Clever AI

[Jaeld]

So there was a neat little moment in the demo where the AI pulled a clever, if minor, move that I'm not sure -I- would've even really thought about for a while. (yes yes, feel free to collectively say "well duh, of COURSE you should do it that way! it's obvious!" once I explain, but it seemed clever to me at the time)

I'd crushed everyone in the land battle except for one last unit of Long Rifles that had been on the other side of the map. They marched half way over, but then took advantage of their defensive perrogative to stand and wait for me over by the town hall.

So I started all my cavalry walking out towards them.

They had been in a standard formation about 4 ranks deep. Now, they respond to my advance by spreading out into a single rank, as wide as possible, and THEN lay stakes at this maximum width. Then they return to a more standard formation, now safely behind a really wide barrier of stakes that also happens to block off almost the entire valley (though I'm still not sure whether they were intentionally standing in the narrowest part, or just happened to be there...until they spanned it with stakes there was still plenty of room to have encircled them anyway)

I must say I was rather pleased. Sloppy AI would've just tossed down some stakes in front of rank 1 of 4, missing out on the opportunity to create a much wider barrier. But instead they very deliberately spread out for the sole purpose of laying a much longer stake line, and then condensed back into the middle of it with their flanks safely stake-protected.

Of course, then I just brought up my artillery and started bombarding them, and they realized that they couldn't just stay there and get torn apart, so they left the protection of their stake line in a desperate attempt to advance on my artillery, and I ran them down with cavalry anyway.

But it would've worked great if not for the cannons. :)

[miniwally]

:D nice to know they improved the AI and have some solid evidence shame you didn't get screenshot :(. Any units you get given lay down stakes. Also bullets absolutely destroy that horse artilletry that i've seen.

[Jaeld]

Yeah, I never think to take screenshots, sorry.

The light skirmishing type troops seem to be the ones with stake-laying abilities.

I tried a counter-battery war on the enemy artillery with my artillery once, and I wiped out their accompanying horses pretty quickly but the actual cannons were unscathed. Not sure if it was just the angle I happened to be at or what. Was much more effective to sneak my skirmishers up to the edge of the creek and fire across at the cannon crews. Drove them off pretty quickly.

[miniwally]

So any of the units you get in the land battles able to lay down stakes?

[TB666]

So any of the units you get in the land battles able to lay down stakes?

Only the light infantry I think.

[miniwally]

Only the light infantry I think.

dam i could've used that to help me at least i still won :D Do you know what level of difficulty the battles were on?

[Bob the Insane]

They had been in a standard formation about 4 ranks deep. Now, they respond to my advance by spreading out into a single rank, as wide as possible, and THEN lay stakes at this maximum width. Then they return to a more standard formation, now safely behind a really wide barrier of stakes that also happens to block off almost the entire valley (though I'm still not sure whether they were intentionally standing in the narrowest part, or just happened to be there...until they spanned it with stakes there was still plenty of room to have encircled them anyway)

This is not so much a function of the AI being clever rather than a feature of the special ability...


Try with your own light infantry,whatever shape they are in they will exapnad to maximum width before deploying the stakes and then return to their original formation...

[quadalpha]

I just had a decisive victory (:)) where the Americans decided to come across the ford they were defending, since I was spending a lot of time getting my horse arty to fire properly. I'd split my foot in the way the scenario suggested, and had already beaten off their dragoons and minutemen who were coming for my arty (set up right on the riverbank). They then sent all their foot in column against the Hessians and light infantry that I was protecting from their arty on the reverse slope, so I formed line and was wondering how I could hold off six units of line infantry with three Hessians, when I realised that they were actually going for my arty again. Two of their line inf got to my arty, while the rest was tied up by my skirmishing light inf, Hessians, and dragoons, and were finished off with a bit of help from the hussars. I'd let the ones that went for my arty go, since I'd been having trouble with them all day and decided they weren't worth it (they have a great deal of trouble limbering and unlimbering, and generally not following orders or shooting each other), but I thought I might as well switch to canister and blast away. The surprising thing is, I gave the order when they were already engaged in melee, and not only managed to get volleys off, but also routed the two line inf with two volleys. Anyway, decisive victory achieved mostly without my main foot, which I couldn't be bothered to move from the other ford.

(Alex: I went to college in central Jersey, near a certain battleground. :))

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

heh, my brother is going there now. You ever see the re-enactment there?

[Polemists]

There are alot of AI threads but I still prefer this one


So for the land battle.

When I first played it I tried the old ctrl-a attack, and got slaughtered. Enemy put longrifles in tree's, cut off my artillery with his his calvary and cut my men apart with thier cannons, all the while encircling me. I was quite impressed.

Second battle I divided my guys up into 3. Scots and Hessians and Cannons Center. 2 long guards and calavary on right ford. 2 long guards and whatever else go around the long way to the left ford.

The AI made three seperate pushes I was impressed. They sent long rifles against my left ford, 1 unit of minute men against center, and everything else at the majority of my forces at the main ford to the right.

Part 1:
Right Ford:

After lots of bloody fighting in the ford and shotting the americans charged and melee combat began. It was very close as the outnumbered me and one of my units routed. Luckily I had Grenadiers using gernades to keep the americans from advancing to far.


Center:

The one unit of minute men ended up losing out to the scots, and my cannons managed to take out all but one of the american's cannons. With things secure I moved that force to resecure the main force. Sadly the americans saw this and used thier last cannon to take out one of my hessians leaving only 2 units and 1 cannon to reinforce.

I sent the highlanders to reinforce my longuards.



Left Ford:

My longguards, with held of highlanders, beat back the longrifles and cause them to route.



Part 2:

Right Ford:
Reinforcements from Center arrive and we hold the Americans and begin to drive them back. I pull my men out of the melee combat and begin a shooting match again where the brits dominate. Help of my general and are new cannon arrivals the americans begin to get slaughtered. They move a group of minute men up to the hill above the ford to cover the others who try to fall back out of the Ford.


Center:
Moved to right ford


Left Ford:

Judging the battle lost the general, calavry, one unit of minute men and the artillery cannon moves to the left, trying to escape the main battle at the right ford. My long guards are there to cut them off and finish them off.


Part 3:

My long guards finish off the general and my main force takes the hill and wipes out the remaining americans.


VICTORY :)

A very intense very enjoyable battle. Can't wait for full game.

[screwtype]

calavry

A lot of folks seem to have trouble with this word. The word is cavalry. Note that the "v" comes before the "l". An easy way to remember the spelling is to think of the abbreviation: cav.

Hope that helps

[quadalpha]

Seems that discussion in this thread is migrating to the "bad AI" thread.

(Oh, I didn't know there were re-enactments.)

[Polemists]

Actually I just posted how I found the AI clever and how good it did :)

[Sir Beane]

Seems that discussion in this thread is migrating to the "bad AI" thread.

(Oh, I didn't know there were re-enactments.)

Personally I think the A.I was rather good, after running a few experiments. A lot of people in the 'Bad A.I' thread are complaining about poor A.I after only playing one battle.

The A.I seems to vary from good to bad depending on what tactics the player uses, and I still think it might have something to o with the scripting involved. Especially because it seems loathe to move its cannons from their starting positions.