Tarentum too strong?

**MoROmeTe** · 05-19-2007, 08:03

I began a Makedon game last night and something interesting happened. I proceeded to crush KH and then turned on Epeiros. It was unusually easy to take both Ambrakia and Epidamnos, and I discovered towns that had only about 500 population each (mind you, I did not enslave or exterminate). The only relatively tough fight with Pyrrhos himself, who just stood outside Pella while I trampled his kingdon (shouldn't he at least move when I threaten his capital? He never moves!).

Then around 260 I send a spy into Italy, only to find that while Rome was going after the northern rebel towns Epeiros seized all south Italy and was marching on Roma itself apparently unopposed.

Maybe something should be done so that the northern focus of the Romani is lessened and they do try and at least defend their southern cities? Cause I restarted my Mak campaign, toggled FOW and saw how they moved all their armies north and left only family members in the south, while Epeiros took all of his mainland Greece troops to Italy and began taking towns.

**MarcusAureliusAntoninus** · 05-19-2007, 08:21

I just started a Makedonian campaign and Pyrrhus moved, he move his entire Greece force to Dalminion and then they all sat there until I conquered everything.

There is no way to alter the AI's focus or behavior. They love going after rebels, it is just hardcoded in.

I had a theory that they were going after "Rome" with their constant northward expansion (since the hardcoded "Rome" is the island in the Baltic). But that wasn't very likely given many other, better explainations (Zebras). I was going to test the stupid theory but got sidetracked by a shiny object.

**Dyabedes of Aphrodisias** · 05-19-2007, 08:26

Originally Posted by MarcusAureliusAntoninus

I just started a Makedonian campaign and Pyrrhus moved, he move his entire Greece force to Dalminion and then they all sat there until I conquered everything.

There is no way to alter the AI's focus or behavior. They love going after rebels, it is just hardcoded in.

I had a theory that they were going after "Rome" with their constant northward expansion (since the hardcoded "Rome" is the island in the Baltic). But that wasn't very likely given many other, better explainations (Zebras). I was going to test the stupid theory but got sidetracked by a shiny object.

That little island up there? Why?

Zebras?

**MarcusAureliusAntoninus** · 05-19-2007, 08:30

In 1.2, you couldn't alter the victory conditions and since "Rome" was tied to victory conditions it was moved where it was unlikely to cause problems.

An old saying... I heard hoof noises and thought 'Zebra!'.

**Dyabedes of Aphrodisias** · 05-19-2007, 08:47

Oh, that's a good idea. I think we know the Sweboz's secret

...

**O'ETAIPOS** · 05-19-2007, 09:12

In one of the AI related therads I found info that AI prefers NE expansion over any other direction (code searches for targets in clockwise direction?)

The fact is that if you play as Maks Romans wont take Taras, even if there is only one unit. (I tried)

**Thaatu** · 05-19-2007, 10:26

I do see a roman army sieging Taras from time to time, but they have a harder time actually winning those battles.

**Teleklos Archelaou** · 05-20-2007, 00:34

Maybe removing a single Taras unit could help the situation.

**pockettank** · 05-30-2007, 21:10

well in my KH campaingn (KH = best faction) its like 244ish and i pushed epirites out of greece at the start of the game and when i reasently took Syracuse from the eluethroi the epirittes them steamrolled through Rhegion and Messana all of a sudden and attacked me but i beat back there force and took messana/rhegium after watchin like 20+ years of constant besiging of Taras and Arpi =p so the Garrison deffinitly should b weakended

**Imperator** · 05-31-2007, 00:50

If the problem is with the Rome AI, why not just try to make the Romans more willing to expand south? Didn't the team have a similiar problem with Bakria, which also always went North into the steppe instead of South in Seleucid lands or India? Well, whoever fixed up Baktria should have a look at Rome, and try to "persuade" the Roman AI that South is where the money is. That way the Romans don't swallow Gaul and Germania so quickly- I rather like seeing the Celts fight it out, and would prefer to see the Romans fighting in Sicily.

**HamilcarBarca** · 05-31-2007, 01:35

What if Rhegion is not Rebel - would that change things?

In 272 it was held by a Campanian force that had been sent there by Rome as a garrison, but had seized the city fo themselves, following the example of the nearby Mamertines.

So it would be a bit of a stretch - but what if it started as being a Roman province. Would Taras be targeted then?

H.