Robert E Lee camps in Richmond, does nothing...

[tribeticus]

I thought it was a fluke at first, but even at high difficulty Robert E Lee, the most aggressive general in the war, does nothing.

I know the AI is weak, but Lee really needs to be programmed to go on the offensive. He just camps in Richmond!

Edited: Let me add this is long after being unlocked in 1862.

[Captain_Orso]

Lee is locked in Richmond until the early in '62 I think it is. Historically he was Davis' adviser until Johnston was wounded.

[Gunther]

In my current game, Lee was unlocked in early june 1862.

[GuileMike]

Hang tight. Once Lee is unleashed with his corps, hell will come down on the Yanks!

[tribeticus]

Right but it's 1864 and he is just hanging out with a 6k army...been unlocked for years. Lieutenant difficulty.

[Rod Smart]

Right but it's 1864 and he is just hanging out with a 6k army...been unlocked for years. Lieutenant difficulty.

I've seen that too.


Not sure what can be done about it- if all of the current army positions are filled, why force a new commander? If Joe Johnston doesn't get injured, if Albert Sidney Johnston doesn't die, if PGT Bureaugard isn't a jerk, if Braxton Bragg gets even better political appointments, etc etc.

[tribeticus]

I've seen that too.


Not sure what can be done about it- if all of the current army positions are filled, why force a new commander? If Joe Johnston doesn't get injured, if Albert Sidney Johnston doesn't die, if PGT Bureaugard isn't a jerk, if Braxton Bragg gets even better political appointments, etc etc.

In these past couple of games Lee is sitting there with 10 generals and a 6k army under his command and no other Rebel armies in sight, I even withdrew my forces back closer to Washington to see if he would come out of his hole and still he did not advance and take ground. Pretty odd, especially with higher difficulty settings. He never moved from 1862 when the fighting was hot until 1864 when I just got bored and quit the game. I could have taken Richmond in 1862 but I wanted to play it out and see what Lee would do. And he did nothing!

I have since moved up the difficulty to max and increased activation and detection almost all the way. I left aggressiveness at normal to avoid the AI making suicide runs. Maybe that will help, although from other posts I have read that the CW2 AI is not as advanced as the new games which is unfortunate. I would hope there would be an AI patch and general's patch to eliminate the clone generals and make the game more playable for single player games by strengthening the AI. I have said as much on the Improve CW2 forum, I just am not holding my breath based on some developer comments suggesting that we make these changes ourselves.

[Gray Fox]

The AI has Lee defending Rcihmond with a good army, which is worth 50 National Morale. It's 1864 in your game and the CSA is still alive. Why should Lee go on the offensive?

[tribeticus]

I guess my point is that he didn't do anything since 1862 when he was unlocked with a good army. He did nothing when there was some good opportunity similar to what he had historically. I think Lee would have pushed the envelope, not just hung out until it was too late. I'd like to see him attack, even once. Just once...

[Gray Fox]

I used the following settings for AI: Colonel, "Use all Behaviors" on, Normal activation bonus, the recommended low detection with normal aggressiveness and "Give AI more time" on. I do my own blockade and replacements too. Try this and good luck!

[tribeticus]

Thank you sir, I will try that out! Bring it on General Lee!!

[Rod Smart]

The AI has Lee defending Rcihmond with a good army, which is worth 50 National Morale. It's 1864 in your game and the CSA is still alive. Why should Lee go on the offensive?

He should not try to take Philly

But he should try to defend in Manassas or Fredricksburg.

[Captain_Orso]

The situation is SOOO vague it's nearly impossible to say much.

Since it's '64 I can assume that Virginia is swarming with Union Corps. Perhaps CS NM is below 100, perhaps below 90, perhaps even below 80. Perhaps under these conditions, for Lee to leave Richmond with minimal protection would be suicide for the South.

[tribeticus]

The situation is SOOO vague it's nearly impossible to say much.

Since it's '64 I can assume that Virginia is swarming with Union Corps. Perhaps CS NM is below 100, perhaps below 90, perhaps even below 80. Perhaps under these conditions, for Lee to leave Richmond with minimal protection would be suicide for the South.

By 1864 the morale was so low in my last game that Lee had to stay put.

My main point here is that I rarely see Lee do anything at all and I want to see Lee act more aggressive especially in 1862 when he gets unlocked. At that point he should not be camping out.

[tribeticus]

I'm going to try Gray Fox's suggestions for AI settings and hopefully that makes the CSA a little more aggressive and Lee actually makes some moves and gives me a hard time like he should.

[Captain_Orso]

If you really want to see Lee 'do something', play a PBEM game with somebody who's played the CSA a couple of times. I'm sure you'll get your money's worth

[tribeticus]

If you really want to see Lee 'do something', play a PBEM game with somebody who's played the CSA a couple of times. I'm sure you'll get your money's worth

So am I wrong to think that 'playing by email' is for games in the 1980's prior to normal multiplayer servers and would take wayyy too long waiting for the other player to make a move??? I understand a human player is ideal, but PBEM just seems a little cheesy to me. I guess the game is not programmed to jive with regular multiplayer formats?

I have always figured the game would take way too long waiting for the other player considering the variables in peoples lives that may cause delay. Also considering it takes a long time to make a move for any one side because of all the details in each move. Sounds boring and too long of a wait, I have a busy schedule it sounds rather difficult to make it all work. Maybe when the kids move out and I am retired so I can dedicate large blocks of time??? I am open to suggestions on how you guys do it.

Because of time and schedule constraints I could really use a better AI who is there when I need it!!!

[Gray Fox]

For me the whole point is to have fun doing something I enjoy. My pbem game with Mickey3D was much better than anything Athena has shown me. I can put together a move in about an hour and we tried to get a turn done every day or so. We did take a sort of break during the World Cup. The actual war took four years, so it adds to the realism when you make plans and then have to live with your demons until you get the battle results. Some day, perhaps too soon, the AI will hope to find a decent human challenger. Even then, I believe that human interaction will have its place, for those willing to give it a try.

[Captain_Orso]

Hmmmm, it's not an online game, and why would it be? I mean, you could Skype your opponent, and during the 30-60 Minutes you guys are potting your moves, you could hurl taunts at each other

I haven't PBEM'ed for a while, but depending on your and your opponent's circumstances and preferences, you can expect about a turn per day when things are really good, but generally less; 3-4 turns per week.

Of course player 3-4 turns per week means that a game lasts a couple month to get through, but from my experience, they'll be some very exciting weeks

Athens's great, but humans have insight that you will not be able to expect from a PC-game for a couple of decades. And even more than that, humans do things that might not be terribly logical, but which might give you some real surprises, and in the end, work. But even more exciting than that is seeing if your moves work, or has your opponent seen through your strategy? I'm not kidding, it can be really exciting

[tribeticus]

Thanks to both of you for your PBEM input, I value greatly what you are saying. Trust me I am not trying to turn the game into one of those horrible online games, but if there was a slightly more advanced multiplayer platform that did not involve the swapping of files I think more people would do it. Considering how long these PBEM games can take, however, I see the logic and advantage of using email.

SO... I get what you are saying, the PBEM is more about patience and strategy against a human than about advancing the game as quick as possible to see what happens. I like the skype taunting idea, that's great...

So thanks, and perhaps the best answer to my question for real competition is a human PBEM game, and until I do that hopefully Lee will even poke his head out of his rabbit hole in Richmond a couple of times