Vcom AI V2.0 - AI Overhaul

[Jack Ost 124]

@genesis92x Somes screens of quick test : https://imgur.com/a/2x61r94 (look at the description)

And please can you replace west, east and resistance commands from the settings by string values or anything else ? Because it's cause some trouble with cba settings.

[Freddo3000 74]

Has the building clearing and IR laser detection part of VCOM been removed? If so, that's pretty unfortunate.

 

Anyhow, here's a few issues I've come across:

• AI will attempt to "flank" aircraft
• AI flanking waypoints appear to be somewhat broken, often placing two waypoints on top of each other
• AI planting satchelcharges will never be able to determine when it is safe to detonate
• AI vehicles will continue moving while under fire, only occasionally dropping off individual soldiers
• AI Soldiers planting mines will not move away from them in time, and end up detonating their own mines.

Additionally, a few options I would like to see added:

• An option to enable/disable flanking waypoints (This exists on a per-unit basis, but applying it globally would be nice)
• An unit setting to enable/disable automatically changing formation (This currently makes making proper convoys impossible)
• An option to enable/disable skill level tweaking
• An option to tweak skill level depending on faction
• An option to ignore certain barrel attachments (Several mods add attachments such as muzzle breaks and the like)

Thanks for continuing work on this brilliant script

[genesis92x 810]

15 hours ago, JD Wang said:

Can I second the keeping of the suppression effect?
Unless it was pretty bad for performance it was actually one of the better suppression implementations about.  

Thank you for removing the direct aircraft control, I'm off to give this a wee test now. 

 

 

 

Ok after a quick test in Zeus I noticed a few things, I saw what I think was a CSAT sapper blow up a building housing NATO forces, rocket launchers being used against static weapons, really good engagement ranges, however I did notice a few groups getting stuck because their waypoint was 100's of meters up in the air, so they'd move to a spot under the waypoint and just mill around, which might be an interesting way of stopping units from moving around, but while in combat they just sat there and got picked off.

Also saw static weapons being deployed but not much fire from them. I had one CSAT mortar guy just sitting there while NATO forces sprayed rounds at him, yet he still refused to fire.
It would be cool if the sporadic mortar fire was normal, but when a unit is under direct fire they load those tubes and fire everything they have.

Oh I also noticed a squad leader getting way out ahead of the rest of his squad, like 100's of meters, although that was only a one off 

One more thing I just noticed while looking through the default settings, it looks like you've taken out the ability to set skills based off of unit/side. I used to really enjoy bumping up the skill of snipers, or having the enemy AI better than the friendly AI in ALiVE missions.

I am 50/50 on the suppression effects for players. It seems out of the scope of an AI mod, I was thinking of making a different mod that focuses on player combat and some more interesting interactions for combat. I may include it again, but it will most likely be disabled by default.

 

I have noticed waypoints being generated up in the air...that is very annoying, I will see what I can do to fix that.

 

And I do like the idea of Artillery pieces just firing whatever they have if they come under direct fire - I might toy with that. The trick is making it reliable.

 

I can add in unit based/ side based skills in again. I want to implement them better than before.

 

Thanks for the great report, this really helps me quickly find and fix bugs before the 'official' release.

 

 

15 hours ago, halifax007 said:

Hello

 

Userconfig installed and it works. But the artillery support seems to be down. How do we have to handle this exactly:

 

VCM_ARTYLST = []; //List of all AI inside of artillery pieces

 

Thanks

Halifax

 

 

The artillery was broken, I will change the description on that in the settings, you should not have to touch that ARTYLST. The link below contains another version with some fixes.

 

14 hours ago, Fyuran said:

Two bugs and I guess an unintended feature:

 

AI calls for help from another area will let you witness a rare event

AI swimming!!! I need to use findsafepos to find locations on the ground for all waypoints :)

 

Thank you!

