AI faction expansion in your campaigns?

[Teleklos Archelaou]

Very nice seleukid collapse. I have to wonder about seeing Armenia take such large areas compared to Pontos every time though. In our earlier tests they split it up (the race around to the north of the euxine), but every single time now they take it. I think it is more a matter of not helping Armenia out so much to start the game than needing to beef up Pontos at the start.

We wouldn't force it, but it's more accurate to see Armenia solidify and hold their own than to expand into areas Pontos historically had more control over (granted it comes later though - not in 240 or whatever).

[Dooz]

Continuation of my Casse campaign, Summer of 227 B.C.



Chaos in the East with the Persians spread all over the place, no solid holdings for anybody around there throughout the campaign.

Armenia and Pontos are doing as you suggested T.A. It's good to have variables like this, so perhaps they shouldn't be nerfed? (Admitted bias on my part, being an Armenian and all... )

Ptolemies are powerful as hell.

The Epirotes (?) have all but destroyed Makedon, pushing them east across the channel and now reign supreme in their area, although Rome is now at their throats and Getia is no joke.

Carthage is doing it's thing in Africa having gotten kicked out of Iberia by the Iberians.... who are consequently kicking everyone elses ass to their north. I am however allied with them for the time being.

Rome doing quite well. Just declared war on me, joining their allies the Sweboz... who are currently the most powerful nation on earth.

The Aedui have been all but destroyed thanks to yours truly with the help of the Iberians, left only with one province.... in Turkey no less... Arverni are a protectorate of the Sweboz and are near their end.

More fun than a barrel of stoned monkeys.

[Geoffrey S]

I like the varied things happening to the Seleucids. Sometimes they retain and enlarge their empire, sometimes they crumble. Aside from the Yuehzi it looks like most factions expand quite nicely, overall.

Though in the last two screenshots, there's a strange Pahlavan looking province in Arabia. Would that be a bug?

[cdbavg400]

Here's my KH campaign in 256:




A few noteworthy things about the current state of affairs:

- Pontus has moved into Europe and has taken Byzantion. Now only if they stopped getting thrown back by Pergamon's forces.

- Backtria has broken away from their alliances, and are about to take that final rebel provence to their northwest. Pahlava could help Selekeus, but....

- The Yuezhi have declared war on the Pahlava, and seem to have enough troops to take their two eastern most cities.

- Rome has stopped focusing on Sicily, and instead has been gobbling up rebel provinces to the east, with a few more currently besieged.

- This, however, has left Italy wide open to attack, which the Aedui seem about ready to do, as their stacking troops in their southern provences.

- The Averni have become Protecorates of the Aedui, but have several full stacks of their own, some seeming to heard northeast and attack the Sweboz, others about to southwest into Iberia.

- Cartage is definitely going to lose all of Iberia soon. They're too busy trying to take all of North Africa.

[Dayve]

Well since it has happened in two screenshots now i think that city in Arabia must be rebelling to Pahlava... What's the garrison for it looking like in your screenshot Wonderland? In my game they have a full stack almost in there, of what troops i am unsure though since i've no spies in the area...

[Dooz]

Well since it has happened in two screenshots now i think that city in Arabia must be rebelling to Pahlava... What's the garrison for it looking like in your screenshot Wonderland? In my game they have a full stack almost in there, of what troops i am unsure though since i've no spies in the area...

Around a full stack in mine too. It also seems like the Aedui have the same province in the last screenshot as they do in mine, kind of out of place. Hopefully these'll be fixed with 1.5 or BI with the culture fixes. BTW, Conqueror, do you know how Rome got their Iberian provinces? Was it rebellion, bribery or conquest?

[Dayve]

Well the province that rebels to them is the Galatian province i think... Although it might as well just stay rebel because it's so far from the Aediu that they won't be able to control it unless they keep a full stack army in there and that'll be difficult with them being over the other side of the map and whatnot...

[Jebus]

203 BC, playing as the Romans, and hopelessly suffering from Imperial Overstretch.

- I am currently at war with the Iberians, the Karthadastim and the Egyptians (who all attacked mé while I was fighting the Swéboz - the Getai and Epirus did so too, so I was fighting one hell of a war there for a moment). Iberia and Pontus (of all people) are constantly bribing my cities in northern Germany, after which those cities consequently rebel (except for Swébozautsroasxwcfao or whatever that awful, awful name is again, who the Iberians have managed to hold and turned into a full-stack-spawning nuisance.), which resulted in about four or five full stack rebel armies traveling around the countryside, distrupting my trade routes and sporadically besieging my cities. I should really send some armies up there...

In the meantime, the Ptolemaioi are slowly but surely kicking my ass back into the mediterranian, and the Iberians keep on throwing stack after stack after me - although they only have about four cities left. They should be gone soon.

- Epirus made Makedonia a protectorate about fifty years ago, which means their treasury is now (and I lie not) at two million denarii. I dread the day when I will have to wage war on them, because they could probably bribe my entire shaky empire in a couple of turns... Right now, they are conquering the Getai, though, who have actually held up pretty well for the last twenty years or so - I guess Epirus has drained all his cities for manpower...

