AI incapable of defense - seems to be a very, very big issue

[Ricox]

I think you should calm down a bit - if they are working on correcting AI, we won't see improvement earlier than with a 1st day patch, or possibly later, if they need more testing. AI developer wasn't aware on the problem with maginot line what, a week ago? I bet they are working, but currently everyone (including reviewers who got early copy) are playing the same "old" version.

They delayed this game for far too long for this to be yet another beta test release where we spend months waiting for fixes that the QA team should have caught considering how obvious these issues are.

I understand that most bugs cannot be caught and are only spotted thanks to lots of player hours invested... but this is nothing like this. This is a seriously major issue that any QA representative who has fought an AI that was fighting a multi-front war would have noticed. They're clearly not doing a good enough job if things like these keep getting past. Hearts of Iron III launch was a disaster and I don't think they even had an QA team considering how the game was at launch, but they're a relatively major developer now, this is not excusable anymore.

 

[Alech]

How the hell do you miss "the AI abandones the maginot line at the drop of a hat" in a WWII game!?

 

[Pugman]

How the hell do you miss "the AI abandones the maginot line at the drop of a hat" in a WWII game!?

There's no way this close to release there should be this major of a problem. It's their modus operandi: release the game and fix it later. After this long in development they should be polishing stuff at this point, not fixing core functionality. This doesn't bode well for having this game in a playable state any time soon. Hopefully the inevitable sh!t storm in the forums from the people who pre-ordered this will give them the necessary incentive to fix it. Personally I'll wait to pay for the game once it is playable. Hopefully that's day 1 but I seriously doubt it.

 

[Broletariat90]

There's no way this close to release there should be this major of a problem. It's their modus operandi: release the game and fix it later. After this long in development they should be polishing stuff at this point, not fixing core functionality. This doesn't bode well for having this game in a playable state any time soon. Hopefully the inevitable sh!t storm in the forums from the people who pre-ordered this will give them the necessary incentive to fix it. Personally I'll wait to pay for the game once it is playable. Hopefully that's day 1 but I seriously doubt it.

Honestly, I'm interested in how they delayed the game and it still ends up like this.... What were they doing? Just curious how it could end up like this. We deserve an explanation in a post or video stream next week.

 

[Cheesecakeczar]

Watched a game with USSR and Germany left border undefended.

 

[Strangeplz]

Honestly, I'm interested in how they delayed the game and it still ends up like this.... What were they doing? Just curious how it could end up like this.

i honestly do no think paradox plays their own games at all. The only time they do is for the hour streams and even in those they really never progress. The fact that they delayed the release for a year and it still ends up like this should be an embarrassment to paradox and they are lucky that they somehow avoid the spotlight of critics like TotalBiscut or they would get slaughtered.

 

[Broletariat90]

Watched a game with USSR and Germany left border undefended.

Jesus............ Yeah they better actually do there jobs..

 

[Jakalak]

Also, though this isn't necessarily as huge a problem, and was an issue in HoI3 as well, at least in Quill's game, Britain/France seem to care... very, very little about Africa. Watching Quill's slight infantry waltzing through Egypt and Algiers was a little disheartening.

 

[Grallak]

Jesus christ I don't believe this. I waited so long for this game and now this happens. This is an issue that could have so easily been resolved, yet nothing was done in order to prevent it. Frankly, if this is the case then MP is really the only other alternative. This is NOT acceptable. How could they mess up something so basic? All they had to do was assign one division to each country they bordered or something, or atleast garrison them.

Frankly, I am disappointed. Very disappointed.

There is a huge difference between a sandbox game and sheer stupidity, and while the AI never was and I didn't expect it to be, this is really something my friends could have coded if they gave it a shot. It should be fundamental to each country to garrison important points and such. If the AI can't even defend it's borders then what am I to believe? I will still buy the game, and expect this to be resolved, patch or mod or even MP, but really, how?!?

 

[Dichologos]

If you think this is a problem with the game, I agree.

But those of you acting as though one lone example of the AI messing up their defenses during a civil war somehow is the end of the world, or indicative of some lack of playtesting, are being the biggest drama queens I have seen in quite a while.

If you cherry pick examples of AI screwups, of course it will look bad. I've seen dozens of hours of gameplay myself however and the AI has never in that time made this kind of a mistake. Take it for what it is - a rare outlier, and one that will hopefully be fixed by very minor tweaks to how the AI assigns their forces between outside enemies and civil wars.

 

[Daevilb]

How are the difficulty options in HOI4? is it like EU4, giving slight bonuses the easier the game-mode you choose?

 

[Jakalak]

How are the difficulty options in HOI4? is it like EU4, giving slight bonuses the easier the game-mode you choose?

You can see the effects in quill's first italian video. Easy gives you research bonus, production bonus, and political power bonus, normal, nothing, hard, same three that were bonuses are now maluses.

It doesn't say anything about improved AI at higher difficulties.

 

[Kevonfor]

Now, let's hope that we're over reacting and that the game will be playable at launch, so we can be pleasantly surprised..

 

[Count Drew]

I have already raised a thread, awhile back about the fact the AI is not able to defend itself. The AI would not be challenging unless you play a Minor.

Dramatize? I'm dramatizing it? Germany did not "penetrate" anything, they walked in an open part of the Maginot Line. From which they literally walked all over France and caused it to capitulate in 1936. I would have nothing against France losing the Maginot Line if they had like 1 division per fort and just could not sustain the constant German pressure, but they literally let the Germans walk in while keeping their entire army on the front against the communists.

Yes, the communists were a threat, but I saw plenty of divisions near Paris that could have been instead redirected to the Maginot Line to at least extend France's life by a few weeks if not completely stop the German assault into heavily fortified positions.

The point is that them having just ONE PROVINCE left open to the Germans means that they are COMPLETELY DEFEATED. It doesn't matter if the rest of the Maginot Line stands - the entire fortification line is rendered completely useless the moment it is penetrated.

There is NO POINT in the Maginot Line if it's not garrisoned.

 

[Kevonfor]

I don't know about you all but the fact that the Developers have not responded to us is for me a pretty clear warning sign to not buy this game (In its current state).

I think that the devs should show up and answer some questions, just to reassure us, tell us they're working on a patch or something.

 

[Nuklearius]

#

 

[Nuklearius]

#

 

[Count Drew]

I think we should be constructive. I am in a development phase with a game now ... on it's hardest difficulty it still is of minimal challenge.

add your 2 cents her with constructive advice..everywhere and especially as the game COMES OUT!

I think that the devs should show up and answer some questions, just to reassure us, tell us they're working on a patch or something.

 

[joeenochs]

It is a bid sad to see the AI in this state. With so much time they had one shouldn't count on a last minute fix. The only hope is that sometimes simple bugs can create big issues. Only the devs know how serious this is from a design perspective.

 

[Snake_Squeezins]

I have watched several hours of videos of the Press Build (primarily Quill and Bridger), and the AI doesn't seem to be very good at defending itself. Islands are left empty; capitals, victory points, and bases are undefended; colonies are generally abandoned; etc.

I hope the release version is better than this. First, I hope the AI can actually engage in an "arms race" where it counters your deployments, ie if you build up somewhere, it deploys troops to face them. Second, I hope the AI leaves decent garrison forces at important points so you (and your AI competitors) can't just blitz your way to victory every time.