 

 

8 hours ago, Erendil said:

Hello,

 

I got this error with the mortar team :

 

18:45:52 Error in expression <VCM_fnc_ClstObj;

private _Foot = isNull objectParent _Unit;

if (_Foot) then

{

if>

18:45:52 Error position: <objectParent _Unit;

if (_Foot) then

{

if>

18:45:52 Error objectparent: Type Array, expected Object

18:45:52 File Vcom\Functions\fn_ArmStatics.sqf [VCM_fnc_ArmStatics], line 10

 

 

Also, I had trouble with the call for backup feature until I change the sleep fonction from 30 + random 30 to 5.

 

Before, even after a minute, there wasn't any reinforcement order. Now It works every time but only call for 2 teams.

 

Also, the mortar team move way to close to the fight before deploying their mortar.

 

The Ai doesn't react to gunfight between other AI in the vicinity.

The reinforcement order has a delay because it allows enemy squads to wipe out an opposing squad before they are able to call in for reinforcements! This should probably be a parameter.

 

 

8 hours ago, Freddo3000 said:

To you guys who are asking about player suppression, I'd like to suggest that you check out Laxemann's Suppress. @JD Wang @SnakeDocc

That does look nice

 

8 hours ago, dlegion said:

hello, testing, some strange behaviours like this:
https://ibb.co/ctktTc
the convoy was supposed to move to a waypoint, but i found them stopped there.

Looks like they tried to enter line formation, and got confused?

[JD Wang 352]

3 minutes ago, genesis92x said:

And I do like the idea of Artillery pieces just firing whatever they have if they come under direct fire - I might toy with that. The trick is making it reliable.

Maybe just something as "simple" as removing the cooldown timer when the mortar unit is under fire?
Although that probably would apply to all mortar units across the map wouldn't it.
The other option would be to make the unit eject from the mortar when under fire. Just to avoid them sitting in there, not engaging (maybe the enemy is under the mortars min range), and slowly getting picked off.

[genesis92x 810]

8 hours ago, Jack Ost said:

@genesis92x Somes screens of quick test : https://imgur.com/a/2x61r94 (look at the description)

And please can you replace west, east and resistance commands from the settings by string values or anything else ? Because it's cause some trouble with cba settings.

You mean this line? VCM_SIDEENABLED = [west,east,resistance];

 

How does that clash with CBA? That seems very silly.

 

4 hours ago, Freddo3000 said:

Has the building clearing and IR laser detection part of VCOM been removed? If so, that's pretty unfortunate.

 

Anyhow, here's a few issues I've come across:

• AI will attempt to "flank" aircraft
• AI flanking waypoints appear to be somewhat broken, often placing two waypoints on top of each other
• AI planting satchelcharges will never be able to determine when it is safe to detonate
• AI vehicles will continue moving while under fire, only occasionally dropping off individual soldiers
• AI Soldiers planting mines will not move away from them in time, and end up detonating their own mines.

Additionally, a few options I would like to see added:

• An option to enable/disable flanking waypoints (This exists on a per-unit basis, but applying it globally would be nice)
• An unit setting to enable/disable automatically changing formation (This currently makes making proper convoys impossible)
• An option to enable/disable skill level tweaking
• An option to tweak skill level depending on faction
• An option to ignore certain barrel attachments (Several mods add attachments such as muzzle breaks and the like)

Thanks for continuing work on this brilliant script

Actually, thanks for reminding me of that aspect, I completely forgot. I will add that to the list. Should be easy to place back in.

 

Thanks for the amazing report, this will speed things up...and make the 'official' release better. I will see what I can do about those bugs. The AI stuck in vehicles while under fire is something I hoped vanilla AI would be able to handle...I'd rather not have to script in vehicle management again...

 

An option to enable/disable flanking waypoints (This exists on a per-unit basis, but applying it globally would be nice)

An unit setting to enable/disable automatically changing formation (This currently makes making proper convoys impossible)

An option to enable/disable skill level tweaking

These are good requests, consider it done.

 

An option to tweak skill level depending on faction

I am thinking by side or classname for this.

 

An option to ignore certain barrel attachments (Several mods add attachments such as muzzle breaks and the like)

I can add in an parameter for this.

