SOLVED AI TROOP INVASIONS

[Atraikius]

I can't remember if Rollo or M.B. had got either the Vikings or Aquilians to use transport troop ships in fleets, but when I was first getting the AI to invade planets I was finding that in order for a troop transpost to get included into a fleet it had to be designed with a normal hull instead of one of the transport hulls.

[AJC]

1st time around the transport joined a single ship fleet - and moved towards the target planet, unfortunately the mini fleet was intercepted and destroyed. Last nite - same thing happened - but this time the transport disbanded from the fleet and attacked the planet on its own and was wiped out by planetary defenses....

I also got the impression that the drop troops ability didnt have anything to do with the transports invading.

Whether a troop transport functions correctly seems to be based on how many troops are being built and are available. I did see the transport moving around the system gathering up troops prior to attempting to invade, something I have not seen the AI do very often..

I wish there was a way to define fleet content - min number and types of ships for a fleet before it goes into action.

[Master Belisarius]

AJC:
"but this time the transport disbanded from the fleet and attacked the planet on its own and was wiped out by planetary defenses...."

This behaviour is right: first the ships with attack capabilities, try to defeat the planet’s defences, and if they have success, the transport with the troops try to take over the planet.

Atraikius: I did my tests using standard ships as transport troops. Really I don't know if the AI have problems using Transports instead standard ships.

[Sinapus]

Wasn't there something else mentioned about invaded planets not being set to use the individual ministers as well? (As in, nothing ever gets built there and such...)

[AJC]

MB
Problem was the fleet didnt try to soften up the planet at all, instead the fleet of warships stopped 1 square away from the target planet and then ran away. Then the transport went in all by itself without support of any kind and got wacked in the first few turns of strategic combat... How do we solve that problem?


[This message has been edited by AJC (edited 01 November 2001).]

[Master Belisarius]

AJC:
Hmmm. Have you a savefile?
First, you need to be sure about that the fleet had the strategy "Capture Planet" (usually, the AI auto-change the fleet strategy automatically to "Capture Planet", after 2 turns if a troop transport has joined to the fleet).
Second, check the capture planet strategy.

[Atraikius]

Sinapus - I believe it was Rollo and MB that ran into that problem, found it had to do with the AI acting differently when it started as a player controlled race, and then had all the AI turned on for it compared to starting the game under computer control.

MB - I had only tried the transport ships in the beginning and they would just sit there or try to attack alone - so I swithed to a warship style thinking they would be included in fleets if the AI thought of them as warships, which worked. Wasn't too worried about the loss of cargo space, had been finding that with a 5-10 bonus in ground combat, about 150 - 200 small troops with 2 ground cannons 3, and some armor can typically take a planet with no defending troops with a pop. of about 2000. A cruiser or battle cruiser with cargo 3 can easily cary that many.