Remember the previous Soviet artificial intelligence (AI) losing cohesion and Moscow quite early? After some big changes it has really acquired more fluidity and backbone. Not perfect yet, but much better!
The soviet AI is basically winning the game now. Admittedly against the German AI but soon we’ll ship the next BETA version to the testers and see how this improved Soviet AI will fare against some brighter humans.
Next up I am going to analyse and improve the German AI because it could use a bit a of extra punch and speed in some places and a bit of caution in others. Expect a new AI development log on the German AI next week!
Beta testing is well under way and one on my big tasks is to get the artificial intelligence (AI) in to tip-top shape. I thought it could be nice if to take the readers along for the ride in some regular AI dev logs.
Current results from the beta group playing versus the Soviet AI were positive, but some more experienced players had a bit more mixed results. Some of them managed to crush the Soviet AI just a bit to easily.
Let me show you a video of an AI-to-AI game which mimicks an experienced human German player versus a regular AI:
The way I code and improve the artificial intelligence is by making analysis of its current behaviour and then designing a plan to improve its behaviour.
Analysis of current behaviour:
-The Soviet AI in the North is losing to much troops before the Germans reach the defensible swamps and forests around Leningrad. Because of this the AI does not manage to keep the line later on.
-The Soviet AI in the Center almost manages to stop the Germans, but it might have made its stance just 2 or 3 turns to early. Furthermore it seems to hold the southern part of the center front (Bryansk) quite well, while giving to much terrain on the key highway Smolensk-Moscow. Eventually this leads to an early fall of Moscow.
-The Soviet AI in the South gets a lot of armies in this playthrough but it doesn’t manage to hold the Dnjepr-line as well as it should.
Plan for improving the AI:
Considering everything the Soviet AI needs to:
1. On a few exceptions (Riga, Odessa, Pripjet) retreat as many troops intact to a defensible line. Which is roughly the Leningrad forests – Smolensk – Dnjepr line.
2. Better understand (like in the center) where the enemies main drive is and move the brunt of it forces there. Especially if it concerns a direct attack on Moscow.
3. Hold the Dnjepr line at all costs. This means holding it to the hex and making aggressive counter attacks against bridgeheads while they are still small.
Cannot make this log to long, since I have to get back to coding :)
But I hope you join me again in my next AI log to see if I got the Soviet AI to toughened up as intended.
Last week a new public beta for Advanced Tactics Gold has been released. It brings a big new feature to the game. The ‘New Dawn’ random games and custom scenarios can now use so called Tables of Organisation (TOE). A concept well known the more Grognardian of players. This allows the players to design the ideal contents of a unit. After assigning a unit to a TOE model the game will automaticly use logistical resources (trains,trucks,cargoships) to send the appropriate troops to it. This new feature can be used by scenario designers to create historical TOEs, but in random games the imagination is the only limit to the kind of TOEs the player wants to add.
The feature comes with a lot of detail and when designing TOE models you can also choose the NATO counter graphics, the way the units are named and much more. So far as I know it is unique for a wargame to have the option to create your own TOEs while actually playing a game.
This has been, after the officers and the custom tank models, another new addition to the the ‘New Dawn’ random games in ATG, which functions as a running laboratory for features for an eventual new Advanced Tactics 2 game. Feedback so far has been positive and the new feature has the ability to seriously change the feel and mouse-click load of the game.
