Vcom AI V2.0 - AI Overhaul

[sturmfalkerda 8]

Wow, I watched the showcase. That was amazing!

I didn't know how smart the vanilla AI where, even with the problems they have. They cover eachother like heck.

I love how well this works, how do you think this compares to ASR AI A3? I have not tried ASR AI in a long time.

http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?173515-Asr-ai-3

[vrcraptor 11]

Genesis,

Great progress... the RPT errors that I had described before are gone, thank you... ran up a dedi server and had a blast... but I also seen hundreds of waypoints generated on the civilian AI too.. will check on civ functions running on my end, as stated, we saw them via ZEUS mode where everything roughly is being seen/shown... you may want to run up this and test as well if you have not already... you can see the EN AI behavior and the waypoints generated quite easily. :D other than confirming the waypoints and performance changes, I am very impressed.. via that mode, I was able to delete all the waypoints that were generated and it seemed to help, so for anyone who was running Zeus and can see this happening, delete the waypoints and see if FPS improves... :)

Again, Great progress made...

Raps

[genesis92x 810]

Wow, I watched the showcase. That was amazing!

I didn't know how smart the vanilla AI where, even with the problems they have. They cover eachother like heck.

I love how well this works, how do you think this compares to ASR AI A3? I have not tried ASR AI in a long time.

http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?173515-Asr-ai-3

That's a very good question - I love ASR AI and used it all the time. I would not be surprised if it's better than what I have :> I'm not sure if they would conflict too much either...

I appreciate your post and your kind words !

Genesis,

Great progress... the RPT errors that I had described before are gone, thank you... ran up a dedi server and had a blast... but I also seen hundreds of waypoints generated on the civilian AI too.. will check on civ functions running on my end, as stated, we saw them via ZEUS mode where everything roughly is being seen/shown... you may want to run up this and test as well if you have not already... you can see the EN AI behavior and the waypoints generated quite easily. :D other than confirming the waypoints and performance changes, I am very impressed.. via that mode, I was able to delete all the waypoints that were generated and it seemed to help, so for anyone who was running Zeus and can see this happening, delete the waypoints and see if FPS improves... :)

Again, Great progress made...

Raps

Ooooh I may have missed this - you said it was civilian AI? Oh goodness. I never thought about that - I will need to either disable for civilians or have them execute another FSM. Hm... Thank you for this and your kind words Raptor - I will take a look at civilians

[sturmfalkerda 8]

ASR AI seems to be a general improvement, I know both of them overlap a bit but I want to try both at the same time tomorrow, it will be either really cool or really strange, LOL.

The AI are really smart and surprising using your scripts, I cant predict what they are going to do, I spectated a battle in my mission I am working on, a convoy mission.

PS: The showcase was really good (again) and basically sold it to me.

[kremator 1064]

I'm a little voyeur when it comes to AI battles. I love to sit in camera mode and just watch what they do. Now having Zeus we can not only look but check on waypoints now too.

Sorry I didn't get a chance to look into the slow-downs over the weekend, but I have a little time today to run up my test. I'll spawn a standard 250AI battle and see what I get on the dedi, on local (and if I host that on listen server only ie client hosted).

Keep up the good work mate. You're doing great!

EDIT: This will be AWESOME with ALiVE by the way!

[vrcraptor 11]

EDIT: This will be AWESOME with ALiVE by the way!

It is mate, it is... :D

-Raps

[thenach 10]

hey guys, anyone tested this with Zeus?

I'm asking because most of the AI MODs does not work correctly as you need to have it in the server and also in the curator.

Also should this script be initialise in the initserver.sqf / initplayerlocal or initplayerserver ?

[Jackson Snow 10]

It is mate, it is... :D

-Raps

It might be an obvious answer, but how does it deal with the CQB AI if it is spawned on clients' machines? I am guessing that as the script is run through the mission, it'll work great regardless of where the CQB AI is located?

[kremator 1064]

I run this on my Zeus/VTS port alongside Chessmasters Wounding, and it works very well.

