[Freeciv-Dev] Re: chance of winning a battle

[Christian Knoke <ChrisK@xxxxxxxx>]

Am Sonntag, 15. Juli 2001 16:44 schrieb Gregory Berkolaiko:
>
> Anyway, here are few ideas and comments:

I'm neither coder nor mathematican, so I can only provide
a somehow general opinion on that.

> 3. As described in
> http://arch.freeciv.org/freeciv-dev-200106/msg00043.html
> the AI feeds diplomat to a battleship before feeding the ironclad to
> it. While it's done in a way that minimizes costs, you wouldn't
> imagine such a situation in reality: if you are general in a city and
> send your diplomats to die before your warships, you will soon find
> your soldiers locking you up in jail.  I think non-military units
> should be spared until very last.

You have to differentiate between AI fighting and human player fights;
I don't care much about the first, it's too boring anyway. For human
player fights, I think the unit costs is overvalued: If I have a
musketeer and a rifleman in a city, and I'm attacked by a battleship
e.g., I would always send the rifleman: 1. the battleship could do
more damage after hitting the musketeer 2. the rifleman does more
damage to the battleship, so I can send out my cruisers afterwards 
to kill the enemy. Not the battle decides, the war does. And,
of course, I wouldn't send out my diplomats. :)

>
> 4. More variety could be introduced into get_defender function.
> Firstly, if the units are in the open field, the only consideration
> should be how well they will defend.  It doesn't matter how much they
> cost, if the defender looses, they all die anyway.
> In a city (or fortress) there is more choice, e.g.
>    a. if win_chance > 95% (or some high value like this), non-veteran
>       units could be sent forth, in order to become veterans.

Good point.

>    b. if win_chance < 10% for all units, more thinking should be
> done. But, in general, units that can do more damage in an attack
> should be preserved, as units which are ill and will recover next
> turn. Also cost could be considered and potential for upgrade.

Ill units shouldn't fight at all (well, nearly). The algorithm can't 
know about barracks in that city or in other cities. I could send
ill units there (on railroads) after the fighting (given multiple
attacks on my city), to recover.

> what a bloody long email,
> G.

Christian

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