Thoughts on the game engine and AI

[Al Amos]

HPS has just released new patches for Paul's Ancient Wars Series. You can find them here:

http://www.hpssims.com/Pages/Whatsnew/whatsnew.html

This may be a good time to share a few thoughts about the game engine and Ai for this series.

It has a huge learning curve compared to first shooters, and to the more traditional I go You go turn system. So please don't play one game and give up. We humans never master a task worth doing the with the first try. Believe me this game system is worth the effort to learn.

Paul's Ai works really well, especially as your subordinate. That is when it is actually moving and firing your units. It does really, really well in that capacity if you keep your orders simple, and short. The Ai will move your units in such a way to help you keep the army under control, BUT you have to keep your orders simple, and short.

By this I mean don't try to get your infantry units all the way across the map in two turns, there's no rush (usually), and historically the armies were more methodical and deliberate back then than some of us wargamers are. ;-) If you keep to ordering your troops to only move 1/2 or 2/3 of thier APs per turn I think you will find your overall plans having better success. Again, play the game several times before throwing in the towel. Practice, practice, practice.

I used to do that while playing Bowden's Empire II, III, & V (Napoleonics) with miniatures. That took some time and effort but the effort was worthwhile. Perhaps, many of you are avid chess players, and have or do regulary play solo games to get better at it. The same principle applies here. With these games though, you don't have to waste a lot of time with set up or breakdown (as with miniatures), and you get to play against an opponent (where you don't in solo chess playing), so it is easier and more enjoyable to practice with these games. BTW, many of Paul's ideas mirror that of many tactical miniature game systems, and getting better at playing his games will help you improve your miniature play (and improve you win/lose record down at the club.) :-)

Playing PBEM is the best way to play these games, but playing against the Ai is enjoyable and beneficial if you put in the effort. The Ai will play a strong game, the only quirk it has, that I'm not keen on, is it will divide large units in half. (Just my own pet peave.) It does create a challenge for you especially if you are playing Rome agains the Gauls or other so-called barbarians. The Ai will flood your defences if you let it. I think that is a fairly accurate portrayal of the 'barbarian' intentions back then.

I know many of you have thought this game is too tough to learn to be worth it, but it's not. It is a new animal in many ways, but well worth it. Think back when you were young and you learned Tic-Tac-Toe (TTT), then Checkers and then Chess. Each game is fun and challenging, but the rules become more complex as you advance along that line, and the nuiances of mastering the game becomes harder to learn as you advance, but once you learned how to play Chess did you want to go back to just play TTT or Checkers? Probably not. I admit from time to time its fun to play TTT, or checkers, but winning at Chess is the ultimate victory, I mean really. So it is with PC gaming. First Shooters are fun, I move You move systems are fun, but the simutaneous system where I plot You plot then the Ai executes is the ultimate challenge (until holo-deck type games come out. ;-) )

So please, don't give up. Dust off your Punic Wars, your Gallic Wars, your Alexandrian Wars, your .... oops almost gave it away Wars, and take the time to learn the system, develop the patience to plot a successful game, learn the player interface (and send HPS Support comments and suggestions to help improve this aspect of the game ... as nearly all game systems need improvement along those lines), and reward your efforts with the satisfaction of conquering this ever evloving/improving game engine.

Thanks for listening, and I'll try to create some scenarios that may help players with their practice, practice, practice.