u/Amiral_Crapaud

There's a(nother) good article on Tally Ho Corner about the pros and cons of the current phenomenon. As someone who basically uses AI as an elaborate spellchecker for now, and considering our own coder couldn't ever find much use for it either, I cannot really comment on the game creation part - and yet as a player, I am in (positive, or at least hopeful) awe of the future possibilities.

I see it more as a way to raise the bar for hand-made wargames - a bar which others might reach more easily now that they have ready assistance available - but the socio-cultural-ethical gap with some of the player base remains something of an abyssal obstacle, independently of the design merit of whatever comes out of the AI oven, even when said AI was used as an auxiliary tool rather than the main effort. Anyway, here's the dope below.

https://tallyhocorner.com/2026/09/cyprus-1974-is-a-wargame-designed-and-coded-by-ai/

At any rate, other takes are available in the comments section over there. I'm sure some of you have a pretty straightforward PoV, as you have manifested it countless times here already. I'm still in the wait-and-see camp, but I can understand the arguments from both sides of the aisle.

Edit: Kinda amazed by the downvotes so early on. Do these guys even read the stuff, or just click "down" when there's a word they don't fancy, to ensure nobody comes across it?

For a niche that has the self-claimed reputation of being a bit more intellectual than average, I find that sort of behavior a bit sad. At some point, I am even surprised these people would consider the computer as an acceptable alternative to tabletop to begin with... Informed debates at a pivotal point in the history of our medium should be allowed in our quarters independently from what sort of disgust some might harbor for a side or another of a given equation, and I say that as a longtime grognard myself. We're not talking black counters controversy here, it's a bit above and beyond that sort of things.

Thanks in advance to those who will have the kindness to behave like grownups.

https://preview.redd.it/620a2l0fu2jh1.png?width=1381&format=png&auto=webp&s=7282d6b0afe16be42f4368ab391da76559b9fbd6

So. A fine-looking little game was posted on the sub earlier this week, treating of ancient warfare with a brisk yet efficient combat system. I gave it a go, and after a couple of battles, I resolved to record one session and forge it into an AAR. Also, note that it apparently offers TCP/IP multiplayer already, so don't worry about the AI, although it's pretty competent as it is IMHO!

Until now, lady luck has consistently blessed me with interesting battles and desperate situations. To some extent, its turn-based nature makes it far harder to game the AI, something you might manage more easily in a title like Strategos, which I recommend heartily and which remains in a league of its own. It is closer to what you would find in Field of Glory, although the clean 2D perspective lets you fight through battles far more swiftly, a welcome alternative to the sometimes more visually cumbersome 3D affairs of its honorable cousins. In terms of computer gaming, it also reminds me of the adaptations of the GMT GBOA or GBOC systems, but with a much cleaner look. Ah, these were the days...!

But enough of context. I opted for an automatic random encounter, and was granted our dear pre-Marian Romans, set against a Hispanic army. From the get-go, you may customize your starting force through a handy interface, though I rarely do so. I prefer to trust in fate and deal with the circumstances as they come, and that is precisely what occurred.

https://preview.redd.it/cimmkmvol2jh1.png?width=1678&format=png&auto=webp&s=34675bcaa47306bf2e1583bcbbce8be44383a0ed

In this case, the enemy enjoyed a clear advantage in cavalry, fielding two units of light contact cavalry and one of missile, to say nothing of the two commanders who brought their own bodyguards. I had but one unit of what appeared to be light auxiliary horse, my general and his equites notwithstanding.

https://preview.redd.it/dhd28kssl2jh1.png?width=1846&format=png&auto=webp&s=e889b511f1358015cc3011743c5856f4a3100e4b

I resolved to make good use of the terrain. As you can see here, the battlefield generated a small, rough patch on the left, precisely on the wing where the enemy horse was concentrated. It struck me that, if I moved with sufficient speed, I could use it as a pivot to split the enemy line and focus upon his own right flank.

https://preview.redd.it/fahitb61m2jh1.png?width=914&format=png&auto=webp&s=ae0204cc6e1eeb03108baec3201a76bc76d683e8

