The algorithm of least astonishment

**Shahed** · 12-24-2006, 06:18

Specially when there is ABSOLUTELY no viable follow up strategy whatsoever.

**Quillan** · 12-24-2006, 16:08

Tell me about it. I wouldn't mind the AI doing some unpredictable things, but I'd like some design in it. For example, first it decides who to war against. That might be an unpredictable target. Once it's chosen the target, then do a military comparison. Don't have what they need to gain the upper hand? Well, before attacking, build up scads of troops. Then, muster those troops together. Only when they have 2-3 armies gathered should they attack. If they're coming by sea, they should come in force, not these little random drive-by blockades and weak invasions. I had Spain drop a single pavise crossbow unit on Corsica earlier. It didn't even siege (not suprising as I had a 16 unit garrison of militia there in that huge city), but it doesn't take much either for me to take a unit of cav militia and go run them down. It lost a unit and a 3 ship fleet for nothing.

**dopp** · 12-24-2006, 16:29

Originally Posted by Quillan

Tell me about it. I wouldn't mind the AI doing some unpredictable things, but I'd like some design in it. For example, first it decides who to war against. That might be an unpredictable target. Once it's chosen the target, then do a military comparison. Don't have what they need to gain the upper hand? Well, before attacking, build up scads of troops. Then, muster those troops together. Only when they have 2-3 armies gathered should they attack. If they're coming by sea, they should come in force, not these little random drive-by blockades and weak invasions. I had Spain drop a single pavise crossbow unit on Corsica earlier. It didn't even siege (not suprising as I had a 16 unit garrison of militia there in that huge city), but it doesn't take much either for me to take a unit of cav militia and go run them down. It lost a unit and a 3 ship fleet for nothing.

Those random, really weak attacks are actually raids. There is this "raid" setting in the AI file that causes it to send tiny armies just to irritate you if it is too weak to mount a proper invasion. Check your alliances; you may be in a group that is opposed to the raiding faction, hence it is searching for an opportunity to aid its fellows against you. With the post-patch tweak that makes the AI consider itself adjacent to any of your coastal provinces, it is no wonder that you get random morons sailing halfway across the world just to land raiding parties at your doorstep. I think even a 1-turn siege of any settlement cuts off trade for that turn, so they are achieving something even if the very garrison they are besieging sallies forth next turn and obliterates them.

**katank** · 12-24-2006, 16:42

Hey, that actually makes a bit of sense. The thing is, I'm seeing very high raid to invasion ratios. Also, the amount they gain from the raids probably don't justify the costs (their force lost+fleet). Even if they manage to choke off income for 1 turn, that's maybe 700 florins down the drain for me. Just losing a few crappy units + 1/2 ships probably costs the AI in the ball park of 1500-2000 florins.

They ain't even winning the economic game. It'd be actually funny (perhaps even viable) if they do this with many peasants (at every city) in concert constantly to try to destroy my income.

**dopp** · 12-24-2006, 16:51

Originally Posted by katank

Hey, that actually makes a bit of sense. The thing is, I'm seeing very high raid to invasion ratios. Also, the amount they gain from the raids probably don't justify the costs (their force lost+fleet). Even if they manage to choke off income for 1 turn, that's maybe 700 florins down the drain for me. Just losing a few crappy units + 1/2 ships probably costs the AI in the ball park of 1500-2000 florins.

They ain't even winning the economic game. It'd be actually funny (perhaps even viable) if they do this with many peasants (at every city) in concert constantly to try to destroy my income.

The more powerful you are, the more likely they'll send raids (including the infamous 1-turn blockades). Yup, it's a FEATURE, not a BUG. Also, the less soldiers you have actually camping your mutual border (don't ask me how you camp the sea), the more likely you'll see raids. In theory, it forces you to maintain troops to guard the frontiers. In practice, you'd be better off using those troops to kill off the offending neighbor for good. No neighbor, no border, no problem.

**antisocialmunky** · 12-24-2006, 18:20

I wonder if there's anyone willing to play a game without taking or permanantly holding any coastal provinces at all? That'd definately be and interesting way of seeing what the AI does then.

**Satyr** · 12-24-2006, 19:58

Originally Posted by antisocialmunky

I wonder if there's anyone willing to play a game without taking or permanantly holding any coastal provinces at all? That'd definately be and interesting way of seeing what the AI does then.

It wouldn't make much difference. While you wouldn't be getting raided in such silly ways, the AI does the same things to each other too. And any faction that does border you is going to be just as idiotic.