Project development statement

[pdmeff]

 Hello JMM, I do apreciate your work and understand your effort, but...I am totaly confused about development of this game. I bought this game as SINGLEPLAYER game due to its  declarated "GRAND TACTICAL AI", "doctrine editor features ", "control of corps in Ai vs Ai" etc. as it is described in manual and these features was the reason I decided to buy HWLG. I bought this game one and half year ago, beceause of AI, discovered it is not still implemented so i calmed down because of my enthusiasm of the napoleonic wargaming. Everytime I checked the forum for news, AI was announced to be in patch 3....I understand you would like to have more eye candy product for better sales so you proritize graphics changes, but as I said above. I bought this game due to its AI and fetures described in manual and your interviews. It is not my interest to play it online, I have my friends and miniatures to have fun with.

I read manual manytimes but till this moment I don`t even have clue what some features means (rebuild corps for example), what is implemented (for example playing as corps commander in Ai vs Ai), what is not. Sorry but I don`t have a time to dig in forums I am just customer who bought your product even in unfinished state.

Before community crucify me I would like to notice  - AI WAS announced, HW LG wasn`t announced as multiplayer only game an I am not interested to join community in online battles. I don`t know what to do know, I payed for features which was announced more than year ago and it seems they don`t even be implement in the near future, despite of fact I am losing my interest due to waiting. I don`t even know what in manual is truth or will be the truth sometimes in future. JMM I don`t wish to offense you I am grateful that you are involved in development of wargames from my favourite historical period, but it still not game I thought I was buying (for the full prize) and I think as "normal" (not grognard, not online player but common father of two children with very little time to spend) customer I have the right to ask - will it be finished sometimes (as I can see TACAI is STILL not implemented in 3.x) or can I ask you straightly to refund my order? Thank you very much and sorry for negative feedback but I have enough of waiting. Without good and responsive grand tactical AI, playing against AI is very boring even with nice graphics. Thank you and have a nice day! Martin

[Duke of Earl]

Hello JMM, I do apreciate your work and understand your effort, but...I am totaly confused I read manual manytimes but till this moment I don`t even have clue what some features means (rebuild corps for example), what is implemented (for example playing as corps commander in Ai vs Ai), what is not. Sorry but I don`t have a time to dig in forums I am just customer who bought your product even in unfinished state.

Before community crucify me I would like to notice  - AI WAS announced, HW LG wasn`t announced as multiplayer only game an I am not interested to join community in online battles. I don`t know what to do know, I payed for features which was announced more than year ago and it seems they don`t even be implement in the near future, despite of fact I am losing my interest due to waiting. I don`t even know what in manual is truth or will be the truth sometimes in future. JMM I don`t wish to offense you I am grateful that you are involved in development of wargames from my favourite historical period, but it still not game I thought I was buying (for the full prize) and I think as "normal" (not grognard, not online player but common father of two children with very little time to spend) customer I have the right to ask - will it be finished sometimes (as I can see TACAI is STILL not implemented in 3.x) or can I ask you straightly to refund my order? Thank you very much and sorry for negative feedback but I have enough of waiting. Without good and responsive grand tactical AI, playing against AI is very boring even with nice graphics. Thank you and have a nice day! Martin

Bonjour Msr. pdmeff,

No worries, you will not be crucified here (as long as I am Moderator)  .... "rebuild corps" means rebuild the Regiments in the corps from digital stragglers, deserters, walking wounded, etc. .... please understand JMM has a limited ability to precisely translate French into practical English (although he is VERY skilled in CODING Napoleonic tactics, more-or-less as a hobby) .... for which many of us old Grognards are very grateful ....

I realize that as a Casual (but Enthusiastic) Player (just like me, truly) trying to find answers by using the Forum search engine can be REALLY tedious  .... even for me  .... how does one know the magic search term  ....

I am working with JMM to establish a better English translation of the Regiment Reports and Corps Dispatches from the mysterious French AI so that EVERYONE will be able to understand and enjoy the gameplay of HistWar1 and the upcoming HistWar2  .... unfortunately, in Internet time, this process seems to take thousands of years 

Cordialement, DoE

[JMM]

Hello,
I understand.. so I am going to modify the planning of the development to implement this feature (control corps in AI vs AI mode) in the next weeks, before finishing the unit scale 1/1 1/2... also adding the 2 intermediate levels (Division Brigade) AI... improving the AI reactivity...

