Game Engine Rules (AI Training)

RogerCooper

@Kindwind On round 3 the Germans spent more money on purchases than they had.

RogerCooper

There is some other questionable stuff going on in Germany's first turn.

NONCOM 5 Sea Zone -> 7 Sea Zone (2 x submarine, 1 x transport, 1 x destroyer)
NONCOM Germany -> 7 Sea Zone (1 x infantry) << LOAD
NONCOM 7 Sea Zone -> Western Europe (1 x infantry) << UNLOAD
NONCOM Southern Europe -> 7 Sea Zone (1 x infantry) << LOAD
NONCOM 7 Sea Zone -> Western Europe (1 x infantry) << UNLOAD

How did Germany make a non-combat move from 5 Sea Zone to 7 Sea Zone. Didn't the British object?

How did the Germans load a transport in 7 Sea Zone from Germany and Southern Europe. And then unload in Western Europe.

It would seem to be failure of basic rules and map implementation. I don't think a LLM can learn to play a game like Axis & Allies. A neural net like AlphaZero might fare better, but in either case you need to implement the rules separately from the decision-making.

Kindwind

@RogerCooper This one should be a little bit better. It's not an LLM yet. Neural net. 11 Round game.

Teaching a neural net to play WW2 Revised — progress report + a full game ledger

I've been building a machine-learning AI for TripleA and figured it was time to
show something rather than keep tinkering. Below is a real game: my agent
playing Axis vs WeakAi on World War II Revised, 11 rounds, ending at
victory-city parity 6-6 — rendered as a bank statement, both sides, in turn
order. Excerpt here, full 11-round ledger in the reply below.

Up front so nobody wastes their time: it does not beat WeakAi yet. 0 wins in
~145 evaluation games. What I want to share is the engineering, what I've
measured, and one finding about ProAi that I think this crowd will enjoy.

What it actually is

Not an LLM moving the pieces — I tried that first and it failed instructively
(three fine-tuning cycles, 0 wins in 33, and a model that would read an
engine-computed table saying "Caucasus win = 1.00, West Russia win = 0.00" and
then attack West Russia). The current agent is a graph neural network over the
143 territories, edges from the map's own adjacency, with an action decoder
that emits moves legal by construction: destinations come from the engine's
validated reach, unit counts are clamped to what's actually movable, transport
capacity is enforced from load_to. There's no retry loop and no fallback,
because an illegal move is structurally unrepresentable.

It learned by imitating ProAi via DAgger — ProAi shadows the positions my agent
actually reaches and says what it would have done there. The encoding is
player-relative, so one network plays all five nations depending on the seat.

Two numbers I'm happy with:

100% engine acceptance. Most recent evaluation batch: 3,039 moves
proposed, 3,039 executed, 0 rejected, 0 dropped. Getting there meant a lot of
reading MoveValidator — unloads must carry no transport map, cargo is
selected via getTransportedBy() plus the carrier's getUnloaded() ledger,
and a computed-empty reach has to ship as empty rather than as "unknown".
29 seconds for a full 11-round game headless, ~30 ms per decision. That's
what makes everything else affordable — 200 self-play games collected
unattended overnight on a desktop.

The game

Full ledger — all 11 rounds, both sides, turn order.

Rendered from the engine's own logs: purchases as debits, attacks flagged,
every battle with its result and losses, placements, and a POSITION line on
the agent's turns showing victory cities / income / territory held.

========================================================================
  TRIPLEA NEURAL AI  —  GAME STATEMENT
  Account: Axis (Germans + Japanese)   vs WeakAi
  Game: eval-93a3c8c5   Rounds: 11   Duration: 29s
  Result: round-cap draw (no side reached 9 victory cities)
========================================================================

ROUND 1 ------------------------------------- RUSSIANS (ALLIES / WeakAi)
  BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD ...................................... PU   24
  PURCHASE  3 infantry, 2 armour, 1 artillery .................... -  23
  BALANCE AFTER PURCHASE ....................................... PU    1
  COMBAT    Karelia S.S.R. -> West Russia  (3 inf, 1 ftr)   << ATTACK
  COMBAT    Archangel -> West Russia  (3 inf, 1 arm)   << ATTACK
  COMBAT    Caucasus -> West Russia  (3 inf, 1 art, 1 arm)   << ATTACK
  COMBAT    Russia -> West Russia  (3 inf, 2 arm, 1 ftr, 1 art)   << ATTACK
  BATTLE    West Russia: 20 vs 5  ->  Russians win   [lost 1, killed 5]
  NONCOM    7 consolidation move(s)
  PLACE     Russia: 3 inf, 2 arm, 1 art

ROUND 1 -------------------------------------- GERMANS (AXIS / NeuralAI)
  BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD ...................................... PU   40
  PURCHASE  5 armour, 5 infantry ................................. -  40
  BALANCE AFTER PURCHASE ....................................... PU    0
  COMBAT    Libya -> Anglo Egypt  (1 inf)   << ATTACK
  COMBAT    Libya -> Anglo Egypt  (1 arm)   << ATTACK
  COMBAT    Germany -> Anglo Egypt  (1 bmb)   << ATTACK
  BATTLE    Anglo Egypt: 3 vs 3  ->  British win   [lost 3, killed 2]
  BATTLE    Caucasus: 9 vs 3  ->  Germans win   [lost 1, killed 2]
  NONCOM    16 consolidation move(s)
  PLACE     Southern Europe: 5 inf, 1 arm | Germany: 4 arm
  POSITION .................. VC 7/5  |  income 74:92  |  24 terr, 74 PU