 

 

 

 

14 minutes ago, JD Wang said:

Maybe just something as "simple" as removing the cooldown timer when the mortar unit is under fire?
Although that probably would apply to all mortar units across the map wouldn't it.
The other option would be to make the unit eject from the mortar when under fire. Just to avoid them sitting in there, not engaging (maybe the enemy is under the mortars min range), and slowly getting picked off.

 

Not a bad idea, I like the disembarking idea

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next little update: https://www.dropbox.com/s/a8luoh1o3lzdsns/VcomAI3.0.Altis.7z?dl=0

[SnakeDocc 72]

Yea I understand the point of it kinda being outside of the mods scope (when it was first added it was apprehensive, #bf3), but it's become a staple of how my group plays, Laxman's suppress looks interesting from the video(i havnt tried it yet), but I think I still prefer your method. Either way, thank you for your awesome work making ai not completely useless ;)

[dlegion 98]

hello again!
noticed this other convoy strange behaviour...
https://ibb.co/ea2Bin
convoy was made by 2 marnid each carrying infantry, seems that:
lead vehicle was moving on its own, footman were "following" lead vehicle, and tail vehicle was not moving at all, kind of "stuck" in the middle of the road, no damage.
i dont know, but may be vanilla problem....AI never was too brilliant in convoys...anyway if you could take a look would be awesome.

[loopdk 92]

Just a Quick qustion.... 

 

Is the New version gonna support cba settings? 

[Jack Ost 124]

8 hours ago, genesis92x said:

You mean this line? VCM_SIDEENABLED = [west,east,resistance];

 

How does that clash with CBA? That seems very silly.

Yes this line. It's does not clash with CBA directly. But if I want to implement cba settings for vcom, I can't map west,east and resistance command properly.

[Erendil 2]

Got this error :

17:25:09 Suspending not allowed in this context

17:25:09 Error in expression <os select 1) + (cos _dir) * _dist, 0];

　

sleep (random 3);

　

_x doArtilleryFire [_>

17:25:09 Error position: <sleep (random 3);

　

_x doArtilleryFire [_>

17:25:09 Error Generic error in expression

17:25:09 File Vcom\Functions\fn_ArtyCall.sqf [VCM_fnc_ArtyCall], line 63

 

I used vanilla mortar team.

 

[halifax007 11]

Hi

 

I can confirm this message, but the artillery is shooting well. ;-)

[genesis92x 810]

17 hours ago, Jack Ost said:

Yes this line. It's does not clash with CBA directly. But if I want to implement cba settings for vcom, I can't map west,east and resistance command properly.

I see,

I added in most of the options in the in-game CBA options. It will detect if CBA is running and then run the options. However, I did not include AI accuracy settings within the CBA settings. As it would be a mess... You will have to edit those manually.

 

11 hours ago, halifax007 said:

Hi

 

I can confirm this message, but the artillery is shooting well. ;-)

 

11 hours ago, Erendil said:

Got this error :

17:25:09 Suspending not allowed in this context

17:25:09 Error in expression <os select 1) + (cos _dir) * _dist, 0];

　

sleep (random 3);

　

_x doArtilleryFire [_>

17:25:09 Error position: <sleep (random 3);

　

_x doArtilleryFire [_>

17:25:09 Error Generic error in expression

17:25:09 File Vcom\Functions\fn_ArtyCall.sqf [VCM_fnc_ArtyCall], line 63

 

I used vanilla mortar team.

