Battle AI Challenge

**BeeSting** · 03-08-2009, 06:22

Have you ever lost a battle? I suck and I find the AI really really easy... It's confused as hell, especially when I am the one attacking; it can't seem to make up its mind on what to do with its line and runs its units to exhaustion, while I'm shooting them to pieces, and it decides to go to hell with its units and just charges my men without firing a single shot, and this is with European armies... how realistic is that? I'm starting to regret buying this game. I don't know about you but I've lost a lot of interest in this game already. What a disappointment.

**pevergreen** · 03-08-2009, 06:24

I've been trounced multiple times by this AI.

I'm no green player either, I held off over 2000 Egyptians with 40 chariots, 120 militia and 120 crossbows.

**A Very Super Market** · 03-08-2009, 06:31

I've lost battles. To Courland, no less...

And I've also had many close calls, due to my complete disregard for friendly fire avoidance.

**Dayve** · 03-08-2009, 06:45

I do love the game, but so far i see no improvement in the AI from Rome or Medieval whatsoever.

In battles i see the AI sending single units charging at my line to be smashed to pieces one by one, just like in previous titles, i see the enemy form a perfect line and look as if they are going to put up a decent resistance only to see them turn and present their entire flank to me as i get within firing range, i see enemy cannons obsessively targeting single unimportant units and continuing to fire at them no matter what happens throughout the battle. An example of this would be enemy cannons firing at a regiment of horse though an entire battle even though i never actually moved them once, just left them on a hill whilst my infantry advanced, fired and overpowered the enemy units in melee.

I've seen units of muskets stand and let me fire volley after volley at them without reacting, stay garrisoned in buildings even though they are the only unit left and are being pounded to death by several units of cannon, deploy their soldiers in the town center of a fort and not defend the walls, letting my soldiers climb up and occupy the walls completely unchallenged.

But worst of all, i frequently see enemies laying siege to my cities on the campaign map with a single unit of line infantry, a single unit of cavalry or a single unit of artillery, despite the fact that the city they just besieged is home to a 15-stack, highly experienced army.

I remember reading some months back that CA have done 10 times more work on the AI in Empire than in any previous Total War game, that they had 10 people working on every aspect of the AI as opposed to previous total war games where they would have 2 people to do every little bit of AI in the game, but i really don't see how they could say that the AI in this title is any better than in Rome or Medieval when it just isn't.

I've lost 1 battle so far, and that was when my 8-unit army of British colonial troops marched into native American tribe forest and got ambushed, charged from both sides and slaughtered in about 30 seconds by the native Americans' superior melee skills. I'm still winning heroic victories with only 1/3 the number of soldiers as my enemy has.

**pevergreen** · 03-08-2009, 06:51

To quote M. Bison from street fighter the later years.

"nice work, but why don't you try a harder difficulty next time?"

**knoddy** · 03-08-2009, 06:55

Originally Posted by pevergreen

To quote M. Bison from street fighter the later years.

"nice work, but why don't you try a harder difficulty next time?"

my thoughts exactly, ive been trounced in several battles by the AI and it is def much improved...

THAT SAID there is bugs, and the ai often seems to get confused about what to do. but that said its still alot better and quite challenging try on H or VH

**BeeSting** · 03-08-2009, 07:19

I'm seeing no linear tactics with European armies, the AI just bunches them together and puts them in a firing order and I'm watching them shoot themselves to death.

Never have I seen the AI cleanly line up its men when firing down range... where's the immaculate 18th century European infantry lines?

And, what da hell is an infantry doing chasing down a cav?

**BeeSting** · 03-08-2009, 07:24

Originally Posted by knoddy

my thoughts exactly, ive been trounced in several battles by the AI and it is def much improved...

THAT SAID there is bugs, and the ai often seems to get confused about what to do. but that said its still alot better and quite challenging try on H or VH

Only when it sends Cherokee Indians on steroids charging straight down the center of your line with everything it has. And I have to say these savages seem to have been drilled to line up perfectly.

**Namarie22** · 03-09-2009, 08:32

I find the AI to be quirky.

Most of the time it's unable to do anything much, then in other battles, it really does do well, flanks, has troops hidden in forests, managed to defend well...

Last battle last night was one of those "Oh, shit!" battles. I had a weak right because I placed all my cannons there, were tired and wanted to go to bed. The AI ran around a forest with 4 cavs and took the cannons out, retreated because I weren't fast enough, then it came on with line men on the right and charged back with the cav.. And through the forest on my right side came 3 units of pikemen marching in tight formation...

SMUSH! I lost 1200 men.. :P

It will probarly pay for that today though, but, for some reason, I guess the AI mainly gets stuck in loops somehow, but when it does work, it's actually pretty damn fun.

**5Hits** · 03-11-2009, 12:08

Well now… I lost naval battles… many… but haven’t lost any land battles… till yesterday…
I was fighting as Russia a Georgian army. The AI had 6 or 7 infantry units, 5 cavalry units and the general. I had 7 infantry units, 3 cavalry units and the general. I was very confident in winning, even though the auto-resolve resulted in me being defeated.

This is what happened:
At the beginning of the battle the AI split his army in two.
The infantry occupied defensive position next to some stone walls and wooden fences, but did not form a line. Actually, they were relatively scattered, hiding behind walls and fences.
The cavalry units formed a line to the far right of the map.
I’ve decided to pick one by one their infantry units using 4 infantry units and 1 cavalry unit. The rest of my army would protect my right side from a cavalry attack.
Said and done… one by one the AI infantry were routed, until only 2 remained… They were in a good defensive position behind a stone wall. When I engaged them with 4 infantry and one cavalry, all hell broke loose. Their cavalry charged head-on my 3 flanking infantry units (which were in a single line), with 2 of their cavalry units going around for a flank attack. I’ve sent the 2 backup cavalry units to meet them. I’ve managed to stop the flanking action, but when my infantry started to waver, I was forced to send in my general. Meanwhile, the 2 AI infantry units would not budge, even if they were in a melee, attacked from every side (even by 1 cavalry unit). I was hoping they would route soon so I could send help to my wavering units in melee with the AI cavalry. The AI general went by the melee (my infantry vs AI cavalry) and charged in the flank of the units trying to eliminate the AI 2 remaining infantry units. Just about then my general died. Fighting continued for another 20-30 seconds and then, one by one my units started to broke and flee.

So I lost a battle I was certain to win (especially after routing 4 or 5 of the AI infantry without suffering serious losses).

I was playing on H/H and did not have square formation.