I won!

[ohms_law]

[ATTACH]31486[/ATTACH]
Huzza! Huzza! Huzza!

[grimjaw]

Congrats. What was the straw the broke the Union camel's back? Depending on the situation, sometimes they survive the loss of DC.

[ohms_law]

They fought on for another month and a half after losing DC. I just beat the heck out of them in Baltimore and Cleveland though, during this last turn resolution.
Oh yea, took back Harper's Ferry as well. Well, actually, looking at the screenshot again, I guess I didn't actually take it back, but I beat up on the force that was there. So, I pretty much just gave them a general beating.

[ArmChairGeneral]

General Beating is my favorite leader in the game (too bad he is so hard to unlock).

Nice work!

[ohms_law]

Unfortunately, it feels somewhat hollow. Don't get me wrong, I'm satisfied with my win; it's just... there's something wrong with the AI at mid-game. The AI was good for the first year of the war, or so; after that, it seemed too passive and it seems to me that it didn't take advantage of the resources that it had and the possibilities to organize it's forces to optimize those resources.

Anyway, I'm looking into how it's all working, now.

[Captain_Orso]

[ATTACH]31486[/ATTACH]
Huzza! Huzza! Huzza!

Congratulations Ohms!

I gotta get me some more CS experience too.

[ohms_law]

Thanks!

[Merlin]

Unfortunately, it feels somewhat hollow. Don't get me wrong, I'm satisfied with my win; it's just... there's something wrong with the AI at mid-game. The AI was good for the first year of the war, or so; after that, it seemed too passive and it seems to me that it didn't take advantage of the resources that it had and the possibilities to organize it's forces to optimize those resources.

Anyway, I'm looking into how it's all working, now.

If you had failed to force a win before the snow and stopped your offensive, things may very well have looked different in the spring. Athena doesn't handle rapidly changing situations well, and the winter would have helped her to reorganize.

[ohms_law]

um... maybe. Union Athena seems too stuck on needing to capture New Orleans, though. That, and she instigated in the West by invading Kentucky in this game, and yet she barely committed any troops to the field. I don't know... she could do better, I think. AACW seemed to be more of a challenge, at least.

[Merlin]

I've never seen her try for NOLA after a hard repulse, and I've never, ever seen her invade Kentucky. Ever, as either side.

It could be a one-off thing, but then I've never seen KY secede if the date isn't Early Sept. '61 (happens in 20% of my games), so who knows what's really going on under the hood?

[ohms_law]

That she won't actually try after a hard repulse is kind of the problem. If you pull forces out of there (say, up north, to where the action is) then she'll be there again within a turn or two.

I was somewhat surprised about the Kentucky events in this game, too. That seems to be completely event driven, but that's part of the problem: if the events go that way, Union Athena is apparently completely unprepared for it.

[ajarnlance]

Unfortunately, it feels somewhat hollow. Don't get me wrong, I'm satisfied with my win; it's just... there's something wrong with the AI at mid-game. The AI was good for the first year of the war, or so; after that, it seemed too passive and it seems to me that it didn't take advantage of the resources that it had and the possibilities to organize it's forces to optimize those resources.

Anyway, I'm looking into how it's all working, now.

I am currently in July of 1863 and dominating the western theatre as the CSA. Athena hasn't even touched NO or tried any significant coastal invasion at all. Also Athena just gave up control of the key rivers in the western theatre. Foote's fleet stayed up in Nebraska, the Union didn't use it's superior river forces to challenge me at all. I think the AI is where the focus should go for the next patch.

[minipol]

I depends from game to game.
I also dominated west, and had huge armies protecting Harpers Ferry and Alexandria.
But Athena launched attacks against Norfolk, Charleston, New Orleans and more.
In that game, I had to fight of at least 6 attacks on coastal cities, which was tough as by doing so, I had to delay sending
troops to help out on the frontline.

[ajarnlance]

I wish that had happened in my game. It would have been far more interesting. Athena made one half-hearted unsupported invasion up the Mississippi which I quickly snuffed out. She also landed in Norfolk but never advanced because I sent Longstreet to keep an eye on her. I tend to just hold the line in Virginia while conquering the west (MO/ Kentucky/ OH etc..).
What settings are you using for the AI? In my current game (Athena is Union) I am using:
Aggressiveness medium
Detect bonus medium
Activation +1
AI ranking Lieutenant
Give AI more time ON
Use all behaviours ON

Maybe it is time I played a human opponent using PBEM!!

[ArmChairGeneral]

Once you find yourself kicking AI butt it is time to up the settings. She will not get better strategically, but she will get better tactically, making it harder for you to pick up the wins in the field that snowball you to victory.

The current Union AI plays the West Theater poorly: she is unprepared for Southern aggression and has difficulty counter-attacking. I do not know how well she invades in the event the CSA player turtles, because early aggression is so successful that I don't have any experience turtling. I have never seen Athena offer a credible threat to New Orleans: I fortify it heavily and have either scared them off or successfully defended NO every time. Perhaps successful Western aggression also diverted attention from NO (although it shouldn't).

Most of my wins in AGEOD games are because the AI plays a competent game, but then makes an obvious mistake that I recognize and pounce on. In some ways I feel psyched: I must be pretty good to recognize and be able to take advantage of the opportunities. OTOH, sometimes it is disappointing when it finally happens: the mistakes can seem arbitrary and pointless, leaving you thinking "Why in the heck would she do that?!"

[Captain_Orso]

8<
Aggressiveness medium
Detect bonus medium
Activation +1
AI ranking Lieutenant
Give AI more time ON
Use all behaviours ON

Partly from what I learned from many of the giants of AACW, partly from what I experienced myself:

Unless you never want to play a human play--EVER--you don't want to push Athena to her limits. She won't get better, in the sense that a human player will. She will receive advantages--cheats --, which allow her to do things that no human player could possibly do, when constrained by realistic limits.

Thus when you want to play a human, you will have to relearn everything. Not only will the game work different, but your opponent will play with a style and nuance that Athena--bless her heart--can not attain.

Aggressiveness: If you set it too high, Athena will do very strange things. I'm not sure what I have, but probably also "Medium".

Detect bonus: I have "Low", because if Athena sees things far off, "oh, a Shiney, seven regions away. Want, want, must have" , she will do strange things, especially if coupled with high aggressiveness.

Activation: If you set it too high, Athena's generals will be activated far more often than yours. It's no fun, it's unrealistic, you'll never encounter it when playing a human, and you'll have to learn to do things which you cannot use against a human.

AI ranking: Lieutenant: This is what I use. If you go above this, you are not playing the same game. Athena's generals will all be on steroids and it's just ridiculous.

Give AI more time: ON: Yes! let her think as long as she wants.

Use all behaviors: ON: But of course!

Maybe it is time I played a human opponent using PBEM!!

Yes, find one, make arraignments, GO! - but don't forget to have fun