Mission Dependency on AI == AWFUL User Experience

[ssimmons 1]

Let's get a few things out of the way before I go into this:

1) I love ARMA3 and I really appreciate the game and everything it stands-for.

2) I've been playing BI games since Operation Flashpoint.

3) I enjoy a challenge.

4) I thought the mission design in the first episode was top-notch; it was enjoyable, had an adequate level of challenge to it and didn't seem to have much problem with AI not doing their job.

After having played the "Adapt" episode, I am highly frustrated with the mission design because the friendly AI is completely worthless. The objective/story of the missions is good, but I spent more time micro-managing squad movements because they get lost or get hung up on terrain. When it comes to combat, calling out/marking targets is futile. Ordering my entire 8-man squad to fire on one enemy at 150m away took them 30 seconds to get the kill and expended about half of their ammo.

I think the biggest challenge to the AI is destroying enemy vehicles -- most of the missions have multiple enemy vehicles that must be dealt with ... but having one AT soldier that can't even aim correctly is a real problem. In fact, I can't even get my AT soldiers to fire more than one round at an enemy vehicle.

Overall, I feel pretty strongly that this episode was a complete failure ... it's more akin to previous ARMA titles in terms of quality :(

So how we do fix this:

1) The friendly AI needs work -- if you're going to make missions revolve entire around the success of the friendly AI doing their job correctly, it's needs to be rock-solid.

2) Design missions that don't rely on friendly AI being competent.

Thanks for reading -- please take a long, hard look at the AI or mission design before building the "Win" episode.

[Rydygier 1317]

Missions are pretty enjoyable, if you plan your moves with described AI flaws in mind. Key is to properly use available tools (AIs). As for me AI companions, as appriopriate, are for static overwatch/fire support, left prone on some rear, elevated position with good view on the target area and flanks, while I'm doing the stuff alone on the foreground and can simple way switch off/on fire support, or, when mission needs more finesse/complex approach, just to be hide and left in some safe place, so I can concentrate on the job without constant distraction of micro management and avoiding friendly casaulties. IMHO in most combat situations there is no point to use any other group controls besides stance, move there, stop/regroup, hold fire/fire at will, get in/disembark.

Edited January 26, 2014 by Rydygier

[ServiceStud 1]

I 100% agree. In most scenarios, the AI soldiers are more of an obstacle than a benefit. It is unfortunate that one quite often has to leave them behind and just ninja the mission, which is completely unrealistic, because they would end up giving it away or otherwise failing through incompetence.

[TSAndrey 1]

I find enemy AI to be a bigger problem. Enemy soldiers seem to be wearing nanosuits, and they don't get influenced by suppression, weapon sway or damage....

[katipo66 94]

They can be a pain to manage but if you make the right approaches, get them in good stances and formations and most importantly move them with plenty of good cover then it can become very satisfying, just give them the best opportunity to do the job, managing your AI is a game in itself and usually needs to be done with very cautious approaches and hold fire enabled and let them spot targets (hopefully first)

Also try and position your machine gunner in a good cover position and don't be afraid to split your team and get some flanking going on.. it does sap a lot of brain power to micro manage them and i fully understand the pain man but I really enjoy leading AI now and there's no better feeling of coming out of an engagement with no losses, doesn't happen often.

[bonchie 39]

I wish they'd look at simplifying them, in the mold of the Brothers in Arms series.

You could basically order them to positions and they always listened. They'd surpress the enemy (and the enemy could be suppressed) and you could use basic tactics to overcome enemy positions via flanking. I just need friendly AI that go where I tell them to go. I need them to follow me when I say follow me. I need them to fire/hold fire on my command. I need them to find cover if I say find cover.

Other then that, whatever else is so complicating the friendly AI that it rarely functions properly can be taken out for all I care.

Obviously, I'd like to have my cake and eat it too, so if you can make the above commands work flawlessly while still having all the other more complicated commands then ok. But the basics need to work first.

[katipo66 94]

I wouldn't want them simplified in anyway at all, there are times when they need to look after themselves or move to position on their own etc and they can do this pretty well, not perfect but good enough, it would be nice to have a "follow me now no matter what" command that gets them to do just that.

[ssimmons 1]

I wouldn't want them simplified in anyway at all, there are times when they need to look after themselves or move to position on their own etc and they can do this pretty well, not perfect but good enough, it would be nice to have a "follow me now no matter what" command that gets them to do just that.

Yes, it is extremely annoying when I have my squad "Regroup" -- everyone is in formation ... then 5 minutes later, two of my squad members are asking "Where are you?"

[froggyluv 2136]

I wouldn't want them simplified in anyway at all, there are times when they need to look after themselves or move to position on their own etc and they can do this pretty well, not perfect but good enough, it would be nice to have a "follow me now no matter what" command that gets them to do just that.

Or as we call it in my household (with young kids), a "NOW!!!!" command. Would be a great qualifier button in which AI just do it -and if you get them killed while they do it, they lose morale or better yet, frag ya.

