Hard difficulty

[Kadrush]

So, we know that the supply line is a very delicate thing in this game and supply anything bigger than a regiment becomes an issue with you deploy your units in corps and armies.

Here i was trying my luck on a severe violence hard game, no nemesis. After turtiling several minors on the early game i got light tanks and artillery and made my way out, taking two other cities and creating another one.

After a few more turns I saw a minor taking a major city, took my chance and got that city from the minor. That AI didnt liked it and attacked me, their infantry was inferior to mine, but they seemed to have some kind of hidden combat bonus, because even me entreched on ruins and with defensive posture cards they just easily defeated me in infantry vs infantry combat (their infantry was using defensive posture). I managed to earn some time by upgrading my brigades of infantry to corps, a huge drain on my population. Also I pulled back to ruins and fortified with AT weapons.

It...worked...for about 15 turns and them I lost the game...

The AI, no even a nemesis, sent a light armor army against me...yes...an army...5 units on 290 light tanks each....it was a slaughter.

Now i just cant understand...how the hell did the AI manage to find to fuel and supply all those tanks? A few regiment sized units and i am already running dry, even with several oil wells and biofuel factories.

I heard something about an hidden AI supply bonus, but if thats the case it is ridiculous and make hard level unplayable...

Let me be clear...the AI managed to build and supply more than 1500 light tanks (counting other smaller units) in 90 turns...

Hard level could use some balance.

[CHOO CHOO]

Similar things happened to me last time I played severe violence. I and an allied player were ground into fine paste by an army that was several times larger than both of ours and more technologically advanced to boot, coming from a tiny piece of territory with no visible resources that would allow for such a thing.

That said, I didn't notice any hidden combat bonuses. They had recruits, materials and technology coming out of their ears, and I think they won on that basis.

[Kerman]

In my current game; hard, maraton on dead desert world, at turn ~90 im supporting 1480 tanks (not counting trucks and buggies) and im confident i could double it in 20 turns.
It is totally possible, if i can do it, AI can too

Guys, im not trying to be rude,
Are you sure you are ready for hard mode?

Sorry for english, blame google translate

[cranky corvid]

That actually sounds pretty normal for turn 90. I had 1300 tanks, 500 guns and 150 aircraft on turn 91 in one of my recent games, with enough resource and industry income to churn out another light armor brigade every 2 turns while simultaneously expanding fuel production if I wanted, and I was desperately bottlenecked on metal for most of that game since I wasn't able to acquire and exploit a metal deposit until turn 62, and also rolled Metal Soil Filtration late.

[Kadrush]

Originally posted by Kerman:

In my current game; hard, maraton on dead desert world, at turn ~90 im supporting 1480 tanks (not counting trucks and buggies) and im confident i could double it in 20 turns.
It is totally possible, if i can do it, AI can too

Guys, im not trying to be rude,
Are you sure you are ready for hard mode?

Sorry for english, blame google translate

would you mind to teach how did you got the fuel, ammo and resources for 1.5k light tanks in 90 turns? How the supplies got to the front?

Let me repeat...1.5k tanks on a narrow front, impossible for a player to supply by turn 90, but AI can...of course it is a balance issue

[Avloren]

Originally posted by Kadrush:

would you mind to teach how did you got the fuel, ammo and resources for 1.5k light tanks in 90 turns? How the supplies got to the front?

Let me repeat...1.5k tanks on a narrow front, impossible for a player to supply by turn 90, but AI can...of course it is a balance issue

I could achieve that in my current game. I won't claim to be great at this game or doing things optimally. But I am beating hard AIs, and I can explain a bit of where my empire is at and how I got there.

I'm at turn 76 and generating roughly 2000 spare IP and metal per turn (before a bunch of it gets consumed by construction). For me, a 1500-tank army (50% strength) costs: 11k IP and 13k metal for a maxed out light tank model, 7k IP and 9k metal for an older model (this would probably be closer to the crap the AI designs). So.. I could make that army by turn 80. I could have had it by turn 76 if I'd prioritized it. I'm currently only fielding about 600 tanks, I really just don't need more, focusing most of my resources into economic development. But it's feasible.

How: most production is coming from public assets in my 200k population capital city (level V 'Major City'). Higher level city = higher level assets, which are more efficient than lower level ones. A single Industry IV gives you more IP while using less workers than 10x Industry I's. I've captured+founded other cities totaling 105k population, but frankly they don't do much except mine nearby deposits to save the capital from administrative strain.

Getting significant bonuses from government profile (40%) and leader relations (25%). With those, my Industry IV's nominal 800 IP per turn becomes 1400. Overall I've done a lot of investment in research and city/asset development, spent the early turns turtling on the military front before I had the economy and tech and model designs to switch to offensive. It's a Medusa world with fairly unpleasant wildlife, so early expansion wasn't viable anyway.

