This game can probably suffice with bad AI if the battles themselves were a bit different.
Right now, units die faster than they can be made. If a unit is going to take 40 - 50 turns to make (marathon game speed) it should NOT last 3 turns max 1 vs 1 to decide a victor. This means the winner now has about 30 turns to do as they please until you can replace your lost unit.
At marathon game speed, they upped everything about the game except the time it takes to initiate a fight and end it... The fight ends in the same length as if it was on the fastest game speed... Now, if the units can be built in 5 turns, no biggy, but they need to scale the fight to match the production speed...
This makes focus fire way too powerful, since a unit will never even get to be "used" before it is killed... Imagine for a second, if a lone horseman was out in the field, horseman ends turn on a hill... Now, that step shows a warrior directly in front of him, and archer buddy right behind him... Next turn combine fire from archer and warrior kills said horseman and never really got used in anyway other than take a couple of hits... 30 turns to make, destroyed in 1/2 a turn without a chance to retaliate / retreat...
What would of been nice is if in the same situation, horseman takes initial round of attack, survives it easily but still hurt, then moves into position to flank ranged unit. Archer has to flee knowing horseman is going to have a feel day, warrior flees as well since 1v1 against horse = lose... Horse now lives to fight another day because unit composition of the opposing player is worst... Horse should win this fight mechanically because it is suppose to deal superior damage to both types of units...
Or, horseman chooses to flee because there was a spear man 5 turns away from reaching the party, if the fights actually lasts 10 turns, then the horseman despite injuring the archer / warrior combo, HAS to run because the fight lasted long enough for a spearman to help out his friends...
THIS is what this game needs so much of... You don't just implement a 1UPT system without working out the turn base fight system based on games prior...
If you guys every played Romance of the Three Kingdoms... Imagine if Lu Bu walked on his turn and next turn two weak generals say Cao Bao, and Liu Chan was in his way... Just because Lu Bu a vastly superior warrior ended his turn, his life is ended by two useless bums because they got first shot... That's what happens in Civ...
In RotK however, Lu Bu would take the hit, and chase both of them down the next turn, and every turn after that give 10x more dmg back to them. In RotK, you don't initiate a fight unless you know you can get a free hit, or you can out last the unit fighting you...
In Civ, it don't matter if it's archer vs a tank, if you have 10 long bows, the tank would not get off ONE shot... WTF is that?
The AI would do a lot better if you can give it turns to recover from the initial attack... It can then see where the weak spots are, and move units to flank properly... If the AI fought like we fought, they would line everything up the turn before they declare war, and on the same turn of declaration wipe out 1/2 your army and take the first base...
We'd all be pointing at the mechanics then instead of the AI...
Speaking of which, the announcer of war should end their turn when they declare it... Because you got to choose the positions, at least give the other player initial attack... Or fall back to form a line without losing 1/2 their army before they are even set up. Attacking first and having superior position when attacking is too much of an advantage...
Right now, units die faster than they can be made. If a unit is going to take 40 - 50 turns to make (marathon game speed) it should NOT last 3 turns max 1 vs 1 to decide a victor. This means the winner now has about 30 turns to do as they please until you can replace your lost unit.
At marathon game speed, they upped everything about the game except the time it takes to initiate a fight and end it... The fight ends in the same length as if it was on the fastest game speed... Now, if the units can be built in 5 turns, no biggy, but they need to scale the fight to match the production speed...
This makes focus fire way too powerful, since a unit will never even get to be "used" before it is killed... Imagine for a second, if a lone horseman was out in the field, horseman ends turn on a hill... Now, that step shows a warrior directly in front of him, and archer buddy right behind him... Next turn combine fire from archer and warrior kills said horseman and never really got used in anyway other than take a couple of hits... 30 turns to make, destroyed in 1/2 a turn without a chance to retaliate / retreat...
What would of been nice is if in the same situation, horseman takes initial round of attack, survives it easily but still hurt, then moves into position to flank ranged unit. Archer has to flee knowing horseman is going to have a feel day, warrior flees as well since 1v1 against horse = lose... Horse now lives to fight another day because unit composition of the opposing player is worst... Horse should win this fight mechanically because it is suppose to deal superior damage to both types of units...
Or, horseman chooses to flee because there was a spear man 5 turns away from reaching the party, if the fights actually lasts 10 turns, then the horseman despite injuring the archer / warrior combo, HAS to run because the fight lasted long enough for a spearman to help out his friends...
THIS is what this game needs so much of... You don't just implement a 1UPT system without working out the turn base fight system based on games prior...
If you guys every played Romance of the Three Kingdoms... Imagine if Lu Bu walked on his turn and next turn two weak generals say Cao Bao, and Liu Chan was in his way... Just because Lu Bu a vastly superior warrior ended his turn, his life is ended by two useless bums because they got first shot... That's what happens in Civ...
In RotK however, Lu Bu would take the hit, and chase both of them down the next turn, and every turn after that give 10x more dmg back to them. In RotK, you don't initiate a fight unless you know you can get a free hit, or you can out last the unit fighting you...
In Civ, it don't matter if it's archer vs a tank, if you have 10 long bows, the tank would not get off ONE shot... WTF is that?
The AI would do a lot better if you can give it turns to recover from the initial attack... It can then see where the weak spots are, and move units to flank properly... If the AI fought like we fought, they would line everything up the turn before they declare war, and on the same turn of declaration wipe out 1/2 your army and take the first base...
We'd all be pointing at the mechanics then instead of the AI...
Speaking of which, the announcer of war should end their turn when they declare it... Because you got to choose the positions, at least give the other player initial attack... Or fall back to form a line without losing 1/2 their army before they are even set up. Attacking first and having superior position when attacking is too much of an advantage...
