Cannon Fodder #2

[Oneluv]

I asked this question in another forum and was met with no response. For those that have already read this: please forgive the redundant post but I can't help think the AI's ability to "waste" units is seminal to it's success and I'd like a sense of what's going on behind the curtain.

I recently encountered a situation where having declared war, I found myself outnumber 2/1. I held sway in str. of units but had the AI found itself able to sacrifice/suicide a few units it would have won, convincingly.

But instead of winning the Doviello civ. went on to be destroyed and I (khazad) went on to "win".

I put "win" in quotes because there is no way I should have won that game. I replayed the exact same scenario several times via duel match and WBuilder to confirm what I had originally suspicioned. Conclusion:

Had the Doviello "wasted" 7of their 17 wolf packs they would have steam-rolled me. It wasn't even close.

From a non-programmers perspective I can't see any reason why those wolf packs didn't attack but rather just "sat" adjacent to trebs to be subsequently destroyed.

My question is this: How difficult is it to stop the AI suiciding units and still allow the AI to use units as cannon fodder? There are times when the AI has to be able to "waste" a few units to press a numerical advantage. It needs balls.(can I say that?) The wolves were 87/13 against,but only for the first seven wolf packs. After the first 7 packs they crushed me.

Can the AI be taught to "know" about attrition and attritions value in pressing numerical advantage?

The Doviello dying like Budhists, passivey accepting their fate, is more incongruous to me than warriors dying in a fit of suicidal barbaric rage.

As always...it's your world. Thanks for the ride. onelove.

 

[Tlalynet]

I'm pretty sure this is one of the things that is being worked on, there was a point where they (mostly barbarians) suicided too much vs tough defenders and just gave you free exp. I got the impression they where already somewhat better at attacking in K and L, but still had work to do.

 

[DaveGold]

I think other players have suggested AI changes of various types before. If you'd like to see changes perhaps you could suggest some formulae too.

 

[Tasunke]

Well, I think after all of the current fixes are made (on the to do list), and then after Cultural-INfluence warfare is included, and AI-fixes for that ... then we should rework War Wearniness on a Civ-by-Civ basis
(for instance, some simply don't like foreign wars, some have MORE war weariness within their own borders as opposed to none at all, many are sad only from lost units and not from foreign "victories", and some might even be non-sad by level 1 deaths, while SAD at a level 2+ death, and SUPER SAD at a level 6 death ... I would say the Hippus, Sidar, and *possibly* Grigori would be more sad based upon unit level, although the Grigori would probably also be sad with other things as well (while the Hippus would be sad with Intra-cultural warfare, but not sad with Foreign conquest, and Sidar would be uncaring of Homeland and Neutral deaths (even uncaring of a level 6 death in homeland .. Super Sound with homeland battles/deaths) ... yet Super Sad with Foreign wars) ....

Meanwhile Illians would only be sad by lost units, Super Sad (anarchy?) from the loss of a Winter Priest, but not at all saddened by battles ... if lost no units, no WW.