AI Axis in the winter

[Weasel]

I am surprised how strong the Germans still are with the blizzard raging.  They are launching counter attacks and routing my units with odds of 4-1, I was not able to get these odds as the Germans; is there a secret to them that the AI knows and we don't?

On the other hand, it is the last week of December and 9 Pz/5 Mot/9 Inf divisions have been marched to the east, surely these losses must severely impact the Germans come the summer?

[Aces8]

I saw this post on the Matrix forums about A.I. Settings but its for Germany vs Soviet AI. Interesting stuff though.

"You CAN change settings whenever you want, however you want.

My standard German settings for a game of me-Germany vs. AI-Soviet are as follows:
Turn 1 through September 1943: All settings on 90 except Admin (more on Admin later).
September 43 to game's end: Morale back to 100.
Random weather and normal (i.e., severe) Blizzard effects.

Now, for the Soviets, I change various things at various times.
Entire game: Soviet Fortification 120 (or more)
Turn 1 through December 41: Soviet +1 DEFENSE
Turn 1 through December 41: Morale: 120, Logistics 120, Transport 110
Beginning October or November 42, I raise Morale, Logistics, Transport to 130
Beginning September 43, I raise Morale, Logistics, and Transport to 135-140 until the end of the game.

Soviet Admin:
The Soviet AI is not bound by the same Admin point restrictions that a human would be. You can leave it at 100 or set it to 400, and I never notice a difference.
German Admin:
The game starts with horrible inefficiencies built in to the German Army's organization. My classic example is 9th Army, VIII Corps, which has basically half the SUs of the Wehrmacht. The game engine punishes this... Further, some of the worst commanders are in charge of the most important units. These problems are fixable in time whichever Admin setting you choose for the Axis, but I'm impatient, lazy, and an efficiency expert, so I set the game (throughout) to Germany having 400 Admin setting.

HERE'S THE CATCH:
My House Rule is that Germany can only use HQ Buildup in very limited settings, and no more than once per turn, every other turn (so only one corps, every other turn). That would be about 8 corps's worth of Buildup over the summer campaign. In truth, I probably do fewer than that (except at Leningrad where it's not to run rampant, but to ensure maximum attacking MPs for offensive pressure). The bottom line is that the Soviet AI is poor at preparing for HQ Buildup-type penetrations, and if you want a more realistic game against it, you don't abuse it much if at all. Especially considering all the other efficiency gains you get from having an Admin setting as high as I do.

House Rule 2 is that you can't build a ****-ton of forts in which to hide during the first winter. You have to let the first winter hammer you the way it did historically. That's a relative term, so I'll leave it at that.

It may look complicated, but it works pretty well. I've been playing this way for years. Years and years. I enjoy every game. Around mid 1943, the Red Army is a hammering mass of Guards Corps and Shock Armies and you need the SS and armor everywhere to try to slow the onslaught. I enjoy it so much. "


http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=4313560

[Weasel]

Thanks for this. It has been my experience since using version 1.09+ that you cannot change settings once the game is underway; I tried turning off FOW when I quit a game so I could see how the Russians were deployed and it would not let me. Was this from an older post, pre-version 1.09?

[Aces8]

Thanks for this.  It has been my experience since using version 1.09+ that you cannot change settings once the game is underway; I tried turning off FOW when I quit a game so I could see how the Russians were deployed and it would not let me.  Was this from an older post, pre-version 1.09?

This is from a newer post I am assuming he is playing with the latest version.

[Weasel]

Thanks.