Playing AI isn't fun at all.

[phoenix2700]

Seriously, whenever I face the AI in this game I get destroyed mercilessly. They need to take away the free vision that the AI gets... As soon as the battle starts, the AI automatically buys units that COUNTER yours...because they see everything you have from the very beginning. (this is made worse by the AI getting more units than you...) No rushes can work due to this. Turtling is possible, but the AI sees all your units hiding in cover and spams artillery and mortars. SEAD aircraft are literally worthless against the AI because they see the SEAD plane coming as soon as you call it and turn off all radar units...Please fix this!!!

tl;dr: The AI punches kittens and drinks their tears. Please fix this.

[Cougarific]

FYI they locked the last thread on this topic after like 250 posts.

It still exists if you want to look thru it - titled something like "So the AI..."

[Zaniaac]

I agree. I am just starting out and when I try to go up again the A.i. I get slaughtered with Artillary. I hav no defense. Could they tone down the A.i or take away the free vision? I lvoe this game but I'm also frustrated with it.

[Kursah]

Do you also own EE? If so, I highly recommend trying the campaign as it's like a big tutorial that'll give you a fighting chance. You kind of have to adapt a strategy for playing against the AI, but on easy, if you play more agressively you will do better. Yes they can see your units, but they won't be able to shoot them until they're within range and FOV.

I am still fairly new and learning both this and EE, and I really enjoy both but yes the challenge is definitely there especially when you're new to the titles and not familiar with how they play and how the AI plays.

Another option is to ask on the chat to see if anyone can help you an a player vs. ai online skirmish too. There are quite a few helpful folks online. Also check out youtube vids and there is an amazing 176-page guide that you can locate in the Guides section for this game on Steam.

In the last thread one of the AI developers posted this:

Gargoyle has Wargame: AirLand Battle Jul 27, 2013 @ 3:24am
Originally posted by Allust:
Campaign/SP is a mess due to omniscient AI. Developers have a cavalier attitude about this and don't seem to care. They either have a mediocre AI programmer who doesn't know how to fix it, or they just don't care. The times I've been able to play the game and deal with the AI's all-knowing behavior have been pretty fun so the core of the game is good, but they need to stop it with their attitude towards the AI claiming it's perfectly fine and just fix it already.

Hello,

I'm one of the programmer of the AI and I'm very surprise that you describe me as "mediocre" and have "a cavalier attitude"... I never post a comment that give you that impression or give me the link....
But, I'm not here to be angry and I'll try to be constructive.

This game is very complicated. To program, to make it a game that have a lot of complexity inside but stay at a level that the player doesn't feel it....in the first games that he plays.

More you play, more you go deeply in the mechanics and more you're efficient in it.

On the other side, the AI have to manage this and in real time.... That is the most difficult thing for us. We have to make choice to not overburn the CPU by AI calculation. And to keep the AI competitive, we have to give him some advantage.

But to be clear, the way the AI was made is to give challenge for best players, a sort of sparring partner to test your deck in skirmish. I'm sorry if the AI doesn't give you the fun that we have worked hard on.... Be sure that we are always on, and understand that the omniscience isn't funny when you want to ambush them...but the AI have to see the target to shoot and have a limited deck (a little more units than player deck). Only some command points bonus at the start of the game and all of the same rules as players.

cheers,

Gargoyle
Eugen Team
Last edited by Gargoyle; Jul 27, 2013 @ 11:01am

There are many like you guys, including myself that have found the AI to be difficult even on easy when pretty new to this game. There's so much to know and learn and remember unit-wise that can turn the tide of battle for you and your deck. Put the AI on easy, and be more agressive with them, I also like to attack from 2 fronts as well..at least with them on easy I can flank them and really hurt their forces. They will turtle and pile up forces at their base and send a few units here and there to harass you. Keep your units moving, don't doubt that they won't hit you should you provoke them, or not. I keep my units moving and try to hit them hard before they hit me. Again I'm still learning, but the more I play, the more I learn and the more I enjoy this title. Cheers!

[s u p e r g r a m p s]

Zaniaac a écrit :

I agree. I am just starting out and when I try to go up again the A.i. I get slaughtered with Artillary. I hav no defense.

He is right, You have to really adopt diffrent strategys when fighting the AI, for example, the best way to counter the mass spam of artillery the AI always pulls together is to use SEAD (if facing PACT AI, otherwise you may or may not get shot down by AA when facing NATO) and cluster bombers or just bombers with big bombs (500kj+) and just watch for the dust artillery makes and drop them on the general area and you should soon knock out all of his artillery.

Watch out for massive unit spams, they AI loves to do this, best way to counter it is with Air support mixed with artillery, or jsut a good defensive line of ATGMs, APCs and Rifle Squads.

If you find yourself agianst alot of say T-80Bs, don't worry. look at their veterancy and if their rookie rank (Which in some AI decks they do have a bunch of rookie units of heavyier tech just to take up space), just pound them with artillery/bombs/rockets/ect. and it will peretty much make them waste all of their ammo trying to fire when they are panicked.

AI loves air support, and some factions like Norway of Czechslovakia have bombers with 1000kj bombs that they'll spam over and over. So use good AS Jets to knock em' out, but make sure they're fast aircraft of veteranized otherwise they will miss. Depending on the faction and deck the AI will send out AS jets to counter any jet you send up, so be weary, and a good tactic i found out is that you can lure their jets by doing this, so circle a jet out there and wait until you see bogeys coming for it, then high tail it to a AA feild you set up (Missles and Artillery perfereed) and let the AA tear them up as they chase your jet.

