job tougher.

Assuming the AI knows how to use it properly and doesn't rush their artys into the open too quickly, but rather hide them in cities, on hills on their side of the border at the open of hostilities, it will still be quite a tough job for the human player to march a force large enough to capture those artys, especially if dealing with an evenly matched oppenent in terms of army size.

Perhaps a check AI can be implement such that the AI will tend to prefer have its arty following a lead stack rather than be part of an offensive stack itself.

Imagine the scenario where there are several SODs. The arty stacks (given their 2 tilt bombard) is a tile behind the offensive stacks surrounding the cities., giving cover fire to the offensive stacks. That'd be sweet. ..

[Inverse Icarus]

no it wouldn't. if the arty is beind the "main line", it cant act defensively in the stack.

it's all about the double use. hitting you on my turn, and hitting you again on yours. simply throwing 3 or 4 artillery into an offensive stack could be interesting.

i'm not looking for the AI to have a stack of 20 artillery and 4 infantry, all i'm looking for them to have some cannons in their assaults.

and in all seriousness, i wouldn't go around saying how easy it would be to program without knowing anything about the code itself. if it was really that easy, with few negative effects, soren or some other AI guru would have thrown it in, no?

[dexters]

1 or 2 artys used to soak up a human attack sounds like a good idea.

What I'm getting at though is that it's probably more interesting to have the AI hide its artys in stacks following the main offense to give it a chance to bombard your frontline forces, rather than being included in the mainstack.

But I think both has its merits.

[PrinceBimz]

Re: Does the computer use siege units in Conquests?

Originally posted by Optimizer
I've only played PTW so far, and I am disappointed that the AI does not use siege units. Does it use them in C3C?

The AI had captured about 10 cannons from me. Did it use them? You bet and offensively! They pounded away on me turn after turn! Talk about piss me off too because I could not do anything about it.

[smellymummy]

perhaps we can mod the use ourselves with C3C and the 'flavors'.

just about everytime I have spys in a AI civ, I see that they will have really low amounts of artillery, while I'll easily have 5-6 times as much. Perhaps its just a build preference?

with flavors, and having each civ set to 'build artillery', they just might build more of it, although at the expense of other units... which might not all be that bad, considering how some AIs will have tons of naval transports on a pangea world (when they really don't need all of those transports).

[notyoueither]

If they capture a stack of yours, they will blow the hell out of all the surrounding country side. I had that happen once. I still have nightmares about that game.

[Jaybe]

Originally posted by notyoueither
If they capture a stack of yours, they will blow the hell out of all the surrounding country side. I had that happen once. I still have nightmares about that game.

So, what are we to do?? Any game we think is a shoe-in we "donate" several artillery to our enemy??

[notyoueither]

Play higher levels where the AI gets production advantages to make up for not being able to do everything else as well as a human can?

[dexters]

They still won't use the artillery.

AI will useully have some bombard units, I've seen as many as 14, but the key issue is to get them to move them out of their defensive stance to actually do some work.

[Cerbykins]

I have to admit, I'm no fan of arty - but even i switch tactics and rack some up if the defensive odds start to turn on me. The whole reason why I won't use them to start with is because they're just WAAAAY to slow early on, and struggle to damage the city itself (yes, I am an evil sicko, I will do most things to keep the '5th column' down :P ). catapults and cannos simply do not keep pace with horsies and knights. But again...if I'm struggling in attacks...I'm gonna slow down the pace and arty is viable once more

This change of pace, THIS is what the AI should pick up. If you go air-power heavy in Starcraft, the AI will then beef up on air defences. Similarly, if the AI finds it loses stack wars, it should at least CONSIDER the arty option...

Oh, and the AI likes pinching badly protected arty. Sadly, it normally tries to carry it off...and then I smack it for the insult, take it back, THEN shoot it some more with the re-captured guns

[dexters]

Re: Re: Does the computer use siege units in Conquests?

Originally posted by PrinceBimz


The AI had captured about 10 cannons from me. Did it use them? You bet and offensively! They pounded away on me turn after turn! Talk about piss me off too because I could not do anything about it.

More ammunition for my suggestion that the AI be programmed to bring a stack of offensive bombard units as a tag along to their offensive stacks. It seems like the AI knows how to use bombard units, it just never gets around to bringing them along in an attack.

3 or 4 stack of O units supported by strong D units showing out around a city (as the AI likes to do now) backed by another stack of artys/cannons further behind to bombard cities, roads, and units the human player place to blockade a path or a stack about to attack can, im sure, give players some heartache.

Taking out roads, rr connections and connections to luxuries and strategic resources alone could throw a major wrench into the human defensive strategies.

Will we adapt. I'm sure we will, but it will at least make dealing the AI's offensive more interesting.

I again make the suggestion that something like what was done with the AI navy be tried out with the bombard units. bombard(transport) + defense (esort) stacks that moves around instead of hiding in cities.