Game analysis: You lose

[Askthepizzaguy]

Yeah, I agree that if every faction decided to give up on it's own home defense, economic development, and selfish ambitions, and united with their worst enemies to run off to some random nation and all slaughter that one nation together it would not be realistic, unless of course that nation has been conquering and backstabbing and exterminating for years.

However, from a pure fun perspective, "expert" and "nightmare" AI modes would be pretty sweet.

Like the smash brothers melee endless single player challenge. You fight off unlimited enemies until you die. Then you crank up the difficulty until it's nearly impossible to finish off a single opponent and see how long you survive.

Basically, if all you are doing is blocking, dodging, and taking hits, you're gonna die. Same principle applies to this game. Without significant offense, you will eventually die, IF the AI were aggressive. Seems however some people have posted threads where you can just sit back and bat away an occasional invader once in a while and make it to the end of the game with only 5 provinces. That would be a fine challenge IF the AI were a little more proactive in eradicating you.

[Budwise]

The AI and possible fixes. I hope this is the FINAL conclusion because of all the feedback on this nobody has ever mentioned the following.

1. The most important thing is that under the option menu, you should be able to pick WHAT kind of AI you face. Do you face against an AI that just goes for a territory here and a territory there or what we all seem to want is an all out war for annialation. What I mean is that the AI (Under Current settings, will ceasefire and stop attacking once it reached its goals. Under a conquest mode, it would try EVERYTHING it can short of killing itself off to eliminate you from the game.)

2. Capital Mode - In M2TW, the ability to move your capital seems like a step back, can we just move our capital from Washington DC to, oh I dunno, Salem, Oregon on a whim. I believe that when you conquer a capital its game over for that faction. When that happens, the victor should get all the losers territories WITHOUT spawned garrisons to help. This would make it so you would have to do a mad dash with your CURRENT armies to protect them. This could also make it easier for the AI to have something to go for in your territory for conquest.

3. Allies should be more allied like - What I mean is that when one ally gets attacked or maybe attacks someone else, you are automatically at war with the non allied. This happened in both WWI and WWII and it seems that it could work out fine. Also, the computer and you will have a special diplomacy screen to set up COMBINED attacks on an enemy army. This is how it works in real life, why not here.

4. Speaking of allies in the field. By default, the AI should send their army to COMBINE with yours. Not that you would control them but their strenghts should complement yours. For instance, I am playing England and my allied is France, my strong longbowmen would deploy stakes and provide cover fire and when the enemy gets close, the FRENCH'S Horsemen would engage them while my archers continued firing on safer targets. But before the horsemen run, they are behind MY stakes because we combined on the field post battle.

5. Alliances should be more stable. If your reliability is high and so is your allied and you saved each other on a few occasions, then they should NEVER break the alliance and attack you. If you do, SEVERE consequences should result. However, if your a Hitler and just attack everyone, allied or not, then you should have the same done to you by ANYONE.

6. CA should realise that even know they created a strategy game, we don't see it as that and try to play it differently. What I mean is that even knowing the objectives for France is to take over England, France won't break my rule #5 just for the hell of it. Not all of us play to win but just to play. If we want to turtle in our "Starting 5 provinces" perhaps the AI should just leave us the hell alone. Then again, if we become a "Hitler" and learn to use Panzerphants for our "blitzkrieg" then ALL should turn on you and take rounds taking on the bully of the playground (you).

7. Gunpowder (This really doesn't fit here but what the hell) should be availible to all factions, regardless of history. If I was a ruler, I may chose to build something that my neighbors are building and WOULD AT LEAST KNOW HOW IT WORKS FOR MY "HOMELAND SECURITY"

8. This is debatible and people WILL HATE THIS OPTION. Perhaps it should be a toggle switch under options. I personally like it though.
I believe that Faction SPECIFIC units should ONLY be able to be built in the starting provinces of that faction BUT ARE AVAILIBLE FOR ALL FACTIONS TO BUILD. Sorry for the all caps on that one. For instance, if I was France and took over Englands soil, I should be able to build Longbowmen in that one territory I took over. Technology DOES NOT DISAPPEAR when the territories switch hands. On the other hand, units like Longbowmen take YEARS to train and to be able to just take over parts of Egypt and automatically be able to build a Longbowmen there just seems a little thin on the realism.

9. Asking factions to break alliances should be an option under the diplomacy screen. Also, when a faction dies out, you should be able to ally up with their old allies.

10. Is it just me or should ARCHERS INCREASE the attack value of a ship. I have 6 brigades of archers with flaming arrows but yet they are useless on a boat, I THINK NOT. This should maybe also work for seige engines because if I was transporting a cannon crew, I would be damn sure I could use that cannon in a hurry if I needed to.

Now Pizzaguy, what do you think?

[Budwise]

Instead of editing yet again. I think that CA should make more options toggleable. For instance like I said in the last post or the one before about the AI being either this way or that. I also think stuff like Faction Starting Money, Ending Dates, Fatigue Levels, Unit Arrow Count, Possible AI Conquest/Suicidal settings and so on. I believe little things should be an addon without having to edit a text document.