What Settings for the best AI Opponent?

[dolphin]

This is what happened my first campaign.

What should I choose in set up options to prevent it from happening so quickly and easily in my next game?



Full Campaign w/Kentucky (Union Invaded and Kentucky was my ally).


It was great fun, but in September of 62 I won due to reducing the Union Moral to 37 after I took Washington.

It really kinda is messed up because ATHENA did a really great job launching a three pronged Eastern Seaboard Invasion and ploughing inland through South Carolina after taking Norfolk.

I had to divert Lee and 2/3 of my troops to deal with it.


That left Jackson up North defending Harpers Ferry and the Strassberg Depot and a 700 Power force entrenched and guarding Alexandria and protecting Manassas which I had taken early in the war and held throughout.

It looked like Athena was going to try and take Manasses, so I took a chance and peaked my head out of Alexandria to try and push him back. My Garrison force won and followed him to Washington placing it under siege. Jackson rushes to support and two turns later DC falls.

I find it hard to believe the AI would allow Washington to be so lightly defended and then be taken so easily.




P.S. As a side question I would like to know....

Do other CSA players like keeping both LEE and Jackson as Corp Commanders, or should you make them Army Commanders ASAP?

[Pat "Stonewall" Cleburne]

Passive and +4 detection. Crank it up to hard or give them an activation bonus if you want as well.

I definitely make Lee the army commander. Bory goes to Tennessee and Jonston (either 1) can go to Missouri. Promoting Jackson or Longstreet to 3 stars hurt there stats so I don't do it. You only really need 3 armies anyway. Maybe a fourth for coastal defense.

[dolphin]

I definitely make Lee the army commander. Bory goes to Tennessee and Jonston (either 1) can go to Missouri. Promoting Jackson or Longstreet to 3 stars hurt there stats so I don't do it. You only really need 3 armies anyway. Maybe a fourth for coastal defense.

Thanks for the Set Up Option recommendation.


Interestingly in my game none of my three Army Commanders ever left the East. I had one of them on the way to Kentucky when the game ended as I was ready to advance deep into Illinois on a rampage as I had consolidated my position in Kentucky and advanced as far as I could in Illinois.

I had two large Independent Cavalry Divisions operating in Texas/MO, and and another in Kentucky along with a couple two Star Generals operating x6 Max stacks with the Infantry and Militia. They did the job quite well without an Army Commander.

I had an extra HQ, but I was enjoying using Lee as a Corp Commander so much I just left it sit. I had his Corp Stack up to 2850 Power at one point.

I was playing with x1 Teleport per turn for myself and three for the Union. Seemed I was never allowed to Strategically redeploy an Army Commander as the option was always ghosted out. I guess because it has the HQ as an element with them and cannot be teleported. Keeping Lee as a Corp Commander allows you to quickly redeploy him anywhere you want and then back again. Not that I ever needed to, but its a nice option.

[dolphin]

Passive.

I don't see an option for Passiveness. Do you mean the three levels of Agressiveness? Keeping it on the first one where it says the AI will miss some oportunities against a weaker opponant?

[Pat "Stonewall" Cleburne]

Yeah, I meant low agressiveness. I haven't tested this as much in 1.16, but it's almost necessary in 1.15.

Also, You can't teleport an army commander with it's hq element. You can only teleport leaders by themselves, or Army HQ units by themselves. You can't teleport after you combine them.

[Johnny Reb]

Yeah, I meant low agressiveness. I haven't tested this as much in 1.16, but it's almost necessary in 1.15.

I'm playing 1.15. Does low aggressiveness provide a more realistic/historical play? Why is it almost necessary?

[GraniteStater]

That's what is claimed. Have always played on the vanilla setting, though - just dialed up Difficulty.

[gchristie]

I'm playing 1.15. Does low aggressiveness provide a more realistic/historical play? Why is it almost necessary?

From my understanding it reduces Athena's tendency towards suicidal raids that players find so easy to annihilate.

[Johnny Reb]

Thanks

If you are currently playing a campaign and go to the main menu and make changes in the "options menu", will those changes take effect in your saved campaign when you load it again? Or do you need to start a new campaign for the changes to take effect?

[GraniteStater]

I asked a similar question lately. I have one example, though: in my PBEM, we shut the AI OFF, of course. At another point, I loaded a rare CSA game (AI). When I went back to the PBEM, no glitch, no hiccups.

So...I think the Settings remain at the last configuration that the user set. I would bet money it's just a config file.

[Johnny Reb]

So am I correct is concluding that you cannot change the options in a current campaign you are playing to take effect immediately in that campaign?

[GraniteStater]

AFAIK, if I understand you, Yes. You're stuck with the settings - you can't take that really interesting Hard game and make it Very Hard.

It is a good Q, though - as said, I had made a comment about the settings a few weeks ago. I could be wrong in my observations and conclusions.

Gray!

[Pat "Stonewall" Cleburne]

I'm not sure about AI rules. I know you can move the FI rule around though.

[Johnny Reb]

Gray!

When Stonewall is not sure, I'll have to second that GS.
Gray! ompom:

[Pocus]

That's the contrary actually, the settings applies immediately. So you can change on the fly difficulty level.

Plus, side remark, you don't have to disengage the AI if you play PBEM. AI kicks in only if there are turns without Order files, and you get a confirmation message anyway...

[Johnny Reb]

That's good to know. Thanks Pocus!

[GraniteStater]

That's the contrary actually, the settings applies immediately. So you can change on the fly difficulty level.

Plus, side remark, you don't have to disengage the AI if you play PBEM. AI kicks in only if there are turns without Order files, and you get a confirmation message anyway...

Thank you for the clarification.

Just to nail it down - kinda foolish Q, but, I have a game going with Settings Bundle A; when I load another game (human or AI) with Settings Bundle B, the latter bundle, B, applies, right?

So the program keeps track of the config for each instance, which is how most programs do it, anyway.

[Pat "Stonewall" Cleburne]

Thank you for the clarification.

Just to nail it down - kinda foolish Q, but, I have a game going with Settings Bundle A; when I load another game (human or AI) with Settings Bundle B, the latter bundle, B, applies, right?

So the program keeps track of the config for each instance, which is how most programs do it, anyway.

I don't think so. The settings are universal for all games. You have to remember to change settings back and forth if you're switching between different games.

[Cromagnonman]

Sounds like a solution to my FI problem...