The AI and Airstrikes - Tanks vs. Points
 

Hi - if this question is answsered in another thread, and someone can point me to it, please feel free. Anyway, here goes...

Where does the AI place its prefernces when plotting air strikes - tanks or unit cost? If a truck hypothetically cost 300 points, but a tank only cost 150, does the AI automatically go after the tank? Or is point value its main priority?

Thanks!

Re: The AI and Airstrikes - Tanks vs. Points
 

Air strikes are semi-random.

Air strikes come in two "flavors".
"Air Strikes" that tend to favor vehicle targets.
"COIN Strikes" that tend to favor infantry targets.

If the plotting unit (player or AI) has a clear line-of-sight to the target hex and there is an enemy unit in that hex there is a fairly good chance it will be attacked.
If there is no clear line-of-sight (for instance an airstrike is plotted on a "smoke puff" you know is enemy artillery/mortars) the aircraft will use it's "vision" rating as it approaches the target hex and attack the first unit it spots.

Airstrikes treat AA units as priority targets (but they may still decide to attack another nearby unit instead).
Airstrikes tend to treat Fortifications as priority targets second to AA units.

Does this answer your question?

Re: The AI and Airstrikes - Tanks vs. Points
 

Suhiir is correct as usual, his description of the two flavors of strike aircraft is spot on. I would add SEAD, level bombers, and attack helicopters too.

Searching, visibility, and plotting are important elements to consider, but do not forget to check your load outs before assigning a strike. If you send a fighter bomber to attack tanks, but his stores of Mavericks is zero, he may not strike the tanks but opt to attack a nearby truck or dismounted infantry, or fly off without attacking anything.

I sent a section of AV-8B's on a strike with stores of cluster munitions and a 20mm cannon. The Harriers attacked with the 20mm cannon, no effect on the infantry. So, on the next sortie, I disabled the cannon and the Harriers dropped their cluster munitions. Lesson, check the primary weapon against the target.

Download the game manual pdf version here and search "air strike."

Have fun

Re: The AI and Airstrikes - Tanks vs. Points
 

Ohh you like to live dangerously, I think you have just given her a sex change.

Re: The AI and Airstrikes - Tanks vs. Points
 

"Maverick: That's right! Iceman. I am dangerous." Top Gun, 1986.

Oh my, and coming on the heels of San Francisco's Pride Day parade too.

Re: The AI and Airstrikes - Tanks vs. Points
 

Not like I'm not use to it.
It's "only" been happening most of my life.

SEAD Strikes will seek out and attack AA units by preference and near exclusively (note the word "near).
Bombers are ENTIRELY a waste of time and points. They are included in the game as a scenario design element and not even remotely worth buying.

Re: The AI and Airstrikes - Tanks vs. Points
 

Thanks Suhir. This was somewhat helpful. But the essence of my question is: if the AI is faced with two vehicles - not AA, but rather a lower value tank, and a higher value transport (a heli or fancy truck <g>) - both of which are in the open - will it automatically choose the tank. Is the AI pre-programmed to prefer tanks over other (non-AA) vehicles, regardless of point values. I did not see anything in the rules specifically addressing this.

Again, my thanks!

Re: The AI and Airstrikes - Tanks vs. Points
 

It'll chose what the pilot (ie the AI software) chooses, planes belong to Crab Air and not you the player. Points values have nothing to do with target selection - closeness to its flight path and how the random dice fall if there is a target array to select from is all there is. The important thing is the x,y hex it eventually selects to search around - which is not necessarily the same one that you plotted. It is under pilot control remember - not army control. So its a roulette wheel sort of thing as to what the Jock in the cockpit decides to hit. And if he sees nothing he will sometimes just area fire at the ground.

Regular planes tend to prefer vehicles, the coin type likes soft stuff a little better. Both like ammo trucks and AAA assets a lot if there is one in the zone. Both types are Air Farce so are quite happy to do Blue on Blue as well, so keep air strikes more than 20 hexes from your toys, and try not to fly in overhead of your toys, as Crab Air don't care.

Circling gunships basically Z-fire at the target hex. Only useful against enemy with nil AAA, and at night against those with even a few Duskas. They are extremely vulnerable.

Bombers go to the X,Y and offload ordnance. All that class was ever intended for was for the Normandy breakout type scenario. However - a B52 arclight mission is still rather satisfying against opponents with no air defences;).

If you want to take out a specific enemy item, and not kill your own side then use an attack copter. Plus these can use your resupply elements.

Spotter planes and drones can be useful or not - like the circling gunship class, best when the AA threat is negligible. If there is any AAA threat, then a scout helo (used wisely, not in Gung Ho mode) is probably a better points spend.

Helos can pop behind blocking terrain if they discover AAA threats (and survive the shots!) where they can hide until your arty deals with them by dropping a shed load of HE on the firing area. Helicopters are very useful provided that you don't use them like the AI and charge straight for the guns in full "Charge of the Light Brigade" mode.