Knowing this, I concentrated my skirmishers and light infantry upon my left wing, for these troops could, if need be, traverse rough ground and still retain combat power and cohesion. Cohesion, marked by the little patch of color in the top right corner of the unit counter, tells you how much you may demand of a unit before it shatters, and obviously applies bonuses and penalties during combat, especially to cavalry and medium and heavy infantry. I expected the terrain to grant me a slight edge, allowing our velites, bowmen, and slingers to dance around whatever the enemy might throw at us.

https://preview.redd.it/7txztcabm2jh1.png?width=940&format=png&auto=webp&s=55e600abbf5283cad5364c298480aab7b7739aae

In the center and on the right flank, the plan was to advance diagonally, so as to anchor the center's left upon the rocky ground, while teasing and then refusing the right flank for as long as possible. Hispanic infantry is a tough beast, and you do not wish to engage them unless you are certain you have options remaining when it comes to maneuvering around them.

https://preview.redd.it/bayrxcxim2jh1.png?width=1374&format=png&auto=webp&s=bf6fa3d510368359a9a388af24f952d5f6c3cc61

The first three turns were spent setting up my army's movement. Soon enough, the enemy began to react. Clearly he would seek to contest my skirmishers while advancing his line of heavy infantry. The presence of two commanders meant that none of his forces lay beyond their reach, which grants important random bonuses to morale and cohesion. On my end, my single commander would have to be cunning enough to always be where he was most needed.

https://reddit.com/link/1vn1m0h/video/90b4z44wn2jh1/player

The plan began to work somewhat as... planned. On turn 4, the Celtiberian forces poured through the gap, taking losses from missiles on the way in, and began pressing our light troops. This was expected, though their speed left us little time to organize our defense as thoroughly as we would have liked. Our left wing was effectively split in two by the enemy horse, accompanied by a force of Scutarii. Some of our pushed-back troops fled north, taking advantage of the ability of light missile infantry to ignore orientation rules. In the rear, we began to organize a first line of defense, with units of Socii and Hastati tasked with neutralizing the enemy cavalry at the most opportune moment.

https://reddit.com/link/1vn1m0h/video/f1s9rm97o2jh1/player

The enemy proved remarkably aggressive, and sent one of his cavalry units chasing down our velites, even over rough terrain. The news was not good for them: in doing so, the force lost much cohesion, and upon emerging from the rough ground it slammed, disordered and spent, against a last line of velites who held their ground, putting them literally between a rock and hard bronze.

https://reddit.com/link/1vn1m0h/video/axllwk7uo2jh1/player

In the center and on the right, contact remained at least another turn away, as we executed a pivot, beginning to orient the battle line to face the northeast while refusing our right flank before turning it back to face the adversary. All the while, a single unit of Principes broke ranks to chase away the lone enemy missile cavalry unit that was harassing us far ahead of the main body.

The situation still seemed under control. The enemy had fragmented into three main elements, all within command range. Our left wing was engaged with their right in what seemed a somewhat balanced fight. Their center, with a mix of cavalry, medium, and light infantry, was approaching the combined might of our own center and right wing. Their left wing, composed of Scutarii and Celtiberian mercenaries, was rushing to contact, but too far distant to play a role for another couple of turns.

https://preview.redd.it/e2uikqvrp2jh1.png?width=2033&format=png&auto=webp&s=fcb2cd615f7701e9421422180fad87e018022e75

We sought the decisive blow on our left first. The Hastati and Socii, brought up in support, charged the cavalry unit that had been disordered by the terrain and the velites, forcing it to retire. With that cleanup, we were able to rally more skirmishers, creating a veritable killbox between the two patches of rock, with our general commanding from the very front.

https://preview.redd.it/0lnzyx28q2jh1.png?width=1409&format=png&auto=webp&s=d1228fc1575f5ee4b7d9321c43c06a3dea4ec330

At the center, Principes charged the first enemy line, made of skirmishers, to force the same result. Infantry was finally about to meet infantry, as the missile troops ran for cover behind their line of Scutarii. Turn 5 would prove more decisive.

