Potential recruitment pool abuse

[Orb]

Just thinking, if the recruitment pool isn't used properly by the AI (i.e. they drain all they can in one turn always, using as much money as possible) - then couldn't you send them a huge amount of money and let them implode from the income. This would be a problem if the AI tried to extort money from a human by invading when said human was vulnerable, then suffered so badly from economic problems that the human walked over it.

Just a thought...

[Midnight]

I think that a lot will hinge on how the AI deals with recruitment pools.

I think the biggest problem may be that it (rightly so) creates effective field armies, and so city battles are fought vs peasants en masse. Of course, if it holds back decent troops to garrison its cities, it then faces being walked all over by the player in the field.

Hopefully it'll asses what it needs where (empire-wide), and keep decent garrisons in cities it considers to be potentially at risk, while those it deems secure can have a minimal troop presence, freeing other units to head out.

It'll be interesting to see exactly what the AI's prioritising, and where (and if different factions prioritise different things, eg some defensive, some recklessly aggressive, some balanced, etc).

[hoetje]

It's a bit off topic,but what I fear is that the A.I. will always do the same like in rtw : gauls fall for julii,scipii always take carthage etc.
I hope i won't see the English taking over France or vice versa all the time...

[Midnight]

I hear you! At least in MTW, France usually took out England, Spain usually handed it to the Almohads, but not always. The three-way war in the middle east (Egyptian, Turk, Byz) could go anybody's way. I hope this has been carried over to M2TW.

The AI... so much rests on it...

[sunsmountain]

Aye, the recruitment pool faces a lot of potential abuse, but so do crusades. Did you know that crusade armies travel twice as fast, can recruit religious troops (like mercs) and have no upkeep?

No upkeep. Sounds like a dream. But if you don't move the crusade, soldiers will start to desert. But how can you end it? Hopefully not to easy, you can park armies a little too easily this way.

[Orb]

I predict a second era of the dreaded Spanish crusade rush.

[Bob the Insane]

I predict a second era of the dreaded Spanish crusade rush.

Well given the nature of the RTW style campaign map this at least will not result in Spain promptly wiping out the Almohads and capturing all of north africa just because they want to get to the middle east...

As for the issue with giving the AI money to make it produce troops and handicap it's population growth. It is all down to the AI really, if it is good enoungh to either balance the number of troops against population or equally if it can take all those extra troops and come kick the player arse...

Either it will be good enough or it will not, but I am not a fan of removing features, especailly one like this...

[Peasant Phill]

I predict a second era of the dreaded Spanish crusade rush.

I don't believe so. This time around, the pope will call for crusades rather than the factions itself. So if there will be a crusade rush, all the catholic factions will be able to participate. The only time it could be possible for a faction to determine where to crusade is when your bishop is voted pope (and even then it this could be impossible).

[Servius]

Also, the Spanish Crusade rush was made much easier by the fact that Spain didn't need any ships to cross over to N. Africa because MTW had land-bridges. RTW didn't have land-bridges (did it?) and so M2 probably won't either.

[Midnight]

No, M2TW sees the return of land-bridges. They were in some screens somewhere (I can't remember where). We don't know where all the land-bridges will be yet, but I think I remember someone saying that the Spain\Africa one is back.