Smarter AI and clearer map selection

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The AI is in active iteration. Recent rules changes (the artillery damage split into direct damage and stun, new mechanics coming online) shifted what works, and we are walking the AI through the new landscape. Here is where the focus is right now.

Lobby map selection improvements

The room lobby now makes map choice far more readable without a full lobby rewrite.

• Map selection now shows mini map previews for each option, so you can scan shape and terrain at a glance.
• The map picker and map details are now unified in the right map panel for hosts.
• Starting position details remain visible while picking maps, so you can still see who starts where.
• The Change Map action is now a primary, high-visibility button.

Pathfinding

We are teaching the AI to read the actual map shape instead of only the straight-line distance to a target. On maps with water gaps, mountain ridges, or curved coastlines, bots had a habit of fixating on targets that looked close in a straight line but sat behind a barrier. That is being corrected so bots route around obstacles and pursue targets they can actually reach.

Army composition

The mix of units bots build is being retuned. The recent damage rebalance changed which units counter which, and the production rules are catching up to that new reality. Expect adjustments to keep arriving here, not all at once. Where you see a bot lean too heavily on a single unit type, that is the area we are working in.

Strategic planning

Two ongoing threads.

First, capturer coordination. When bots send infantry to claim buildings, we want them spreading across different targets instead of trailing each other to the same one. You should see bots starting to fan out and contest more of the map.

Second, economic pressure. Bots should keep pushing for production buildings as a permanent priority, not only when they fall behind. The goal is for the AI to read every match as an economy race in parallel with the fight.

Reliability fixes

A turn-action bug that occasionally caused bots to skip most of their units in a single turn is fixed in this release. If you ever saw a bot move only one or two units when it clearly had more to send, that was this. It is gone.

What is coming

A deeper change to how bots evaluate units. Instead of leaning on rules like “if you see X, build Y,” the AI will read the actual combat math, damage, retaliation, kill chance, and pick units based on expected outcomes against what it sees on the map. That work is underway and will arrive in stages.

This page will keep updating as the rework progresses.