Make the game more challenging

[unmerged(13070)]

I have been playing HOI for a few weeks now and I have found it to be way too easy. I turned up the AI difficulty and aggressiveness to the max, but it didn't help. I have won as all the major powers by exploiting weaknesses in the AI; namely its inablitity to attack fortifications and its obession with useless technology and units, such as aircraft and naval units. The only challenging part of the game now is to play England and try to beat Russia in a race to conquer Germany. Is there a way to make the AI a more challenging opponent? I don't want to be forced to make bad decisions just to give the AI a better chance.

 

[Maximilian I]

try the mods, or wait (not too long btw.) for 1.03

 

[unmerged(880)]

The most challenging is playing as China in 1939, very hard and aggressive.

 

[unmerged(6935)]

Originally posted by bunnypanda
The most challenging is playing as China in 1939, very hard and aggressive.

Especially Communist China.

 

[unmerged(5067)]

You can try Poland, it seems to be tough (36 for the beginners, 39 for the grognards).
Try Bolt's or Trip's mod, they look good.

 

[unmerged(13777)]

Best Challenge: Tannu tuva, declare war on Soviet union ASAP

 

[unmerged(12685)]

*LOL*

Maybe you could try that with Luxemburg, DoWing Germany in January '36.

 

[OriginalRafiki]

Best Challenge: Tannu tuva, declare war on Soviet union ASAP

Hehe, I think he was looking for "challenging", not "suicidal"

Rafiki

 

[unmerged(6935)]

Originally posted by Stigger
Maybe you could try that with Luxemburg, DoWing Germany in January '36.

I am just playing Austria 36 for the 2nd time. If you refuse to have anything to do with Anschluß, Germany will attack in April, 1939. This time I am winning.

 

[unmerged(13070)]

...more challenging

So, what you are all basicly saying is that until the next update is released, the only way to have a challenge is to play a scrubby-dub country like Luxemburg? Hmm, I think I will wait......

 

[Jon Shafer]

The patch is out, the wait is over.

 

[unmerged(13828)]

1.03 is better but...

There is some good news:

Something has been done to the combat system that makes it much harder to quickly win battles. 4 surrounded and disorganized divisions can resist 12 divisions for a week or more.

Also, on very hard/furious, the AI will declare war on you the instant you attempt an expansion. The allies DOW'd the axis for declaring war on Monrovia in one game. This was the first month of '36 and the only aggressive move Axis had made.

The expeditionary forces arrive in mass and early. UK and Canada had units in place very quickly in one game I played as Axis. I wasn't able to get to Charmont before Canada and the UK had units arriving on the coast! In addition, the AI was using amphibious assaults around the Keil area that were a significant distraction. This was all in '36 before the allies even have much of a delivery system. It was nice to see the allied AI taking some action.

Now for the bad news:

1.03 AI is a better challenge but the old problem still exists: The lack of defense of key areas and its fundamentally passive nature.

The Pirateiam's idea of modding a 0 movement rate defender is a good idea to offset this. The 1.03 AI does what seems to be a better job of garrisoning but not enough.

In addition, one to two units seems to be enough to discourage the AI from attacking even when it has overwhelming odds.

For those of us who don't seem to be able to get MP to work consistently, it's unpleasant to constantly be forced to play Argentina or Siam just to have a decent game.

The toughest setting should be impossible in a game. Even if it means using artificial production bonuses for the AI. i.e. Civilization III.

 

[unmerged(13567)]

re: AI too easy

I have to agree that for the most part, the AI does not do well, even on the "furious" setting. I have yet to see the German AI congquer France. Every game the Germans get stalled in France (because the AI extends the Maginot line to the coast) until 1942 when Russia comes in and takes out der Vaterland. Half the time, German AI can't even conquer Poland. The computer AI does best when it is defending only. In attacks, the computer AI totally ignores organization and will send in forces regardless of condition. As Germany I am always able to send a few divisions and take England. There is virtually no defense although once the AI managed to land 20+ divisions from the colonies up in Scotland. One reason conquering England is so easy is because evading the British navy is not hard. The computer AI always leaves its fleet massed in single groups, never going to port thus the ships have no org. and can usually be turned away should they happen to intercept. Perhaps the way to fix this is have some sort of enhanced AI Manager that 1) checks the org. of units and moves/not moves until org is at least 20% if there are enemies ajacent, rebuild to max org if no enemy ajeacent, and also, bring ships back to port to rebuild strength if org drops to 10% 2) always leave at least one division in the captial and on beaches 3) Each terrain should have a stacking limit to the number of divisions it can hold. This would prevent the AI from putting 36 divisions in some remote spot leaving the rest of their territory undefended. It would also bring some realism to the game. For instance, Luxembourg should not be able to hold as many divisions as Mannheim. For every division over the limit there should be an org. penalty to represent the congestion & lack of manouverabilty. At most, Luxembourg should only be a ble to handle maybe 12 divisions, if that; any more and the country would start to look like a Woodstock concert.

 

[unmerged(12746)]

Simple solution

Yep, anyone who has basic understanding of tactics and warfare can defeat the AI as a major country. Minors are harder but you can survive and become a major with some calculated conquests.

HOI is most challenging in an MP environment, take your play thier before casting the game aside. Its a whole other ball of wax and the AI is adequate for a 6 person (playing major's) game.

MP is the best challenge for HOI and makes HOI a playable game, in SP you might as well take a scrub (minor) nation because the big boys will dominate. However I have to say that 1.03 is a hell of a lot more challenging AI then I expected, its no cake walk at all, as Germany Poland and France are no longer a simple 9 division roll over, your going to have to commit a major force to deal with them and to deal with the big russian bear that grows, and grows, and grows.

Odin