The AI and AI's UI needs major improvement

[rawalanche 13]

Indeed you can, you can assign AI to particular colour groups. Its been there since OFP.

No, sorry but you completely misunderstood and took it out of the context. If you read further you will see i was not referring to designating soldier groups, but to launching command macros.

So for example. Imagine regular situation when firefight ends, and you very quickly need to move with your soldiers to some remote locations, and you don't wan't any of these incompetents to stay behind and then bombarding you with "where are you?" queries. So often you do following keyboard dance: All, disengage - All, stand up - All, stay alert - All, fall back into formation. 4 time consuming orders that are no fun to do.

So you could for example hit shift+1 (just for example, i do realize shift+1 is already assigned to something) and that would initiate macro recording. Then you would issue all the commands, and once done, hit shift+1 again. Then whenever hitting 1, recorded chain of orders would be executed.

This way you could create following interesting macros:

One button order for sniper in your squad to find cover, lay down, and watch your direction, or scan horizon

One button order for all your soldiers to enter danger mode, lay down, find cover and engage at will. Good when being ambushed

One button order to pick them up after firefight and make them follow you rapidly, as in example above

One button order to make the board the vehicle you are in

Etc...

Edited April 17, 2015 by rawalanche

[Greenfist 1863]

No, sorry but you completely misunderstood and took it out of the context. If you read further you will see i was not referring to designating soldier groups, but to launching command macros.

I think we understood you, but your wording "you can assign unit groups in RTS games" made it sound like you didn't know it was possible in Arma too.

So for example. Imagine regular situation when firefight ends, and you very quickly need to move with your soldiers to some remote locations, and you don't wan't any of these incompetents to stay behind and then bombarding you with "where are you?" queries. So often you do following keyboard dance: All, disengage - All, stand up - All, stay alert - All, fall back into formation. 4 time consuming orders that are no fun to do.

You shouldn't use Stand Up except in some very special occasions. Because if you unexpectedly meet an enemy, the AI will stay standing unless you specifically allow them to hit the dirt.

And the disengage is redundant if the firefight is already over. There's nothing to disengage from. Unless you're planning to retreat. And then the Stay Alert is useless because the AI will stay in danger mode as long there's enemies.

One button order for all your soldiers to enter danger mode, lay down, find cover and engage at will. Good when being ambushed

Don't tell them to lay down and find cover, because they'll probably crawl to a distant cover and get shot while they're at it.

And they will automatically go to danger mode, get to cover, and lay down, if you're suddenly engaged.

One button order to make the board the vehicle you are in

Right now it's two buttons; select the unit, scroll mouse up and select get in. Doesn't sound like a thing you'd need a macro for.

What I'm saying is that I personally can't think of any macros I could need. Yes, you often have to issue orders in series, but they vary so much that you'd need too big bunch of them.

[zclark2015 10]

To go more in-depth on someone’s comment about having AI learn how to drive, a simple experiment of having 16 vehicles start on one end of Altis and drive to the other end via a move to command I think will prove the point. How many vehicle swill actually make it to the other end ? How many will:

• get stuck trying to turn a corner or go around an obstacle
  
• become damaged and un-drivable after running into buildings, trees, rocks, fences, poles, and each other
  
• get stuck on a rock, fence, or in a bunch of trees
  
• flip over
  
• 
  

Finally, AI getting stuck in buildings is ridiculous.

[cosmic10r 2331]

No, sorry but you completely misunderstood and took it out of the context. If you read further you will see i was not referring to designating soldier groups, but to launching command macros.

So for example. Imagine regular situation when firefight ends, and you very quickly need to move with your soldiers to some remote locations, and you don't wan't any of these incompetents to stay behind and then bombarding you with "where are you?" queries. So often you do following keyboard dance: All, disengage - All, stand up - All, stay alert - All, fall back into formation. 4 time consuming orders that are no fun to do.

So you could for example hit shift+1 (just for example, i do realize shift+1 is already assigned to something) and that would initiate macro recording. Then you would issue all the commands, and once done, hit shift+1 again. Then whenever hitting 1, recorded chain of orders would be executed.

This way you could create following interesting macros:

One button order for sniper in your squad to find cover, lay down, and watch your direction, or scan horizon

One button order for all your soldiers to enter danger mode, lay down, find cover and engage at will. Good when being ambushed

One button order to pick them up after firefight and make them follow you rapidly, as in example above

One button order to make the board the vehicle you are in

Etc...

Or you could just get a keyboard like mine where you can do all of this...

[I give up 152]

To me the worst part is when AI Infantry spawn inside big rocks and get stuck there. This happens mainly in Stratis, cause there are several rocks where we (players) also can go inside.

[doveman 7]

Firstly, I hope whatever better option is implemented, like a command rose, the number menus are kept, otherwise all our voice control software will no longer be usable.

Secondly, regarding identifying vehicles, instead of doing it from the map, perhaps we could have a letter or number appear above each vehicle when the relevant menu is open, so that we can be sure we're directing the AI to the one we intended. The map idea could work though but we might want a key that will open the map zoomed in to show around our current location, as having to scroll around and zoom in to find it would very much slow down the process.

[froggyluv 2136]

...One button order for sniper in your squad to find cover, lay down, and watch your direction, or scan horizon

One button order for all your soldiers to enter danger mode, lay down, find cover and engage at will. Good when being ambushed

One button order to pick them up after firefight and make them follow you rapidly, as in example above

One button order to make the board the vehicle you are in

Etc...

....and in the darkness bind them

[chortles 263]

Firstly, I hope whatever better option is implemented, like a command rose, the number menus are kept, otherwise all our voice control software will no longer be usable.

That would pretty much ruin the point of doing any UI overhaul.

[doveman 7]

That would pretty much ruin the point of doing any UI overhaul.

I don't see why.

[haleks 8212]

Firstly, I hope whatever better option is implemented, like a command rose, the number menus are kept, otherwise all our voice control software will no longer be usable.

It's like asking BI to not improve their sound engine, because it would break the sound mods...

You should think the other way around.

[doveman 7]

It's like asking BI to not improve their sound engine, because it would break the sound mods...

You should think the other way around.

Not the same at all, they can add something new like a command rose without disabling the number key functions and taking away the option to use voice control. They can change the menus if they can be improved and we'll have to update our voice profiles but it would suck if it became impossible to use voice control at all.

[pulstar 55]

is it me, or is rotary wing AI a bit better? Sometimes the attack chopper doesn't go full-suicidal-steam ahead into enemy columns/positions, and other time it manoeuvres around the positions. Can't be placebo, but I don't use vanilla choppers so I don't know the extent of these potential improvements.