Comprehensive and In-Depth guide to commanding your AI squad

[Baz 0]

Hey guys, I have made a really good and in-depth guide to commanding your AI subordinates I cover every aspect of the command interface in the game in regards to the AI and the response to your orders. All command sub menus are covered extensively and I have lots of footage I am in video editing now which is taking alot of time to do.

Basically I have gone through all of the commands you can issue to your AI subordinates and have some situations in combat where you can observe their reactions... Everything from suppressive fire, the combat modes and how they work, the assign team function and its uses, I have everything covered for you.

I'm in the process now of editing the videos and uploading... Because of the sheer massive size of the video guide. I have decided to just split the video up by sub menus covered. To put it in perspective... The move sub menu alone is approx. under 50 mins long, so yeah... This is as in-depth and detailed as possible...

1. Move http://www.megavideo.com/?v=MGN5UGJ0

2. Target http://www.megavideo.com/?v=F8HT1274

3. Engage http://www.megavideo.com/?v=FSM4AYZ3

4. Mount http://www.megavideo.com/?v=J7TEBU9V

5. Status http://www.megavideo.com/?v=68I90QLH

6. Action http://www.megavideo.com/?v=WNBIGYGD

7. Combat Mode http://www.megavideo.com/?v=TJNGHNEE

8. Formation http://www.megavideo.com/?v=WRHPHCY0

9. Team http://www.megavideo.com/?v=7Y4OX3BP

0. Reply http://www.megavideo.com/?v=GBQN9ZFN

For how to bypass mega video 72 min limit...

http://www.ehow.com/how_5291039_avoid-megavideo_s-time-limit-_72mins_.html

Edited September 11, 2010 by Baz

[kylania 568]

Sounds great! :)

[Baz 0]

I have the target submenu guide up

[Gunter Severloh 4049]

Excellent, nice work man, the community especially the new guys struggling

need a different perspective other then text and pictures.

Well done, and looking forward to seeing it completed.

[Baz 0]

Its as detailed as I could possibly make it, I wanted to show basic and advanced use of some of these commands... And in some instances actually demonstrate in combat its effectiveness or detriment.

I have a few demos in some of the more advanced or combat related commands.

Well I hope it helps alot of people out, it took me a long time to make and my HDD is full becasue of all the 3.0 gig fraps clips of everything lol

Maybe this could get a sticky too if I can manage to upload and edit everything for everyone to learn how to effectively command AI based on what each command actually does to the AI in your squad.

Perhaps in the future an extensive high command system guide?

[mrcash2009 0]

Nice, very welcomed, BAF use too :)

Thank god someone expands out of youtube land (with its crappy limits) ... nice to see.

More you than me with trying to explain, I would end up loosig the plot and re-recording about a thousand times ;)

Edited September 10, 2010 by mrcash2009

[nettrucker 142]

Awesome. Really good job, especially for noobs. Definitely I gonna have a look this evening.

Thanks for that.

kind regards

[mosh 0]

I know very little about commanding AI, thanks for this. :)

[old_painless 182]

Brilliant, just brilliant !

[pipscouse 10]

Brilliant stuff. Thanks mate

Edited September 10, 2010 by pipscouse

[meade95 0]

+1......

[hund 0]

I am impressed, Mr. Baz. Good job there.

[Baz 0]

As I type, the videos are uploading to megavideo... I have most of the videos up already so just 2 are remaining to be posted...

Enjoy, and I hope you learn from some of them... I learned a few new things myself about the game and the AI when I was making these videos and I have been playing BIS games since OFP lol

And please feel free to offer me your feedback so if I make more videos, I can tailor them better to the community.

[JuggernautOfWar 1]

Is anybody still getting the "AI stuck in combat mode" issue found here?

[CarlGustaffa 4]

Uhm... I reached my "day limit of 72 minutes", in the middle of formations? Nasty. I banned the site.

Couple of things I noticed.

1. Formations. The vee is a retreat formation (or used to be, things has changed a bit lately on how they handle), since a wedge before would flip around based on direction of travel. Then you could retreat while maintaining a wedge, by using a vee. But breaking contact was always hard as hell anyway, but I think this was the theory of it. Other than protecting the leader, that's the only real value I know of on squad level. However, it is also used with bigger forces (say a company vee) to encircle/surround (?) an enemy position. Gives tremendous firepower on that location. On a platoon level, you can think of it as the center squad moving in a line, while the flank squads moving in echelon.

