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As discussed in the previous diary, the original AI did not actively prioritize territorial expansion. As a result, it was often perceived as passive. For human players, opportunities to invade undefended or weakly defended regions are usually obvious, and experienced players tend to “steamroll” opponents rapidly capturing territory with little to no resistance.
For the AI, however, this is a far more complex problem. It must first determine what actually qualifies as a weakly defended region and decide where to strike. From there, it needs to plan the logistics: assembling invasion forces, positioning supporting units, and executing the attack. During the invasion, it must respond to resistance and recognize when to withdraw if the operation fails. Over-the-ocean invasions add another layer of difficulty, especially when capturing isolated territories without access to airdrops, forcing the AI to rely on slow and vulnerable sea transport.
There are also several particularly challenging edge cases. A common example is naval interdiction: even a small group of cruisers positioned near a coastal city can obliterate large numbers of AI-controlled army divisions attempting to control it. Another notorious scenario is the “chem spam” tactic frequently used by experienced multiplayer players, large numbers of chemical-weapon-equipped SRBM or MRBM launchers destroying advancing divisions from long range and outside of direct retaliation.
While the updated AI is still far from perfect, it has made significant progress in this area:
The AI can identify weakly defended regions and deploy appropriate invasion and support forces.
The AI can handle isolated territories (such as islands) and plan overseas invasions using both airdrops and naval transport.
The AI dynamically distributes invading units to respond to resistance.
The AI recognizes when its invasion forces are under attack from out-of-reach units and attempts to counter these threats using support units.
The AI now uses its navy to actively support invasions.
The AI knows when to retreat if an invasion fails.
The AI can now steamroll.
Example video: AI performing a land grab (God mode used to observe the AI behaviour)
Example video: AI dealing with the player resistance
Example video: AI helps its invasion forces with the navy and SRBM launchers (the explosions next to my carrier is the AI attempts to hit it from the distance)
Example video: big-scale naval invasion by the updated AI:
And to answer the most frequently asked question: we’re planning to enter Beta at the end of January, with the goal of releasing the AI update 2–3 weeks after that. We'll give you more details about how to join the beta soon.
