1.x AI Faction Progression Thread

The 1.0x AI Faction Progression Thread was a great success, as were the others before it. I just wanted to get a new thread up for 1.1 games. We made a lot of changes to try and get the AI acting more like we want them to, from lessening garrisons in places where we want the AI factions to move into more easily, but keeping them strong when humans play as those factions, to more changes to steppe factions and such.

Let us see what happens in your campaigns!!

Old 1.0x AI Faction Progression Thread:
https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=93151

eh? Is 1.1 out??

update : wow I cant believe I didnt see it.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

https://i187.photobucket.com/albums/...onHellenon.jpg

252 BC, Koinon Hellenon

========================

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

https://i187.photobucket.com/albums/...1-59-84bmp.jpg

252 BC, Makedonia

===================

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

https://i187.photobucket.com/albums/...rbalancing.jpg

253 BC, Arche Seleukeia. Proper balancing

Notice the Pahlava, everyone?

Just for laughs:

HUG TIME!

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

https://i187.photobucket.com/albums/...0-09-20-65.jpg

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Hax

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

https://i187.photobucket.com/albums/...rbalancing.jpg

253 BC, Arche Seleukeia. Proper balancing

---

What the heck does Baktria (?) doing in the Balkans?!?:dizzy2:

Looks like Baktria dies too fast..

My money is on that he (as AS) conquered those places and gave the provinces to Baktria.

I did not. That is actually the Koinon Hellenon, recoulored.

I always felt like the KH is so..useless after the death of Makedonia, so I recoulored them, to show the change that they have actually started to take back other lands.

Romans seem to be even worse then before :no:

Whilst, Epirotes look like a new Green death :/

Btw, why does it say Roman courage has laid low the enemy, when it was the AS who destroyed Ptolemies?

The Epeirotai seem quite strong I must admit, while the Baktrians seem a lot weaker now... Maybe that's to prevent a huge Baktrian empire?

Baktrians start without Marakanda and Alexandreia-Eschate now.

AS should lose them pretty soon to either Saka or Pahlava, and then the Baktrians attack one of those cities (probably one taken by the Saka) and die.

Romani game, 270BC:

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v...ts/II270BC.jpg

The green death has already pushed Makedonia out of their homeland.

Its Winter 255BC on the northern front of my upcoming roman empire and the Epirotes attack Patavium the season before, after being kicked off Italia and forced to sign a peace treaty.
https://img516.imageshack.us/img516/...tackhs3.th.gif

Here also in Winter 255BC the next season their ally's the KH land an army and assault Taras.
https://img382.imageshack.us/img382/...sionwc6.th.jpg

Greece, 255BC
https://img175.imageshack.us/img175/...55bcgv1.th.jpg

are u using bi?

if your asking myself, yes. kh caught me by surprise.

I´ve started a few campaigns, and so far I´ve noticed a few differences in AI behaviour from 1.0. Firstly, the Sauromatae seems to be doing much better then usual. Secondly, perhaps most important, all the Seleukid allies seems to turn on them much earlier then in 1.0. In 1.0 I often had Hayasdan, Pontos, Pahlava and Baktria keeping the peace with the Sele´s even though they could have easily taken several regions from them. In my recently started Baktria campaign (I love the one province by the way) Pontos and Pahlava were at war with the Sele´s by 265, both having taken a region from them, and Hayasdan were only neutral to them.
Epeirote seems a lot more active in the early game, and more willing to attack the Maks at Pella, while the Romans seems more focused on Taras then before. The Carthies seems to advance slowly in North Africa, which can only be seen as positive. Overall, 1.1 definitely improves the AI´s behaviour. Great work team.

Two more updates, although bear in mind I've been fiddling via Force Diplomacy and the console to give negative funds to transgressors:

266BC:

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v...ts/II266BC.jpg

264BC:

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v...ts/II264BC.jpg

I halted the green death, although Makedonia still seems weak. Epeiros have gone quiet now they've lost Pella and Demetrius. Their full stack doesn't seem to go anywhere. The Getai are romping home with no opposition due to the three Hellenic factions beating each other up.

Pontos is racing across Asia Minor, I recently hit them with a big financial penalty. Been giving bits and pieces to Baktria and the Hai, especially now the former are at war with the Seleukids. The Sauromatae as sweeping the far north and are even in Armenia now. That's a definite change from 1.0.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Leviathan DarklyCute

Looks like Baktria dies too fast..

---

Better them than Pahlava or the Saka, I say. It's more interesting to fight the latter two, whereas Baktria is not that different from the Seleucids or the Ptolies.

I'm more concerned about Epeiros kicking the fudge out of Makedonia so early on.

Epeiros Campaign, 252b.c. M/M.

https://i260.photobucket.com/albums/...paign252bc.jpg

The map distribution seems pretty good to me, except that the Romani have been unable to take Rhegion though not for want of trying. :wall:

I've noticed that there have been more naval invasions in this version, which is a good thing.

Pontos seem to have been stalled by the garrison of Sinope: they keep sending quarter to half stacks at its garrison and being defeated, despite having a full stack in their capital and a three-quarter stack outside.

The Ptolemies and Seleukids have fought each other to something of a stalemate. I even saw a grey army shipped into Egypt proper, although in true AI style the army only contained one unit.:sweatdrop: Baby steps I suppose.

