Massive Convoy build up by stupid AI.. what to do about it

[inselkammer]

i just reloaded in a pretty adcanced germany game as UK, because i wondered why they didnt recover from any losses.

then i found out why.. the AI produces convoys, and only convoys, for over 1000 IC. convoys over convoys. which of course leaves him with no resources for improtant stuff.. this must have went on for years.

then i reloaded as japan, same here. though they also produce useful stuff, like CV or INF, but after them in the building queue convoys over convoys as well.

reloaded as US, they behave properly.

what is this ? and can there be something done about this. except to reload as them and delete the building queue ?

 

[midget_roxx]

Are the convoys in serial runs or just the odd one after the other?

 

[inselkammer]

the build order is around 200 builds in a 4 convoys per build serial run

 

[alufdufe]

Check the convoy losses. The UK is doing the same thing in my current US game. But after 6 months of war, they are down to 500 out of 1550 starting, and 3 escorts out of 60. They have already built at least 200 convoys aqnd 30 escorts that I can see. The German and Italian subs must be ripping them up.

 

[unmerged(48743)]

Are you playing the new 2 Beta Patch?

 

[alufdufe]

Yes, I'm playing Arma 1.3 beta 2. I'm playing as US in a SP 41CG. I modded some of the CG inc files, but I haven't touched the AI at all. It's March of 42, the Germans just took Moscow. The Japanese declared war on 11/18/41. They've taken China, 1/2 Burma, Malay peninsula,Java,Sumatra,Midway,Johnson,1/2 Borneo, Darwin and 2 adjacent provinces, and have a foothold on New Guinea. All this in 4 months on Normal/normal. The Japan AI even has a CTF of 5 CV/4CVL/4CL,6DD! I took Mili in Feb., and the Japanese took it back 2 wks later with a 6 Div assault 3 Mar/3 Inf+ Art. I have never seen the AI play like this.

EDIT: More to the point, I upped the starting Ger subs from 36 to 81. I grouped them in 3 & 6's, and deployed them across the Atlantic. Apparently, the AI knew exactly what to do with them, because they've sunk at least 1200 Uk convoys and 90 escorts by March 0f 42. The UK has 75 (x3) serials of convoys. I didn't take an exact count, but it looked like at 20 had 1 completed already.

 

[Amallric]

It's normal then. If the AI thinks that it lacks convoys it goes mad and builds nothing but convoys. This effect was already discovered by blue emu in his "Are submarines worthless" game.

 

[alufdufe]

It wasn't building nothing but convoys. The convoys were at the bottom. It was spending 175 IC on production, and approximately 60 of these were on convoys. In this case, that's far less than what it needed to keep up with losses.

 

[Amallric]

EDIT: sorry, misread. In my experience the AI tends actually to produce more convoys than needed which leaves him whitout ressources to keep on fighting.

 

[inselkammer]

but the strange thing is, i didnt raid his convoys... i didnt have a single fleet doing anything in the atlanctic.. and still. it might be due to the japanese though.

 

[Amallric]

Sometimes a single submarine is enough to do that effect, the AI being apparently unable to destroy it. I never had such sort of things though, the AI keeps sinking my submarines.