ROUND 1 -------------------------------------- BRITISH (ALLIES / WeakAi)
  BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD ...................................... PU   30
  PURCHASE  6 infantry, 3 artillery .............................. -  30
  BALANCE AFTER PURCHASE ....................................... PU    0
  COMBAT    United Kingdom -> Germany  (1 bmb)   << ATTACK
  COMBAT    3 Sea Zone -> Norway  (2 inf)   << ATTACK
  BATTLE    Germany: 1 vs 3  ->  Bombing raid cost 5 PUs   [lost 0, killed 0]
  NONCOM    11 consolidation move(s)
  PLACE     United Kingdom: 6 inf, 2 art

ROUND 1 ------------------------------------- JAPANESE (AXIS / NeuralAI)
  BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD ...................................... PU   30
  PURCHASE  1 armour, 1 factory, 1 transport ..................... -  28
  BALANCE AFTER PURCHASE ....................................... PU    2
  COMBAT    Kwantung -> China  (2 inf)   << ATTACK
  COMBAT    Japan -> China  (1 ftr)   << ATTACK
  COMBAT    Manchuria -> China  (1 inf)   << ATTACK
  COMBAT    Kwantung -> China  (1 inf)   << ATTACK
  BATTLE    China: 5 vs 3  ->  Japanese win   [lost 4, killed 3]
  BATTLE    52 Sea Zone: 3 vs 3  ->  Japanese win   [lost 2, killed 3]
  BATTLE    42 Sea Zone: 1 vs 2  ->  Japanese win   [lost 0, killed 2]
  NONCOM    6 consolidation move(s)
  PLACE     61 Sea Zone: 1 trn | Manchuria: 1 fac | Japan: 1 arm
  POSITION .................. VC 8/4  |  income 75:91  |  25 terr, 75 PU

ROUND 1 ------------------------------------ AMERICANS (ALLIES / WeakAi)
  BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD ...................................... PU   42
  PURCHASE  3 transport, 3 infantry, 2 artillery ................. -  41
  BALANCE AFTER PURCHASE ....................................... PU    1
  COMBAT    12 Sea Zone -> Algeria  (2 inf, 1 art, 1 arm)   << ATTACK
  BATTLE    Algeria: 4 vs 2  ->  Americans win   [lost 2, killed 2]
  NONCOM    4 consolidation move(s)
  PLACE     10 Sea Zone: 3 trn | Eastern United States: 3 inf, 2 art

ROUND 2 ------------------------------------- RUSSIANS (ALLIES / WeakAi)
  BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD ...................................... PU   27
  PURCHASE  5 infantry, 3 artillery .............................. -  27
  BALANCE AFTER PURCHASE ....................................... PU    0
  COMBAT    West Russia -> Belorussia  (1 inf)   << ATTACK
  COMBAT    West Russia -> Caucasus  (9 inf, 4 arm, 2 art)   << ATTACK
  COMBAT    Kazakh S.S.R. -> Caucasus  (2 inf)   << ATTACK
  COMBAT    Russia -> Caucasus  (5 inf, 2 arm, 1 art)   << ATTACK
  COMBAT    Yakut S.S.R. -> Buryatia S.S.R.  (4 inf)   << ATTACK
  BATTLE    Buryatia S.S.R.: 4 vs 1  ->  Russians win   [lost 0, killed 1]
  BATTLE    Caucasus: 25 vs 6  ->  Russians win   [lost 2, killed 5]
  NONCOM    2 consolidation move(s)
  PLACE     Russia: 5 inf, 3 art

ROUND 2 -------------------------------------- GERMANS (AXIS / NeuralAI)
  BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD ...................................... PU   39
  PURCHASE  5 armour, 4 infantry ................................. -  37
  BALANCE AFTER PURCHASE ....................................... PU    2
  COMBAT    Ukraine S.S.R. -> Archangel  (1 arm)   << ATTACK
  BATTLE    Belorussia: 9 vs 2  ->  Germans win   [lost 1, killed 2]
  BATTLE    Norway: 13 vs 3  ->  Germans win   [lost 1, killed 3]
  BATTLE    Archangel: 1 vs 3  ->  Russians win   [lost 1, killed 0]
  NONCOM    5 consolidation move(s)
  PLACE     Southern Europe: 4 inf, 2 arm | Germany: 3 arm
  POSITION .................. VC 8/4  |  income 74:92  |  24 terr, 74 PU

ROUND 2 -------------------------------------- BRITISH (ALLIES / WeakAi)
  BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD ...................................... PU   33
  PURCHASE  3 transport, 1 infantry, 1 artillery ................. -  31
  BALANCE AFTER PURCHASE ....................................... PU    2
  COMBAT    Archangel -> Germany  (1 bmb)   << ATTACK
  COMBAT    Persia -> India  (5 inf)   << ATTACK
  BATTLE    Germany: 1 vs 3  ->  Bombing raid cost 4 PUs   [lost 0, killed 0]
  BATTLE    14 Sea Zone: 5 vs 1  ->  British win   [lost 1, killed 1]
  BATTLE    India: 5 vs 3  ->  British win   [lost 1, killed 2]
  NONCOM    3 consolidation move(s)
  PLACE     6 Sea Zone: 3 trn | United Kingdom: 1 inf, 1 art