[biggerdave 56]

AI wrangling is definitely the most infuriating part of ArmA.3. Since ArmA.2 changed the AI to automatically enter combat mode when under attack, there's no real distinction between Aware and Combat modes. IMO, BIS should replace them with "Combat Ready" (ie, the current "aware" mode, maintain formation while not under threat, and act all tactical-like near enemies) and "Disengage" (do not break formation or engage enemy unless ordered to or absolutely necessary, ie, OFP's "Aware" mode). Stealth mode should be tweaked so the AI are better at keeping with their squad, and less likely to engage the enemy (especially if they don't have suppressors!)

I don't think anyone's ever used Safe mod outside of scripted events (in which case, the hidden "careless" mode is much better). So we could probably just get rid of that all together.

[lugiahua 26]

I usually don't have problem with AIs

I grouped my squad into two or three smaller fireteams with color codes, and have them do Bounding overwatch/ Fire and Maneuver

That is I would order one team move to a vantage point, lay down covering fire while another move forward pass them, then cover the first group.

I also try to flank my enemy if terrain allows, enemy AI don't do so well when being attacked from more than one directions.

[bonchie 39]

Yes, it is extremely annoying when I have my squad "Regroup" -- everyone is in formation ... then 5 minutes later, two of my squad members are asking "Where are you?"

This happens to a lot for me.

[Darkhorse 1-6 16]

tbh I'm currently on the fuel mission and I sacrificed both my starting squad and the 2nd squad in order to create a diversion as I moved on the complex. They all died horribly. I've currently got 3rd set up to my north as a tripwire in case of armor, and expect them to die even faster. It's a hard world, and somebody has to die for me to stay alive. ;)

[jcdenton 10]

I agree with the originator to a degree and would like to offer some further examples. Firstly, I find using the Articulate mod a definite advantage, speeding up almost every aspect of AI control. I couldn't imagine having to endlessly press keys to order the teams around.

That said, I think the two main areas which make managing teams frustrating is a) movement through terrain detail and b), re-arming/picking up.

The movement when heading out across open field is fine, but try and get the team to move through a town on search and destroy and you'll find the boys spread out way too much or get stuck on some structure. There should be a 'STAY CLOSE/FAN OUT' toggle which works within each formation. Regrouping them with a 'SPRINT' option would be useful as I find myself having to wait endlessly for them to catch up sometimes. I've also noticed that if you park near another item (wall, car etc) your AI will dismount but not be able move thereafter. This is a consistent issue.

Once a fire-fight has ended and the battlefield is littered with useful items, it becomes almost a lottery to 'Action' your team member to collect an item of choice; sometimes ending with your rifleman running off half a mile to get the launcher! Would it not be better to have a range to item against each on the drop down? I appreciate this may be difficult but the 're-arm at' or 'Inventory' option does not always provide your team with what they want.

I find with the right set up, patient organisation and using Articulate, most squad members handle themselves well in a fire fight though.

[barbolani 198]

Reading this is making me thinking we are playing a different game.

AI friendlies for me are being more or less useful as allways (maybe, as I shoot like shit, even the AI seems good to me).

Regarding the "auto combat mode" issue, while is frustrating sometimes, I must say in some cases of mission design saves a lot of time to make the AI less suicide than other BIS editions.

[the_demongod 31]

I find enemy AI to be a bigger problem. Enemy soldiers seem to be wearing nanosuits, and they don't get influenced by suppression, weapon sway or damage....

This is why I never ever play ArmA III (apart from the occasional online game) without VTS Weapon Resting. You can't afford to miss because as you said the AI do not get suppressed, and if you don't take them out quickly from a distance they will wreck you and/or your entire squad.

[Lucasmnunesk 2]

I used to hate commanding AI, and sometimes they are pretty stupid indeed, but trying to play the campaign i'm getting the hang of it.

I've found that small groups of AI operate better with me, but sometimes i manage to do good things even with an 8 man group, just keep trying and its fine, its common for them to make some stupid things like when i wanted one guy to fire with his AT at a Arty in front of us, when i sent him to engage he ran 500m backwards then i asked him to regroup and started advancing to the arty when he finally tried to shot it he fired it on a tree close to him and got killed.

But sometimes they work great, i'm still learning but i've improved a lot and sometimes i even manage to be in a bad situation and win without any casualties!

I would like to try Articulate but since they are dependent on Windows Speech Recognition i'm unable to use it but it seems like a great alternative look for it on the forums!

[neterw 10]

the AI is totally broken

the campaign and the showcases are unbearable

my teammates are stupid, 9 out of 10 times i have to reload a savegame because my mates killed themself since they just stand during firefights (ai is leader i cant order them)

enemies sometimes just kill me right after running in 1 sec, in other cases wont even see me from 5 meters while i am shooting some else...

i dont get how could someone say that playin against AI is fun... killing brainless zombies is fun? or the total random luckyshoot from standing positions is fun???

