That really is quite a pity and I was certainly looking forward to playing this. I am, however, a very impatient player and get fed up with just about any unentertaining bit of waiting that a game makes me do.
I think I'll wait a little longer before getting my own copy, if at all.
I haven't played anything else since this game was released - I think its awesome!
Yes the bugs were annoying - I bought the SF edition and every time I selected HMS Victory the game would crash - LOL So I stopped selecting it.
I think there have been 3 patch's released and with my currant campaign - as the Austrians it hasn't crashed once.
I admit that this game isn't for everyone - but I think its a fantastic addition to a brilliant series of games.
How is the AI in this iteration of Total War? I have played Rome and Medieval 2 Total War extensively and I find the AI for both the battle and campaign map terrible. It bugs me that a strategy/tactical game focussin on single player would have a poor AI. Patches will fix the instability issues, bu the AI will remain the same. There's always hope for modders to pull off something special.
Lord Horatio Stevie Nelson sure is a selfish bastageOriginally Posted by MooDy
Here is my take on the AI:
Player-controlled units exhibit remarkably stupid path finding skills for the most part, and the custom path selector is all but broken, making maneuvering in the battle field a hair pulling experience. Sieges are an absolute nightmare, with units opting to scale walls using grappling hooks when your cannons have already blown open the front gates.
Battalions are slow to react to commands, and will refuse to fire at an enemy 20 paces away until lined up in the correct formation. This means that if you are flanked from behind, you can forget about simply commanding your troops to fire at the offending enemy troops, as they refuse to do so until the entire formation has done a pointless 180 degree turnaround.
It is not only player-controlled AI that exhibits pathetic idiosyncrasies and your enemies are no less handicapped by idiotic unit behavior. Numerous times I was able to march around the back of an enemy unit and start firing, only to have the enemy in question stand and allow themselves to be submissively slaughtered without lifting a rifle in protest.
Thanks for the quote Tinman, but I did read your review. It's just that the IA idiosyncrasies you pointed out are only the tip of the iceberg. The aforementioned IA issues (pathfinding, passive AI) were prevalent in Rome and Medieval 2. I'm sure that there are many more that you didn't mention (i.e. suicidal generals)
What about the compaign AI? Previous Total Wars suffered from what I call one turn decision making. For example, it will attack a town with a small garrison with a small army, even though you have a 20 stack army around the corner which you will repel them with the next turn. The AI just sees a lightly defended town, so decides to attack it with a force it calculates is big enough to beat the defenders. It doesn't take into account that you have 4 20 stack armies nearby and you are 5 times their size, you have been allies for 100 years, and you will crush them within 20 turns because you outnumber them militarily 20-1. And that is still the tip of the iceberg.
Last edited by HANDsolo; 02-04-2009 at 01:14 PM.
Indeed there were more, and if one wanted to get really into the games AI they could make an entire article based on its shortcomings.
I did experience some questionable campaign AI, but for the most part I think it has been improved on. I don't remember experiencing your exact example, but there were a few "WTF" moments when dealing with enemy factions on a broader scale.
In comparison to Imperial Glory(if you have played it), how similar is it, gameplay wise?
I'm still playing Rome Total War's Europa Barbarorum mod, so I will wait for more patches and mods to be released, for Empire, before I get it.
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