Full Campaign Report (vs AI)
Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2008 2:42 am
I recently finished a full campaign against the AI, and I thought I would record the results (with a few comments) here.
This was the Full Campaign starting July 1861. I played CSA with almost all options set to default/normal (including normal difficulty, low AI detect bonus, normal aggression, and "give AI more time"). I started the game under 1.08 and moved to 1.08b and 1.08c as these became available.
In brief, I won the game after a genuine struggle. Score was CSA 4202 to USA 1959 when the game ended in late August 1864, but things were often closer than that final ratio makes it seem.
The Eastern Theater:
The war in the East followed the historical pattern: after the CSA won a sound victory at first Manassas, the Union protected Washington, DC in strength and even attempted a peninsular landing. When I forced Butler out of Fort Monroe in late 1862 (after a couple of failed sieges) such landings were no longer possible for the Union, so they shifted efforts to forays south from Maryland.
Under my command General Lee made three invasions of the north. The first (Fall 1862) smashed up against strong Union armies just across the Pennsylvania border and came reeling back after heavy losses on both sides. (This first invasion coincided with the first heavy Union push towards Richmond--the campaigns began simultaneously and on parallel, opposite courses.) Lee's second offensive (Summer 1863) laid siege to Washington, but only briefly. In a great battle Lee defeated Union forces at the capital's fortifications, but his own heavy losses caused Lee to retreat to Virginia.
Lee's final offensive began in May of 1864. Leading his own core force and accompanied by two 65,000+ Corps under Jackson and Johnston, Lee pushed directly for Washington and lay siege to its fortifications. A series of hard-fought battles through the summer months left Lee's force unbowed. Finally, in late August Lee's army smashed into the city and seized the White House. The game ended immediately in CSA victory, as the Union NM had dropped to 45, a full 15 points below its defeat threshold.
The Trans-Mississippi Theater:
After a series of small actions in Missouri in 1861, the war beyond the Mississippi settled into a pattern of infrequent skirmishes and small raids. I never had more than Price's forces, Watie's indians, and few others in the theater (including a small cavalry division under Van Dorn), but the Union did not seem interested in pushing hard in this region. It became more quiet as the war went on.
The War in the West:
The pattern here was the most unexpected. Kentucky seceded as usual, but a series of sharp engagements in the newest Confederate state left it mostly in the hands of the Army of Tennessee under A.S. Johnston. I strengthened this Army from time to time, but it never came to match the weight of the Army of the Potomac under Lee.
The Union seemed to allocate some of its best commanders to the Kentucky theater, but they seldom made more than a token effort towards taking the state, let alone moving down into Tennessee or advancing along the Mississippi river. Every season a small force would cross the Ohio and be beaten back. It seemed to me that the Union AI was holding back substantial forces, perhaps even forces that could have wiped out A.S. Johnston's had they made a concentrated effort. Almost every turn I saw faces familiar from Union history pacing the Ohio river, but they never made good on their apparent threat.
Such was still the case when the war ended, although Spring and Summer 1864 did see some interesting river forays (mostly exploratory, it seemed, or maybe just fishing), as well as a small landing at Pensacola, Florida.
Conclusions and Questions:
I'll list these as numbered questions:
1) I greatly enjoyed this campaign against the AI, although the Union's behavior in the West perplexes me somewhat. It was definitely more aggressive in Virginia than in Kentucky/Tennessee. Are there different "theater-level" AI's at work on the computer side? Does the aggression setting under Game Options tend to unbalance the game (e.g. causing the AI to make kamikaze attacks)?
2) I noticed that "epidemic" events rarely ever cost me strength, only cohesion. Is this WAD?
3) This is a very stable game. I had not one crash!
4) The final tally of losses was 271,983 Confederate casualties and 404,704 Union. This seems plausibly close to history (which saw CSA losses of 93,000 killed + 123,000 wounded; Union losses of 110,000 killed + 275,000 wounded). I was playing without the hard attrition rule enabled. I don't recall any single battle result striking me as ridiculous.