https://preview.redd.it/raac8n4gq2jh1.png?width=1905&format=png&auto=webp&s=9e0abe78b14a128737692f51fe05e75b632ab3b7

The enemy decided to use his infantry at the center to charge ours. The gods favored us in this first shock, for the enemy Scutarii impaled themselves upon our Principes, who valiantly held their line. The first enemy unit lost 90 men in the first clash, forced to enter melee against two units at once. The second, facing only one unit of Principes, lost 60. The Romans, for their part, suffered only minimal casualties, having stopped the first assault cold with their pila and their shields.

https://reddit.com/link/1vn1m0h/video/05welagvq2jh1/player

On our left, the undisturbed enemy cavalry charged our own horse, along with a group of velites, in open terrain, inflicting heavy casualties upon the light foot. The cavalry unit, after the initial shock, was then targeted by several missile units, forcing it to retire on its own terms, but with visible loss of cohesion. The velites followed suit, in a far more disorderly fashion. The enemy horse was barely scratched, successfully widening the breach in our ranks. Worse, our general was now far to the north with a couple of units of slingers, unable to command at all and vulnerable to a move specifically targeting his escort. But help was on the way.

https://reddit.com/link/1vn1m0h/video/0ua0o987s2jh1/player

The Socii and Hastati stationed on the left flank went for the throat, attacking the enemy resolutely to open a path to their general. Though first contact was deadly for the Socii, it opened a gap where another unit of medium infantry faced the enemy's previously disordered unit, along with the neighboring archers. Even these fell back, but velites were hot on their trail and prevented them from slipping away, inflicting heavy losses. Suddenly, the enemy right wing had a brittle center of two badly disrupted (red) units. It was our turn to seize the chaos. Our own cavalry, having recovered from its first clash, slammed into the flank of the previously engaged Scutarii, now assaulted from three directions. All the while, our general exploited this new situation to rush south, and with a double activation slipped between the ranks to close on the center. Friendly skirmishers quickly closed the space in his wake, ensuring that any attempt to catch him would be met with cold iron.... For he was very much needed elsewhere, as events were about to demonstrate.

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Well, Reddit has some media posting limitations, so I guess it's a good moment to pause before things become really hot for our guys. Next episode next week, if you're still interested that is!

Cheers

Yeah, well, alright, AI is baaaad. I still kind of look back fondly on my past innocence, back when our original demo for TFA was held up by Steam because I'd mentioned using AI for spellchecking and felt obligated to explain why and how. Nowadays that would hardly even qualify as "AI use." But beyond a few abuses, is it really such a bad thing?

Nearly all the recent game concepts you've seen on the board lately have been made, in one way or another, using AI as an all-in-one assistant - finally giving wings to guys out there who had ideas but didn't personally have the skills to code them. Some of these were, to be honest, very promising. Claude is doing a great deal on the prototyping front, helping tremendously with proofs of concept. You can tell where it's coming from right away, with those telltale golden default fonts and frames that make it recognizable from the get-go.

But should our designers be ashamed of using that approach? They're not taking a coder's job away - a coder they wouldn't have been able to afford in the first place. Refusing to let them post, or criticizing their approach, only makes them more reluctant to post at all. And when they do post, they dread the inevitable question: which engine? Which language?

I'm following this wargaming resurgence with a lot of interest. A LLM isn't going to imagine something the designer hasn't already thought of. Sure, a LLM can make a game that looks at least as good as Armoured Commander nowadays... But no AI can truly "make" Armoured Commander without being told what it's about and how it's supposed to work. Should we really frown on the next game of that kind being just around the corner, and decide to nail the guy to the wall because we're anti-Claude?

Nobody who's actually trying to make a buck is interested in our niche. The people using AI to help them make games are mostly people like us.

I'd say: give them a chance, let them have it. We should be focusing on the mechanics, and pushing forward the systems that show the most promise. Then maybe, down the line, a coder joins, a publisher takes an interest: you never know. But at least let's be nice to them. Whether you like it or not, they're the designers of tomorrow, and even though we need to set standards, we should judge the substance rather than the polish. My 2 cents.