[Drongo69 117]

I jumped to Arma 3 from OFP about a year ago. The AI is objectively much, much worse to command in Arma 3. Getting your squad to follow orders, move to a certain point, follow you in formation is far more difficult in Arma 3. Your AI are much less responsive in general.

The accuracy is still ridiculous, enemy AI with unscoped rifles in a standing position will still headshot you first shot from 200 meters away. This can be offset by mods, but over a decade of the same problem shows how BIS just could not give less of a fuck about making their game work properly

It took them a year to get aircraft for the two main factions, I am certainly not holding my breath for BIS to get the AI up to OFP standards.

[SavageCDN 231]

i dont get how could someone say that playin against AI is fun... killing brainless zombies is fun? or the total random luckyshoot from standing positions is fun???

It's great as long as you are using the right AI addons that completely change their behaviour. bCombat, ASR_AI, GL5, MCC with GAIA, soon DAC... there are lots out there. I'd recommend trying bCombat to start.

http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?175400-AI-Compilation-List-of-Addons-Mods-Scripts-amp-Misc

[Gunter Severloh 4067]

Apparently some of these guys haven't played Escape Altis where the AI hunt you, follow you to the extent of the map, forward observers report you & drop artillery (mortars, and art shells)

on your position or close to it, do cas on you, strafe you with miniguns, blazing, flank you when your in an area, call for reinforcements and drop a specops para squad close to your position.

Bohoo the vanilla AI sucks, so use a mod, heres a nice massive list I compiled of all of them you can use to up your game:

http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?175400-AI-Compilation-List-of-Addons-Mods-Scripts-amp-Misc&p=2656299#post2656299

Quit crying and do something about it, obviously the only answer to vanilla is to mod it or dont play it, but if you stick with vanilla then

you may wait a long time before the AI get "fixed".

[Variable 322]

Yes, it is extremely annoying when I have my squad "Regroup" -- everyone is in formation ... then 5 minutes later, two of my squad members are asking "Where are you?"

Do me a favour, call 8 of your friends, go out to the field, tell them to follow you in wedge formation and run for 5 minutes in one direction, without pausing to regroup. Let us know how your formation look like at the end.

You will find out that without stopping by from time to time people find it hard to keep close let alone keep their formation position, just like the AI.

You want the AI to keep up? Then stop from time to time just as you would in real life.

[TSAndrey 1]

Do me a favour, call 8 of your friends, go out to the field, tell them to follow you in wedge formation and run for 5 minutes in one direction, without pausing to regroup. Let us know how your formation look like at the end.

You will find out that without stopping by from time to time people find it hard to keep close let alone keep their formation position, just like the AI.

You want the AI to keep up? Then stop from time to time just as you would in real life.

That's not the problem at hand. AI should be atleast somewhat close, not get lost 200m behind wondering where you are...

[Variable 322]

That's not the problem at hand. AI should be atleast somewhat close, not get lost 200m behind wondering where you are...

You should give your friends a call too.

---------- Post added at 15:19 ---------- Previous post was at 15:14 ----------

I find the AI more than reasonable. I think they are much more responsive and fast than in Arma 2.

Take some general tips that will make your life a whole lot easier -

• Make sure they are in the correct combat mode according to the situation. Note that if they are threatened they will keep in "Danger" mode even if you tell them otherwise, but in all other cases order them back to - "Aware" to make them more responsive and fast (that's the worst aspect in the AI in my opinion, sometimes you need them to sprint regardless of an ongoing battle, but they won't).
  
• Note your AI stance. When safe, tell them to stand up. When not safe, keep them at least crouched.
  
• Keep the AI in hold fire. Note that an AI that sees an enemy targeting him, or is under fire will open fire - just as in real life, don't expect a subordinate to take bullets and not fire back just because you order him to hold fire.
  
• Keep the AI in oversight position - they are great in providing fire support and spot targets
  
• Always try to be in a situation that you see the enemy, he doesn't see you, and you have time to target different targets to different AI units. Do that by having the AI on hold fire, select an AI and right clicking on the target you want him to fire upon. IF he sees his assigned target, he will tell you "Ready to fire". Once ordered "Fire at will" or "Fire" (to resume hold fire after the assigned target is taken out) he will open up.
  
• Once engaed, avoid telling the AI to "Attack" targets (left click on target). Always prefer "Target" the targets ("right click on target"). This will make sure the AI is firing from within your formation, and not start wondering off.
  

Keep these in mind and I assure you a gratifying experience when handling the AI.

[msilva 2]

I must agree with the OP. As an example I will take the "Supply Network" mission from Adapt campaign where you have to ambush a convoy. I played this mission in two ways: with the original AI and also using the mod ASRAI3. With the "AI" original, I just couldn't finish the mission because it was impossible to get my team to do what I wanted. With the mod ASRAI3 I managed to finish it.

But in both cases was very frustrating and took all the pleasure of playing this mission. I just wanted to have a button to skip this mission. I had to save the game for every move in order to make the members of my team stay positioned where I wanted and do what I needed. This took all the fun out of the game.