don't have the original link anymore, but a CA dev posted this not too long ago with regards to general's effects on combat/morale in RTW:
10/5/2004 11:21
JeromeGrasdyke
CA
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Downstairs, with an eagle eye over the rest of the team.
Posts: 76 Re: CA: what do command stars do?
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It currently affects both morale and combat ability - we tried it for a while with just morale, but it ended up being not enough of a bonus. The combat calculations have changed so much from Rome to Medieval as to be unrecogniseable, so it's no longer easy to equate stars to experience.

As a rule of thumb it's one point of attack per command rank, up to a maximum of 10, and this can become negative for very bad generals. This combat bonus is applied to all troops under his command on the battlefield. Experience is one point of attack and one point of defense per chevron, plus a morale bonus as well.

The general's command also controls his radius-of-effect, which is set to 30 m + 5 m * command + 2 m * influence. This is used to award morale bonusses to nearby units (in addition to the combat bonus), and when testing which units are affected it tests the distance between the actual general's position and the centre-point of the unit being considered.

Hopefully that answers your question.

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With regards to the "make better AI, not bonuses", it's the same old song, different game. If AI programming is so easy, pray tell, why did it take nearly 7 years, and millions of dollars in research and hardware subsidies from IBM to create a master level chess program? Chess is so simple, tiny battle map (only 64 positions), 6 unit types, and just 32 soldiers. Can you believe for such an obviously easy to create AI program, they developed special hardware (chess chips)? Obviously, with the massive AI talent we have simmering on the boards, an expert level program for such an easy game would be knocked out in a few hours.

I've even seen one post where someone suggested that CA just buy a copy of UT2004's AI and use that, as if it were a portable brain and not a chunk of code designed to be a game bot.

just my $.02,
- Motorhead