AI still prefers Paras over Tanks!!?! Madness!

[=DrJambo=]

Well, it was nice to see the Ai building many more tanks thanks to 1.29f..

However, if the AI ever decides to research Advanced Flight (being optional they sometimes don't), then they immediately start producing paras over tanks as their primary choice of attacking unit... madness!!!

Anyway, it's probably related to paras being later on in the tech tree, or so i think. I'm going to try to combine paras with marines under Amphibious Warfare and see if this is the case since the AI always prefers tanks to marines.

Once Modern Armour arrive, i'm sure they'll go from paras to MA as their primary choice, but who knows?!

[DeepO]

Interesting... do they use the paratroopers as intended (i.e. dropping them behind fortifications)? Or will they use them as they would use tanks, with a frontal attack? I would think marines were better than paras for frontal assault, maybe the AIs think otherwise.

DeepO

[=DrJambo=]

they use them as they'd use tanks, i.e. frontal attacks.

[DeepO]

Hmmm... that's not nice. I'll try to keep an eye out for this, but lately I have played too many special scenarios, were the AIs had MAs... the few paras that get build are solely for dropping behind the lines. And I haven't seen many of these yet.

DeepO

[=DrJambo=]

what are these special scenarios and how do the paras fit into the tech tree in relation to the tanks and modern armour?

[DeepO]

DrJambo, see the strat forum. There are a number of these scenarios, but the last 2 I was playing were the MT IV and MT V scenarios. The tech tree is unaltered with regards to the paras (In MT V (Last stand at the Alamo) the space techs are rearranged), but when you start the game, all AIs have already access to MAs, RAs, and Stealths. Therefore, they will use these in stead of using paras for frontal assault, however in the last game paras are dropped behind the well defended chokepoints.
The goal of the MTs is to get into situations that you normally do not end up with, most of the times you have to fight back from an underdog situation. Great fun!

DeepO

[ACooper]

I have yet to see the AI build a paratrooper. Lot's and lots of tanks and marines though.

[=DrJambo=]

ACooper, has the AI actually researched Advanced Flight though!? Ye see, they don't need it to progress to the Modern Era, so they might not actually research it...!

If they do research it though, then you'll probbably see the AI build paras preferentially to the better tank option..

[ACooper]

Yes, they have researched advanced flight. (I myself usually skip advanced flight so I see i in the diplomacy screen on their side)

[jshelr]

I've seen the paratroop post patch.

Lacking uranium, I'd landed a huge stack of MA and inflantry on the neighboring continent. Took the city and holed up with an overwhelming force. The para floated down next door on a mountain the AI could have reached easily by land. He was all by his lonesome. Not sure what the AI had in mind, but this did not represent an advancement in AI late-game warfighting techniques.

[Jezz]

I've seen swarms of paratroopers. They like to drop in behind cities i've just conquered and pillage roads and counter attack. I think sometimes they build them in lew of tanks because of the cost maybe?

[ixnay]

I rarely see the AI research Adv. Flight. And when they do, I haven't seen them build paratroopers.

[player1]

Re: AI still prefers Paras over Tanks!!?! Madness!

Originally posted by =DrJambo=
Well, it was nice to see the Ai building many more tanks thanks to 1.29f..

However, if the AI ever decides to research Advanced Flight (being optional they sometimes don't), then they immediately start producing paras over tanks as their primary choice of attacking unit... madness!!!

Anyway, it's probably related to paras being later on in the tech tree, or so i think. I'm going to try to combine paras with marines under Amphibious Warfare and see if this is the case since the AI always prefers tanks to marines.

Once Modern Armour arrive, i'm sure they'll go from paras to MA as their primary choice, but who knows?!

Main question:

Have you MODed Paratroopers?
Like giving them movement of 2.

[=DrJambo=]

good question player 1... Does that make the difference?

Because yes, i did give them a movement of 2!

[player1]

I guess that movemnt of two together with some other of thier abilities makes AI to think that they are better then Tanks.

Do they also have somthing else better then tanks?
Like extra defense or something?
Are they maybe much cheaper then Tank?

Since that's some sort of internal AI envaluation logic (which makes AI to think that Paras are better offense units), I don't know what you need to do in order to change it.

Maybe ask Soren?