 

Fixed! Thanks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the last updates before I get off my lazy butt and make the mod/steam versions

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/a8luoh1o3lzdsns/VcomAI3%2e0.Altis.7z?dl=0

[eric963 23]

Have this single error in the rpt

 

0:25:33 Error in expression <VcmAI_ActiveList) && {!(VCM_SIDEENABLED findIf {_x isEqualTo (side _Grp)} isEqua>
 0:25:33   Error position: <findIf {_x isEqualTo (side _Grp)} isEqua>
 0:25:33   Error findif: Type Side, expected Array
 0:25:33 File C:\Users\Eric\Documents\Arma 3\missions\VcomAI3%2e0.Altis\Vcom\VcomInit.sqf, line 68

[genesis92x 810]

1 hour ago, eric963 said:

Have this single error in the rpt

 

0:25:33 Error in expression <VcmAI_ActiveList) && {!(VCM_SIDEENABLED findIf {_x isEqualTo (side _Grp)} isEqua>
 0:25:33   Error position: <findIf {_x isEqualTo (side _Grp)} isEqua>
 0:25:33   Error findif: Type Side, expected Array
 0:25:33 File C:\Users\Eric\Documents\Arma 3\missions\VcomAI3%2e0.Altis\Vcom\VcomInit.sqf, line 68

How did you get this error?

 

Are you running CBA or no?

[eric963 23]

Yes running CBA, the version that was just updated today 3.7.0 with the demo mission included in your posting with a couple opfor groups added.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[genesis92x 810]

Just now, eric963 said:

Yes running CBA, the version that was just updated today 3.7.0


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

See if you can give me more info.

 

Loading up an empty mission and placing AI does not cause any errors. What kind of setup do you got for a mission?

[eric963 23]

See if you can give me more info.
 
Loading up an empty mission and placing AI does not cause any errors. What kind of setup do you got for a mission?

Well I just used your sample mission and dropped in red squad and no error in the logs this time. Must of had something weird going on that got straightened out after restarting my machine.


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[eric963 23]

Well I just used your sample mission and dropped in red squad and no error in the logs this time. Must of had something weird going on that got straightened out after restarting my machine.


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Ok, syncing my playable unit to the Zeus game master module causes there error.




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[Erendil 2]

4 hours ago, eric963 said:

Have this single error in the rpt

 

0:25:33 Error in expression <VcmAI_ActiveList) && {!(VCM_SIDEENABLED findIf {_x isEqualTo (side _Grp)} isEqua>
 0:25:33   Error position: <findIf {_x isEqualTo (side _Grp)} isEqua>
 0:25:33   Error findif: Type Side, expected Array
 0:25:33 File C:\Users\Eric\Documents\Arma 3\missions\VcomAI3%2e0.Altis\Vcom\VcomInit.sqf, line 68

Get the same error with units sync to CBA attack module

[Freddo3000 74]

Is fn_incAcc.sqf meant to be empty?

[genesis92x 810]

1 hour ago, Freddo3000 said:

Is fn_incAcc.sqf meant to be empty?

 

Yeah, a scrapped idea. I need to delete that function. I am looking to create the mod sometime this week and fully release vcom.

 

Another small update with fixes: https://www.dropbox.com/s/a8luoh1o3lzdsns/VcomAI3%2e0.Altis.7z?dl=0

[dlegion 98]

just to double check...
in old VCOMAI, i was hiding in the upper floor of a building, and AI soon or later always found me.
now if i hide in the upper floor AI dont find me...even if i shoot to make some noise, the best they do is to check lower floor.

EDIT:
forgot to say that some soldiers see me and started shooting, while others, 3 meters away, didnt see me, and careless of the shooting keeped following waypoints in "safe" behaviour!
 

[Montgomery 205]

I'm excited about the new version of Vcom AI. It's nice to have AI that aren't clueless. 

[Freddo3000 74]

Ran into an error:

16:25:04 Error in expression <VCM_fnc_ClstObj;
private _Foot = isNull objectParent _Unit;
if (_Foot) then
{
if>
16:25:04   Error position: <objectParent _Unit;
if (_Foot) then
{
if>
16:25:04   Error objectparent: Type Array, expected Object
16:25:04 File Vcom\Functions\fn_ArmStatics.sqf [VCM_fnc_ArmStatics], line 10

 

[dlegion 98]

i made many test, i can confirm the AI does not assault houses like in old version.
i was there, shooting (and killing) at least 10 AI, and theyr comrades just circled the house, never entering, and doing nothing else except shooting me from windows if there was line of sight.
something not working :(