Does the AI cheat?

[Duuk]

I was paying very careful attention to my liege today, making sure he didn't spend any of his prestige grabbing claims on me.

Without losing a single point of prestige, in 6 months he somehow managed to get claims on every one of my titles! That's 3 Dukes and 9 Count titles.

I wasn't at war with him, I didn't decline any of his offers.

I *did* declare war on a county vassal of a neighbor Duke, but since the King sided with me in that war I can't see how it would give him claims on ME.

So... does the AI cheat and get free claims on the player?

 

[Zanza]

I have the impression as if the AI gets free claims not only on the player but on other AI nations too. The bigger kingdoms have claims on dozens of titles some decades into the game.

 

[Duuk]

I've always noticed before that the AI lieges seem to wind up with claims on the player, but I assumed it was AI coding to "target" the biggest threat.

This is dumb, since it means that an AI liege will always war against his player vassals, even if they are 100% loyal.

 

[Justinian_A]

I've noticed it as well. I've been playing a bunch of games as Toscana lately, just to test out some things being a vassal...in every game, the King of Germany invariably gets claims on me, and not from anything I'm doing. It seems to be built in to cheat. Maybe the title claiming events fire a lot for it?

 

[Third Angel]

I think I remember Byakhiam (or was it Mr T) saying that the cost to grab titles for the AI was related to difficulty level. At normal it should be the same as the human player, but for easier levels it will cost more, and less on harder levels.

 

[unmerged(48100)]

I think it does. But claiming is not the only point. They get troops much too fast too. I tried, I had the uber marshal and the Pechenegs had a much worse. Now the troops in my personal demesne should be on maximum faster from the start of the game on. But they weren't. Even after the Pechenegs had fought a war while I didn't they had got the maximum after only one year.

 

[Duuk]

I think I remember Byakhiam (or was it Mr T) saying that the cost to grab titles for the AI was related to difficulty level. At normal it should be the same as the human player, but for easier levels it will cost more, and less on harder levels.

I usually play on normal, so it's not that.

 

[Yakman]

I usually play on normal, so it's not that.

Pretty close to that Custom AV, are we?

I'm trying to move up in difficulty myself, with 1.05, but I'm not having much luck... damn Cumans....

 

[Spruce]

Duuk, check the intrigue of your liege. During public beta testing I sometimes had high intrigue rulers that got 5 free claims in only 5 years time. And there is an event that also gives a liege claim on a vassal claim - perhaps this event has gone frenzy,

 

[Justinian_A]

I usually play on Hard, but the AI still grabs titles left and right.

 

[Duuk]

Duuk, check the intrigue of your liege. During public beta testing I sometimes had high intrigue rulers that got 5 free claims in only 5 years time. And there is an event that also gives a liege claim on a vassal claim - perhaps this event has gone frenzy,

Might also be something with the "declare war on a vassal of his vassal". It's the AI exploit to always make sure your liege sides with you in an intra-realm war, and I'm wondering if somehow that didn't give them to him. Because it was a claim on ALL my titles, as if I had declared war on him.

 

[unmerged(48100)]

I usually play on Hard, but the AI still grabs titles left and right.

I think the AI grabs more on hard and VH.

 

[Fawr]

I think it does. But claiming is not the only point. They get troops much too fast too. I tried, I had the uber marshal and the Pechenegs had a much worse. Now the troops in my personal demesne should be on maximum faster from the start of the game on. But they weren't. Even after the Pechenegs had fought a war while I didn't they had got the maximum after only one year.

The troop replenishment rate is based on your character's base martial ability not on the combined ability of him and his marshal.

 

[unmerged(48100)]

The troop replenishment rate is based on your character's base martial ability not on the combined ability of him and his marshal.

That would mean a marshal is absolutly useless as the impact in a battle is not really that big.

 

[Duuk]

That would mean a marshal is absolutly useless as the impact in a battle is not really that big.

Some of us noted that quite a while ago

 

[Veldmaarschalk]

It seems that the AI gets claims on all your titles if you just get bb-points.

I had the same thing as Duuk, starting as count of Northhampton, then gaining a duke title. Then I spent my prestige on some claims from a excommunicated king of Scotland and then I checked my king and king William of England suddenly had a claim on my 2 titles. That was all I did, I never denied any request or get any event.

I don't know if he had to pay prestige for it.

Since AI vassals don't get BB-points, only the human player does, your king always gets claims on your titles.

 

[Duuk]

It seems that the AI gets claims on all your titles if you just get bb-points.

I had the same thing as Duuk, starting as count of Northhampton, then gaining a duke title. Then I spent my prestige on some claims from a excommunicated king of Scotland and then I checked my king and king William of England suddenly had a claim on my 2 titles. That was all I did, I never denied any request or get any event.

I don't know if he had to pay prestige for it.

Since AI vassals don't get BB-points, only the human player does, your king always gets claims on your titles.

The AI gets BB. It just doesn't suffer loyalty effects from them.

 

[Veldmaarschalk]

The AI gets BB. It just doesn't suffer loyalty effects from them.

Ah yes, I forgot, it doesn't suffer from the consequences.

 

[unmerged(29883)]

Sliding back to an earlier comment by Duuk:

"This is dumb, since it means that an AI liege will always war against his player vassals, even if they are 100% loyal."


Is there such a thing as a 100% loyal human vassal? Oh, of course, *on paper* you might be 100% loyal - but since that 100% loyal vassal can suddenly and arbitrarily declare war on his liege, then its a slightly moot point.

Does anyone know of a player who is so 100% loyal that he seeks only to serve his liege, let him take his armies (and pay for the privelege of serving his lord), help his liege secure his claims, defend him against would-be usurpers and never, ever, ever question his decisions? Who would be honoured to marry his daughter and not entertain thoughts of subsequently murdering his sons? Who would defend him to the death in his arbitrary crusades, and who would gladly give up any and all titles that his liege wanted for his own offspring?

And yes...this post is supposed to be a little tongue in cheek. Back to topic, I've noticed that AI lieges seem to excessively target players with regard to claims (if the liege's demense borders on the player's), but I can't say I'd kept an eye on prestige levels.

 

[Duuk]

Depends on what Kingdom I'm playing in.

Keep in mind that, unlike the AI, the player can't abitrarily declare war on the liege. You need to have claims.

If I'm playing in England, I'm usually fantastically disloyal, but if I'm playing in Germany I tend to be amazingly loyal since to be otherwise is suicide.

I'm a huge roleplayer, and to have my liege hate me because I'm human sort of ruins the "feel" of the game for me.