Artificial Inteligence (AI) Question

[Steve Tinling]

I love these games. From the first TalonSoft ones to the newer Campaign versions. However with both the AI is dismal. Is this just because AI is so hard to do? Are there not sufficient employment resources at Tiller to hire someone versed in the latest AI developments (Maybe "Watson" could help )? I've just acquired Campaign Gettysburg and I'm playing the South against the AI-Union in my first trial of the game. The Union moves are unfathomable. They move and reverse course. They move off of roads when moving long distances. Are they following historical paths until they encounter the enemy or is there some other motivating logic. I was going to attach a map picture to show where the AI has moved the union artillery -- halfway between two roads and in the middle of a forest but I couldn't get the file size small enough. Not to mention the off the road infantry columns, moving through woods and rough terrain rather than on the open road. By the time they get to Gettysburg the South will occupy every union position. Well, I suppose there is no good answer but I thought I'd ask. It's a good thing I retired and joined the club now that I have time to play a human opponent. At least now I'm the one getting slaughtered for stupid moves instead of me slaughtering the AI. It is more fun this way.

[Joe Meyer]

It is more fun that way, Steve!

Many of us started out buying these games for the purpose of A/I exploration, and there's nothing wrong with that at all. In fact, its the best way to learn most of the game engine mechanics, and we get to experience a little history in the process. After a while, though, we begin to sense that there's something more essential with the way the games are set up, and it becomes evident that the A/I cannot satisfy the supposed and expected reality of the moment. At that point we begin to accept the fact that the real challenge of these games can only be satisfied by the involvement of a human opponent. Once we arrive at that point it becomes a whole new ballgame and these games open up their true worth. From that point onward we are not blandly looking forward to another drill in mechanics each time we play the game: we are preparing ourselves for the unexpected! We will be immersing ourselves into a test of wits that depends upon our own grasp of military doctrine as it existed throughout the American Civil War as much as the game mechanics. We may be found wanting in some of these ventures and successful in others, but we will always be drawn back into the fray for the sheer anticipation that each HTH game match creates.

[ernie sands]

uma mch smrtr thn Ai

[C. Hecht]

A hamster who is half paralyzed after a stroke is smarter than the AI.
Seriously, big battles with a complex strategic & tactical situation is just nothing that he AI can handle good. Small scenarios that are simple & straight forward are those that you can try with the AI, that way you can learn the engine and don't get too frustrated about the AI's inabilities.