Wow that looks great Saka, Baktria even Pahlava are quit good, Hai has a nice kingom, the AS took Tarsus and Pergamon. Carthag is actually doing something in Iberia. Lusotann took a few setelments, It looks like the Gaullic civil war is nice and crazy. Look at the Sauromate - the stepp lords

I'm playing as Romani on med/med and I've already noticed a more aggressive ai, especially in using naval landings. In 1.0 I could blitz the carthaginians out of sicily without much trouble--this time they landed two full stacks to protect lilybeaum. The getea also seem to be much more active. And having reached 210 bc the AS and the Ptolemies are still stalemated around lebanon whereas in 1.0 one would have already destroyed the other by then.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jtareb

I'm playing as Romani on med/med and I've already noticed a more aggressive ai, especially in using naval landings. In 1.0 I could blitz the carthaginians out of sicily without much trouble--this time they landed two full stacks to protect lilybeaum. The getea also seem to be much more active. And having reached 210 bc the AS and the Ptolemies are still stalemated around lebanon whereas in 1.0 one would have already destroyed the other by then.

---

Now that sounds absolutely fantastic! Especially the bit about a massive Carthiginian army in Sicily - finally a challenging battle for that island!

I don't have pics but I'll give an update on my h/m Getai campaign 256BC. The Saka and the Pahlava are slowly eating up seluekid territory.
Baktria took Kophen but has been queit.
Hayasdan are expanding though for the past few years it has been at a sloths pace.
Saba have taken the southwestern corner of the peninsula
The ptolemies and the seleukids have a big fight going on. No clear winners yet though the grey death took Side from the ptollies. The ptollies have taken the western (libyan) provinces, though they've not taken Cyrene or the little province beneath.
Pontos is at war with epeiros and the seleukids. They've taken Ipsos from the silly's. A couple of years ago the silly's actually conquered (the then eleutheroi Galatia) Pontos has just lost Byzantion to Epeiros.
Makedonia are in a war with KH for southern Greece. They Chalkis, Myrtylene and Korinthos left (pella was taken by epeiros, Demetrias by the KH.
KH war in southern greece. Looks like stalemate at the moment.
Epeiros was on a roll, but they just walked into me. They've just lost Serdike, and an army is underway from Tylis to take Byzantion.
The sauromatae are scary (luckily I'm allied with them, for now at least..) They took Olbia and the neurii provinc in no time and have a lot of half and full stacks walking around.
Rome is doing quite decently. They've taken the peninsula excepting rhegion (and the've not been trying to take it either) And they took massilia.
The quarthadastim are slowly expanding in Africa. Mauretania (the three westernmost provinces in africa), are the only provinces left to the eleutheroi there
The luso's are slowly taking Iberia
In Gaul, the adeui have taken all of western Gaul. The averni have not expanded yet though not for lack of trying.
The Sweboz took their homeprovince except fro norway so far. They are in a rather succesful looking war with the adeui
The casse took Cornwall, and tried to take wales unsuccesfully so far

For the record, these are what I usually saw in 1.0

Romani: Tend to take Italia and not more, maybe spill into Sicily or Green
Epeiros: Takes Pella, Demetrias and loses steam
Maks: Eat the Thracian/Getic homelands and go north
Getai: Go north, usually struggles against Maks
KH: Takes Attike, Peloponnesos, takes Demetrias and Pella from Epeiros
AS: 9/10 times gets Asia Minor, Syria screwed by the Ptollies
Ptollies: See AS.
Pahlava: Confined to warring with Saka for the steppes.
Saka: Fights Pahlava for the steppes, often eaten by Baktria later on
Baktria: Tends to go for Indo-Greco-Iranian provinces, often eats Saka homeland
Casse: Takes its first province about 250.
Aedui: Usually defeat Arverni due to easier rebel access.
Arverni: Struggle versus Aedui, but usually last until about 200.
Lusotanaan: Monopolizes Iberia, slow to break alliance w. Kart-Hadast
Qarthadastim: Take nearby Africa, sissy-fight with Ptolemies over Libya.
Saba: Little better than Casse.
Pontos: Eaten by AS or carves out a niche before the Ptollies stomp 'em
Hayasadan: Heads north instead of south.
Sauromatae: Casse-speed expansion, with the exception of Maeotis.

I haven't started a 1.1 campaign yet -- haven't even downloaded the new install -- but after reading this thread I'm struck by the sweeping conclusions people are making ("Faction X much better than before"..."Faction Y doesn't do anything anymore") based on just a few years of playing through a single campaign.

This is a simulation, folks...with each faction's activities subject to the whims of fate (Fortuna?!) over the years AND between replicate campaigns, even played by the same person on the same computer in an iterative fashion. I would think a little more experience collected by our great and enthusiastic community would be warranted before significant conclusions are drawn about the long-term strategic behavior of one or another faction. After all, it's only been four days!!!

:2cents:

Still some trends are emerging. And it's all good as far as I'm concerned. Every faction is seriously trying to expand, unlike in 1.0. Some are very unsuccesful so far (like the Casse in my game) but try they do, which didn't happen in 1.0. So far I like the AI expansion. It feels more... I don't know... challenging.

and is this with BI.exe or RTW.exe?

As I gather, BI exe gives a better AI?
I got BI, but i always get an install shield error when i put the cd in, so i'm forced to stick with rtw.exe, which installs just fine.

Mine is without BI.

BI is definitely better for naval invasions than R:TW. Any other AI improvements are only marginal.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Titus Marcellus Scato

BI is definitely better for naval invasions than R:TW.

---

There are no naval invasions in RTW.

Or, well, I've never seen one.

Naval invasions are a common occurrence in BI. In my Romani campaign, the carthaginians will invade sicily, corsica, and sardinia when you capture it from them. I've also had the Epirotes and KH invade Italy too. For the first time, I am forced to built and keep up a half-way decent navy to protect myself. The AI also assembles much better armies too (no more skirmisher armies either).

BI is definitely worth trying. It is far more challenging.