The AEF in Africa?

[Random]

Hi. Another perplexing late-war AI behavior.

It is June 1918 and the entire AEF totalling seven corps is sitting in Dakar, French West Africa. This is many thousands of kilometres from the nearest Central Powers unit and I could really use them on the Western Front where the French Army has successfully crossed the Rhine and the BEF threatens the Ruhr from the south.

I've got Germany on the ropes: Just One More Push!*

Any idea why the AEF is there and is there any way to twig the AI to send it to Europe?

Thanks in advance.

*In the spirit of the event...

[Tamas]

what is the AEF?

We discovered an AI tendency to overcrowd colonies but this should have been fixed several betapatches ago.

[rattlesnake]

The game should give the indication why it is there.
See the pop-up window,there are information.
Those areas may be so near with Hungary-Austria or some other colonies of CP.The AEF does not play a important role in WWI ,sometimes I do not even heard of that compared to the BEF.So it is no need to send them to Europe.

[Random]

what is the AEF?

We discovered an AI tendency to overcrowd colonies but this should have been fixed several betapatches ago.

AEF = American Expeditionary Force

U.S. First Army HQ with five corps under Pershing and a detachment of two corps. No tanks, artillery or aircraft included.

The game should give the indication why it is there.
See the pop-up window,there are information.

Nope, nothing indicating why, Dakar was never threatened and ALL the German forces in Africa were eliminated and their colonies captured more than a year before America declared war on the CP.

The AEF does not play a important role in WWI ,sometimes I do not even heard of that compared to the BEF.So it is no need to send them to European.

I would disagree with this entirely and it seems strange that a game that is in most other ways quite historically deep, would treat the 2-million strong (eventually) AEF so badly as to disregard its existance. Strange.

[rattlesnake]

I don't know what is the problem with your save as you mention here.
There are no reason to be sent there as there are no CP colonies.
During the WWI,the English navy has a overwhelming advantage compared with the American navy.Even the American troops are sent by the English navy and equipped by France and England.
Yes,they did join in the war slowly,but with little causulty.They sold munitions and they become rich.They are wildcatter.

[poweraxe]

They may have joined the war later, but Random is right that the AEF was a significant force eventually, and lets not forget the boost to morale their presence gave to the Allied troops.

At any rate, they probably are supposed to be in Europe in the game instead of Africa normally.

[Random]

It is sadly true that some enjoy depreciating America's eventual military accomplishments in France during the final 6-months of the war. And of course it would never do to acknowledge that by June 1918 over 70% of the convoy escorts on the Atlantic were American. However this debate won't be resolved here today and indeed, really belongs elsewhere.

At any rate, they probably are supposed to be in Europe in the game instead of Africa normally.

Exactly, I would just like to know why! I can see President Hughes (he beat Wilson in the 1916 elections) keeping the troops closer to home but sending them to a remote French colony is just plain wrong.

[calvinus]

Exactly, I would just like to know why! I can see President Hughes (he beat Wilson in the 1916 elections) keeping the troops closer to home but sending them to a remote French colony is just plain wrong.

I agree.

Enable AI Logs and inspect the Logs/Nations.html file for US Military AI.
So we can understand why US AI does not send troops to France.

In any case, post here a zipped save.

Thanks,
Calvinus.

[rattlesnake]

It is sadly true that some enjoy depreciating America's eventual military accomplishments in France during the final 6-months of the war. And of course it would never do to acknowledge that by June 1918 over 70% of the convoy escorts on the Atlantic were American. However this debate won't be resolved here today and indeed, really belongs elsewhere.

I am not going to depreciating one side or the other.I am just telling the true.What I depreciating is the way American do during the WWI.They sold weapons,munitions.They enjoy the war in Europe,because they are the winner
who benefit most from the war.

[rattlesnake]

They may have joined the war later, but Random is right that the AEF was a significant force eventually, and lets not forget the boost to morale their presence gave to the Allied troops.

At any rate, they probably are supposed to be in Europe in the game instead of Africa normally.

Yes it is a boost of morale to the Entente.At the end of the war England and France owe debt to the American.

[Random]

In any case, post here a zipped save.

Thanks,
Calvinus.

Checked the AI logs and things become curiouser and curiouser. For the United States I and II Armies in July they are apperently facing German units that do not appear on the map.

Army "I Army" (units: 49.50 points, supports: 3.00 points, status: -0.00 malus points, damages: -0.00 malus points) commanded by Pershing, is faced by the enemy army "V Army" (units: 5.00 points, supports: 0.00 points, status: -2.00 malus points, damages: -2.00 malus points) commanded by nobody.
Army "II Army" (units: 21.00 points, supports: 9.00 points, status: -0.00 malus points, damages: -0.00 malus points) commanded by Bullard, is faced by the enemy army "V Army" (units: 2.50 points, supports: 0.00 points, status: -2.00 malus points, damages: -2.00 malus points) commanded by nobody.

