Offworlder wrote:The point is why does the AI continuously break down its forces in such a manner that makes them vulnerable? In no other Ageod game does it do so. Admittedly, it does enjoy raiding a bit too much but this time round, its dismantling even organised forces. My impression is that the AI sort of groups units of the same speed together and launches them headlong on the road, not necessarily against an enemy (sometimes I see Prussian forces in Oldenburg and they're not even at war).Then the slower units - divisions mostly, come into sight....
Beyond those travelling artys and HQs, force composition is a big issue and my fear is that it will make the game unplayable after a while : Even in AACW it had a hard time making up its forces but at least it made big bundles and plowed forward with them.
In the AGEOD games before WON I have always found that when the AI is given pre-composed forces, it uses them pretty well. The problem is how to build those forces and my fear is that as the game goes along it will become a bigger and bigger problem. This is why I have advocated making events after each peace + F4 army reforms to help the AI restructure its force :
- For example after Pressburg when Austrian forces have been utterly crushed, there should be an event giving Austria a fixed cadre of an army (old model / pre reform so no corps) that then needs to be filled with replacements, rather than having Austria have to buy many many new units which it will never manage to do as the AI. Those troops could be fixed for a whole year for example and really slowly fill out. Same for Prussia or Russia.
- After a country enacts army reforms it shouldn't just be given the right to build corps and more armies and units, but be given a new army structure right there with incorporation of its various units into new ones + new cadres that need to be filled out.
Otherwise solo play is going to be a massive and endless mop up operation after a while with ennemy force composition being a spineless jumbo of units.
This is why in AACW playing the 1862 or 1863 scenarios as the CSA were the most satisfying because the USA AI had strong well composed to play with, whereas the 1861 scenarios forced the AI to build its own forces to a big extent and it never quite managed to do it;
This isn't to knock the AI, building well composed forces is a very hard process, this is why the AI should be assisted via events.