AI update

[Sprouto]

It's not magic - it's merely an extension of the Sorian AI method. LOUD adds additional category definitions to those that were supported by Sorian so that it can better understand how units are to be used. This is of particular note for amphibious units which were often built as part of the standard unit choices (particularily in T3 where the original definitions had no amphibious choice at all). In those cases where a custom unit is categorized along with existing units, the custom unit file can specify a percentage chance that the AI will select that unit rather than an existing one.

For experimentals, this idea has been greatly expanded. There are now 4 levels for Land, 2 for Air and 2 for Naval. Artillery and Economic Experimentals are handled independently. The levels are primarily determined by cost, so that the AI can choose one that suits his current eco.

[Resin_Smoker]

Part of the issue i saw with the AI defined platoons is understanding what each one did in relation to the unit types provided. Often were more the one group-type a unit could be lumped into just based off the rather sparce description provided or what was known about each platoon based on the units currently listed. Having verbos platoon descriptions / documentation would help future modders understand this process without all of the trial and error i went thru.

Beyond this... adding a custom unit to a platoon, would often prevent the standard unit from being built. I.E. Swapping one unit for another ect. This is one of the things i saw as being a major limitation of the platoons and one that could have serious repercussions if the wrong units were swapped out. (Imagine if no engineers were built)

Instead, I'd much rather see 3-5 Custom platoon types be made avalible with controls on how many, how often, what tier and what for. Unfortunately as i understand it this isn't possible without upsetting the current AI build patterns.

[Sprouto]

Indeed - platoon composition was always a problem for the original and Sorian AI. LOUD takes platoon composition in a direction that takes advantage of the 'squads' features within the existing platoon code - and has more specific platoons for certain purposes. Alongside getting a better handle on the categorizations of the units themselves, it does make it possible to get some marked improvement in how the AI uses, and builds units.