[katipo66 94]

I've tested this a bit more and the AI are very good at flanking, I died a lot from their maneuvering, very sneaky :)

Has anyone tried this with Mikey's AISS, im guessing there would be some overlap somewhere but I like how AISS moves groups around and I love what this does when they meet :D

[KaneSvK 1]

Hi :), so I have tried the latest version and its definitely step in the right direction. You mentioned you dont notice the lack of AI cohesion so i made 2 short videos, to show what i mean. During gameplay i have map informations turned on and open the map occasionally, so viewer can see approximate AI location.

this one showcases short USMC shoot out with takistan militia using Vcom AI as the only AI script, other mods are disabled or not related to AI. At first AI's maintain good cohesion but around second minute, squad leader moves way ahead its group while sending 2 of his guys waaaaay back. I think it might be to cover, but perhaps it would be better to send them to closer location or give them stop order and regroup them as the rest of the group reach some hard cover :)

the other video is for comparison and showcases the same mods WITHOUT vcom AI and using bcombat instead (i chose this mod as AI's maintain good cohesion there)

Overall though this version is totally better than previous one and i really like what i see. There are situations i didnt see with any other mods to date - such as we got under fire and ai leader led us to a coumpound, where 3 guys took actually decent positions inside the house while automatic rifleman suppressed the sh!t out of enemies from the roof. That was lovely, so keep up the good job :D

[thenach 10]

The only problem with bCombat is that the AI is too slow to move in a conflict area and the engage distance. Usually they engage way to close and that is a killer against players.

I will test this version and verify if this one works better.

[ETBSmorgan 10]

@ KaneSvK : What is your sound mod please ?

@Genesis92x : The IA behavior by default is safe, it's a problem for a patrol, why not "careless" ?

[KaneSvK 1]

@ KaneSvK : What is your sound mod please ?

The sound mod is jsrs 2.1, though m16 etc sounds come from Nato russians weapon pack (but the sounds are made by JSRS author, so it fits right in) and you can hear house music that's included in awesome TPW mods compilation :)

[genesis92x 810]

Thanks to everyone! I appreciate all the support, you guys are amazing.

ASR AI seems to be a general improvement, I know both of them overlap a bit but I want to try both at the same time tomorrow, it will be either really cool or really strange, LOL.

The AI are really smart and surprising using your scripts, I cant predict what they are going to do, I spectated a battle in my mission I am working on, a convoy mission.

PS: The showcase was really good (again) and basically sold it to me.

Haha oooohhh boy, there are so many scenarios I never tested the AI in - I can't wait for you guys to find areas of improvement for sure. Sorry if I break your missions ahead of time heehee.

And thank you about the showcase! I put a little bit of time into it and hope to expand it to be more full-fleshed as time goes on. I also put a little easter egg in there <_< >_> Nothing kewl. But silly.

I'm a little voyeur when it comes to AI battles. I love to sit in camera mode and just watch what they do. Now having Zeus we can not only look but check on waypoints now too.

Sorry I didn't get a chance to look into the slow-downs over the weekend, but I have a little time today to run up my test. I'll spawn a standard 250AI battle and see what I get on the dedi, on local (and if I host that on listen server only ie client hosted).

Keep up the good work mate. You're doing great!

EDIT: This will be AWESOME with ALiVE by the way!

I love watching AI fight battles too. It can be very fun to see all the action instead of the small slice you usually see - it also gives you an idea of how much the AI do, even the vanilla. I appreciate any help. You guys have been more help than I ever expected :> It makes everything so much easier - you catch issues I never see.

Thanks! I also haven't really looked into Alive that much recently! If theres needs to be any tweaks to make the AI deal better with Alive let me know.

hey guys, anyone tested this with Zeus?

I'm asking because most of the AI MODs does not work correctly as you need to have it in the server and also in the curator.

Also should this script be initialise in the initserver.sqf / initplayerlocal or initplayerserver ?

I have used these AI with zeus and saw only a few problems. The next update will fix a couple of Zeus problems as well. Well the ones I could see.

The script just needs to be initialized on the server itself. Even if units are spawned client side, it should work the same.

It might be an obvious answer, but how does it deal with the CQB AI if it is spawned on clients' machines? I am guessing that as the script is run through the mission, it'll work great regardless of where the CQB AI is located?

Is CQB AI another AI script suite? (Sorry, I honestly don't know and googled it and got nothin :< ). If it is, I'm not sure at all. The results would probably be wonky. The script is run through the mission and should work regardless of what machine the AI spawned on. I haven't fully tested it, but it should work in theory.