2. Formations. The controllability of each should have been mentioned. AI is "perfect" though and controllability is not much of an issue. But try using a vee on human players - it's not pretty :D Even a good line can be hard to get right. Basically the easiest to control is obviously column formations and staggered column, followed by wedge, line, and echelons, with vee as the looser. Controllability is "how much time is spent reorganizing the individual positions during a change in travel direction, and how long does it take to change into from another formation initially". I didn't get to see it all though, so maybe it was there.

3. Actions. Uhm, sorry, but doors? What a horrible example :D I think it would be better if you used a squad where units carried CSW backpacks or planted satchels or something. Btw, I'm betting that door was already open ;) The current complex command actions are only really useful when yourself is not within "interaction range", i.e. if your units is at another location. For stuff within "interaction range" the whole system needs to be rethought out by BIS, it's just not useful as it is. "Interact" only becomes active when pointing at vehicles - would be perfect to get their list of possible actions here.

4. General. Sometimes things work a bit differently with AI when they are mounted. Maybe a separate video on how to control mounted personnel? The biggest gotcha will be where "cancel target" doesn't work after assigning watch potision (position or direction), without getting him out of the vehicle first. Sucks. It's possible to script "watch your own vehicle", but it's not possible from the interface. Classic example why I'm so sick of the complex menu system that doesn't allow us to do simple things, and how there is not room for improvement (space exceeded already).

And feel free to disagree. I'm no expert on any of this, and my opinions are based on "what I think might be feasible", not "what I know as a fact". Facts are always preferred :)

Edit: Oh, and great effort btw. Thanks. Any newcomer to the game should go through these.

Edited September 11, 2010 by CarlGustaffa

[Baz 0]

Is anybody still getting the "AI stuck in combat mode" issue found here?

in my demonstration video of several combat modes in my combat mode video, which is quite large and is currently uploading. The AI seem to not get stuck on the danger mode. IT is only after all threats in the area are dead that the AI will return to the assigned combat mode I gave them prior to them setting their own combat mode automatically...

For how to bypass mega video 72 min limit...

http://www.ehow.com/how_5291039_avoid-megavideo_s-time-limit-_72mins_.html

Edited September 11, 2010 by Baz

[stun 5]

hmmm, i'm not able to see the videos at all, I'm just getting an add for william hill or something.

[cjph 0]

Hi

Click on the play symbol in the middle of the ad (it is probably red and will go green when you can start playing it).

Good work Baz, I bet there is even some forgotten stuff for old hands. And I vote for being a sticky.

[Baz 0]

all videos uploaded at this point now... for the players who are not new to BIS style of games, i recommend watching

combat mode

team

status

formation

and just a quick note... This is just about commanding AI in your team, not human players... Although many of these commands can be used to command human players.

The best way to command human players is through ingame VOIP or 3rd party program such as teamspeak 3... In teamspeak 3 the use of "channel commander" proves to be useful when trying to simulate a "command net" for commanders of teams.

Edited September 11, 2010 by Baz

[bigshot 64]

Is anybody still getting the "AI stuck in combat mode" issue found here?

yep :(

check here:

http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?t=107288&page=2

[clanitho 10]

Good job Baz , is it possible to download your video ?

many thanks.

[JuggernautOfWar 1]

I second this. I want to download it rather than stream it on that site.

[Baz 0]

unfortunately I erased all the videos I made because I was out of HDD room... But I do know that there is a feature on megavideo to download them.

but here you go, try this and let me know if it works...

http://www.sizlopedia.com/2007/08/29/download-megavideo-video/

[clanitho 10]

unfortunately I erased all the videos I made because I was out of HDD room... But I do know that there is a feature on megavideo to download them.

but here you go, try this and let me know if it works...

http://www.sizlopedia.com/2007/08/29/download-megavideo-video/

OK so, i use this soft to download your video : "Megavideo video downloader 3.17", work fine !

[pipscouse 10]

Hi Baz. Love the videos but searching on the Megavideo site they don't show up. Might I suggest you give them an ArmA type tag so that they do?