JMM

[oho]

Great idea.
I think implementing Division and Brigade Level is very complex and risks to produce many bugs, so it should be implemented in the patch after long testing - I don't know if that happened. Maybe it's enough to implement it later.
A reacting Tac AI is much more important to many players that play offline. It is not so risky (because it uses commands, already done by human players). And these changes don't influence Online-gaming at all. So all are happy.
Perhaps you can do improvements step by step. Easy change would be for example moving the corps towards LOC-point after the end of the map is reached after a march forward without fighting. Right now they just stop and I don't have to bother with them because they don't threaten my LOC.
Do you have programmed and tested the changes (Grand tactical AI and Div- Brig- Level) already in the beta?

[pdmeff]

Hello,
I understand.. so I am going to modify the planning of the development to implement this feature (control corps in AI vs AI mode) in the next weeks, before finishing the unit scale 1/1 1/2... also adding the 2 intermediate levels (Division Brigade) AI... improving the AI reactivity...

JMM

Hello JMM, Thank you very much for your incredible fast answer! As I wrote before I am just taking it from singleplayer casual player routine perspective and as I work in marketing industry there is always need from our clients to listen all of the types of customers, not just niche-oriented (especially this is the case most companies underestimate in product develoment - the reason why MS geeks are happy with MS communication policy but the others hate it :-) )  And I still think this project is still very promising to deliver similar rich singleplayer experience as for example Airborne assault series did - but in better graphics. Thank you again and keep up the good work.

As for reactive AI - I do prefer it too, AI is really dumb in using its resources and opportunity (most of the time it correctly set-up reserve corp or part of corps, but never use it - it means just in simple logic mean - you always have the numbers advantage when you use your reserves properly with finetuned timing and properly massed :-) ). In very short time you can do your recon and weak spots in their lines, in the next short period you can find direction and speed of their movement and counterattack to the weak areas.

It is probem, because this recon a planning phase is the most fun part of game and it doesn`t last more than 15 min. For the next hour of gameplay (I don;t see the reason to play on 1/1 or 1/2 as it just extend a gameplay time nothing more) till defeat of enemy you can only watch. And for watching this game is not THAT nice to fully enjoy it as kind of movie :-) You can, always set-up additional orders, but why? I don´t wish to use another advantage against AI.

Thank you all for your kind answers.

Best regards

Martin

[Uxbridge]

Pdmeff
I don't know about other players but I certainly agree with your statement. I was one of the first to buy HW and I have also been waiting a long time to see the AI work in the way which JMM has outlined.  I have great respect for JMM but it would be nice to play HW realistically without having to wait another 10 years. To play as Corps commander and to give direct orders to divisions and brigades, whilst understanding the orders from the General, would raise HW to a new and superior level - my opinion, anyway. 

[JMM]

The initial planning was to work on the final version of scale 1/1 and 1/2 3D Model in the game... before finishing with the Great Tactical AI.
Now, the first tasks will be around the Great Tactical AI...

Do you have some priorities for these 3 tasks:
a) Take a command of a corps in a battle AI vs AI.
b) Division and Brigade AI.
c) Improve the Great Tactical AI. (this last task will continue for a long time)

That said, all improvements of GT AI in HW2 will be implemented within HW1 during several months after the final release of HW2.
One of them, a new pathfinding, will be designed in the next 9 months.

JMM

[oho]

First please implement first step of reacting Great-Tactical AI. Like using the reserve corps and move to the victory-points after reaching the map-end. This is propably pretty easy and doesn't have too much  impact on the other parts of the game. You can improve it step by step.
Corps-Leaders only make sense after division and brigade-level comands are implemented I think. And this seems very complex from the start.
How is the status with this: is programming already begun, testing begun, or test almost completed?
By the way: Don't worry about implementing features after histwar2 is out. We all will buy it anyway and support you ;-).

[Uxbridge]

My priority is option a) - Corps command.  Since the work on the Great Tactical AI will take years anyway, as you say JMM, then I would be happy to wait for small changes in this as they are developed.

[Théodoricus]

I would prefer the option b) : Division and Brigade AI.


Théo

[Alfiere]

In the same way of  Théodoricus.

[oho]

You can't really say it's also a single player game if the GT-AI doesn't react at all. So a minimal  rection should be implemented first. And the single players normally don't go to the forum very often (except me  )

[Franciscus]

Division and brigade AI, but next, please, Corps Command 

[Duke of Earl]

Division and brigade AI, but next, please, Corps Command 

Bonjour JMM,

The same for me as for Msr. Franciscus ....

Cordialement, DoE

[glaude1955]

Bonjour JMM,

1) Division and Brigade AI.
2) Take a command of a corps in a battle AI vs AI.

3) Improve the Great Tactical AI. (Because this last task will continue for a long time and it is crucial for the solo player).

4) Improvements combat animations in melee.