Last thing, watch your logistics, AI LOVES to destroy logistical support, from giant supply helicopters to just one truck, so keep helciopter escorts close to it and if you're really paranoid (like say a giant MI-26 that you only get 2 of) keep an AS Jet circling behind it and if a jet comes, knock it out.

[phoenix2700]

Thanks for all the answers guys, but you're still just a shy away from what I'm getting at here. I've got a real love-hate relationship going on with this game, because it IS a great strategy game (totally beats out Sc2...) but the AI quality is poor due to it's simple ability to see everything.

There's no counter to the AI's infinte vision. You can't ambush their units, they see yours at all times. As I said, rushes won't work- they see your units, and spawn the exact counters to whatever you have from the beginning. Anti-Tank guns are a nightmare in the AI's hands, because they see your units at all times and can snipe out...anything that isn't infantry. If you leave one of your sectors even mildly undefended, the AI will dog pile it and wipe out your commander.

If they simply remove the AI's infinte vision, then the quality of the skirmish matches will be SO much better. I don't care if the AI spawns with more units, or has more cards available in their decks- I just want a fair(ish) game on the battlefield. It would make it much easier for new players to ease into the game.

[legs]

i regret buying this game. there's just no way to get proficient or build my skills. AI kick arse. Players have bene on since alpha or whatever and they kick my arse as well. I'm pretty decent in other games but feel that the learning curve here just is so steep as to stop me playing more than the two hourse i've spent here already. what a waste of money in that case - which looked to have so much potential.

[Zaniaac]

The main reason why I bought this game is so I could play against the A.i but I never knew the A.i would be so hard even on medium. I think that logansrun here is correct but I don't regret buying the game, its fun. I just wish the A.i was a tad more manageable then it is right now.

[jcleary]

The AI in this game is broken, and the developers have a very cavalier attitude regarding this. Instead of admitting that they either do not have a AI programmer with the ability to properly code an AI that can be competitive without blatantly having an advantage, they basically mask it under the guise of creating an optimized environment that isn't too "taxing". I dont' care how fun the multiplayer is. The fact that the singleplayer AI is being so blatantly disregarded as "fine" by the developers will keep me from playing, or recommending, this game to anyone.

It's a shame because it really is a fun game that has a lot of potential. But I don't always feel like dealing with multiplayer so a strong singleplayer experience is important to me.

[Nats]

Ive badly beaten the AI and I've been badly beaten by the AI. Its pretty even for me but I do play on easy I think. I prefer to take things a little slower than most and a game where you are mercilessly beaten every time in no fun.

[alan85224]

Nats a écrit :

Ive badly beaten the AI and I've been badly beaten by the AI. Its pretty even for me but I do play on easy I think. I prefer to take things a little slower than most and a game where you are mercilessly beaten every time in no fun.

THIS. The AI is beatable, alot of people go medium and hard. You can multiplayer with an AI partner, I have a blast doing this and have learned TONS watching the replays. If you can't beat them, join them. The AI is what it is. This game has a steep learning curve, but at least you can choose what kind off deck the AI uses and dont have to face the helo spam so much. AI loves arty, but so do real armies. Cannons kill men. I have had pretty good luck maintaining my air defense, and if the AI shuts down radars when SEAD shows up, my choppers operate within a lessed threat environment. Some SEAD have cannons and will still engage targets, including optical guided systems. The AI is tough and I am glad that at its peak its unbeatable. All I can say is this- the AI isnt as tough as the people who play ALB. Get good at whipping the AI and then take on real people.

[🎢🧀🛵🌙🐍🍤🕹]

I kick veritable ass against both the easy and medium AI. The hard and very hard AI can be challenging at times but employing some tactical creativity usually resolves my problems when facing them.

[Morte-360]

I think I've won more games online than against the AI, It's just a little to omnipresent. Being aggressive with it (on normal/hard I have not tried easy) is difficult, it feels like it has a counter before your units are even in posisition. A easy way to nerf them (or a hard way since I know bugger all about AI programming), would be that they only produce/move counters when a recon unit actually spots a group of units, which alongside its all seeing vision allows it to judge weather to produce a lot of counter units or not. Relying on static defense, often means a win for me, but its not any good for seeing how my decks do on the offensive, which makes the skirmish a little useless.

And it is way to good with arty, I don't think its cheating par say, as in replays a recce unit is often near that I missed. But they just seem more efficent than a human player, at raining death on units all over the map.

On the whole its ok, but I just feel trying to se how your decks perform on the attack in skirmish isn't as efficent as it should be. An online player is a more difficult opponent, but I feel the skirmish mode fails as a way to test decks.

[Justin]

I remember starting out asking the same damn questions. With a bit more research and testing, I'm able to defeat Medium AIs semi-well. I'll team up with you if you'd like and I can try to show you what I've learned.

[Northern]

Ai — bad Tactick and he's micro very poor. Not sure about supervision but average ranked player fight much harder.

[Cougarific]

Arrow a écrit :

I remember starting out asking the same damn questions. With a bit more research and testing, I'm able to defeat Medium AIs semi-well. I'll team up with you if you'd like and I can try to show you what I've learned.

Beat it through superior military strategy and tactics or by finding gamey work-arounds to account for the omniscient A.I.?