Japanese AI Running Away

[bill44]

I just loaded up two computor generated battles and decided to try my luck as the Russian player, well both times the Japanese task force turned tail and ran. am playing V 1.017, any ideas on why the AI is doing this ? never happens when playing Japanese as human, Russian always engage.
Thanks guys.

[Daedalus]

I just loaded up two computor generated battles and decided to try my luck as the Russian player, well both times the Japanese task force turned tail and ran. am playing V 1.017, any ideas on why the AI is doing this ? never happens when playing Japanese as human, Russian always engage.
Thanks guys.

You have to watch the Japanese, as they will run and then turn on you. Also one thing they do is they will send a force out and then have you chase them, and just when you think you have there fleet in your grip they will come at you with another fleet, and put you in between both. And let me tell you that is hard to get out of with out getting you bottom stomped. :)

Be carefull chasing and keep a look out or you will be doing the running.

[bill44]

Ok, I understand that would be a good strategy in the campain, but, there is only one group per side in the computor generated battles, that's all I have seen thus far.

[sea knight]

I think in the computer generated battle the fleets are buit equalizing the combat value, so more faster and lightly armored ships face slower and stronger opponents.

[bill44]

So why do only the Japanese run away then ?

[NormKoger]

So why do only the Japanese run away then ?
I do not want to give too much away about the logic, but the PO only runs if it thinks running will work...

[bill44]

Thanks for the reply Norm, BTW what is "PO" ? love the game sofar, thanks, and I am also very impressed with the support side.
cant wait for the WWI game to come out.

[NormKoger]

...what is "PO"?
PO = "programmed opponent".

I know a little bit about real "AI". The stuff we put into games is a completely different beast - more of an "expert system" than "AI". Even though it is game industry standard, I cringe every time folks talk about "AI" in games.

[saddletank]

I had some fun with the "PO" (to me that stands for Post Office :) ) over the weekend. I had a small anti-raider piquet of the old cruiser Tsushima and 4 of the old 26knot TBs just west of Matsumai in the strait there.

Lyena comes along from the direction of Vladivostok and a battle is generated. Lyena turns and runs north west out of the strait and up the west coast of North Island, heading NNW. I give chase but with a 20 knot cruiser trying to overhaul a 19 knotter this looks to be a fairly long day... We unfurl the rear deck awning, break out some deckchairs and get a couple of long novels from the ships library...

I split the 4 TBs into 2 pairs and sent one pair each side of Lyena swinging wide out to port and starboard of the fleeing enemy, just outside her gun range.

Things proceed for an hour or so and at 24knots (it was choppy) my TBs eventually get abreast of and then just ahead of the prey.

Then the map expands north and into sight comes a large offshore island slap bang in front of my left hand TB pair. If I turn right and cut inside the island I will come well into Lyena's gun range which I know is going to hurt so I cut left and plan to go around the west side of the island and meet Lyena when she comes out the channel at the other end. No sooner have my 2 TBs gone past the shallows and round the headland when Lyena makes a swing to port to cut across the stern of the TBs and head west for the open sea. The Tsushima turns to head her off and I reverse course with the TBs. Lyena comes around the headland, sees the 2 TBs (and I could just imagine a big cartoon-y exclamation mark above the bridge with a pair of Tom and Jerry eyeballs sticking out in surprise and a klaxxon sounding) and she makes another left hand half circle and goes back behind the island. I reverse course again with the TB pair and as soon as they are out of sight Lyena reverses course yet again! By now Tsushima has closed a lot of the gap and is in gun range. After the second attempt to slip behind the TBs I think the gap between TBs and Tsushima was too narrow for the PO to detect a safe passage through it so Lyena went back northwards up the channel. However shortly after that Tsushima brought her to action.

For a while though it was bloody funny seeing the enemy playing tag with my TBs, a bit like kids will chase each other round a big tree trunk :)

[Marinebaurat]

Something strange concerning the Japanese AI happened to me too yesterday. I was running away from a squadron of Japanese armoured cruisers in the strait of Tsushima and then ran into another Japanese task force consisting of three light cruisers and a battleship all of them of a very oldfashioned and obsolete type. I thought I was doomed but to my suprise I wasn't shot at by any of the ships, despite a range of only about two or three thousand meters. I could then sink one of them still without being targeted. Seems they didn't see me at all.

[Simjockey]

Low on ammo? Crew in the ship's library and can't make up their mind which book to read?:D

[Marinebaurat]

Certainly the most absurd way to die I can imagine: being sunk aboard a battleship by a cruiser (!) while wondering whether I should better study the DG game manual or Mahan's 'Influence of Seapower' ... but, on the other hand, sailors can never read enough these days, right?