Got a tactic? Suggest it!

[nww02 1]

There's lots of argument over AI being poor, and there are also some Dev comments about modding tools and an expanded EnForce API release at some point in the future... So rather than dissing BI, and since we're all intelligent people, why not get our heads together and constructively suggest some AI tactics?

Basically, the script and object model they've created seem quite general, so "Walrus on Walrus" and "Manta on Walrus" seem quite similar -

 Got a Gun?
    Yeah? Go to optimal distance for firing
 You there yet?
    Yeah? Shoot, then!
 You Hurt?
     Worse than the player wants you to be?
        Go find cover!

But some of the AI is a little simplistic. For example, the Carrier Defense tactic is

   Do I need reinforcements?
        Has the enemy launched more units than me?
           Yeah? Launch a unit too, then.

If you want to suggest a tactic, don't worry about axes and frames etc.. Just think high-level plans,

* assume that you can 'at-a-distance-inspect' the thing you're fighting,

* you've got access to the list of enemies/islands/buildings nearby.

* you can just ask the unit to go to a place, without worrying about how it's going to get there.

Maybe someone on here is smart enough to post a good constructive idea, and it helps the devs concentrate on other issues? If you think your tactic is mega-awesome, and everyone agrees, post it on the sticky at the top, so that it's not buried in here, on the chance that this topic gets large.

:)

[disorder 1]

I'm trying to make the enemy carrier more aggressive and to make it attack the player with units. I tried changing a few things including the activating the boolean flag "AbusePlayersCarrier"

I also thought I found where the enemy build/requests items and effectively gave it infinite resource, but I'm not sure that worked either. Currently the grip file is the only thing I can see working.

Also I noticed there were 2 sections in uec_militaryadvisor called "if ( !AssaultUnderGo )" which I think ! is not, if so I thought this might have been an error and the first one should have said "if ( AssaultUnderGo )"

As a programmer I thought that was a bit strange calling exactly the same IF twice in a row.

Well if you find any carrier tactics you can change, let me know thanks.

[H4mster 1]

With programming AI i find its best to tell them to do what you would do in a situation, the tricky part is making sure various actions don't conflict with each other, if you get it wrong they dither about trying to do 3 things at once, but if you get it right they can be very formidable.

You really have to know the game before tacking AI.

Tips for the day :p

[nww02 1]

To disorder: Ah, the two calls to that query are in separate blocks. They both do similar things, and the code could be written better, but the first one is what to do if there's an enemy carrier also at the island (basically, if the enemy carrier is here, attack it, unless the AI is 'panicking', in which case, run away). The second call is for when the AI has the island all to itself for attacking.

---------- Post added at 03:07 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:56 PM ----------

To H4mster: Yes, that's a good point, but it is possible to come up with general plans, without going into specifics. For example, here's a very simple 'co-operative' plan:

    Is there an enemy unit nearby?
       Is something attacking me? 
          Ask for assistance.
          Do I have a chance of actually winning?
              Yes - Add it to the list of things I need to attack.
              No  - Are there any of my comrades nearby?
                        Yes - Do I have a chance of actually winning with their help?
                                  Yes - Call for assistance, and start attacking
                        No - Find Cover
       Sort attack list by threat level
       Have I reached the end of my attack list?
            No - Attack top target in list
            Yes - Has someone asked for my help & Can I help?
                  Move to assist.

I'm sure you can think of a dozen ways to improve it.. Finding cover. moving randomly while firing... timed, scripted attacks, attack patterns... all sorts of good stuff. :)

[disorder 1]

Maybe I can delete the panic / avoid enemy carrier part or comment it out.

[Scepticer 1]

Is there something like an island level AI also?

Quite small islands (like they all are) should be able to coordinate their defense better I think.

[nww02 1]

Is there something like an island level AI also?

Quite small islands (like they all are) should be able to coordinate their defense better I think.

Yes, there is. The "AI", is a plan-making entity ('tactic') which gets attached to the "scriptable" base object. So, you can make any number of AIs you want, and you can decide which to 'attach' at any given time. (in theory). The attaching part is in the main executable at the moment. That's why I suggested that people could come up with interesting tactics.. If you come up with a good one, it can be turned into a Tactic or VehicleSequence object and added to the corpus of AI knowledge relatively easily.

So, to answer your question, there's an Island Defense Tactic which seems pretty rudimentary in this first release. It relies on teleportation of needed resources to specific locations, until resource expires (based on defense value). It leaves the actual fighting to the individual objects, it just makes sure they're where they need to be.

[punkatux 10]

Is there something like an island level AI also?

Quite small islands (like they all are) should be able to coordinate their defense better I think.

Try HETMAN (also called @Ryd_HAC) addon