ROUND 2 ------------------------------------- JAPANESE (AXIS / NeuralAI)
  BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD ...................................... PU   36
  PURCHASE  2 transport, 1 factory, 1 infantry ................... -  34
  BALANCE AFTER PURCHASE ....................................... PU    2
  COMBAT    Manchuria -> China  (1 ftr)   << ATTACK
  COMBAT    French Indochina -> China  (2 ftr)   << ATTACK
  COMBAT    French Indochina -> China  (1 bmb)   << ATTACK
  COMBAT    French Indochina -> China  (2 ftr)   << ATTACK
  COMBAT    French Indochina -> China  (1 ftr)   << ATTACK
  NONCOM    5 consolidation move(s)
  PLACE     60 Sea Zone: 1 trn | 61 Sea Zone: 1 trn | Manchuria: 1 inf | French Indochina: 1 fac
  POSITION .................. VC 7/5  |  income 71:95  |  23 terr, 71 PU

ROUND 2 ------------------------------------ AMERICANS (ALLIES / WeakAi)
  BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD ...................................... PU   44
  PURCHASE  4 armour, 4 infantry, 3 artillery .................... -  44
  BALANCE AFTER PURCHASE ....................................... PU    0
  COMBAT    Algeria -> Libya  (1 art)   << ATTACK
  NONCOM    6 consolidation move(s)
  PLACE     Eastern United States: 4 inf, 4 arm, 3 art

ROUND 3 ------------------------------------- RUSSIANS (ALLIES / WeakAi)
  BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD ...................................... PU   26
  PURCHASE  2 artillery, 2 armour, 2 infantry .................... -  24
  BALANCE AFTER PURCHASE ....................................... PU    2
  COMBAT    Caucasus -> Ukraine S.S.R.  (1 inf)   << ATTACK
  COMBAT    Caucasus -> West Russia  (13 inf, 6 arm, 3 art)   << ATTACK
  COMBAT    Russia -> West Russia  (5 inf, 3 art)   << ATTACK
  BATTLE    West Russia: 30 vs 3  ->  Russians win   [lost 2, killed 3]
  NONCOM    2 consolidation move(s)
  PLACE     Russia: 2 inf, 2 art, 2 arm

ROUND 3 -------------------------------------- GERMANS (AXIS / NeuralAI)
  BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD ...................................... PU   39
  PURCHASE  5 armour, 4 infantry ................................. -  37
  BALANCE AFTER PURCHASE ....................................... PU    2
  COMBAT    Norway -> Archangel  (1 arm)   << ATTACK
  BATTLE    6 Sea Zone: 2 vs 7  ->  British win   [lost 2, killed 0]
  BATTLE    14 Sea Zone: 1 vs 4  ->  British win   [lost 1, killed 0]
  BATTLE    Ukraine S.S.R.: 22 vs 1  ->  Germans win   [lost 0, killed 1]
  BATTLE    Archangel: 1 vs 3  ->  Russians win   [lost 1, killed 1]
  NONCOM    6 consolidation move(s)
  PLACE     Southern Europe: 2 arm, 1 inf | Germany: 3 arm, 3 inf
  POSITION .................. VC 7/5  |  income 68:98  |  21 terr, 68 PU

ROUND 3 -------------------------------------- BRITISH (ALLIES / WeakAi)
  BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD ...................................... PU   32
  PURCHASE  2 infantry, 2 transport, 1 artillery, 1 armour ....... -  31
  BALANCE AFTER PURCHASE ....................................... PU    1
  COMBAT    India -> French Indochina  (1 inf)   << ATTACK
  COMBAT    6 Sea Zone -> Western Europe  (7 inf, 2 art, 1 arm)   << ATTACK
  NONCOM    3 consolidation move(s)
  PLACE     6 Sea Zone: 2 trn | United Kingdom: 2 inf, 1 art, 1 arm

ROUND 3 ------------------------------------- JAPANESE (AXIS / NeuralAI)
  BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD ...................................... PU   32
  PURCHASE  2 armour, 2 infantry, 1 factory ...................... -  31
  BALANCE AFTER PURCHASE ....................................... PU    1
  COMBAT    Manchuria -> French Indochina  (1 bmb)   << ATTACK
  BATTLE    French Indochina: 1 vs 1  ->  British win   [lost 1, killed 1]
  NONCOM    6 consolidation move(s)
  PLACE     Manchuria: 2 inf, 1 arm | Wake Island: 1 fac | Japan: 1 arm
  POSITION ................. VC 6/6  |  income 61:105  |  20 terr, 61 PU

ROUND 3 ------------------------------------ AMERICANS (ALLIES / WeakAi)
  BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD ...................................... PU   44
  PURCHASE  5 infantry, 3 transport, 1 armour .................... -  44
  BALANCE AFTER PURCHASE ....................................... PU    0
  NONCOM    5 consolidation move(s)
  PLACE     10 Sea Zone: 3 trn | Eastern United States: 5 inf, 1 arm

ROUND 4 ------------------------------------- RUSSIANS (ALLIES / WeakAi)
  BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD ...................................... PU   29
  PURCHASE  4 infantry, 3 artillery, 1 armour .................... -  29
  BALANCE AFTER PURCHASE ....................................... PU    0
  COMBAT    West Russia -> Karelia S.S.R.  (10 inf, 4 arm, 3 art)   << ATTACK
  COMBAT    West Russia -> Belorussia  (6 inf, 3 art, 2 arm)   << ATTACK
  BATTLE    Belorussia: 11 vs 4  ->  Russians win   [lost 3, killed 4]
  BATTLE    Karelia S.S.R.: 17 vs 6  ->  Russians win   [lost 3, killed 6]
  NONCOM    2 consolidation move(s)
  PLACE     Russia: 4 inf, 3 art, 1 arm

