AI dynamic cover system?

[Tyl3r99 41]

I was just wondering if we could ever expect to see AI taking cover dynamically up against objects or behind walls like what RON describe in their AI update? 

Ready or Not AI update preview

I think it would be pretty cool to have some of these features in the base game. Or at least supported by the engine. 

[froggyluv 2135]

That is TRULY IMPRESSIVE !! wow as an early supporter and *cough* occasional critic of their AI - they are really delivering on their promise

 

while I don’t expect that level of minutiae detail for AI cover for Arma - I am hoping they advance to dynamic cover with a myriad of animations to play out. You can see in that video how much more interesting firefights play out with more animations 

[Lone Penguin 15]

I’m digging up this topic to add my two cents on AI behavior.

 

Two things :

- AI is too aggressive and doesn’t care for their life when engaged by a visible target. The side who engages first should have the advantage.

- AI should not be able to pinpoint your position inside an enclosed vehicle (ex BTR 70).

 

1. When engaged first, AI sees you from very far away and returns fire immediately even before taking cover. Too often this ends up in a fight where you have to take down all the enemies as fast as possible and pray that their randomized aiming doesn’t kill you first.

This is particularly infuriating when you try to do suppressive fire. Because the AI doesn’t care for their lives, and you as the player do, you end up being the one running for cover after they return fire from their open position without another care in the world. Now you are at disadvantage because you’re the one who have to peek out to return fire, even though you saw and shot first. And let me say you should be returning fire quickly, because AI if not given the defend command start tracking you down like you’re the most wanted criminal in the world. This results in a dilemma, peeking out and risk death, or stay behind cover and risk an enemy approaching you from the side and killing you too.

How it should be : When idle AI are engaged by players and bullets start to crack past their head, they should have a few seconds of “panic state” where they run for cover, or if no cover just run. Now that a couple enemies made it to cover, they are at a disadvantage because they are the one who have to peek out if they want to return fire. If they do so, the players can shoot them first with less risk of being killed, or just continue suppressive fire and prevent the enemy from coming out.

The priority of AI should not be to try and seek you from an open position unless you are really close, and should not return fire on the way. Maybe a small percentage of chosen Rambo soldiers could… As a player when I start taking fire I don't stay still and start looking for the ennemy, I run or hide. AI should too.

The AI have also the annoying tendency of hunting you down if not given the “defend” command from the game master. This might be cool in some scenarios, but when under fire I don’t think that the first thought of the AI should be “hey look an enemy ! He has a sniper rifle, shoots from a window and we are in the middle of field. Let’s run towards his position and track him down while he shoots at us. He is probably alone anyway and we don’t risk stumbling upon a whole squad that might kill us”.

The only scenario where the AI runs for cover and doesn’t return fire, and that’s nice, is when I snipe them down from 500m away hidden in a bush and they don’t have a way to see me. They run backwards and hide in forests and behind walls. But what would be cool is that once they are behind cover, they could do suppressive fire in the approximate direction of the sniper position if they can hear it.

 

2. As of know AI automatically knows if a vehicle is occupied and where the enemy is situated inside the vehicle, resulting in AI sniping you down like they see through walls. It would be nice to implement some code for the IA to randomize where they shoot at a vehicle (or maybe only at the driver and gunner position if they see the vehicle and turret moving). But if the vehicle is parked, the engine off and the turret immobile, the enemy should not automatically know if the vehicle is occupied and engage it, so that if someone wants to hide in the passenger compartment they could do so and have a chance at surviving.
On the contrary maybe add a feature in game master (I think it was not present in Arma 3 zeus), for the AI to engage an empty target, as if they wanted to sabotage it, or maybe because they don’t know if it’s occupied or not, they decide to shoot at it nonetheless. Of course, I’m not talking about jeeps where you clearly see if someone is sitting inside or not.

 

In conclusion, AI should value their life more, and have a configurable percentage of nearsightedness and reckless behavior. Moreover, they shouldn't know if there is still someone alive in a vehicle if there is no sign of it being occupied or still occupied after being hit already.

[jakeplissken 81]

AI cant even drive yet, give it another few months.

[Alex_LT 16]

On 1/8/2023 at 1:18 AM, jakeplissken said:

AI cant even drive yet, give it another few months.

I suppose you wanted to say " years"