What Do We Know About The Ai?

[infiltrator_2k 29]

I'll be honest, I'm finding it hard to locate the Ai when operating in Tanoa's dense vegetation.  And I don't mind admitting that like many I find it really frustrating when I'm pinned down and can't spot the Ai for no love or money.  With that said, if I can't see them the through the dense vegetation, it begs the question how they can see me?  'What do we know about how the Ai works?'  I'm sure this subject has been discussed many times before.  But given Arma is an evolving project and the terrain of Tanoa is very different - having a lot more vegetation than other stock maps, I'd like to know the facts and to put to bed any myths about how the Ai operates and whether under certain conditions they have an unfair advantage over human players.

I'd also like to know as Arma's Ai becomes more sophisticated and less clunky, is it making Ai add-ons redundant? or do they still have a purpose?
 

 

[JSD 18]

With the release of apex I've seen some videos about this, it might be worth looking them up. It seemed to be a fairly simple line of sight idea.

[Greenfist 1863]

A couple of random facts (that I'm 98% sure about):
- The AI can't see through objects, IF they are properly configured and modelled.

Some vegetation on Tanoa could use a bit tweaking. Some view geometries simply don't match the visuals, or have too transparent materials.

- When they look at you, they see this:

Meaning they can't detect you by seeing your arms or legs or torso.

- Artificial light will make targets easier to spot. Headlights, lamp posts, even flashlights.

An AI without NVG can shoot at your muzzle flash even if he can't see you!

- Their FOV is 120 degrees.

They'll spot the target easier when it's closer to the center of the fov.

Their heads are always on a swivel. So even while standing still, they can cover a pretty wide sector. This often leads to complaints like "they have eyes in the back of the head"

- After initial spotting, they will reacquire the target way too easily if it reappears within their FOV.

Especially obvious in CQC, e.g. the jungle.

- They can hear you.

The Faster you move, the more sound you make.

Objects will occlude sound. So you can get closer to them undetected if you approach behind cover. (Not very viable tactic though, hence quite realistic.)

- They detect movement. Move slowly to avoid detection.

- The AI's spotting abilities aren't hindered by distracting objects surrounding the target. I.e. the jungle.

This is probably the biggest difference to human players; your exposed head will stick out like sore thumb to them, regardless of whether it's peeking through a sparse bush or silhouetting a top of a sand dune.

 

- They have a group hive mind; one member sees you, and they all know exactly where you are.

One spots you right before you kill him without anyone else seeing it. And the rest of the group will be aiming at the bush you're hiding behind, waiting for you to pop up.

[cosmic10r 2331]

Ai has improved since 1.50 in particular.

In the testing with aiss, we noticed some pretty major improvements.

In particular in how they move, take cover, respond to contact. It just seemed less linear and somewhat more lifelike.

A couple if times we wondered whether it was worth the extra cycles to have a mod but really we pared it down to certain behaviours we thought were still missing.

-go for cover upon contact and find good cover.

-use smoke and suppression effectively.

-Use stance more appropriately and not laying down in the middle of a road for ever

In short... I feel like it needs less work now for an AI modder than it used to ...

[silentghoust 132]

 

Artificial light will make targets easier to spot. Headlights, lamp posts, even flashlights.

 

Their FOV is 120 degrees. They'll spot the target easier when it's closer to the center of the fov.

 

After spotting, they will reacquire the target way too easily if it reappears within their FOV.

Especially obvious in CQC, i.e. the jungle.

 

The AI's spotting abilities aren't hindered by distracting objects surrounding the target. I.e. the jungle. This is probably the biggest difference to human players.

The jungle increases your spot chance variables in such a way it makes AI harder to spot you then normal. They might spot you as a unknown in the distance, but less likely to engage you outright as a enemy. 

The AI predict were you might pop out next by your last position, speed of movement, and direction. If you throw a smoke for example and sprint around it, they will assume that you didn't just stop and expect you to end up on the other side. You can see this in vanilla when your squad calls out enemy and you see that map icon magically moving in a line at a exact speed. 

 

[ineptaphid 6413]

There is a thread about from the devs ai changes and the dev branch-it lists things like the distance ai will spot you at different times of day and when they are set to different states. As far as I remember, an ai in "safe" mode will spot you no closer than 50 mtrs at night. If you are moving it goes to about 90 mtrs. If you have a light on it is about 200mtrs.

 

During the day I think if you are still they will not see you nearer than 300 mtrs. 