ROUND 4 -------------------------------------- GERMANS (AXIS / NeuralAI)
  BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD ...................................... PU   40
  PURCHASE  7 infantry, 3 armour, 1 artillery .................... -  40
  BALANCE AFTER PURCHASE ....................................... PU    0
  COMBAT    Eastern Europe -> Karelia S.S.R.  (1 art)   << ATTACK
  COMBAT    Ukraine S.S.R. -> Belorussia  (1 arm)   << ATTACK
  BATTLE    Belorussia: 1 vs 8  ->  Russians win   [lost 1, killed 1]
  BATTLE    West Russia: 6 vs 6  ->  Germans win   [lost 5, killed 6]
  BATTLE    Karelia S.S.R.: 1 vs 14  ->  Russians win   [lost 1, killed 0]
  BATTLE    Caucasus: 13 vs 5  ->  Germans win   [lost 2, killed 4]
  BATTLE    Western Europe: 16 vs 10  ->  Germans win   [lost 7, killed 10]
  NONCOM    1 consolidation move(s)
  PLACE     Southern Europe: 4 inf | Germany: 3 arm, 3 inf, 1 art
  POSITION .................. VC 6/6  |  income 69:97  |  21 terr, 69 PU

ROUND 4 -------------------------------------- BRITISH (ALLIES / WeakAi)
  BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD ...................................... PU   40
  PURCHASE  4 infantry, 3 artillery, 3 armour .................... -  39
  BALANCE AFTER PURCHASE ....................................... PU    1
  COMBAT    6 Sea Zone -> Norway  (2 inf, 2 art, 1 arm)   << ATTACK
  NONCOM    2 consolidation move(s)
  PLACE     United Kingdom: 4 inf, 2 art, 2 arm | French Indochina: 1 art, 1 arm

ROUND 4 ------------------------------------- JAPANESE (AXIS / NeuralAI)
  BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD ...................................... PU   30
  PURCHASE  2 armour, 1 factory, 1 infantry ...................... -  28
  BALANCE AFTER PURCHASE ....................................... PU    2
  COMBAT    Manchuria -> French Indochina  (2 ftr)   << ATTACK
  COMBAT    Manchuria -> French Indochina  (2 ftr)   << ATTACK
  COMBAT    Manchuria -> French Indochina  (1 ftr)   << ATTACK
  COMBAT    Manchuria -> French Indochina  (1 ftr)   << ATTACK
  BATTLE    French Indochina: 6 vs 2  ->  Japanese win   [lost 1, killed 2]
  NONCOM    5 consolidation move(s)
  PLACE     China: 1 fac | Manchuria: 2 arm, 1 inf
  POSITION .................. VC 6/6  |  income 70:96  |  23 terr, 70 PU

ROUND 4 ------------------------------------ AMERICANS (ALLIES / WeakAi)
  BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD ...................................... PU   42
  PURCHASE  7 infantry, 3 artillery, 1 transport ................. -  41
  BALANCE AFTER PURCHASE ....................................... PU    1
  NONCOM    5 consolidation move(s)
  PLACE     10 Sea Zone: 1 trn | Eastern United States: 7 inf, 3 art

ROUND 5 ------------------------------------- RUSSIANS (ALLIES / WeakAi)
  BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD ...................................... PU   28
  PURCHASE  3 infantry, 3 artillery, 1 armour .................... -  26
  BALANCE AFTER PURCHASE ....................................... PU    2
  COMBAT    Belorussia -> Ukraine S.S.R.  (1 inf)   << ATTACK
  COMBAT    Belorussia -> Eastern Europe  (3 art, 1 arm)   << ATTACK
  COMBAT    Karelia S.S.R. -> Eastern Europe  (1 art)   << ATTACK
  COMBAT    Novosibirsk -> Sinkiang  (4 inf)   << ATTACK
  COMBAT    Belorussia -> West Russia  (1 inf, 1 arm)   << ATTACK
  COMBAT    Karelia S.S.R. -> West Russia  (1 inf, 1 arm)   << ATTACK
  BATTLE    Eastern Europe: 5 vs 1  ->  Russians win   [lost 1, killed 1]
  BATTLE    West Russia: 4 vs 1  ->  Russians win   [lost 1, killed 1]
  BATTLE    Sinkiang: 4 vs 1  ->  Russians win   [lost 0, killed 1]
  NONCOM    1 consolidation move(s)
  PLACE     Russia: 3 inf, 3 art, 1 arm

ROUND 5 -------------------------------------- GERMANS (AXIS / NeuralAI)
  BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD ...................................... PU   40
  PURCHASE  5 infantry, 4 armour, 1 artillery .................... -  39
  BALANCE AFTER PURCHASE ....................................... PU    1
  COMBAT    Germany -> Eastern Europe  (1 arm)   << ATTACK
  COMBAT    Germany -> Eastern Europe  (4 inf)   << ATTACK
  COMBAT    Germany -> Eastern Europe  (1 art)   << ATTACK
  COMBAT    Germany -> Eastern Europe  (1 inf)   << ATTACK
  COMBAT    Germany -> Eastern Europe  (2 arm)   << ATTACK
  BATTLE    Eastern Europe: 9 vs 15  ->  Russians win   [lost 9, killed 4]
  BATTLE    Ukraine S.S.R.: 2 vs 1  ->  Germans win   [lost 0, killed 1]
  NONCOM    1 consolidation move(s)
  PLACE     Southern Europe: 3 inf, 1 art | Germany: 4 arm, 2 inf
  POSITION .................. VC 6/6  |  income 67:99  |  22 terr, 67 PU