- Ptolemaioi and the Seleucids have been waging a stalemate war since the game started, with Antioch and Damascus changing owner every five turns or so. I hope that the fact that the Ptolemaioi are now waging a two-front war will work to our mutual advantage - although I don't trust the Seleucids, either. And I *really* don't want to conquer the Seleucid Empire before I conquer Epyrus, either - because that would not only make it logistically very hard, but it would also give the Epirotes more cities to bribe that I cannot man with family members. Speaking of which - I now control sixty cities, yet only have twenty-seven family members. They should really get to breeding more, or propose some decent adoption candidates...

Also, you might notice that the Ptolemaioi control a province in the Baltic. They bribed that city around 250 BC, and although they never, ever garrisoned it, it has never rebelled. Odd, if you ask me...

- Baktria has made the Yuezi a protectorate, yet they don't seem to be getting rich from it. I guess they are either operating with huge losses, or the Yuezi don't get scripted financial help... Baktria has been at war with the Seleucids off and on for the last fifty or so years, but they still haven't hurt them all that much. Instead, Parthia now seems to be bribing their cities one by one.

- The Armenians have expanded all the way into Russia. They just kept going - I guess they really had a grudga against those Sauromatae. They've declared war on the Getai a couple of times, but always made peace shortly afterwards. I'm pretty happy about that - it helps keep a balance of power untill I'm ready to venture into that scene.

- The Casse haven't done a thing since they've conquered Britain. I guess I might annex them after I (if I) defeat the Ptolemaioi.

- After Epyrus made Makedonia a protectorate, nobody seems to wage war against Pontus anymore, and Pontus hasn't declared war against anybody. Pretty unique, compared to vanilla games...

- The Greeks are holding out on Rhodos, as they have done for ages now. I might send a fleet over there when I can afford one, becuase Rhodos ( and Krete) whould make great bases to hit the Epirotes in the back when I invade them.

Speaking of fleets - even though in the beginning of the campaign there were a lot of pirates, for the last thirty years or so I haven't encountered a single enemy ship, neither pirates nor another faction. I have one crappy fleet sailing troops back and forth to North Afrika constantly, and it hasn't been attacked in ages... So I'm guessing either the AI doesn't use the new port system properly, they think they can't afford a fleet (hah), there's some über pirate fleet somewhere in the East that keeps on sinking everybody's ships, or the AI are using all their cities to constantly turn out troops instead (which might be the case for the Ptolemaioi and the Seleucids, who are waging an epic war of attrition...).

Also, I have noted a strange graphic bug: Epic Stone Walls don't appear on most cities. On the campaign map, those cities just appear like they have no walls at all. I just thought I'd mention it.

[Teleklos Archelaou]

I like the varied things happening to the Seleucids. Sometimes they retain and enlarge their empire, sometimes they crumble. Aside from the Yuehzi it looks like most factions expand quite nicely, overall.

Though in the last two screenshots, there's a strange Pahlavan looking province in Arabia. Would that be a bug?

I think it would have to be a bribed province (as is Tashkashila). That one should rebel to ptolemies if it has to rebel to anyone.

Baktria looks like a Texas gerrymandered congressional district. I guess they are still at peace with seleukids and just taking what provinces rebel? If not the AI has lots its marbles.

Did epeiros take Krete too? Weird that Sicily still is mostly rebel.

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edit:

Ma'in province: faction creator is numidia (Ptolemies), but faction culture is indeed Pahlava.

It would be really nice if someone fully explained to me how the AI handles rebelling provinces. Why do some go rebel sometimes, sometimes to the faction creator, and sometimes to the faction culture?

edit2: Hmmm. I'm wondering if the faction that takes a province is indeed the faction creator, if they can't hold it then maybe the game looks to the faction culture next.

[Malrubius]

Did epeiros take Krete too? Weird that Sicily still is mostly rebel.

Hiero of Syracuse is one tough cookie! I need to do his biography trait.

[khelvan]

Ma'in province: faction creator is numidia (Ptolemies), but faction culture is indeed Pahlava.

It would be really nice if someone fully explained to me how the AI handles rebelling provinces. Why do some go rebel sometimes, sometimes to the faction creator, and sometimes to the faction culture?

edit2: Hmmm. I'm wondering if the faction that takes a province is indeed the faction creator, if they can't hold it then maybe the game looks to the faction culture next.

Generally they've been rebelling -from- the Ptolemies. So maybe it looks to faction culture if the faction creator holds the province.

[Teleklos Archelaou]

Generally they've been rebelling -from- the Ptolemies. So maybe it looks to faction culture if the faction creator holds the province.

If this is the case, we may just have to live with this. Who else viable could they rebel to? Why in the world was this not made a little simpler....

[QwertyMIDX]

*Cough* Sabeans *Cough*

[Mujalumbo]

If this is the case, we may just have to live with this. Who else viable could they rebel to? Why in the world was this not made a little simpler....

As the Ptolemies, I took a city on the Arabian peninsula. It had a 10k+ population, and so my garrison wasn't large enough to quell discontent, it rebelled... to Pahlava.
(Luckily, it wasn't the city with the old dam. I was on a mini-mission to capture all the wonders in Arabia.)