 

 

EDIT: I found the thread-https://forums.bistudio.com/topic/150500-development-branch-captains-ai-log/page-6

 

Here is some useful info-

 

There have been some rather big changes to AI detection ranges and in general the detection should now more accurately reflect the audible and visual state (in harmony with vis. update).

To give some more details and quick examples (approx. distances, Regular diff., 0.6 skilled AI, flat surface without clutter)

• Previously, in full moon night the AI was able to spot a running target at 25m and track it up to 350m. Now the AI is able to spot such target at 40m but it won't be able to track it further than roughly 80m.
• With a flashlight the AI was sometimes able to spot a running target at more than 100m. Now the flashlight won't help the AI detect targets beyond 30-40m. That is still better than - without FL or NVG - a pitch black night where the AI almost exclusively relies on its hearing. Of course, when you decide to wander under the lights of streetlamps .... better shoot the bulbs  ;) And don't even think about switchin on your own torch.
• Previously the AI would almost always detect you if you got closer than 20m. Now you will be able to get more personal. But keep in mind that Arma is still not a super-stealthy come-tap-on-my-shoulder game. Our AI don't like hugging and shaking hands, they keep their comfy zone. Should you decide to poke the AI with your muzzle they will get angry at you. Even in the darkest night.
• AI is always happy to use optics to spot scared players better. From now on the darker it gets the less useful are the optics to the AI. When you can't see your own toes seeing them 10x magnified doesn't help, right?  ;)
• Previously there was a little difference between how far the AI spotted static and a walking target. At the same time there was much more noticeable gap between running and sprinting. From player's perspective - of what is easier to notice - it's more of a static vs. moving target dilemna. Next time you try to ambush the AI, plan your movement carefully and freeze when in the enemy's LOS. It may save your life. (In numbers the detection is approx. 100m for crouched static target vs. 240m for walking, 340m running, 360m sprinting, target)
• And also the gap between AI spotting you and recognizing you as an enemy has been increased. You'll be able to notice this mainly when facing AI that is already in combat mode and is actively looking for enemies. Focusing its sight in narrow angle and using optics. Such AI will be able to spot you - if you get into its focus area - much further away than AI that has its weapon lowered. But it will only be able to recognize you once you get a bit closer. (If you get spotted by an unaware AI patrol you are usually close enough for them to recognize you by focusing)

[froggyluv 2136]

Nice find Ineptaphid and another quality post from greenfist -this stuff is all great imo and too bad much of it goes unnoticed because ...why?

 

 We need more banter ie 'gasp, alarmed, curious or unsure, panic' and animations such as 'startled, point, aggressive,submissive" etc that let us know this all going on. the math is there working quietly behind the scenes but it plays out as 3 missed shots into a death shot so fast -none of it can be fully appreciated. Was hoping they'd start adding these immersion boosters via the expansion but alas.....

[ineptaphid 6413]

Nice find Ineptaphid and another quality post from greenfist -this stuff is all great imo and too bad much of it goes unnoticed because ...why?

 

 We need more banter ie 'gasp, alarmed, curious or unsure, panic' and animations such as 'startled, point, aggressive,submissive" etc that let us know this all going on. the math is there working quietly behind the scenes but it plays out as 3 missed shots into a death shot so fast -none of it can be fully appreciated. Was hoping they'd start adding these immersion boosters via the expansion but alas.....

I agree-I was amazed reading that stuff about the ai. So much goes unnoticed behind the scenes.

[subunit 31]

Nice find Ineptaphid and another quality post from greenfist -this stuff is all great imo and too bad much of it goes unnoticed because ...why?

 

 We need more banter ie 'gasp, alarmed, curious or unsure, panic' and animations such as 'startled, point, aggressive,submissive" etc that let us know this all going on. the math is there working quietly behind the scenes but it plays out as 3 missed shots into a death shot so fast -none of it can be fully appreciated. Was hoping they'd start adding these immersion boosters via the expansion but alas.....

 

Agreed. The AI seems dumber and more robotic than it really is sometimes because so little of what's under the hood is apparent to the player.

[ineptaphid 6413]

Agreed. The AI seems dumber and more robotic than it really is sometimes because so little of what's under the hood is apparent to the player.

Although it is easy to see how much they have improved in recent months-they have gotten pretty good recently.Not as much strange behaviour anymore.

[domokun 515]

Agreed. The AI seems dumber and more robotic than it really is sometimes because so little of what's under the hood is apparent to the player.

Precisely. I've been saying this for years :rolleyes: The AI should provide players with visual and audio cues to their behaviour, e.g. idle animation suggests that the AI hasn't spotted anything, possibly accompagnied by whistling or chatting to a nearby comrade > changing to an alert animation if he spots or hears something suspect, if the AI alerts his comrades then this should be telegraphed to players via an animation (raising radio/turning to shout in their direction) and voice (barking into radio/shouting), etc. The Metal Gear series provides excellent visual and audio to players. It's all well and good that the AI has improved and executes all these awesome logics but unless players see and hear it, they're unlikely to appreciate it.  :unsure: Plus it might be worth explaining some of the basics via a tutorial "Now listen soldier, when moving at night..."

[ineptaphid 6413]

   :unsure: Plus it might be worth explaining some of the basics via a tutorial "Now listen soldier, when moving at night..."

Now that is a good idea. The tutorials could demonstrate ai visibility range in different weathers, times of day, stances etc.

 

Obviously the audio and animation feedback you suggest would be fantastic, I just think we might have better luck getting a tutorial done than all of that :)

[cosmic10r 2331]

Agree with a lot of what has been said...

Awhile back I made a simple reaction with animation so if a unit gets hit, after a sec or so, he plays that anim where he grabs the radio on the lapel.

Adds a lot. So if you could control know about until after the radio anim it would actually give the player the visual cue that buddy was radioing his buddies and you had a split second to take him down b4 the other guys become fully aware if they aren't in visual range.

Edit-oukej has also mentioned they have toned down ai hearing around apex update time as well.

[domokun 515]

Agree with a lot of what has been said...

Awhile back I made a simple reaction with animation so if a unit gets hit, after a sec or so, he plays that anim where he grabs the radio on the lapel.

Adds a lot. So if you could control know about until after the radio anim it would actually give the player the visual cue that buddy was radioing his buddies and you had a split second to take him down b4 the other guys become fully aware if they aren't in visual range.

Edit-oukej has also mentioned they have toned down ai hearing around apex update time as well.

This sounds great. It is available in a stand-alone pbo or is it wrapped up in AISS 3?

[Rydygier 1317]

This is probably the biggest difference to human players; your exposed head will stick out like sore thumb to them, regardless of whether it's peeking through a sparse bush or silhouetting a top of a sand dune.

 

 

immersion boosters

 

 

 

Those two are on my personal priority list of BI's todos as for AI on foot. Some more human-like visible reactions to danger (panic, fear, stress, hiding own ass under fire as total priority) and human-like difficulties to recognize/track down a danger (eg mentioned contrast factor, also as for sounds, being not able to recognize unit as a hostile, if in non-hostile looking vehicle/outfit unless close, and the tricky part - difficult recognition of a hostile unit in the civilian crowd). Also some contextual behavior enhancement as for vigilance and reflex depending on "overall situation", that may be either detected in some fancy procedural way either assigned eg by waypoint/behaviour parameters. And also to do something about mentioned inhuman "hive mind/awareness" within a group combined with lack of any (?) communication between groups. 

 

Progress already made is most heart warming BTW. 

[cosmic10r 2331]

This sounds great. It is available in a stand-alone pbo or is it wrapped up in AISS 3?

 

It was actually just some testing in a mission... should have mentioned that... here are the related vids...

 

The ai has been on a long improvement road the more I think about how long I have been testing this... these vids are 11mths old and were about 1.50 or 1.52 update I believe

 

This was testing the default AI knows about and how it relates to groups knowsabout

 

 

This one is the one i mentioned where they play an anim... at 1:16 you can see it and at 2:01 you can see him radio before his icon goes blue...

 

[empleat 1]

Ai is terrible, bugging into walls, ignoring commands.

I gave command automatic stance for example and they are still at prone, or i give ai target and they run away wtf.

I really don't enjoy singleplayer in this game cuz ai is abysmal.

[OrLoK 20]

Ai is terrible, bugging into walls, ignoring commands.

I gave command automatic stance for example and they are still at prone, or i give ai target and they run away wtf.

I really don't enjoy singleplayer in this game cuz ai is abysmal.

 

Hello there

 

I think the AI is rather good and is being constantly improved on.

 

However, when they do mess up it can be often rather jarring.

 

We tend to only notice the mistakes rather than all the good bits of the AI.

 

Rgds

 

LoK

[angel24marin 34]

AI work a lot better when the player isn't the leader.