Battleplan AI and specialized units

[NickeMan]

So, I really, really like the battleplan mechanic, draw a line and the AI will fight up to that point while I can micro where it's needed. But my question is how the AI will use special units like mountaineers and marines.

Say you draw a line for an army with mixed infantry, mountaineers and some armor, and the terrain is relativly flat with a big mountainchain up the middle. Will the battle AI know about the mountains and put the mountaineers there or will it just put the closet units (wich will be the armor 4/5 times with my luck and hoi3 experience) to advance over the mountains. Same if it have to cross a river, will it use marines if they are available?

Or will I simply have to split my battleplans, make a small line over the mountains for my mountaineers, one small line for my armor over the plaines and a third one for my infanty trough the woods.
Can find any info on it and in the www streams they hardly use any special units so its hard to tell.

 

[panzerzombie]

My guess is that the AI does not differentiate between standard and special units and employ them rather random.

So yes, putting the specials into separate units with clear objectives would be better IMO.

 

[grandad1982]

So, I really, really like the battleplan mechanic, draw a line and the AI will fight up to that point while I can micro where it's needed. But my question is how the AI will use special units like mountaineers and marines.

Say you draw a line for an army with mixed infantry, mountaineers and some armor, and the terrain is relativly flat with a big mountainchain up the middle. Will the battle AI know about the mountains and put the mountaineers there or will it just put the closet units (wich will be the armor 4/5 times with my luck and hoi3 experience) to advance over the mountains. Same if it have to cross a river, will it use marines if they are available?

Or will I simply have to split my battleplans, make a small line over the mountains for my mountaineers, one small line for my armor over the plaines and a third one for my infanty trough the woods.
Can find any info on it and in the www streams they hardly use any special units so its hard to tell.

It's the last part that is how it works. Battle plans aren't there to do the tactical micro for you but to make the life of the player easier so they can concentrate on where it's needed most and not the whole front all the time.

 

[LordOfWar16]

The Battleplaner ai only executes what you told it to do. If you make an very bad plan where you send tanks into the mountains and mountaineers into the flatlands, then that is what the AI will do. The tactical microing of troops is your task, not the Battleplan-AI's.

You can simply draw multiple lines of attack and easiely assign troops to that. You dont need an seperate battleplan for that, even tho that might not be the worst idea since then you can utilize specialized generals more effecitvely. Letting Rommel or Guderian for example take charge of an group of tank divisions might not the the worst idea in the world because of their traits that give armor bonuses.

I personaly would probably have one major broad frontline with mainly infantry, while i have some smaller armies of tanks, motorized/mechanized and of course mountaineers getting their own plans. I'd still include armor in my main attack of course, so that i could react and exploit openings propperly.

 

[Centerbe]

I did not like it in hoi3 AI use of specialized units, often marines was on moutains and mountain infantry in harbors ecc ecc

 

[Mannstien]

Question is, what will the actual AI your playing against do? Sending Tanks into the Mountains and Mountaineers into the plains and Marines attacking Urban area's oh my

 

[Sun_Killer]

if it isn´t in the game yet, it should be fairly easy to implement. With the drawing of battleplans the ai calculates a front progress(green stripped provinces), so it should be fairly easy for the ai to preposition specialised units to the right front segment, atleast for smaller plans.

 

[LordOfWar16]

Question is, what will the actual AI your playing against do? Sending Tanks into the Mountains and Mountaineers into the plains and Marines attacking Urban area's oh my

they use battleplans aswell. They will make sure not to suicide their divisions, i hope.´

if it isn´t in the game yet, it should be fairly easy to implement. With the drawing of battleplans the ai calculates a front progress(green stripped provinces), so it should be fairly easy for the ai to preposition specialised units to the right front segment, atleast for smaller plans.

the devs dont want any straight up automation in the game. The Battleplan AI is only there to execute your orders, not to make its own decisions and take over. Simply draw an secondary line of attack and you will be fine.

 

[NickeMan]

After reading trough @LordOfWar16 's answers and rereading the dev diary again I guess my answer lies in what podcat say in the middle there:

Offensive lines and frontlines may also be overlapping. I prefer to assign a big front line of infantry to a frontline with a broad attack plan, and then manage my panzer divisions or other breakthrough units along smaller sections of that front and with a much narrower offensive line.

My fear would be that if you have alot of theaters and you just want the AI to handle the smaller ones for you with a straight infantry line push. Your mountaineers, that have their own line, will outrun the bigger infantryline, get cut of and wiped. But If I let that happen I guess I only have myself to blame for not paying attention.

the devs dont want any straight up automation in the game.

And this, no I dont want that either ofcourse, but it would be nice if the AI is as smart as it can get within its limitations. I mean it is just gonna do straight up line puches, no fancy breaktroughs, encirclements etc. right?