In the first game (French) I was going ok until I accidentally triggered the Iroquois in the 2nd year, at which point I restarted. Might be nice to have a warning about that.
The subsequent games ended in an easy win (French: 2500 vs 1700, still held Albany, Charleston, Quebec and Montreal among others!) and a ridiculously easy win (English: 3000 vs. 650, French wiped off the board by 1760 apart from a few Indians and Haiti). This is with the 'better AI' option on. I'm somewhat disappointed that it wasn't more of a challenge, given my lack of experience... is the AI better at the American War of Independence?
Here are some of the more notable AI blunders:
- continually facing me outside their own fortresses instead of remaining inside (then losing), allowing me to assault the remnant garrison next turn and putting their main army out of supply (as it retreats to an adjacent province)
- French attacking the Iroquois (triggering them) early in my English game
- failing to seek decisive battles when it has the numerical superiority (i.e. engage/defeat my main army); too focused on taking lightly defended towns for no long term advantage
- French far too aggressive early on, spreading their forces thin and allowing me to defeat them in detail
- often using Indian/irregulars to assault minor garrisons; they win sometime, but pointless
- English never tried to take Louisburg
- being too aggressive in winter (armies get heavily damaged by lack of supply)
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Oh, and a couple of minor problems:
- Chef Pontiac rather than Chief
- attacking a reasonably large-ish Spanish army in the off map box caused it to drift to the right (outside the map, into the textured area). Looked like it was trying to run away... (smart move)
- after the French triggered the Iroquois by attacking them, the later event wasn't cancelled, and seemed to remove the locked Iroquois units from the board (except those whose mobile units had already been destroyed)
- when playing the French, Sangaretcha entered on the English side even though the other Iroquois didn't (and ended up on my side).
- Fort William Henry and Carillon appear to enter regardless of the board situation... it's a bit odd. Is there a control requirement, at least?
- EDIT: the winners of the battle can all be dead. Seems odd, though it doesn't really affect the game.
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And a question - why was Gage 'locked' in Halifax? (a locked symbol on his army box, not on the unit; to move the other units in the army I had to drag them off him)
leure:
