Nudging the AI

[kezardinjnr]

Howdy,

in my last 3 games (USA, SU and USA again) the Germans have been badly delayed in France. In the current game it's August 41, France is untouched and Belgium has 4 provinces.

I read the suggestions in this post

http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showpost.php?p=9881285&

about regularly saving and reloading, and I'll try that in the next game.

Just wondering if there are any other tricks and tips about keeping the various AI's on their toes ?

 

[el alamein]

Hi kezardinjnr,

Sometimes the AI just goes dumb and the main problem with this is that it doesn't place the right units in the right places. The front AI for HOI2 is a bit limited in that it sends units to the borders in ratios that the AI tells it. This works most of the time, but sometimes the AI loses track of which is the highest priority to garrison.

Saving and reloading helps reset the AI and it moves units to the fronts accordingly as well as rebasing air units, which can have a major effect once battle starts. France is a tricky one because if there is not enough weight in the initial German attack then it can easily bog down. The Belgians and French reinforce faster than the Germans can send extra units from other fronts and it degenerates into a stalemate. If this happens, reloading to an earlier date (ie. a few months previously) can help the German AI to garrison its borders with France, Belgium and Holland.

I beta tested many a handsoff game in 0.40 and found that reloading a previous save could have huge differences in outcomes for the French campaign.

Hope this helps!

 

[kezardinjnr]

Thanks for the advice, El Alamein - will give it a try

 

[el alamein]

Let us know how you get on and if it makes a difference. In my case, reloading back to an earlier month can result in big differences in the results for later months. If you find the campaign in France is stalled, reload and try again. The German AI should find a way in one or two restarts.

 

[kezardinjnr]

Howdy El Alamein,

tried two run throughs, both starting 1st Jan '40. In both games however, the front bogged down in Belgium and along the French border.

In the second game, Germany DOWed Denmark and Norway in the middle of march but hadn't invaded either country by mid-october.

During the second run through I *finally* noticed that there hadn't been a partition of Poland - Germany occupied the entire country.

I'll try starting from july 39 and see what happens

 

[el alamein]

Yeah, sometimes it's better to start from a few months back, even to just after the fall of Poland, as the AI can garrison a front and not change it for months. If the right amount of units aren't in the right place then the invasion can bog down. It is frustrating to have to restart but hopefully the right outcome will happen this time for you. I have seen many occasions where the German AI keeps quite a few panzer units on the Soviet border and leaves them there even after the invasion of France and the Low Countries. Unfortunately there's not much that can be done but to reload and hope the AI does it a bit smarter next time!