1861 Scenarios: the Western Theatre

[Colonel Dreux]

Is anyone else disappointed or wanting more out of the AI in the Western part of the Grand 1861 campaigns? I am flabbergasted the North just doesn't put a whipping on me in Tennessee and along the Mississippi. Don't get me wrong, I think the AI is great, especially in the East... but I have yet to encounter a major assault coming down the Mississippi River or through Tennessee. Everything comes piece meal and easy to handle. Grant is never commanding more than a couple of brigades, etc.. and normally St. Louis is left wide open for attack because there isn't a concentrated force defending the city (units seem to be spread out, etc...

Thoughts?

[Rafiki]

[color="Blue"]In order to help provide direction, I'm moving this to the "Help improve"-forum [/color]

There are good points to be made about the AI's performance; many have been made (and acted upon) since AGE games started getting released. However, if you really want to help, provide a savegame that illustrates what you're saying; that way, it is possible to analyze all factors surrounding the situation and then see what can be done to improve things.

Another aspect of the discussion (perhaps a different discussion alltogether?) is what the AI is doing well; just as it's nice to know what Athena might be doing wrong in order to provide her with guidance, it can be good to know what Athena is doing right, so she can continue and perhaps expand on it

[Colonel Dreux]

[color="Blue"]In order to help provide direction, I'm moving this to the "Help improve"-forum [/color]

There are good points to be made about the AI's performance; many have been made (and acted upon) since AGE games started getting released. However, if you really want to help, provide a savegame that illustrates what you're saying; that way, it is possible to analyze all factors surrounding the situation and then see what can be done to improve things.

Another aspect of the discussion (perhaps a different discussion alltogether?) is what the AI is doing well; just as it's nice to know what Athena might be doing wrong in order to provide her with guidance, it can be good to know what Athena is doing right, so she can continue and perhaps expand on it

I'm too lazy to provide the community with a saved game. I have to re-install the game anyway, because of a saved game error in fact.

I imagine people who play understand what I'm talking about though. This isn't meant really as a criticism per se, the AI is very good as I said before. I'm in agreement with everyone who has ever praised it, so I'm not going to re-hash all the wonderful plaudits put forth before me.

I just want to make a general observation that there's never a hard push from the Union in the West that I've experienced (at least through 1863 -- normally the game is about won by then having accumulated a bunch of NM points through victories in Virginia), at least in none of the games I've played. I'm not entirely bothered by this because it means I win... and I must say the Union is active and does move down quickly, it just has never sent an Eastern size McDowell force into Tennessee. It besieges Ft. Donelson routinely, but with so little forces it's easy to brush them aside if you increase Polk or Zollicoffer's troop level. Historically, I guess, the forces that took Ft. Donelson were small in number (30,000 maybe?), but I never have a Shiloh is what I'm getting at.

I want a Shiloh!!!

[soloswolf]

Increasing the FOW bonus goes a long way toward making things tougher for yourself.

Also, try mixing up your own strategies. If things keep playing out like they have in the past, try something new.

[Colonel Dreux]

Increasing the FOW bonus goes a long way toward making things tougher for yourself.

Also, try mixing up your own strategies. If things keep playing out like they have in the past, try something new.

Yeah, I've thought about that and the activation bonus... which is ticked with the small bonus.

However, in praise of the AI, Rafiki, if you want an example of the smart AI, is that every time I fortify Norfolk, at some point the Union will go and try to to take it. If I do not leave the Norfolk guns there and beef up the command a little bit further, they will take Norfolk every time and will then have two coastal forts on the James estuary. Sometimes McDowell quickly bypasses Richmond and gets down the James to Norfolk, or they come in via an amphibious assault (sometimes even come up through NC which I normally cannot see until they're right outside Suffolk or Norfolk). The AI does all kinds of interesting things that totally mess up whatever plan you have. I've just never fought a huge battle in the West yet. People talk about fortifying Chattanooga, but the Union never gets a sizable army that far South. Sometimes they a get cavalry sortie or some random infantry unit gets there, but nothing too hard to handle for my bare footed Alabamans or Tennesseans.

[Rafiki]

No worries Colonel Dreux, and I hope I didn't coup your thread (too much ); just the same as everyone, I want Athena to be the best she can be, and I wanted to show a way where everyone who wishes to can help out

[Colonel Dreux]

No worries Colonel Dreux, and I hope I didn't coup your thread (too much ); just the same as everyone, I want Athena to be the best she can be, and I wanted to show a way where everyone who wishes to can help out

No worries. I probably need to up the difficulty beyond normal and give the AI some more bonuses.