I've tested this a bit more and the AI are very good at flanking, I died a lot from their maneuvering, very sneaky :)

Has anyone tried this with Mikey's AISS, im guessing there would be some overlap somewhere but I like how AISS moves groups around and I love what this does when they meet :D

Thank you!!

Hi :), so I have tried the latest version and its definitely step in the right direction. You mentioned you dont notice the lack of AI cohesion so i made 2 short videos, to show what i mean. During gameplay i have map informations turned on and open the map occasionally, so viewer can see approximate AI location.

this one showcases short USMC shoot out with takistan militia using Vcom AI as the only AI script, other mods are disabled or not related to AI. At first AI's maintain good cohesion but around second minute, squad leader moves way ahead its group while sending 2 of his guys waaaaay back. I think it might be to cover, but perhaps it would be better to send them to closer location or give them stop order and regroup them as the rest of the group reach some hard cover :)

the other video is for comparison and showcases the same mods WITHOUT vcom AI and using bcombat instead (i chose this mod as AI's maintain good cohesion there)

Overall though this version is totally better than previous one and i really like what i see. There are situations i didnt see with any other mods to date - such as we got under fire and ai leader led us to a coumpound, where 3 guys took actually decent positions inside the house while automatic rifleman suppressed the sh!t out of enemies from the roof. That was lovely, so keep up the good job :D

Very nice! I can't wait to check out these videos here. That's tremendous help. If it worth anything, I have been working on them working more like a group and have a few ideas to try once I get home. It should be a realtively easy fix. I appreciate your kind words! I hope I can fix the issues you have with it!

@Genesis92x : The IA behavior by default is safe, it's a problem for a patrol, why not "careless" ?

I'm sorry, I don't think I understand fully :<

Are you asking me to get the AI to be on the careless behavior when they are patrolling around?

[pellejones 1]

We tested with the 1.02 version and got no RPT spam.

The Zeus Gamemaster is having trouble controlling units, even with the disable-command in the script. Is there any way to make zeus have more power over waypoints?

[genesis92x 810]

We tested with the 1.02 version and got no RPT spam.

The Zeus Gamemaster is having trouble controlling units, even with the disable-command in the script. Is there any way to make zeus have more power over waypoints?

That's peculiar. If you put the disable command in every AI you want disabled, it actually exits the FSM state for good.

Unfortunately there is no way to give Zeus players more control over waypoints. Once the AI get into combat they will keep adding waypoints by themselves, I can probably make this another param that the mission maker will decide on. I will double check for any issues with the NOAI command.

At the end of the day, I will have to admit defeat in certain areas - the AI scripts will interfere will certain elements like Zeus. If you want direct control over the AI (And arn't leading an AI group) this is probably not the best script suite for that. I will be working to make it more customizeable for sure, but it will always take some freedom away from things like Zeus.

[Jackson Snow 10]

Is CQB AI another AI script suite? (Sorry, I honestly don't know and googled it and got nothin :< ). If it is, I'm not sure at all. The results would probably be wonky. The script is run through the mission and should work regardless of what machine the AI spawned on. I haven't fully tested it, but it should work in theory.

Sorry, I wasn't very clear; with the Alive mod, there is a CQB module which automatically populates towns and villages with enemies who patrol around and move from house to house and stuff. By default it loads these enemies on the clients' computers to take load off the server, but of course with AI mods this tends to mean that the clients must also be running the mod. But it sounds like as your AI is script-based, it should handle this scenario pretty well, and I was just checking that assumption.

Really looking forward to trying it out next time we play anyway.

[euly 0]

Hey Genesis, I'm still having trouble disabling the script on a bunch of units. They are trucks, so maybe that's the issue? I can't add the

_this setVariable ["NOAI",1,false]

to their Init lines because I get a "local variable in global space" error, so I tried

truck1 setVariable ["NOAI",1,false]

which does not give me an error, but the trucks still behave like default..

[genesis92x 810]

Sorry, I wasn't very clear; with the Alive mod, there is a CQB module which automatically populates towns and villages with enemies who patrol around and move from house to house and stuff. By default it loads these enemies on the clients' computers to take load off the server, but of course with AI mods this tends to mean that the clients must also be running the mod. But it sounds like as your AI is script-based, it should handle this scenario pretty well, and I was just checking that assumption.