5) This is the only full campaign that I have played to completion against the AI. I'd love to hear what other players' experiences have been.
Let me know!
This was the Full Campaign starting July 1861. I played CSA with almost all options set to default/normal (including normal difficulty, low AI detect bonus, normal aggression, and "give AI more time"). I started the game under 1.08 and moved to 1.08b and 1.08c as these became available.
In brief, I won the game after a genuine struggle. Score was CSA 4202 to USA 1959 when the game ended in late August 1864, but things were often closer than that final ratio makes it seem.
The Eastern Theater:
The war in the East followed the historical pattern: after the CSA won a sound victory at first Manassas, the Union protected Washington, DC in strength and even attempted a peninsular landing. When I forced Butler out of Fort Monroe in late 1862 (after a couple of failed sieges) such landings were no longer possible for the Union, so they shifted efforts to forays south from Maryland.
Under my command General Lee made three invasions of the north. The first (Fall 1862) smashed up against strong Union armies just across the Pennsylvania border and came reeling back after heavy losses on both sides. (This first invasion coincided with the first heavy Union push towards Richmond--the campaigns began simultaneously and on parallel, opposite courses.) Lee's second offensive (Summer 1863) laid siege to Washington, but only briefly. In a great battle Lee defeated Union forces at the capital's fortifications, but his own heavy losses caused Lee to retreat to Virginia.
Lee's final offensive began in May of 1864. Leading his own core force and accompanied by two 65,000+ Corps under Jackson and Johnston, Lee pushed directly for Washington and lay siege to its fortifications. A series of hard-fought battles through the summer months left Lee's force unbowed. Finally, in late August Lee's army smashed into the city and seized the White House. The game ended immediately in CSA victory, as the Union NM had dropped to 45, a full 15 points below its defeat threshold.
The Trans-Mississippi Theater:
After a series of small actions in Missouri in 1861, the war beyond the Mississippi settled into a pattern of infrequent skirmishes and small raids. I never had more than Price's forces, Watie's indians, and few others in the theater (including a small cavalry division under Van Dorn), but the Union did not seem interested in pushing hard in this region. It became more quiet as the war went on.
The War in the West:
The pattern here was the most unexpected. Kentucky seceded as usual, but a series of sharp engagements in the newest Confederate state left it mostly in the hands of the Army of Tennessee under A.S. Johnston. I strengthened this Army from time to time, but it never came to match the weight of the Army of the Potomac under Lee.
The Union seemed to allocate some of its best commanders to the Kentucky theater, but they seldom made more than a token effort towards taking the state, let alone moving down into Tennessee or advancing along the Mississippi river. Every season a small force would cross the Ohio and be beaten back. It seemed to me that the Union AI was holding back substantial forces, perhaps even forces that could have wiped out A.S. Johnston's had they made a concentrated effort. Almost every turn I saw faces familiar from Union history pacing the Ohio river, but they never made good on their apparent threat.
Such was still the case when the war ended, although Spring and Summer 1864 did see some interesting river forays (mostly exploratory, it seemed, or maybe just fishing), as well as a small landing at Pensacola, Florida.
Conclusions and Questions:
I'll list these as numbered questions:
1) I greatly enjoyed this campaign against the AI, although the Union's behavior in the West perplexes me somewhat. It was definitely more aggressive in Virginia than in Kentucky/Tennessee. Are there different "theater-level" AI's at work on the computer side? Does the aggression setting under Game Options tend to unbalance the game (e.g. causing the AI to make kamikaze attacks)?
2) I noticed that "epidemic" events rarely ever cost me strength, only cohesion. Is this WAD?
3) This is a very stable game. I had not one crash!
4) The final tally of losses was 271,983 Confederate casualties and 404,704 Union. This seems plausibly close to history (which saw CSA losses of 93,000 killed + 123,000 wounded; Union losses of 110,000 killed + 275,000 wounded). I was playing without the hard attrition rule enabled. I don't recall any single battle result striking me as ridiculous.
5) This is the only full campaign that I have played to completion against the AI. I'd love to hear what other players' experiences have been.
Let me know!
