Nice analytical thoughts, Tilt
Just thinking, likely an AI driven ground war is quite a long step to the future, but would it help at all if we had GV drones? ...like bombers do.
GV drones would pad out numbers but the discrepancies would still be massive. Plus there may be a mis balancing effect on the individuals game play. (e.g 2 players may be able to tip the balance agin 4 enemies....but could 2 +4 drones do such a thing agin 4 + 8 drones) A local mis balance in actual player numbers may magnify the numerical advantage of one side.
Is AI ground war so far off?
If we look at the offline mission planner already in game............
If we look at the Combat Air Patrol mission ware developed.................
Is a server driven AI ground war really so far in the future? If our virtual air battles took place over a terrain which itself was locked in a gv battle with which we could interact and influence how would that enhance our game play?
In Frame 4 The massive ground war that was the EF was represented by 14 Allied players v 8 Axis players! If it was 5 times that number we would still be short ! Now imagine those 14 or 8 adding their weight tactically (like a reserve) to key GV battle points influencing the local outcome.