Really looking forward to trying it out next time we play anyway.

Sorry for the confusion! I appreciate your response. It should work with clients as well - the clients do define the required scripts to run it properly on their machines. if you notice anything otherwise please let me know!

Hey Genesis, I'm still having trouble disabling the script on a bunch of units. They are trucks, so maybe that's the issue? I can't add the

_this setVariable ["NOAI",1,false]

to their Init lines because I get a "local variable in global space" error, so I tried

truck1 setVariable ["NOAI",1,false]

which does not give me an error, but the trucks still behave like default..

In the editor put this " this setVariable ["NOAI",1,false] " for a single unit. If it's a truck full of units, put this on the truck.

{_x setVariable ["NOAI",1,false]} forEach crew VEHICLENAME;

[euly 0]

Thank you, that did the trick.

[orcinus 121]

Interesting development, thank you for releasing this.

Since I've recently started with A3, I've been using the Combined Arms showcase to look at asr_ai3, bcombat, tpwcas, etc. I unpacked the mission and tried it with ORS (defualt settings) both v1.02 and the "unofficial" version of April 20). The AI use smoke and grenades quite effectively (got killed by the latter twice). However, I found several issues.

1. At the LZ, 2 pilots appear, run around briefly then stop. AFAICT they are the heli co-pilots.

2. As the team moves in towards the objective, the player's team leader issues orders for one or more units to move far NW (e.g., 800 m, 1 click) - this for a mission objective that is then < 300m ENE from the leader.

3. The team leader often orders one or more units to move far to the East (again, 800 - 1000 m). This gets them killed fairly promptly.

4. The Marshall still moves to a really dumb position & gets taken out by OPFOR AT units.

5. I got about half of the FPS I usually see. Just after the grunts have disembarked, it's down to 23-24 FPS. I get 58 - 60 FPS usually at that point, even with either asr_ai3 and TPW's EBS + LOS (or tpwcas A3), or bcombat plus other non-AI mods like VanZant's sway & weapon resting. There's nothing but the usual entries in the RPT so the cause isn't report spamming.

Issues 1-3 if repeated in other official & user missions/campaigns would make an addon version rather unuseful; that would be a pity.

Depending on the mission design, having one or more chopper crew units disembark could break the mission. Likewise, having single units sent to bizarre locations (opposite direction, or, especially, straight through the enemy lines) is a no-no.

Issue 4 is due to a rather poor mission design choice; I'm not sure if there's any possibility of an AI mod being able in effect to say "Whoa, bad idea, wait until the grunts have deployed into a screen from behind which the APC can give support" (it's always irritated me in A2/CO that armoured units go stonking ahead even after enemy AT units have been detected). It would be a great addition to the AI repertory.

If you are going to develop an addon version (which I suspect could be quite popular) issues 1-3 would need some attention IMHO.

Cheers

Orc

EDIT: re FPS issues, brief system specs are

i7 3770K @4.2GHz on ASUS P8Z77-V LX2

8GB Corsair Vengeance @1600Mhz

OS & Arma on Samsung 840 Pro 256GB

Gigabyte HD7950 3GB at stock settings

Win 7 Pro 64

Arma 3 is current 1.16 ("stable") version.

Edited April 24, 2014 by Orcinus
Forgot system specs

[ETBSmorgan 10]

I'm sorry, I don't think I understand fully :<

Are you asking me to get the AI to be on the careless behavior when they are patrolling around?

Yea it's the problem, for me the soldiers must patrol with their rifles in lower position.

[cool=azroul13 14]

@ETBSmorgan

It's because your unit are on AWARE and not on SAFE behaviour. By default AI are on AWARE behaviour. Careless behaviour should be avoid unless for specific action as AI will not take care of any ennemy near them.

[ETBSmorgan 10]

For a patrol I use waypoints with this parameters: slow speed and careless behavior. But with this script they patrol with the gun ready to fire (on the shoulder). So in the "AIBEHAVIOR1.fsm" i have change the safe behavior in careless because the script override the behaviour in the waypoint.