Ally AI is really bad.

[Selvhan]

I was playing warband when i decided to see what my party could do if i was not fighting.

1st of all, when you order your infantry to charge, they run straight forward and they choose a target somewhere in the enemy line. They ignore enemy close to them even if they get hit.

They do not use weapon range advantage. When they have a spear, they go as close to the enemy as they can and get kill really fast because the spear isnt great in close range.

Cavalry charge is really awful. They charge at the enemy but they seem to hate the same guy. So instead of having the cavalry charging the enemy line, they get all stuck so they get kill 1 by 1...

Also, when they get dismounted they keep their lance, so any enemy can kill them with any weapon because lance suck on foot. So you loose knight versus lower tier troop...


Archer ... they will fire at enemy even if their is 30 ally and only 1 enemy. So you loose 1-10 guy because of Friendly fire. They often try to shoot while there is melee hitting them.


The AI is really stupid. I know you can order them to do things, but you cannot watch them all. There is some serious issue that should be fixed. For example, cavalry should not all charge the same guy by default. Archer should go faster in melee.

Am I only to think that AI is really bad ?

 

[QuailLover]

How high is the AI set to in your options?

 

[tyrannicide]

Am I only to think that AI is really bad ?

It sure is far from perfect. Mind, however, that the AI is the same for everyone -- by which I mean: for your troops and for your enemy.

What version are you playing, by the way?

 

[Sinful01]

I agree that the issue of troops choosing one enemy to fight until death is kind of wonky.

I hate when I fight Khergits, and a knight chases a horse archer, and a lancer chases the knight, and some cavalry chase THAT guy, and all of a sudden I'm surrounded by enemies and wonder where all my troops went, only to see a big train of soldiers in a row riding around in circles but never catching each other. lol

I wish the AI looked for closer targets and switched more often. I've watched some pretty goofy infantry battles where 2 men hold off and end up killing 4 or 5 better troops just because they all focused on one guy with his shield up while his friend stabbed everyone in the back 1 by 1.

 

[Selvhan]

Ai is at Good ( the highest you can set )
Warband 1.126.

Well maybe the ai is the same for everyone but the lord allied with me seem to charge a lot more than the enemy. Not using their archer advantage.

 

[Khalim]

Yes, the AI is very limited and hopefully it will be improved.

I wonder that game designer were not able to create good AI after those passing centuries... But if you look at the graphic much more has improved.

More focus on AI would do every game a great favour!


Actually the bad AI doesnt really destroy the gameplay I have to say. The only thing which is really annoying is the facehugging.

What I miss from enemy troops is that they dont care for their live.
For instance it would be great that when you swing a heavy long range weapon the enemies step back and try to surround you instead of facehug and kill you through a companions body...

 

[Archonsod]

1st of all, when you order your infantry to charge, they run straight forward and they choose a target somewhere in the enemy line. They ignore enemy close to them even if they get hit.

You're ordering them to charge far too early. When you order a charge they'll pick the closest enemy, if you're ordering it from any kind of distance the guy they've selected can end up at the back of the enemy mob and they'll continue to pursue. They will change targets if another enemy becomes more threatening in the meantime, but the AI works on cycles so they won't switch immediately.

They do not use weapon range advantage. When they have a spear, they go as close to the enemy as they can and get kill really fast because the spear isnt great in close range.

Yup. I've suggested since M&B the AI should be aware of it's weapon reach and stop moving towards the target at around weapon reach - 5 distance.

Cavalry charge is really awful. They charge at the enemy but they seem to hate the same guy. So instead of having the cavalry charging the enemy line, they get all stuck so they get kill 1 by 1...

Again, watch when you order the charge and where your cavalry are. They will pick the biggest threat they percieve, if that happens to be a Swadian marksman in the middle of a unit they'll head for that. Hold off on the charge order, or use the advance order if you want to keep them in formation.

Also, when they get dismounted they keep their lance, so any enemy can kill them with any weapon because lance suck on foot. So you loose knight versus lower tier troop...

Order them to switch to blunt weapons and back again, they'll re-asses their weapon selection. This does of course depend on the knight having weapons other than his lance.

Archer ... they will fire at enemy even if their is 30 ally and only 1 enemy. So you loose 1-10 guy because of Friendly fire. They often try to shoot while there is melee hitting them.

That's why you get hold fire orders. Or you can order them to charge in which case they'll go melee.

The AI is really stupid. I know you can order them to do things, but you cannot watch them all.

You don't have to. I usually order my infantry to hold at the bottom of a hill, my archers to hold on the top of the hill and my cavalry to hold off on the flank. Once the enemy engages the infantry (who'll move to attack if they're close, and return to position if they back off) I order the archers to hold fire. That's pretty much all you need. If the infantry struggle order the cavalry to charge; if that doesn't do it order the archers to charge. Once the enemy break and run your infantry will hold their position, so you can either order your archers to resume shooting or order your cavalry to charge to run them down.
If I'm playing cavalry then I usually order my cavalry to follow me, my infantry and archers to hold as before. I'll then lead my cavalry through the enemy and leave the infantry to basically guard my archers. If the cavalry get into trouble either break off and lead the enemy into the infantry or if you're close enough order an infantry charge. Again, not that difficult.

 

[Selvhan]

Archonsod, Thanks for the answer, it's appreciated. It's the same strat that i was using in M&B.

What is really missing is how the AI can't do anything by his own. Somebody said that they do not fear death. That also work for friendship. If your soldier have a good morale, they should protect each other even if you are not ordering anything. I nice order to add would be : Infantry or/and cavalry follow archer and engage close enemy only.

Offensive / Defencive stance could be a nice option for infantry.

 

[Archonsod]

With hold position orders infantry and cavalry will move to attack enemies within a certain radius. If you order them to hold the same position as the archers they will protect them, the problem you get then is your archers will spend more time dancing around to get a clear shot than they will shooting, hence it's better to put them in a position they can shoot over the infantry.

 

[Velax]

Also, when they get dismounted they keep their lance, so any enemy can kill them with any weapon because lance suck on foot. So you loose knight versus lower tier troop...

Order them to switch to blunt weapons and back again, they'll re-asses their weapon selection. This does of course depend on the knight having weapons other than his lance.

So why can't the game do this on its own? It'd take all of two minutes to program. "Am I on horse? No. Switch weapon." What does the mounted AI do currently? "Am I on horse? No. Am I a dumb ass? Yes. Don't switch weapon."

 

[Archonsod]

Because having the game check every second for the status of each and every knight adds a massive amount of CPU overhead?

 

[Falcon Critical]

Soldiers in real life freak out and make stupid mistakes, at least when your cavalry do this you have a way of correcting it via Archonsod's suggestion.  You might argue that it is micromanagement you don't need, but I don't see the problem with pressing 3, F3, F3, F3, F4.  I give orders on the battlefield constantly, and know what to press to get what I want without having to stop and read.  Its not like issuing commands stops you from moving or blocking or anything.

 

[Velax]

Because having the game check every second for the status of each and every knight adds a massive amount of CPU overhead?

Yes, and of course there couldn't be a solution more elegant that checking every single second. Why not simply have it do the check when the knight's horse dies. I'm sure there's an event that captures that, such as the "play face plant" animation code.

 

[Archonsod]

If they go down in the middle of the enemy, I'd be more surprised if they actually got to stand up again.