Don't Feel Sorry For The AI

[Charles22]

Originally Posted by Mobhack

1) experience is gained by participating in battles. Simply being in the core will allow some exp gain provided nothing nasty happens to a unit.

2) Night has zip-zero to do with counter battery.

3) The Poles do not have large amounts of armour to soak up points, even with the too-heavy allocation of armour the AI gets even before tank heavy. So if you have a large points value against them then they will have a larger remaining point value each time through the purchase loop. So the artillery buy in the loop has more chance of buying a battalion and not a battery on each pass, if (or even if) the other large ticket item (A tank coy, rarer for Poles in 39) is not bought. My guess is the AI purchase loop decided on an arty bn buy several times in your game - which is rare but not impossible.

Easy peasy way to check the Polish buy
a) figure out how many points you actually spent
b) set that in preferences
c) set Ge vs PO in the correct date
d) generate the appropriate battle (and visibility) with computer purchase for BOTH sides and human deploy for the AI side about 50 times. Examine the AI buy each time. Fleet buying of artillery bns will be rare, but not impossible.

Andy

2. Interesting, as the screen looks the same compared to day battles, it did not occur to me that it might be a night mission, but rather a heavy storm with fog perhaps.

3. Yes, that has been my observation too, that guns of this magnitude are rare, but then polish advances are probably pretty rare as well. They have been rare for me anyway.

Yes, polish advances are fairly rare, but either that or polish assaults, which I don't think I have ever seen, would be the ones most likely to bring the hail of excess artillery. The majority of missions in poland are either german offensive ones or meeting engagements, any of which would make polish heavy artillery such as in this battle virtually impossible with the points my force had (can't be more than 3600-3800 by now, including minimal support).

[Ramm]

Originally Posted by Charles22

2. Interesting, as the screen looks the same compared to day battles, it did not occur to me that it might be a night mission, but rather a heavy storm with fog perhaps.

This game lacks even the most basic representation of meteorology and the day/night cycle which is a travesty. It is a travesty because this is a war strategy game. Since the time before Christ and even to this day nocturnal/diurnal values and meteorological conditions have played decisive roles in the outcome of a battle, nay even a war. WWII comes to mind.

All the end user sees is a cryptic number value (visibility) which doesn't even differentiate between meteorological conditions and simple nocturnal/diurnal values.

Bottom line weather and day/night is so importent it must be added to the game. By a picture on the tool bar or accessed by a button so as to not take up space or just a hotkey.

Even a simple text description would be sufficient, such as a brief weather report (a sentence or two) and time of day. I think a text description is not too much to ask.

The argument that this change would not actually effect gameplay and is therefore unnecessary is specious.

Game icons do not actually effect gameplay (symbols could be used instead) and yet they are a necessary component of SP.

Andrew

[Double_Deuce]

As far as weather, when I am designing I use the following charts to go about setting the visibility and preferences to simulate those conditions. For the Searching, Hitting and Rout/Rally settings you need to add this information to the scenario briefing as players need to manually set them to get the full effects;

WEATHER AND VISIBILITY

[EJ]

Don or Andy,
How hard would it be to input day/night cycles and variable weather conditions into the game? This is just a question NOT A DEMAND OR COMPLAINT. That would make the game even more interesting than it already is....

[Imp]

On the weather it does not realy mater what type it is as game cant model gunflashes starshells etc tend to regard anything under 30 hexes as inclement weather or night dusk dawn & like DD adjust settings though rally had not occured to me. With TI units adjusting becomes a bit of a problem usually just restrict search slightly.
The premise for the above & assume DDs is the same if visibility is set to say 10 hexes thats the max distance you can see for whatever reason. But poor weather or night means you can only see well to less than that vehicles will be visible at max range infantry perhaps half.
While it would be nice to have weather probably beyond the engine you would need wind to. Seeing firing into a rainstorm upwind would be a lot harder than downwind.

[Ramm]

You guys are missing my point. All I'm saying is we should have a picture or text description telling us: A) time of day (night or day or dusk or dawn), B) What the weather is like. Thats it, not simulating its effects, even the DoD doesn't have computers powerful enough for that, just a meaningful message about what the weather/time of day is. Let the player go with that how he pleases.

TY DD for your help

Andrew

[Imp]

Originally Posted by Ramm

You guys are missing my point. All I'm saying is we should have a picture or text description telling us: A) time of day (night or day or dusk or dawn), B) What the weather is like. Thats it, not simulating its effects, even the DoD doesn't have computers powerful enough for that, just a meaningful message about what the weather/time of day is. Let the player go with that how he pleases.

TY DD for your help

Andrew

I see what you are getting at but at the moment its up to the players imagination is it night or perhaps you are in the Pacific so imagine a heavy rainstorm its your call as they both play the same.
If you like take the chart DD has given you & each time you play look at it to decide possible weathers or roll a die to decide for you.
The only thing I would say moonless night with no civilisation nearby (as in city lights) is pitch black even in the open range should be very low.

[gila]

Originally Posted by Ramm

You guys are missing my point. All I'm saying is we should have a picture or text description telling us: A) time of day (night or day or dusk or dawn), B) What the weather is like. Thats it, not simulating its effects, even the DoD doesn't have computers powerful enough for that, just a meaningful message about what the weather/time of day is. Let the player go with that how he pleases.

TY DD for your help

Andrew

I'm thinking you recalling SPWaW and the little window showing the weather and time of day, and even had sounds like T-storms and wind in low visabilty {dust storms) in the desert.
Wish this game had that

[DRG]

Originally Posted by Ramm

This game lacks even the most basic representation of meteorology and the day/night cycle which is a travesty. It is a travesty because this is a war strategy game. Since the time before Christ and even to this day nocturnal/diurnal values and meteorological conditions have played decisive roles in the outcome of a battle, nay even a war. WWII comes to mind.

All the end user sees is a cryptic number value (visibility) which doesn't even differentiate between meteorological conditions and simple nocturnal/diurnal values.

Bottom line weather and day/night is so importent it must be added to the game. By a picture on the tool bar or accessed by a button so as to not take up space or just a hotkey.

Even a simple text description would be sufficient, such as a brief weather report (a sentence or two) and time of day. I think a text description is not too much to ask.

The argument that this change would not actually effect gameplay and is therefore unnecessary is specious.

Game icons do not actually effect gameplay (symbols could be used instead) and yet they are a necessary component of SP.

Andrew

This post taken at face values suggests it's a "travesty" that this game does not include a little eyecandy on the tool bar or some little text line explaining what " visibility 8 " is supposed to represent when indeed what "visibility 8" represents is you can only see 8 hexes or 400 yards and it's is totally irrelevant to game play if that 8 hex /400 yard visibility restriction is because...

A/ it's a full moon on a slightly overcast night or

B/ it's early morning in fall and there is a mist in the air or

C/ it's mid-afternoon in spring with a light rain falling or

D/ it's a really smoggy, humid day in August or

E/ It's a very light snow fall in Winter

It matters not a bit WHY you are restricted to 8 hex /400 yard visibility just that you ARE and until today I never considered that we had players who needed some fictitious explanation as to "why" the visibility is the way it is to make it "real" for them.

Hardly a "travesty" if we leave that to the players imagination and not "specious" that we argue it's merely eyecandy . This is, as I recall , the one and only "complaint" that weather reports are missing to get the player in the proper "mood" for the game.

Don