Fixed wing does have a place, but not in small numbers - you need volume. Very useful as 'armed recce' in an assault or similar situation. More useful if you have a very significant EW advantage over any SAM or radar AAA opposition, and especially if you have access to stand-off missiles.

(Of course if your PBEM opponent totally forgets to buy any AA whatsoever, and uses only T-62s that didn't have any AAMG fitted then you can run riot, as my 4 Hunters did in a "Cuban Missile Crisis went hot" type scenario. Once I figured there was no defence I could plot runs in from his side of the map and shoot them up the kilt.:))

cheers
Andy

Re: The AI and Airstrikes - Tanks vs. Points
 

The air AI routines do a good job of representing typical Air Farce "close air support". A ground commander on calls in aircraft, they eventually arrive and strafe/rocket/bomb something in the vicinity of the area they are asked to attack.

For AI and other reasons dedicated ground support aircraft that will drop a bomb on a specific bunker 500m in front of your ground formations that's REALLY pissing you off aren't represented in the game.

You can use the editor to make the pilots and their "armor attack" skill 100+, in which case they become less of a hazard to your side and, if you have a clear line-of-sight to that pesky bunker and the aircraft has appropriate armament it has a fair chance of dropping something on it.

Re: The AI and Airstrikes - Tanks vs. Points
 

Thanks Suhir - please scroll down for a separate answer to your comment.

Many thanks Andy. This was most helpful, not only in plotting attacks, but also strategizing defense in air-heavy scenarios. I try never to plot an air mission too close to friendly forces. Half the time, they end up as the targets <g>. Again, my thanks!

Re: The AI and Airstrikes - Tanks vs. Points
 

Many thanks Suhir. I try to keep this in mind, as (see my other answer to Andy) I try never to plot an air mission too close to friendly forces.

And I will try working with the editor to improve the odds!

Re: The AI and Airstrikes - Tanks vs. Points
 

The other thing about strike air (Coin and fighter bomber - not the novelty types!) is that they really do like bridge hexes. Presumably fighter jocks are able to navigate to these (its original SSI code). So if you plot them onto a bridge hex they are reasonably certain to go there and drop a brick on it.

So - Strike air is rather nice for any AI or PBEM opponent traffic jams on bridges. On bridges, bigger bangs are better - go for the 2000lb option if you have them. 1000lb does well enough on wooden ones. On bridges, plot a path that will tend to fly along the bridge (and any approach road).

LGB plotted onto bridges, for those air farces with such a luxury to hand also seem to have the lesser drift if the target is a bridge hex. Saves having to deal with any pesky short range AAA but you do lose the carpet of umpteen iron bombs planted all along a multi-hex bridge and its approach roads of the lay-down attack.

As I say - that code came pre-baked in the original SSI formula, and so strike air's special little party trick seems to be bridge bashing.

Andy

Re: The AI and Airstrikes - Tanks vs. Points
 

Thanks again Andy. I have played river-crossing scenarios (self designed) where my units were piled high on a long bridge and - sure enough - enemy jets pounded the bridge into rubble. In the process, ten or twleve vehicles were dumped into the drink! It was a very painful lesson learned. But thanks for the reminder and insights!:up:

Re: The AI and Airstrikes - Tanks vs. Points
 

Miketee10022,

Also, plotting a CAS mission of fixed wing aircraft, be mindful of attack vector. I plot a vector away from friendlies and not plot one where munitions are dropped in the direction of my guys.

Have fun

Re: The AI and Airstrikes - Tanks vs. Points
 

I tend to plot such vector where there are no friendlies in or out preferably. AI loves to drop short almost as well as being too long.

Re: The AI and Airstrikes - Tanks vs. Points
 

I often wonder if they prefer blue-on-blue :)

To an extent I think they do, because if they have any trouble at all spotting opposition forces they can always see friendlies so ... "Fox One"!

Re: The AI and Airstrikes - Tanks vs. Points
 

"True dat." What I try to do is spot the target with an FOO of high experience and vision 40+ or greater if I use say an Lt Observation Helo. Next, if say I'm dropping CBU munitions (a lot of scatter,) (2)800 lb CBU AP x2 for example, I'd make of the CBU stores inactive. What I've found, or at least it appears to me, that my guys will drop with increased accuracy when I use an enhanced spotting unit and inactivate one of the stores.

Example:

AV-8B Harrier
Default vision is 20
Weapon Load Out:
25mm GAU-12 GAT
800lb CBU AP HE 2
800lb CBU AP HE 2

Inactivate one of the two CBU's and to be safe just in case a vehicle gets in the LOS of the attack vector, turn off the 25mm as well.

Now it'll drop two rather than four stores mitigating short and long drops.

Try it you might like it, although it involves more battlefield management, it will increase targeted kills.

IMHO

Go Messi, Go Argentina!