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Well, i've been here before, but as I wait for ptw, I find myself obsessing with a few ideas that would make the AI much more challenging.
Oh, and by the way - I respect the hell out of what Soren has done here - truly amazing, so when i refer to the ai as stupid....
1. it is not a reflection of the programming, and
2. realize that even with the flaws this is the best yet, especially with the patches
So, that aside...
1. The AI needs to know how to bombard. By the time I have my cannon hordes and frigates/ironclad armadas, nothing can stand in my way. It just gets tedious knowing the ai is utterly clueless as to how to respond. Not only can i rest assured that i will never have to worry about the same treatment myself, but even on the defensive, the ai falls down utterly. every turn i am sitting outside their cities, they should be pounding me. In fact if the ai could properrly utilize bombardment, it would simulate nicely the perriod of warfare just prior to the advent of the tank.
2. Related, but somewhat differrent is the general inability of the ai to utilize combined arms tactics. How many times have I seen a lone longbowmen march right up to my kill stackunguarded - or even 2 or 3 or 4, just to be slaughtered by me? Every time a high offense/low defense unit wanders out into danger, it should be accompanied by defensive units, to the tune of around 2/1 to 4/1 offensive to defensive. Too easy.
3. Related to point 2, the piecemeal nature of ai attacks is wearisomely predictable. A big kill stack will triumph over the piecemeal attack almost everry time, land and naval. Send out a few screening units, a few kamikaze raiders, a few scout types, but concentrate forces! The worse example I've seen of this has to be the use of marines by my opponents last game. I watched hordes of Aztec marines land assaulting my well fortified border cities - no problem - then too my horror watched them attempt an amphibious invasion of my thinly guarded rear cities. Again, no problem - the ai was unable to use more than 1 marine at a time despite its obvious hordes or the same, so i escaped unscathed. even 2 marines might have done the job there, but no, typical piecemeal ai BS. Along the same lines, i highly question the tactical value of the 1 - 3 unit invasion in general the ai tries in an attempt to distract. Real invasions involve naval bombardment and resence to support.
And in anticipation of comments/questions, i play on monarch level. I hate blatent ai cheating on the higher levels and dislike being tied into the constant warfare needed to triumph at those levels, the lack of options inherent in it.
Basically i just want to see a better game, and in my ignorance, feel thqat these are not unrealistic suggestions. Guess i'll have to wait for ptw...........
ps: how about that irritating glitch where the ai snags your workers and they teleport away? hmmm.....
Oh, and by the way - I respect the hell out of what Soren has done here - truly amazing, so when i refer to the ai as stupid....
1. it is not a reflection of the programming, and
2. realize that even with the flaws this is the best yet, especially with the patches
So, that aside...
1. The AI needs to know how to bombard. By the time I have my cannon hordes and frigates/ironclad armadas, nothing can stand in my way. It just gets tedious knowing the ai is utterly clueless as to how to respond. Not only can i rest assured that i will never have to worry about the same treatment myself, but even on the defensive, the ai falls down utterly. every turn i am sitting outside their cities, they should be pounding me. In fact if the ai could properrly utilize bombardment, it would simulate nicely the perriod of warfare just prior to the advent of the tank.
2. Related, but somewhat differrent is the general inability of the ai to utilize combined arms tactics. How many times have I seen a lone longbowmen march right up to my kill stackunguarded - or even 2 or 3 or 4, just to be slaughtered by me? Every time a high offense/low defense unit wanders out into danger, it should be accompanied by defensive units, to the tune of around 2/1 to 4/1 offensive to defensive. Too easy.
3. Related to point 2, the piecemeal nature of ai attacks is wearisomely predictable. A big kill stack will triumph over the piecemeal attack almost everry time, land and naval. Send out a few screening units, a few kamikaze raiders, a few scout types, but concentrate forces! The worse example I've seen of this has to be the use of marines by my opponents last game. I watched hordes of Aztec marines land assaulting my well fortified border cities - no problem - then too my horror watched them attempt an amphibious invasion of my thinly guarded rear cities. Again, no problem - the ai was unable to use more than 1 marine at a time despite its obvious hordes or the same, so i escaped unscathed. even 2 marines might have done the job there, but no, typical piecemeal ai BS. Along the same lines, i highly question the tactical value of the 1 - 3 unit invasion in general the ai tries in an attempt to distract. Real invasions involve naval bombardment and resence to support.
And in anticipation of comments/questions, i play on monarch level. I hate blatent ai cheating on the higher levels and dislike being tied into the constant warfare needed to triumph at those levels, the lack of options inherent in it.
Basically i just want to see a better game, and in my ignorance, feel thqat these are not unrealistic suggestions. Guess i'll have to wait for ptw...........
ps: how about that irritating glitch where the ai snags your workers and they teleport away? hmmm.....
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