AI deployment in generated battles

[Isometric]

Hi,


When the AI deploys all by itself does it just line stuff up against the back wall of the map,or does it deploy stuff
all around its availible deployment area?

Thanks http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[vic]

for a look at AI deployment examples do a battle but set the game length to ONE turn. the battle ends after that one turn examine the map and you'll get a fair idea (very good idea if the AI's mission was delay or defend) of how the AI deployed.

vv

[Marek_Tucan]

Or you may use scenario editor with aouto AI deploy. You may try buing various unit sets for the same map and various missions and see how the AI handle them.

[Mobhack]

Easier way, as described in the GG is to set both sides to AI player and AI buy but human deploy. Auto-deploy is AI deployment. Then auto deploy the forces in turn. You can do this several times, but mines (if defending) wil only be deployed once. Repeat till you are done with side A, then quit deployment for side A, repeat process for side B. When finished with side B then quit the game.

Repeat the process many times for yarious battle types, opponents, dates and points values and you will get an idea of the AI force picks as well.

Cheers
Andy

[DRG]

A further refinment to Andys suggestion......

Set both sides to AI player and AI buy but set the AI ( player 2 to human deploy. Make sure the points are what you want to see tested and make sure the points for player 1 are set to whatever you want but player 2 is set to BATTLE POINTS XXX. You can also decide now what type of battle you want to see the AI's set up for as they are all different.

By setting player 1 ( you ) to AI buy and AI deploy you skip your deployment . By setting the AI to human deploy you see what it will do.

When the deployment screen appears press AUTO DEPLOY. This will deploy the AI's units the way the "AI" would have. Once that is done zoom out the map a bit so you get an overview. Having the ID tags ON helps a lot here. Looking for the yellow dots on the mini map helps too.

Now you can see what the AI would do... HOWEVER, this is not what the AI does every time. Once you have seen this set up press the '=' ( equal ) key. Every time you press the = key you redeploy the AI and you will see the variety of AI deployments that is built into the game

Don

[Tiger_Reyth]

Right and a further refinement beyond that:

* looks in the mirror *

Umm, hey wait a minute I'm a newb, I don't have any refinements!

Oops. Nevermind...

T_R

[AB]

Something else to note (which i discovered by accident after years of playing) is that when the AI delays or defends it places its units around certain victory hexes; nuber 0,7, and 14. So, if you rearange the VH, place those three where you want the AI to set up it's defense. It will igonore the other ones during deployment.

Another comment - try asking someone to deploy the enemy forces for you, just put a post up here with a scenario & instructions. You'll usually get something back within a day or two (see my post on this page).

AB

[DRG]

AB said:
Something else to note (which i discovered by accident after years of playing) is that when the AI delays or defends it places its units around certain victory hexes; nuber 0,7, and 14. So, if you rearange the VH, place those three where you want the AI to set up it's defense. It will igonore the other ones during deployment.

Another comment - try asking someone to deploy the enemy forces for you, just put a post up here with a scenario & instructions. You'll usually get something back within a day or two (see my post on this page).

AB




That will no longer be the case once the WinSPWW2v2 patch is released. The code has been changed so those three V hexes do not get "Special Attention". The code will treat all V hexes the same when it comes to deploying a defense.

Don

[AB]

DRG said:
That will no longer be the case once the WinSPWW2v2 patch is released. The code has been changed so those three V hexes do not get "Special Attention". The code will treat all V hexes the same when it comes to deploying a defense.

Don



So AI will deploy around each and every VH? That will be a nice step foward, along with the ability to position VH is obviously defensive terrain.

Any way to code the AI so that it preferes to place units in more defensable terrain, such as buildings, woods, etc., or with decent fire lanes? ie; no heavy AT guns or missles in the middle of the forest.

[DRG]

No not every V hex but then, that depends entirely on how many troops it has to defend things. One of the quotes that pops up at the end of the game says ( to paraphrase ) " he who defends everything defends nothing" The AI "thinks" like that. There are randoms built into the game that change with every set up but it will now pay more attention to more of the 21 V hexes now than it did in the past when it tended to favoured those three "key" hexes when the shotgun pattern is chosen

If we made things 100% predictable everyone would figure the game out in a week and that would be the end of it so when you fight you way through a forest and find a bunker and a AT gun that you think shouldn't be there that's keeps you on your toes.

Don

[DRG]

AB said: That will be a nice step foward, along with the ability to position VH is obviously defensive terrain.



I'm curious what you mean by this. The game already allows you to reposition the V hexes before a game and has for quite some time.

Don

[AB]

DRG said:
I'm curious what you mean by this. The game already allows you to reposition the V hexes before a game and has for quite some time.




Yes, i know. I meant that the AI keying off more than three VH combined with the EXISTING ability to manually position VH's.

I find that repositioning VH's works quite well when defending/delaying/meeting;ie, the AI is moving. It hasn't worked well for me when the AI is static, as the AI just clumps around the 0,7 & 14 hexes. I tend to like larger battles, so it will be helpful to have the AI defend more than just the three VH's.

I usually work around this by having a human deploy the AI for me.

AB

[Mobhack]

If we made things 100% predictable everyone would figure the game out in a week and that would be the end of it so when you fight you way through a forest and find a bunker and a AT gun that you think shouldn't be there that's keeps you on your toes.




Yes, one of the things I did first was to fix the original SPII deployment for an advance or attack, which was successive straight rows by platoon in the centre of the map, then a line of the same 2-3 hexes back, and repeat till out of troops. A bit like a Napoleonic battle really. (Don found some nice variant code the game already used for some reinforcement/flankers and we massaged that as well).

In SP3, it was even simpler - whatever the "wavy" deployment line was, just go back one hex and the AI troops were all in a bunched line there conforming to the front line, maybe 2 hexes deep like a greek phalanx. So simply pound 1 hex back from the front deployment zone on turn 0 and you were guaranteed to damage the AI - and as SP3 considered a track hit a "kill", it was the best way to deal with uber-tanks (an 81mm barrage killed King Tigers or M1A2 equally fine in SP3 http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif)

Cheers
Andy

[Marek_Tucan]

Heh, 81mm barrage? 60mm was enough for me, thanks http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif
Also, apart from the deployment glitch, there were mines/dragon teeth available even on meetings or delays so a gamey tactic was to buy DT's enough to cover the entire frontline except one gap, through which then AI vehicles were to come and were to be plastered by all arty.