See attached screenshots for May, June and July 1918, and the attached save for the July military phase. The compositition of the AEF varies every turn and cycling through the stacks fails to show any German unit present. Since the German forces in Togoland and Kamereun at no time attacked French Africa, to be there a German unit would have had to spawn in uncontested French territory.

Hopefully I'm just missing something, thank you for making the effort to check this out.

[rattlesnake]

I agree.

Enable AI Logs and inspect the Logs/Nations.html file for US Military AI.
So we can understand why US AI does not send troops to France.

In any case, post here a zipped save.

Thanks,
Calvinus.

AI logs can record what happened in the game,but can not explain why.
Is the AI logs contained in the saved files?
If when I start the game , do not choose the AI record option in the configuration settings,will the saved files show the AI record?

[calvinus]

Checked the AI logs and things become curiouser and curiouser. For the United States I and II Armies in July they are apperently facing German units that do not appear on the map.

These are not the planned movement, but simply some information instructed to AI neural network, not more. Istead, we should investigate about the movement priorities planned for US Ist and IInd armies. The AI Logs can tell enough about that, but maybe I will do faster.

[calvinus]

AI logs can record what happened in the game,but can not explain why.
Is the AI logs contained in the saved files?
If when I start the game , do not choose the AI record option in the configuration settings,will the saved files show the AI record?

Not exactly. The AI logs tell you what AI "thinks".
The AI Logs are not contained in save files, they are external, can be deleted when you wish because the game does not use them, it just creates them for your eyes.

The AI Record option ("AI Memory" in Configure Game tool and "AI uses all behaviours" in Options window) allows AI to record most of her choices, assign them a score that measures how much they've been successful, so that she can adopt them again when similar circumstances arise, if successful, or not, if unsuccessful... that's all.

[rattlesnake]

Not exactly. The AI logs tell you what AI "thinks".
The AI Logs are not contained in save files, they are external, can be deleted when you wish because the game does not use them, it just creates them for your eyes.

The AI Record option ("AI Memory" in Configure Game tool and "AI uses all behaviours" in Options window) allows AI to record most of her choices, assign them a score that measures how much they've been successful, so that she can adopt them again when similar circumstances arise, if successful, or not, if unsuccessful... that's all.

The saved files have no relationship with the AI Record.That is to say if I haven't choose the AI logs option,there are no AI logs in the AI logs files.
actually,my AI logs have nothing ,but :
<style type="text/css">

/* General appearance */
P { font-size: 8pt; }


/* Used in LogAI */

TD.turn {
width: 80px;
font-weight: bold;
font-size: 8pt;
padding: 5px;
background-color: aliceblue;
}

TD.log {
background-color: #eeeeee;
font-size: 10pt;
text-aligh: center;
}

TH.header {
font-weight: bold;
font-size: 8pt;
padding: 5px;
background-color: #3E42DA;
}

TD.data {
font-size: 8pt;
padding: 5px;
background-color: #C0C0FF;
}

</style>

[calvinus]

What you see is the stylesheet (css) that is to be used by the html files to have a nicer look & feel...

[rattlesnake]

What you see is the stylesheet (css) that is to be used by the html files to have a nicer look & feel...

Yes, the name is logAI.css.
There are Logerror logGame logpacket files,none of them record anything useful.

[calvinus]

You have no html file because you did not check the "AI Logs" option in Configure Game tool. Check it, but beware that some Antivirus detect the creation of html files by applications as a "threat", so making the game crash.

[rattlesnake]

You have no html file because you did not check the "AI Logs" option in Configure Game tool. Check it, but beware that some Antivirus detect the creation of html files by applications as a "threat", so making the game crash.

Yes ,there aren't any html files.I'll check it .Thank you calvinus.

[rattlesnake]

Antivirus really treats it as a "threat", antivirus is hostile

[calvinus]

I had to use another save (that one provided in this thread is too "late", because US forces already landed in Africa), and i discovered that powers located on extra-EU boxes encounter sometimes difficulties when planning moves to Europe. So I introduced some fixes and I'm getting good results now.

Next patch 1.08G.

Thanks,
Calvinus.

[Random]

Thank you, Calvinus.

To be honest I really have no idea when the deployment happened, with Africa conquered in 1916 it fell off the radar and it was not until the May 1918 turn that I went looking for the AEF and found it in Dakar. That's why I posted the July turn save.

Nice piece of detective work.

Had not enabled the AI logs before this, a very neat and potentially useful feature for modders.