In 2002, the original Strategic Command game was a relatively simple construct. With a limited rule set and a much smaller 62×37 map of approximately 2300 hexes, the requirements for the AI were not necessarily trivial, but in general terms, they were straightforward.
Fast forward to today, and Strategic Command WWII: War in Europe has been expanded into a modifiable hexagonal game engine allowing map sizes of up to 512×512 or 262,144 hexes!
Inevitably, with an equivalent increase in game complexity and detail, the requirements and expectations of the computer opponent had to grow as well.
As a result, the primary challenges for the AI, with the player’s point of view in mind, was to not only ensure it continued to play well, but also to complete its turns within a reasonable amount of time.
