:lol: the newspaper. the first time i beat the game (5 min after i got it) i was expecting something good too, but instaead i got some crappy newspaper that informed me that i had just won the game, and to my suprise, i unlocked another crappy scenario which is incredibly easy to beat (it makes it sound tough; just britain and russia vs germany and japan, but the AI still stinks and britain gets like 50 IPC’s and russia starts off w/ like 5 fighters and twice as much infantry and they own all of europe except for eastern europe and germany, and england owns western europe) i have no idea why hasbro interactive (i think they made the game) didn’t make the AI any better, or why they didn’t add some cool stuff, like some scenarios that will actually take me more than 3 turns to win.
The original A&A for PC was so buggy and easy to beat I havn’t bothered with Iron blitz. I started playing SSI’s Panzer commander and Steel panthers instead but I pretty much mastered them so I’m back to A&A for awhile.
When I play the A&A PC version, I usually just let the other side have their way for a few turns until I’m in a fix and it looks one sided. That makes it more interesting.
The first time I played each side the game was effectively over by T2. I had axis victory in T4. Even with the patch the AI is still really stupid. It doesn’t understand how to defend units or how to attack an enemies weak point. If there is no one else to play, I end up just playing myself.
Despite all that there were so many other problems with the game. So many places the game forces you to click or make a choice when there is no option. For example, if the enemy has rolled 5 hits and you only have 3 units, it still makes you choose which ones you want to die. Moving ships in groups is also a pain in the butt.
I’ve also found that the game freezes when you attack the British battleship in the med and then try and land a unit on Gibralter with the troop transport.
Does anyone know if people have taken the time to hack into the code for the game and fix some of these bugs or improve the AI? That would be great. Or if anyone has modded the game to implement the AA Chess rules, I’ve always wanted to try that too.
i don’t even think it’s worth fixing it… i just don’t play it at all aginst the cpu, i just try to play on the zone(even though almost no one ever plays blitz on the zone) or wait until the weekend so i can play against my friends
loki ok I’m no genius, but, how can the game be effectively over in t2? that’s like GERmany taking Karelia and then calling it a day. Yeah I can put a whoopin on the old 'putin machine… but T2? that’s bringing the big wood. and I will agree, I’d much rather play against my friends too, but I’m propably a bit older than most of you, so it’s a bit harder to round up four people for an eight hour aXX whoopin.
alamein i got the game, and if you can take karelia on G1 you have a very good chance of taking moscow on turn 2. i’ve had games against the AI where i’ve had england alone take germany on turn 2. the AI is so retarded they can’t do anything to stop you from winning
Exactly, against a human I wouldn’t have made the bold comment to say the game was over in so early, but the AI is so bad that once it gets behind it can never regain the advantage. By the second turn I had taken a lot of Asia, a good part of Africa, Karelia and had just performed a hit and run on Russia.
I didn’t mean that I had achieved victory conditions by T2, just that I knew I was going to win.
Thing is, against the computer you can be really agressive because it won’t exploit you stretching your resources and doesn’t recognize how things you do change the map and strategy. For example, you can build industrial complexes and it doesn’t seem to effect the computer’s strategy. It doesn’t try and capture the territory or defend against how it changes the game.
Oh well, I guess unless the game got so popular that a deep blue AA computer was built we’ll have to keep wooping up on other people. :D
i hope the company that made the game makes a better version with better AI, b/c iron blitz stinks like crap
agreed! :D
do any of you know if they are planning to make a new one?
I tried to find out from Hasbro/Avalon hill if they had plans to rerelease but I just kept going in circles when trying found out whom to ask. I was pointed to a site called Wizards.com as someone who controls the software but that lead me right back to Hasbro???
just try asking alot of people, someone is bound to know
Question: Are there plans for a new release of A&A on CD by Avalon Hill, MB, Infogrammes, Hasbro or any other company currently or in the past associated with the code for the original release and/or Iron Blitz?
Answer: No.
Q2: Are there any other alternatives now, or in the near future?
A2: Yes, possibly, probably, maybe, depends upon your point of view.
An initiative has been started within the community, actually by one pretty innovative guy, to build an entirely new open source program for A&A. This project is called Triple A. It more or less works right now for standard A&A play. It is envisioned that the engine could propel any number of offshoots, variants etc.
I am not sure how much activity is still occurring on this project. It is an interesting idea, but has not been well received within the A&A clubs….mostly because the CD is still accessible, because the clubs have figured out workarounds for the bugs, and because of concern over the clubs potentially violating copyright laws if they endorse this project.
