Skirmish Mode

[SteveD64]

Questions/Comments on Skirmish mode:

1) Can you pick the AI's units or at least specify "Infantry heavy" "Cavalry Heavy" or "Blalanced"? I'm trying to tie P&S into a campaign game and would like to fight against units that were generated on the campaign map.

2) Picking the largest skirmish map is interesting. You can't see your opponent until you close within range. Does the AI have the same limitation? ie. it can't see your forces either?

3) Does the AI pick basically the same ratio (either for you or itself) of Inf/Cav/Art every skirmish battle or does it try to mix it up a little?

[rbodleyscott]

Questions/Comments on Skirmish mode:

1) Can you pick the AI's units or at least specify "Infantry heavy" "Cavalry Heavy" or "Blalanced"? I'm trying to tie P&S into a campaign game and would like to fight against units that were generated on the campaign map.

Not in game, but you could clone the "campaign" you are using - TYW, ECW or IW, and then add your own modified ArmyList.txt file so that you can have infantry heavy, cavalry heavy or balanced versions of each list. If you are interested in doing this I can provide further details as to how.

Alternatively you can used the random map generator in the editor, add the units manually, and then either play it as a hotseat (or actual) MP game, or activate AI_Masterplan() in a clone of the ScenarioTemplate.BSF script from the main game directory. I can explain this further if required.

2) Picking the largest skirmish map is interesting. You can't see your opponent until you close within range. Does the AI have the same limitation? ie. it can't see your forces either?

In some respects it can't, in others it can. (Remember that it isn't a real brain - so what one part of the AI "knows" isn't communicated to other parts of the "AI".).

3) Does the AI pick basically the same ratio (either for you or itself) of Inf/Cav/Art every skirmish battle or does it try to mix it up a little?

It picks randomly from the minima and maxima, which does give a reasonable amount of variety.

[SteveD64]

Thanks for the quick reply!

Does the AI behave differently if both forces start out of sight of each other? I don't want to disadvantage it.

So it's possible to set up both forces in hot seat mode, then have the AI run one side? I don't need know how to do it just yet but that's good to know.

[rbodleyscott]

Thanks for the quick reply!

Does the AI behave differently if both forces start out of sight of each other? I don't want to disadvantage it.

Not in skirmishes, although it does in some of the historical scenarios.

It would be too hard to write generic AI for skirmishes that could cope with such a situation, so we just have to assume that the AI general has received general scouting reports of the size of the enemy infantry and cavalry and light troops wings - which is all that it takes into account ignoring LOS.

So it's possible to set up both forces in hot seat mode, then have the AI run one side?

It is possible to set up the opposing forces in the editor and then have the AI run one side - with a minimal amount of scripting (really just uncommenting some stuff) - provided that the deployments are fairly straightforward and in the normal positions - player on the left of the map, AI on the right.