AI supremacy

[Marek_Tucan]

The AI doesn't cheat and uses exactly the same set of rules as we do - also it doesn't receive any special bonuses to morale or experience, if the suppression doesn't work then you may have encountered some die-hards or aren't suppressing enough (as often happens to me on advance).
As for the situation you describe, if your troops are suppressed, they don't shoot straight. Often it is better to break LOS (go to hiding or drop smoke) to be able to either have time to build up morale again or to atleast fire at the enmy at pointblank range when he comes through the smoke.
As for the opposite situation, if the enemy was in "pinned" status, then no wonder he opfired upon being fired. Sometimes he gets lucky, esp. if attacker is moving in the open... Just finished fighting one PBEM battle with a friend (the bugger got my HQ with his helicopter dessant) that involved close-combat fighting in a forest, plastered by arty from both sides - I was suppressed, he was suppressed, but still both sides were able to move somewhat, though greater proficiency of my Austrian Jäger units over his Militias was showing, still if I didn't want to get into pointblank slugfest, I fired everything available on targeted enemy unit (due to limited LOS using "Z" key alot) before moving in close with the assaulting squad and his units were usually too suppessed to return fire even at pointblank.
Try it out - machineguns Z-fired are a great suppressing asset, the same for say AA guns and their likes. Keep the enemy under fire up to the very last moment, preventing him to have a time off. Throw everything including kitchen sinks on the bugger and he'll break.

[Nightblade]

The main problem is the "luck" factor.

How many time i could swear the enemy AI had some built-in advantages when a very cheap entrenched AI squad could kill any of my expensive assault troops without having a single casualty and ignoring suppression that every of my mortar fire on them should have dealt.

But sometime the "luck" factor was in my favour, as in the same conditions, i sometime noticed my troops ignoring the entrenched unit fire and destroying them totally on their 1st assault. Or my mortars seriously hurting them.

Sometime it seems you have a good hit percentage and can't hit a single thing, while sometime you have a very low one and you successfully land hits after hits at incredible distance.

So in fact when playing the SP serie, you have to take 2 factors in account when building your assault and defenses : tactics/strategy ... and luck.

Fortunately, there are some ways to lower the luck factor influence :
-never think that a enemy cheap rifle squad alone in a building will be easy to destroy by your superior amount of troops and troop quality.
-never think your enemy is suppressed by your artillery and MG suppressive fire when you decide to assault its position.
-always overwhelm enemy unit position by superior amount of troops. Don't even try to go 1 on 1.
-never think your very expensive tank will be able to resist those rpg from the eighties without problem, you are in for a surprise if you are not lucky when it happens.
-unless you are buying the enemy troops yourself, be prepared to face a lot more ground troops than yours, and so don't think a position you conquer is safe just because you rooted a dozen enemy squad.
2 dozen more of them will attack you soon enough.

With that in mind , you should then lower a lot the impact of luck in your games

[cracken]

This luck factor makes SP more interesting: not every single detail is up to you and your math knowledge.

Also remember, that when you attack one single squad of the enemy, you have the disadvantage (because you are moving etc.). When ever possible overthrow the enemy in a 2:1 relation:

f
e
f

(f = friendly forces, e = enemy)

And do not hang about holding fire one round (for better op-fire). If you see you cannot reach the enemy, concentrate your forces before you advance.

[Marek_Tucan]

Nightblade said:
How many time i could swear the enemy AI had some built-in advantages when a very cheap entrenched AI squad could kill any of my expensive assault troops without having a single casualty and ignoring suppression that every of my mortar fire on them should have dealt.

Or when the last surviving Italian tin can with 37mm popgun, surrounded by burning wrecks of its unit, under heavy fire, suddenly pops three shots with one-shot - one-kill on my experienced A-13's...

Or, OTOH, when my PBEM opponent fires my T-55 with his T-55 at pointblank, gets hit, gets critical hit with 19 extra penetration and it shows "no effect" report