It's harder to speculate on logistics, but I can say that I have 500 tanks + 8000 infantry concentrated on one front and only using roughly half the logistics I'm sending their way. It's a combination of rail line heads + truck stops close to the front lines (do note you can build them wherever you want, not just in cities), supplied by a Rail Station II back at the SHQ. I think I could support 1000 tanks as is, probably need a Rail III upgrade for 1500. This would be a bigger limitation for me than raising the army - Rail Station consume SO many machines, and I haven't finished heavy industry yet (in hindsight, should have built that sooner).

I'm sure the hard AI shamelessly cheats at logistics. The same thing I accomplish with a rail+sealed road network, they do with dirt roads. And they're definitely getting some kind of unfair advantage in combat, their SHQ/OHQ leaders frequently produce unreasonably big percent bonuses. I also wouldn't be shocked if they cheat at economy. So this isn't meant to explain how the AI is succeeding against you, just how you could do the same thing to the AI.

[Kadrush]

yeah, thats my point, in order to supply the same army you need to build way more logistic stuff, diverting industry that the AI used on units,

Also, their 90 turn 1500 units tank army had 100mm polymer armor, meaning that only my best AT guns and or medium tanks with high velocity guns could penetrate. As far as I know, polymer armor is an applied science stuff, meaning the AI even had spare to dive into that field.

[maerchen]

Polymer armor isn't applied science, it is advanced chemistry, which is 3 discoveries afar from engineering. Depending on your research speed, you can get to that easy in 90 turns.

If you have problems teching up, I made something:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2314732568

[Kadrush]

Originally posted by maerchen:

Polymer armor isn't applied science, it is advanced chemistry, which is 3 discoveries afar from engineering. Depending on your research speed, you can get to that easy in 90 turns.

If you have problems teching up, I made something:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2314732568

I read your guide several times, but still coudnt figure out how to influence the discovery coin toss on different field. I try to get to light tanks/artillery and solar power ASAP but keep discovering junk.

[maerchen]

If you early game do a lot of discovery but only a small fraction of research you get a lot of options to research from when you discover those techs you really need.

If you do not expand your research into engineering, solar will come true over time, but if you expand early, your discovery field broadens.

Regarding models: I do not model anything that expands the model field until I discover light tanks. Light tanks are a game changer. I always go for 60mm howitzer, 100mm armor and biggest engine. As soon as side skirts are done, I remodel as then light tanks are invincible against infantry and almost everything else for a long time.

[Kadrush]

Originally posted by maerchen:

If you early game do a lot of discovery but only a small fraction of research you get a lot of options to research from when you discover those techs you really need.

If you do not expand your research into engineering, solar will come true over time, but if you expand early, your discovery field broadens.

Regarding models: I do not model anything that expands the model field until I discover light tanks. Light tanks are a game changer. I always go for 60mm howitzer, 100mm armor and biggest engine. As soon as side skirts are done, I remodel as then light tanks are invincible against infantry and almost everything else for a long time.

under those terms your light tank would receive a huge malus for speed, would be like a WW2 matilda

[CHOO CHOO]

If you use your tanks as support for infantry, say in assault armies, then that speed malus isn't as much of an issue.

Of course it's no good for a pure tank army.

[maerchen]

Originally posted by Kadrush:

under those terms your light tank would receive a huge malus for speed, would be like a WW2 matilda

They are nearly unkillable. That's what counts in my book. A lifetime investion, good morale and XP because they win every fight, no need to replace, and the infantry can keep up.

The 100mm armor is a big survival factor. And early game I do not have the logistics developed to support a blitzing fast tank army anyway. After polymer armor (and fuel/armor/engine optimization) is modelled in, you can bet I go fast.

[Kadrush]

wouldnt a 100mm armor tank cost a fortune in metal and ip in early game? I am still struggling to find metal deposits on my planet choices.

[maerchen]

Depending on your planetary geology, it can be a struggle.

I try to discover and research metal soil filtration after I got solar power though, and commerce profile bonuses are good when you have a lot of zones.

I found cities often just for the private light industry they build if I cannot get minor regime zones because of distance or rarity.

[[] ¬ []1 TEFLON DON 永遠のトランプ]

Based on what I have read the logistics system in this game does not apply to the AI regardless of the difficulty you are playing on. Right now I am on a normal game and having supply issues galore fighting a major that has a single city left, refuses peace and has ZERO resources (no deposits, no ruins). Somehow they are able to field thousands and thousands of soldiers along with tanks. I even have one enemy unit pretty much cut off from the rest that has some outrageous combat bonuses. I have 3:1 manpower advantage yet my combat odds are absolute garbage against this guy who I have been pummeling with 300mm artillery for the past 15 turns.

I highly recommend starting at tech level 5 + easy logistics. If the AI is going to cheat so brazenly then why handicap yourself? This game is already challenging enough.

The developers response to the AI being able to cheat w/logistics is that players are always smarter... Give me a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ break on trying to rationalize that sort of bonus to the AI.