Advantage Slider.

[stormbringer3]

The Advantage Dialogue only stares that it gives that side a better Advantage value for the current battle. What advantages does it give? Is it recommended to use this when playing vs. the AI?
Thanks.

[Quaama]

The Advantage Slider allows you to give a percentile advantage to one side or the other up to 100% when the game makes calculations. Which ones I don't know as there is no information on exactly which things it advantages. I do know it affects melees and I would suspect firing and probably a lot of other things.
If you're playing the AI you should probably give it at least a 20% benefit. It needs all the help it can get.

[Bart Power]

When I first started playing these games, I left the slider at the default point. What I noticed is that the fire and melee results seemed biased to the AI. To counter that, I began to test setting the slider at varying points for "my" side. What I experienced is that my side would then get better fire/melee results. Now, I typically set the slider just a few notches over for the side I am playing as and seem to get what I deem acceptable outcomes.

[Quaama]

When I first started playing these games, I left the slider at the default point. What I noticed is that the fire and melee results seemed biased to the AI. To counter that, I began to test setting the slider at varying points for "my" side. What I experienced is that my side would then get better fire/melee results. Now, I typically set the slider just a few notches over for the side I am playing as and seem to get what I deem acceptable outcomes.

I have never seen any evidence that any game calculations are "biased to the AI". Indeed, given that the AI can be allocated to either side, such a thing would be most unlikely if the slider stays in the default position (i.e. 0% benefit to either side).

"What I experienced is that my side would then get better fire/melee results."

Well, yes. Every notch will on the scale will increase benefits for that side by 10%. Quite a significant benefit. If you slide it a few (three?) notches that side will get a massive 30% benefit.
That does not mean that every time you will get 10% or 30% better results because the calculation determines high and low values and then generates a random number across that range. Those numbers can be effected by other factors (e.g. Optional Rules like Optional Melee Results). Still, overall you will get the percentage bonus that you gave to one side via the slider.

You should defeat the AI easily every time (unless you are new to the games and are unfamiliar with how they work). That is why I recommended that the AI should be given "at least a 20% benefit". The AI should be soundly defeated by a simple strategy and appropriate tactics. If you confront frontal assaults against strong defensive positions expect a hard task.
The AI is usually very focused on Objective Hexes. Don't worry too much about them. Concentrate on killing their men and look for high VP value units (the AI is usually very poor at protecting artillery). Once they have vastly reduced numbers and many in rout (AI is also poor at rallying and undisrupting units) you can take the Objective Hexes at your leisure.

If you really want to bamboozle the AI play a scenario with no Objective Hexes. The AI will be more tentative than usual and confused by the simplest of strategies.

[Bart Power]

I did not mean to imply that there is a built-in bias to the AI when the slider is at 0%, just speaking from my experience playing the games since Talonsoft days that when my side fires/melees, the actions seem less impactful. Others may experience the same or different results.

[LarkinVB]

The AI does not get a bonus in melee or firefight.

[stormbringer3]

Do you know what the bonus is? Since melee or firing are out, does it affect supply and/or movement?
Thanks.

[rahamy]

1. It only effects fire combat and bridge melee and not the normal unit vs unit melee.

2. After causing casualties it runs in a loop comparing a random number (1-100) to the set value.
If the random number is lower than the set value the loop continues to increase the casualty by one up to the maximum unit size.
Therefore set to 100% the unit will be annihilated.

[stormbringer3]

Thank you for explaining this.

[Bart Power]

Thanks for the clarification Rich.