ROUND 5 -------------------------------------- BRITISH (ALLIES / WeakAi)
  BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD ...................................... PU   37
  PURCHASE  3 artillery, 2 armour, 2 infantry, 1 transport ....... -  36
  BALANCE AFTER PURCHASE ....................................... PU    1
  COMBAT    Persia -> Caucasus  (1 inf)   << ATTACK
  COMBAT    6 Sea Zone -> Western Europe  (3 inf, 2 arm, 1 ftr, 1 art)   << ATTACK
  BATTLE    Western Europe: 7 vs 2  ->  British win   [lost 1, killed 2]
  NONCOM    4 consolidation move(s)
  PLACE     6 Sea Zone: 1 trn | United Kingdom: 3 art, 2 inf, 2 arm

ROUND 5 ------------------------------------- JAPANESE (AXIS / NeuralAI)
  BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD ...................................... PU   35
  PURCHASE  4 armour, 2 infantry, 1 transport .................... -  34
  BALANCE AFTER PURCHASE ....................................... PU    1
  COMBAT    China -> India  (1 ftr)   << ATTACK
  COMBAT    China -> India  (1 ftr)   << ATTACK
  NONCOM    3 consolidation move(s)
  PLACE     60 Sea Zone: 1 trn | China: 2 inf | Manchuria: 3 arm | Japan: 1 arm
  POSITION ................. VC 5/7  |  income 62:104  |  23 terr, 62 PU

ROUND 5 ------------------------------------ AMERICANS (ALLIES / WeakAi)
  BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD ...................................... PU   41
  PURCHASE  3 infantry, 2 armour, 2 transport, 1 artillery ....... -  39
  BALANCE AFTER PURCHASE ....................................... PU    2
  NONCOM    7 consolidation move(s)
  PLACE     10 Sea Zone: 2 trn | Eastern United States: 3 inf, 2 arm, 1 art

ROUND 6 ------------------------------------- RUSSIANS (ALLIES / WeakAi)
  BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD ...................................... PU   30
  PURCHASE  4 infantry, 2 artillery, 2 armour .................... -  30
  BALANCE AFTER PURCHASE ....................................... PU    0
  COMBAT    Eastern Europe -> Balkans  (1 inf)   << ATTACK
  COMBAT    Eastern Europe -> Ukraine S.S.R.  (3 art, 1 arm)   << ATTACK
  COMBAT    West Russia -> Ukraine S.S.R.  (2 arm, 1 inf)   << ATTACK
  COMBAT    Sinkiang -> Kazakh S.S.R.  (4 inf)   << ATTACK
  COMBAT    Russia -> Kazakh S.S.R.  (6 inf, 5 art, 1 arm)   << ATTACK
  COMBAT    Russia -> Evenki National Okrug  (1 inf, 1 art, 1 arm)   << ATTACK
  BATTLE    Ukraine S.S.R.: 7 vs 1  ->  Russians win   [lost 1, killed 1]
  BATTLE    Kazakh S.S.R.: 16 vs 5  ->  Russians win   [lost 2, killed 5]
  BATTLE    Evenki National Okrug: 3 vs 1  ->  Russians win   [lost 1, killed 1]
  PLACE     Russia: 4 inf, 2 art, 2 arm

ROUND 6 -------------------------------------- GERMANS (AXIS / NeuralAI)
  BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD ...................................... PU   37
  PURCHASE  6 infantry, 3 armour, 1 artillery .................... -  37
  BALANCE AFTER PURCHASE ....................................... PU    0
  BATTLE    6 Sea Zone: 3 vs 12  ->  British win   [lost 3, killed 0]
  BATTLE    Balkans: 3 vs 1  ->  Germans win   [lost 0, killed 1]
  BATTLE    Western Europe: 18 vs 5  ->  Germans win   [lost 2, killed 5]
  NONCOM    1 consolidation move(s)
  PLACE     Southern Europe: 3 inf | Germany: 3 arm, 3 inf, 1 art
  POSITION ................. VC 6/6  |  income 64:102  |  22 terr, 64 PU

ROUND 6 -------------------------------------- BRITISH (ALLIES / WeakAi)
  BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD ...................................... PU   43
  PURCHASE  3 artillery, 3 infantry, 2 transport, 1 armour ....... -  42
  BALANCE AFTER PURCHASE ....................................... PU    1
  NONCOM    4 consolidation move(s)
  PLACE     6 Sea Zone: 2 trn | United Kingdom: 3 art, 2 inf, 1 arm

ROUND 6 ------------------------------------- JAPANESE (AXIS / NeuralAI)
  BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD ...................................... PU   37
  PURCHASE  4 armour, 3 infantry, 1 transport .................... -  37
  BALANCE AFTER PURCHASE ....................................... PU    0
  COMBAT    Yakut S.S.R. -> Evenki National Okrug  (1 inf)   << ATTACK
  COMBAT    Yakut S.S.R. -> Evenki National Okrug  (1 inf)   << ATTACK
  BATTLE    Evenki National Okrug: 2 vs 2  ->  Russians win   [lost 2, killed 1]
  NONCOM    3 consolidation move(s)
  PLACE     36 Sea Zone: 1 trn | French Indochina: 2 inf | Manchuria: 2 arm, 1 inf | China: 2 arm
  POSITION .................. VC 7/5  |  income 67:99  |  23 terr, 67 PU

ROUND 6 ------------------------------------ AMERICANS (ALLIES / WeakAi)
  BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD ...................................... PU   44
  PURCHASE  3 infantry, 2 artillery, 2 armour, 2 transport ....... -  43
  BALANCE AFTER PURCHASE ....................................... PU    1
  NONCOM    7 consolidation move(s)
  PLACE     10 Sea Zone: 2 trn | Eastern United States: 3 inf, 2 art, 2 arm

