AI and Containers and Commanders?

Matrix Games Forums

Forums Register Login Photo Gallery Member List Search Calendars FAQ

My Profile Inbox Address Book My Subscription My Forums Log Out

AI and Containers and Commanders?

View related threads: (in this forum | in all forums)

Logged in as: Guest

Users viewing this topic: none

Printable Version

All Forums >> [Current Games From Matrix.] >> [American Civil War] >> Forge of Freedom: The American Civil War 1861-1865 >> AI and Containers and Commanders?

Page: [1]

Message

<< Older Topic Newer Topic >>

AI and Containers and Commanders? - 5/5/2008 3:58:30 PM

janh

Posts: 1216
Joined: 6/12/2007
Status: offline

Hi guys,
I am wondering whether AI is actually building containers, i.e. Div to Army container, and whether it reorganizes them properly? I am just playing CSA in Southern Steel, and with pretty neutral difficulty settings (Sergeant Major), but all special rules.

From the AI.txt file I can see pretty nicely what he has done within the first year of war, and most it is pretty good. He build a lot of Infantry and cavalry brigades, but it seems he has his 3 Armies stuffed to the top with brigades without using the Corps/Div substructures that much. So he gets some armies around 100.000 men, and I see a few free Divisions and a Corps along the east coast. But what I also noticed was about 50 unassigned brigades loitering around everywhere and even throwing themselves at me, which just results in piecemeal slaughtering at low cost and great gain for me.
Also due to some early victories in AR and TN before KY joined my side, I noticed that he withdrew the division he originally had in the far West under Lyon and the Army around Cairo towards the East, ending up in West Virginia in spring 1863. That way, except the dispersed brigades in the west, I could very easily conquer half his country now... unless he would just set up a new army there and attached all the isolated units!

Also, is the a possibility to avoid AI promoting the supercompetent commanders to top levels immediately? I would like to see the AI making the faulty tries Lincoln did until finally discovering the proper commanders... Is there a way to reduce the probability for the properties of commanders to be revealed?

And, lastly, what do the parameters
AI_IdealOddsx100
AI_RefuseOddsx100
AI_ReluctanceScalex100
AI_OutOfTheaterMultiplierOnValuex100
AI_ValueDistance0 to AI_ValueDistance9,
AI_ValueDistanceGr9
AI_EnemySiegex100
in the ACWconstants.txt file affect?

Great game, pretty fascinating once one has gotten thru the first battles and figured out all the details!
Jan

Post #: 1

RE: AI and Containers and Commanders? - 5/5/2008 10:04:53 PM

Gil R.

Posts: 10821
Joined: 4/1/2005
Status: offline

janh,
The AI most definitely builds containers. When we're testing a patch, Eric puts in this nifty toggle that lets us cheat and see exactly what the AI is up to, and I've seen it doing this and putting new containers inside other containers.

What you're reporting does strike me as odd. Which armies are those? In "Southern Steel" the Union starts off with three army containers for the Army of the Potomac (representing the two wings and center), and each of these has the correct historical divisions (around a dozen of them). I'd be surprised if the AI actually removed those divisions but left the brigades inside the armies. So are these other army containers?

Eric will have to answer the rest, since I'm not the programmer.

(in reply to janh)

Post #: 2

RE: AI and Containers and Commanders? - 5/7/2008 4:50:22 PM

janh

Posts: 1216
Joined: 6/12/2007
Status: offline

Hi Eric,
ok, I tricked a bit with a hex editor turning off the FOW and Hide Strength flags and just spend two dozen turns in "fast forward" just to see what his up to. Indeed he is building Divisions and sometimes also a Corps Container in Harrisburg, his only town with 3 Barracks. So that is fine.
His three armies, two around Washington and the Western Department right in WV, are made up very differently. While the Army of Potomac is organized with 2 Corps and subordinate divisions plus several independent brigades pretty well, his Western Department is basically only made up of divisions and brigades, much as had the armies historically been in early 1862. So that is great. It seems that his empty containers just remained in the East, whereas he had many free independent brigades now in the West. But luckily in the next few turns he is going to move back into KY and sending also a division or two towards Cairo/ Ft Henry.

I am really impressed by the AI, especially in the Tactical Combat. It is really extremely good, acting often quite "historically" and is very challenging, especially when one restricts himself also to more historical moves. It even has very little real flaws that could be exploited as means of cheating. I really think you should strengthens this feature if you want to make an addon, by historical or more diverse maps with nicer road-patterns, trails, bigger rivers, more dense and connected forests and heights and the VP locations spread more over the entire map. I believe, if you ever plan a FOF2, this feature might also become a fully independent game (maybe with a nice 3D engine and thinks like ammo selection for Arty, couriers etc) that could be played separate in fact.

Could someone of you answer me a few questions for modding? I'd like to change the promotion behavior of the AI, as I mentioned, and wonder whether it always immediately knows the abilities of commanders or whether it also depends on them to be revealed in battles? Then it would be nice just to reduce the probability for revealing drastically.

And, lastly, what do the parameters
AI_IdealOddsx100
AI_RefuseOddsx100
AI_ReluctanceScalex100
AI_OutOfTheaterMultiplierOnValuex100
AI_ValueDistance0 to AI_ValueDistance9,
AI_ValueDistanceGr9
AI_EnemySiegex100
in the ACWconstants.txt file affect and how to read the tactics.txt?

Thanks,
Jan

(in reply to Gil R.)

Post #: 3

RE: AI and Containers and Commanders? - 5/17/2008 8:19:37 PM

ericbabe

Posts: 11927
Joined: 3/23/2005
Status: offline

Thanks for the kind words.

The AI only half uses the unknown generals abilities, and then uses a 20% random variance when allocating promotions.

The parameters about which you're asking affect the AI's valuation of targets. Ideal odds are the power ratios at which the AI prefers to order targets. Refuse odds are power ratios at which it will avoid a target. Reluctance scale is the linear modifier to the equation that "remembers" provinces in which the AI lost battles, which in turn modifies the power value of units located there (the equation is: defendPower *= (1.0f + (float) pTargProv->AIReluctance[AIPlayer]*AI_ReluctanceScalex100/100.0f);) OutOfTheaterMultiplier modifies the value of targets that are out of the unit's theater of operations. The distance variables modifies the value of the target based on its distance from the unit. EnemySiege modifies the value of targets that are currently besieging one of that nation's forts or cities. Tactics.txt has no effect on game play.

_____________________________

(in reply to janh)

Post #: 4

Page: [1]

All Forums >> [Current Games From Matrix.] >> [American Civil War] >> Forge of Freedom: The American Civil War 1861-1865 >> AI and Containers and Commanders?

Page: [1]