Konny's money script

[konny]

I implemented you idea into my script because i thought you had a point about broke path finding (I myself had carthage 100 years doing nothing, although it had 3 huge armies at the gates of Balthazar (see the picture below). So, I hope you’re right when you say that another stack will be better used).

I can't credit myself for that. There is a thread here on the org or over on the TWC were someone else had made lengthy tests with simple four-towns maps and discovered that problems with LOS, 90° or more degree bents, or exact diagonale paths might lead to pathfinding problems that makes a stack pinned until it is given a new destination by the AI. In some cases it can lead to a stack pinned for the entire game. Therefore the AI always needs at least one more stack to expand at all.

I think that was the problem with the complete static Getai in EB 0.8, as well as it is responisble for the Greek army that is pinned permanent on Crete in EB 1.0 without taking the town. My own test have shown "phases awake" and "phases asleep" of the AI factions. I think these are related to the above problem.


The idea behind my money script is to don't give the AI factions any financial help in the first place and/but to help poorer factions out that had run in this pathfinding problem with their starting armies (even though I didn't knew that pathfinding was the reason behind the pinned stacks when I started with the work on this script). The AI is spending the extra money always on new units, as far as I have seen. And that is intended, because new armies might lead to new strategical sitatuions that might lead to new, more legally, targets for the pinned stacks.

aren’t going anywhere imo… (why 81, why 150000, why 25 and 15… what’s the LOGIC behind?)

Yes, in this case especially the 150,000 doesn't seem to make much sense. With the EB money script I see hughe factions like AS either be millionairs or be broken throughout the entire game.

The reason is once again the tendency of the AI to use extra money to raise new units. When these are not crushed in one of the next turns, for example by the human faction beeing at war with this faction, they'll produce a rapid growing depth that will lead to the faction never reach the 150,000.

BTW, with my script I can't recall to have ever seen one of the factions that don't get money help run into the minus, as long as they don't lose important cities.

NOTE2: I doubt there is a "terminator mode". I think it has to do with a more aggressive diplomacy on H/VH. (...) NOTE3: Think it's best played on medium strategy difficulty, because of more realistic diplomacy.

That was an idea, for what I had no prove either - on the other hand, only a developer can answer. I would recommend M/M difficulty for EB (together with my money script) too. Playing on H or VH and use "forced diplomacy" doesn't make any sense at all.

NOTE4: Someone has any other ideas about circumstances in which the faction should NOT be given extra money when it's broke, besides when it besieged?

There are some tests on the victory conditions in BI in another thread. May be, these will lead to a new set of circumstances. For example, assinging this and that town as VC to a faction and help them out only as long as they don't have conquered them. That would make sense if we are able to direct or force the AI to these towns, what seems to be possible at least with the BI.exe.