So, I suspect the developer would welcome hearing from any of you. You might want to test this out and provide feedback.
The Triple A site is here:
http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=44492&release_id=102458
A little discussion from Don’s boards about TripleA is here:
http://pub6.ezboard.com/faxisandalliesessayfeedbackaxisandallies.showMessage?topicID=1045.topic
Hope that answers the question.
SUD
for more of a challenge with the pc version just play as one country
then it’s really boring, b/c you have to wiat thru a whole turn before you get to move again, plus the cpu is so reatrded that basically it’s 4 vs 1, your allies work against you more than they work for you
One way to play the computer and make it challenging is to just put restrictions on yourself. Like play Russia and don’t ever buy any infantry. Or play Germany and don’t buy any ground units at all. Makes it a little more interesting.
I thought this topic was only for top players so I never looked at it until now… :wink:
The AI for A&A is pretty weak, but I don’t blame the producers since I have never played a game (except maybe a flight simulator or 2) where the AI was really that much better. Processors just aren’t at that point yet, and even when they are, it will be a long time before it is cost-effective to spend the time & money to program them…
I knew the AI was bad when one game I conquered UK on T2 & USSR on T3 as Germany. This was at 5-STAR LEVEL. It’s not that I’m an expert, it’s just that the computer is limited to a few (IMHO) VERY POOR opening moves & it completely lacks any imagination whatsosoever. Throw an unorthodox move at it and it collapses. With most games (like a flight sim) the AI is very useful for training new players. But with board games like A&A even new players will get used to countering the AI’s initial lousy moves & will never learn REAL play until they play a human opponent…
The patch is a joke!!! I uninstalled it after it wouldn’t let me take Gibraltar as Germany no matter what I did! Seemed to solve the infamous “CV bug” (where planes you forgot to land on NonCom crashed if you tried to land them on a CV), but I decided it was worth dealing with that bug just to prevent the AI’s rampant cheating. Another thing you may have noticed is the AI will sometimes allow itself to “land” aircraft in a SZ with no CV! I guess there is a Zeppelin there in the clouds or something for the FTRs to hook up to in midair. Also the AI S**TS on the Suez Canal Rule–one of the most precious rules in the game! If you conquer the Med, the German BB just sails thru the Canal no matter how many troops you have on either side. LAME!!! The AI may be bad, but at least it should follow the rules…
BTW are there any really good WWII-era tank simulators out there? I know Panzer Commander but isn’t that like a RTS game? I’m looking for more like Fighting Steel but with WWII-era tanks…
Just my $0.02…
Ozone27
loki ok I’m no genius, but, how can the game be effectively over in t2? that’s like GERmany taking Karelia and then calling it a day. Yeah I can put a whoopin on the old 'putin machine… but T2?
…I’ll explain it to you alamein…
T1 USSR (UNRESTRICTED) attacked Norway & Baltic SZ. They lost in Norway & my TR shot down their 1 FTR in Baltic SZ with no loss there. I attacked Gibraltar w/ 1TR+1 ARM, 1 SUB, 1 FTR & 1 BB & won with the loss of a FTR. T2 UK attacked Baltic SZ w/ 1 FTR (1!) and was shot down w/ the loss of a SUB on my part (I had no submerging SUBs). UK built 1 CV, 1 TR & NO LAND UNITS. T2 I attacked w/ all naval forces + a FTR vs. North SZ; 2 INF (from West Europe) 2 INF (from Germany) 3 FTR & a BMR vs. UK. That was against 1 AA, 2 INF, 1 ARM, 1 FTR, & 1 BMR. UK chose the BMR as the 2nd-to-last casualty; something no human would EVER DO in that situation! I won UK with 1 INF. Meanwhile I had attacked & won Karelia. By the start of T3, UK was eliminated from the game & I controlled Karelia–I took Russia on T3…
Thus, the game was for all intents and purposes over by the end of T2…
Now if I went head-to-head vs. say, a Yanny or an SUD (for example) there is not a doubt in my mind I would be smoked in very little time. So the AI is extremely poor & very detrimental to play…
For months after this I became obsessed with the idea that UK could be beaten by Germany in a few turns due to the ease with which it was dispatched in this game vs. the AI. Needless to say, I–and with me, my allies–lost a lot of games trying my crazy strategies…
The AI sucks that bad…
Ozone27