ROUND 7 ------------------------------------- RUSSIANS (ALLIES / WeakAi)
  BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD ...................................... PU   32
  PURCHASE  3 infantry, 3 artillery, 2 armour .................... -  31
  BALANCE AFTER PURCHASE ....................................... PU    1
  COMBAT    Eastern Europe -> Balkans  (3 arm, 2 art, 1 inf)   << ATTACK
  COMBAT    Ukraine S.S.R. -> Balkans  (3 art, 3 arm)   << ATTACK
  COMBAT    Kazakh S.S.R. -> Novosibirsk  (4 inf, 1 art)   << ATTACK
  COMBAT    Evenki National Okrug -> Novosibirsk  (1 arm)   << ATTACK
  COMBAT    Russia -> Novosibirsk  (4 inf, 2 art, 2 arm)   << ATTACK
  COMBAT    Kazakh S.S.R. -> Sinkiang  (4 inf, 4 art, 1 arm)   << ATTACK
  BATTLE    Novosibirsk: 14 vs 1  ->  Russians win   [lost 1, killed 1]
  BATTLE    Balkans: 12 vs 3  ->  Russians win   [lost 1, killed 3]
  BATTLE    Sinkiang: 9 vs 4  ->  Russians win   [lost 2, killed 4]
  PLACE     Russia: 3 inf, 3 art, 2 arm

ROUND 7 -------------------------------------- GERMANS (AXIS / NeuralAI)
  BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD ...................................... PU   29
  PURCHASE  4 infantry, 3 armour ................................. -  27
  BALANCE AFTER PURCHASE ....................................... PU    2
  COMBAT    Germany -> Eastern Europe  (1 ftr)   << ATTACK
  BATTLE    Eastern Europe: 1 vs 6  ->  Russians win   [lost 1, killed 1]
  BATTLE    Balkans: 17 vs 11  ->  Germans win   [lost 8, killed 11]
  PLACE     Southern Europe: 1 inf | Germany: 3 arm, 3 inf
  POSITION ................. VC 7/5  |  income 63:103  |  21 terr, 63 PU

ROUND 7 -------------------------------------- BRITISH (ALLIES / WeakAi)
  BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD ...................................... PU   34
  PURCHASE  5 infantry, 3 artillery, 1 armour .................... -  32
  BALANCE AFTER PURCHASE ....................................... PU    2
  COMBAT    6 Sea Zone -> Western Europe  (3 art, 2 inf, 1 arm)   << ATTACK
  BATTLE    Western Europe: 6 vs 3  ->  British win   [lost 0, killed 3]
  NONCOM    3 consolidation move(s)
  PLACE     United Kingdom: 5 inf, 2 art, 1 arm

ROUND 7 ------------------------------------- JAPANESE (AXIS / NeuralAI)
  BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD ...................................... PU   38
  PURCHASE  5 armour, 4 infantry ................................. -  37
  BALANCE AFTER PURCHASE ....................................... PU    1
  BATTLE    Sinkiang: 8 vs 7  ->  Japanese win   [lost 3, killed 7]
  NONCOM    8 consolidation move(s)
  PLACE     Manchuria: 3 inf | China: 1 arm, 1 inf | French Indochina: 3 arm | Japan: 1 arm
  POSITION ................. VC 6/6  |  income 60:106  |  22 terr, 60 PU

ROUND 7 ------------------------------------ AMERICANS (ALLIES / WeakAi)
  BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD ...................................... PU   41
  PURCHASE  6 infantry, 3 artillery, 2 armour .................... -  40
  BALANCE AFTER PURCHASE ....................................... PU    1
  COMBAT    Persia -> India  (3 inf, 2 art)   << ATTACK
  BATTLE    India: 5 vs 3  ->  Americans win   [lost 2, killed 3]
  NONCOM    7 consolidation move(s)
  PLACE     Eastern United States: 6 inf, 3 art, 2 arm

ROUND 8 ------------------------------------- RUSSIANS (ALLIES / WeakAi)
  BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD ...................................... PU   35
  PURCHASE  4 infantry, 3 artillery, 2 armour .................... -  34
  BALANCE AFTER PURCHASE ....................................... PU    1
  COMBAT    Novosibirsk -> Yakut S.S.R.  (1 inf)   << ATTACK
  COMBAT    Novosibirsk -> Sinkiang  (4 inf, 2 art, 1 arm)   << ATTACK
  COMBAT    Novosibirsk -> Evenki National Okrug  (2 inf, 1 art, 1 arm)   << ATTACK
  COMBAT    Russia -> Evenki National Okrug  (3 inf, 3 art, 2 arm)   << ATTACK
  BATTLE    Evenki National Okrug: 12 vs 1  ->  Russians win   [lost 0, killed 1]
  BATTLE    Sinkiang: 7 vs 2  ->  Russians win   [lost 1, killed 2]
  NONCOM    1 consolidation move(s)
  PLACE     Russia: 3 inf, 3 art, 2 arm | Caucasus: 1 inf

ROUND 8 -------------------------------------- GERMANS (AXIS / NeuralAI)
  BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD ...................................... PU   27
  PURCHASE  4 infantry, 2 armour, 1 artillery .................... -  26
  BALANCE AFTER PURCHASE ....................................... PU    1
  BATTLE    Western Europe: 19 vs 6  ->  Germans win   [lost 2, killed 6]
  PLACE     Southern Europe: 2 inf | Germany: 2 arm, 2 inf, 1 art
  POSITION ................. VC 6/6  |  income 59:107  |  19 terr, 59 PU

