OK, we all know that given a long head start (say, playing Germany in the 1936 scenario), you can beat the AI in HOI. "Conquering Europe? Easy! Just give me the most powerful nation, a long list of things Hitler did wrong, and 3.5 years to get ready!"
But how about holding on to Poland when it's already 0:00 hours on September 1, 1939? Do you know any really clever tricks that cavalry can use on tanks? What's that you say? Speak up! No, I didn't think so . . . So I propose a contest to see whether man really is better than machine.
I have just completed a survey of more than 100 AARs in which Poland fought Germany -- some with a human player controlling Poland, some with a human player controlling Germany, and most of them AI versus AI.
This is approximately how long it took Poland to fall, according to you, the players:
-- AI versus AI using early HOI (v1.01 and earlier): 83 days
-- AI versus AI using v1.02 or later: 52 days
-- Human Germany versus AI Poland (v1.01 and earlier): 36 days
-- Human Germany versus AI Poland (v1.02 or later): 33 days
-- AI Germany versus human Poland (v1.01 and earlier): 53 days
-- AI Germany versus human Poland (v1.02 or later): 34 days
More statistical details can be found here.
Can this really be true? Is the AI really getting better with each new patch of Hearts of Iron? Can the AI defeat a human-controlled Poland just as fast as a human can defeat AI-controlled Poland?
Okay, let’s find out. To participate in the contest you must play one game of the standard 1939 scenario as Germany, and successfully annex Poland, then play one game of the 1939 scenario as Poland and . . . well . . . get annexed. Or last until 1948. You may NOT use military control of other countries at any time in your game, or cheats from the console. Record the following dates for BOTH games:
-- date Warsaw is captured by Germans (if it is)
-- date Poland is annexed (if it is)
Please submit your game results in this thread. With your entry, state (a) what version you are using, and (b) whether you want to be considered Veteran or Newbie. You will be ranked against others in that category. Sorry, you can't use CORE or other mods, it has to be the 1939 scenario. Some other contest rules:
-- Play on normal/normal or harder. I would prefer it if you stuck with normal/normal, but if you choose to handicap yourself, then that's really up to you.
-- If your game crashes and cannot be recovered, you may submit the last date you were still alive as Poland. If it crashes before you annex Poland as Germany, tough luck.
-- You are encouraged to enter more than once. Each entry will be ranked separately, e.g. “Math Guy 1st Try”. The more entries we get, the more precisely we can determine how good the AI actually is.
The contest will run until the end of October 2003. I will periodically rank the results by taking (number of days survived as Poland) – (number of days to win as Germany) for each entry. As a prize, the highest ranked player in each division on November 1, 2003 can add this title to his or her signature:
High Scorer in Oct 2003 “Beat the AI” Contest (Veteran/Newbie).
It's possible we will have one or more individuals who avoid being annexed by Germany entirely. If so, a separate prize will be awarded:
Survived as Poland in Oct 2003 "Beat the AI" Contest
There will also be some Honorary Mentions, such as:
Fastest Annexation of Poland in Oct 2003 "Beat the AI" Contest
We will compute the average AI score using this same method, and rank the AI among all the players who compete. Those who rank lower than the AI in playing ability can slink away in humiliation. Everyone who participates will also be thanked by name in the documentation for the Historical Statistics Pack when it is released in November.
One more thing (I know this is a long post). If you try this and your score is not so good, post it anyway! Information like this can help make HOI a better game. If we don't get reports on the times when the AI outperformed the human player, we won't know what is working well in the game, and what isn't.
SPECIAL ADVERTISEMENT: You should also take a look at the HOI Players' Association website. You now have a place to get rated in your human-versus-human battles, so please use it!
EDITS: clarified rules, added Honorary Mention prize, encouraged low scorers to report
But how about holding on to Poland when it's already 0:00 hours on September 1, 1939? Do you know any really clever tricks that cavalry can use on tanks? What's that you say? Speak up! No, I didn't think so . . . So I propose a contest to see whether man really is better than machine.
I have just completed a survey of more than 100 AARs in which Poland fought Germany -- some with a human player controlling Poland, some with a human player controlling Germany, and most of them AI versus AI.
This is approximately how long it took Poland to fall, according to you, the players:
-- AI versus AI using early HOI (v1.01 and earlier): 83 days
-- AI versus AI using v1.02 or later: 52 days
-- Human Germany versus AI Poland (v1.01 and earlier): 36 days
-- Human Germany versus AI Poland (v1.02 or later): 33 days
-- AI Germany versus human Poland (v1.01 and earlier): 53 days
-- AI Germany versus human Poland (v1.02 or later): 34 days
More statistical details can be found here.
Can this really be true? Is the AI really getting better with each new patch of Hearts of Iron? Can the AI defeat a human-controlled Poland just as fast as a human can defeat AI-controlled Poland?
Okay, let’s find out. To participate in the contest you must play one game of the standard 1939 scenario as Germany, and successfully annex Poland, then play one game of the 1939 scenario as Poland and . . . well . . . get annexed. Or last until 1948. You may NOT use military control of other countries at any time in your game, or cheats from the console. Record the following dates for BOTH games:
-- date Warsaw is captured by Germans (if it is)
-- date Poland is annexed (if it is)
Please submit your game results in this thread. With your entry, state (a) what version you are using, and (b) whether you want to be considered Veteran or Newbie. You will be ranked against others in that category. Sorry, you can't use CORE or other mods, it has to be the 1939 scenario. Some other contest rules:
-- Play on normal/normal or harder. I would prefer it if you stuck with normal/normal, but if you choose to handicap yourself, then that's really up to you.
-- If your game crashes and cannot be recovered, you may submit the last date you were still alive as Poland. If it crashes before you annex Poland as Germany, tough luck.
-- You are encouraged to enter more than once. Each entry will be ranked separately, e.g. “Math Guy 1st Try”. The more entries we get, the more precisely we can determine how good the AI actually is.
The contest will run until the end of October 2003. I will periodically rank the results by taking (number of days survived as Poland) – (number of days to win as Germany) for each entry. As a prize, the highest ranked player in each division on November 1, 2003 can add this title to his or her signature:
High Scorer in Oct 2003 “Beat the AI” Contest (Veteran/Newbie).
It's possible we will have one or more individuals who avoid being annexed by Germany entirely. If so, a separate prize will be awarded:
Survived as Poland in Oct 2003 "Beat the AI" Contest
There will also be some Honorary Mentions, such as:
Fastest Annexation of Poland in Oct 2003 "Beat the AI" Contest
We will compute the average AI score using this same method, and rank the AI among all the players who compete. Those who rank lower than the AI in playing ability can slink away in humiliation. Everyone who participates will also be thanked by name in the documentation for the Historical Statistics Pack when it is released in November.
One more thing (I know this is a long post). If you try this and your score is not so good, post it anyway! Information like this can help make HOI a better game. If we don't get reports on the times when the AI outperformed the human player, we won't know what is working well in the game, and what isn't.
SPECIAL ADVERTISEMENT: You should also take a look at the HOI Players' Association website. You now have a place to get rated in your human-versus-human battles, so please use it!
EDITS: clarified rules, added Honorary Mention prize, encouraged low scorers to report
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