ROUND 8 -------------------------------------- BRITISH (ALLIES / WeakAi)
  BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD ...................................... PU   38
  PURCHASE  4 artillery, 3 armour, 2 infantry .................... -  37
  BALANCE AFTER PURCHASE ....................................... PU    1
  COMBAT    Eastern Europe -> Balkans  (1 inf)   << ATTACK
  NONCOM    3 consolidation move(s)
  PLACE     United Kingdom: 4 art, 2 inf, 2 arm

ROUND 8 ------------------------------------- JAPANESE (AXIS / NeuralAI)
  BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD ...................................... PU   42
  PURCHASE  4 armour, 4 infantry, 1 transport .................... -  40
  BALANCE AFTER PURCHASE ....................................... PU    2
  COMBAT    China -> Sinkiang  (2 inf)   << ATTACK
  COMBAT    French Indochina -> Sinkiang  (1 arm)   << ATTACK
  BATTLE    Sinkiang: 3 vs 6  ->  Americans win   [lost 3, killed 1]
  BATTLE    India: 10 vs 3  ->  Japanese win   [lost 1, killed 3]
  NONCOM    4 consolidation move(s)
  PLACE     61 Sea Zone: 1 trn | China: 2 inf | Manchuria: 2 inf, 1 arm | French Indochina: 3 arm
  POSITION ................. VC 7/5  |  income 59:107  |  19 terr, 59 PU

ROUND 8 ------------------------------------ AMERICANS (ALLIES / WeakAi)
  BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD ...................................... PU   41
  PURCHASE  3 transport, 2 armour, 1 infantry, 1 artillery ....... -  41
  BALANCE AFTER PURCHASE ....................................... PU    0
  NONCOM    8 consolidation move(s)
  PLACE     10 Sea Zone: 3 trn | Eastern United States: 2 arm, 1 inf, 1 art

ROUND 9 ------------------------------------- RUSSIANS (ALLIES / WeakAi)
  BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD ...................................... PU   33
  PURCHASE  4 artillery, 4 infantry, 1 armour .................... -  33
  BALANCE AFTER PURCHASE ....................................... PU    0
  COMBAT    Yakut S.S.R. -> Soviet Far East  (1 inf)   << ATTACK
  NONCOM    5 consolidation move(s)
  PLACE     Russia: 4 inf, 3 art, 1 arm | Caucasus: 1 art

ROUND 9 -------------------------------------- GERMANS (AXIS / NeuralAI)
  BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD ...................................... PU   26
  PURCHASE  4 infantry, 2 armour, 1 artillery .................... -  26
  BALANCE AFTER PURCHASE ....................................... PU    0
  COMBAT    Germany -> Eastern Europe  (2 arm)   << ATTACK
  BATTLE    Eastern Europe: 2 vs 17  ->  Russians win   [lost 2, killed 1]
  BATTLE    Balkans: 14 vs 1  ->  Germans win   [lost 1, killed 1]
  PLACE     Germany: 4 inf, 2 arm, 1 art
  POSITION ................. VC 7/5  |  income 61:105  |  19 terr, 61 PU

ROUND 9 -------------------------------------- BRITISH (ALLIES / WeakAi)
  BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD ...................................... PU   37
  PURCHASE  5 infantry, 2 armour, 1 artillery, 1 transport ....... -  37
  BALANCE AFTER PURCHASE ....................................... PU    0
  COMBAT    6 Sea Zone -> Western Europe  (4 art, 3 inf, 1 arm)   << ATTACK
  BATTLE    Western Europe: 8 vs 5  ->  British win   [lost 3, killed 5]
  NONCOM    1 consolidation move(s)
  PLACE     6 Sea Zone: 1 trn | United Kingdom: 4 inf, 2 arm, 1 art

ROUND 9 ------------------------------------- JAPANESE (AXIS / NeuralAI)
  BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD ...................................... PU   39
  PURCHASE  5 armour, 4 infantry ................................. -  37
  BALANCE AFTER PURCHASE ....................................... PU    2
  COMBAT    India -> Persia  (4 arm)   << ATTACK
  COMBAT    India -> Persia  (2 arm)   << ATTACK
  BATTLE    Soviet Far East: 1 vs 1  ->  Japanese win   [lost 0, killed 1]
  BATTLE    Persia: 6 vs 11  ->  British win   [lost 6, killed 4]
  NONCOM    2 consolidation move(s)
  PLACE     Manchuria: 3 inf | French Indochina: 3 arm | China: 1 inf, 1 arm | Japan: 1 arm
  POSITION ................. VC 6/6  |  income 58:108  |  20 terr, 58 PU

ROUND 9 ------------------------------------ AMERICANS (ALLIES / WeakAi)
  BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD ...................................... PU   42
  PURCHASE  6 infantry, 3 armour, 2 artillery .................... -  41
  BALANCE AFTER PURCHASE ....................................... PU    1
  COMBAT    Persia -> India  (1 inf)   << ATTACK
  NONCOM    8 consolidation move(s)
  PLACE     Eastern United States: 6 inf, 3 arm, 2 art

ROUND 10 ------------------------------------ RUSSIANS (ALLIES / WeakAi)
  BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD ...................................... PU   33
  PURCHASE  4 infantry, 4 artillery, 1 armour .................... -  33
  BALANCE AFTER PURCHASE ....................................... PU    0
  NONCOM    5 consolidation move(s)
  PLACE     Russia: 4 inf, 3 art, 1 arm | Caucasus: 1 art

ROUND 10 ------------------------------------- GERMANS (AXIS / NeuralAI)
  BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD ...................................... PU   25
  PURCHASE  3 infantry, 2 armour, 1 artillery .................... -  23
  BALANCE AFTER PURCHASE ....................................... PU    2
  COMBAT    Balkans -> Ukraine S.S.R.  (3 inf)   << ATTACK
  COMBAT    Balkans -> Ukraine S.S.R.  (1 art)   << ATTACK
  BATTLE    Ukraine S.S.R.: 4 vs 8  ->  Russians win   [lost 4, killed 2]
  BATTLE    Western Europe: 19 vs 5  ->  Germans win   [lost 2, killed 5]
  PLACE     Southern Europe: 1 inf | Germany: 2 arm, 2 inf, 1 art
  POSITION ................. VC 6/6  |  income 61:105  |  20 terr, 61 PU

ROUND 10 ------------------------------------- BRITISH (ALLIES / WeakAi)
  BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD ...................................... PU   36
  PURCHASE  3 infantry, 2 artillery, 2 armour, 1 transport ....... -  35
  BALANCE AFTER PURCHASE ....................................... PU    1
  COMBAT    Eastern Europe -> Balkans  (1 inf)   << ATTACK
  COMBAT    Eastern Europe -> Germany  (5 art, 4 inf, 3 arm, 1 ftr)   << ATTACK
  BATTLE    Germany: 13 vs 9  ->  British win   [lost 4, killed 7]
  NONCOM    2 consolidation move(s)
  PLACE     7 Sea Zone: 1 trn | United Kingdom: 3 inf, 2 art, 2 arm

ROUND 10 ------------------------------------ JAPANESE (AXIS / NeuralAI)
  BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD ...................................... PU   41
  PURCHASE  5 armour, 5 infantry ................................. -  40
  BALANCE AFTER PURCHASE ....................................... PU    1
  BATTLE    India: 7 vs 1  ->  Japanese win   [lost 0, killed 1]
  NONCOM    3 consolidation move(s)
  PLACE     Manchuria: 3 inf | China: 2 inf | French Indochina: 3 arm | Japan: 2 arm
  POSITION ................. VC 6/6  |  income 57:109  |  23 terr, 57 PU

ROUND 10 ----------------------------------- AMERICANS (ALLIES / WeakAi)
  BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD ...................................... PU   41
  PURCHASE  2 armour, 2 artillery, 2 transport, 2 infantry ....... -  40
  BALANCE AFTER PURCHASE ....................................... PU    1
  COMBAT    Persia -> India  (7 inf, 1 art)   << ATTACK
  COMBAT    Caucasus -> Kazakh S.S.R.  (4 arm, 1 inf, 1 art)   << ATTACK
  BATTLE    Kazakh S.S.R.: 6 vs 1  ->  Americans win   [lost 0, killed 1]
  BATTLE    India: 8 vs 4  ->  Americans win   [lost 3, killed 4]
  NONCOM    6 consolidation move(s)
  PLACE     10 Sea Zone: 2 trn | Eastern United States: 2 inf, 2 art, 2 arm

========================================================================
  CLOSING POSITION: victory cities held to the round cap.
========================================================================

RogerCooper

@Kindwind A neural net certainly makes more sense than a LLM. I didn't see anything obviously illegal in the play, but you didn't document the non-combat moves which caused a problem with your previous model

As you noted, your neural net is inferior to your algorithmic WeakAI, which is itself comparable to TripleA's Easy AI. However it does attack and would beat TripleA's Do Nothing AI, which is something. (I have seen a GGP (Ludii) that plays Chess so poorly that it has trouble against random play).

However, that it can't beat the training AI seems to point to a fundamental weakness with this sort of neural net. Note that AlphaZero played 44,000,000 games of Chess in its training process (600 years on your computer), and Chess is much simpler game computationally.

husky81

@Kindwind Are you still working on this project? I recently started creating a vibe coded bot. it's not that great yet, but i'm still working, I'm curious to hear how you're doing?

Kindwind

@husky81 it was beyond my IQ. Ran into a lot of math and positions questions.

beelee

@Kindwind

It's good you gave it a go

Kindwind

@beelee thanks! Gave it the old college try!

husky81

@Kindwind Too bad. I'm starting mine, I plays and completes games, but it still loses to pre built (fast) AI, it can beat easy. When you said that you beat the hard AI, do you mean that you were able to make a bot that was stronger Than the Hard AI that ships with Triple A? or something else.

If you can beat the Hard AI currently in game that's not a bad result at all.

Kindwind

@husky81 I was able to beat random not the hard ai. All kinds of odd bits and odd stalemates. The AI would buy all artillery it was really whacky. It was a good attempt on my part but I didn't know what I was doing math wise. Which in turn messed up my data. Finding signals is nigh impossible and a signal is something the ml really needs. The win conditions were another problem. Game state search was another problem. Aircraft carrier logic. Valid moves was another. The rust engine was a lot harder than it looked I was never really sure if mine was right. I worked on it for about a year or so.

husky81

@Kindwind I don't know what ai model you were using when you tried the project, but Opus 5.5 is better than what was available back then. I'm not sure if you had Fable back then. I don't have a Fable account, only Opus 5.5.

Opus was able to build a python rules engine pretty much in one shot (no GUI) so i can't see the games, but it will simulate games and write reports. My bot can play in Triple A as well by passing the moves generated by the python code to triple A and checking for rejected moves. That's how I validated my rules engine, and caught the errors and omissions around transports and aircraft carriers.

I'm not currently using machine learning, other than tuning some parameters my bot uses by running simulated games. But I may give a more ML approach a go in future.

RogerCooper

On maps that are similar to the published A&A games, the Hard AI is only modestly better than the Fast AI. The Hard AI superiority is in games with more complex combat systems, where the simulation of the actual battles is a substantial advantage.