squad ai mod SOG AI

[johnnyboy 3793]

5 hours ago, zukov said:

i have this message in editor to try the mod, no other mods just vanilla game. the rose menu doesn't work

This doesn't happen to me.  Is the Prairie Fire DLC owned and loaded when you get this error?  It's required.

[zukov 490]

1 hour ago, johnnyboy said:

This doesn't happen to me.  Is the Prairie Fire DLC owned and loaded when you get this error?  It's required.

ah Ok , thanks

[scottb613 285]

Hi Folks,

 

For anyone interested - or - for those looking for ideas - I've uploaded my recent changes for 2024 - for my Voice Attack (VA) profile for SOG AI.

 

[DOWNLOAD - Link in my Sig - DOWNLOAD]

 

I know JB worked hard on that menu wheel - but - with VA and never having to use that menu wheel - SOG AI is at a whole new level of realism.

 

VA recognition is excellent and seldom misses a call for me. Commands can be called via Voice, Joystick Button, and/or Keyboard Shortcuts.

 

For those unfamiliar - one of the best features of VA is the ability to combine many commands - into a single call. I use a ton of them. 

 

Compound Command to Call a Defensive Line

SOG SILENCE
Press T key and hold for 0.1 seconds and release
Pause 0.2 seconds
Press 5 key and hold for 0.1 seconds and release

Pause a variable number of seconds [_proTime]

SOG FORM LINE
Press T key and hold for 0.1 seconds and release
Pause 0.2 seconds
Press 7 key and hold for 0.1 seconds and release

Pause a variable number of seconds [_proTime]

SOG MOVE
Press T key and hold for 0.1 seconds and release
Pause 0.2 seconds
Press 2 key and hold for 0.1 seconds and release

Play sound, '{VA_SOUNDS}\confirmation_beep.wav'

 

Key Points of my Profile

• Mixes SOG AI with some Vanilla commands that seem to play well together.
• After using Vanilla commands - the SOG AI "Silence" command seems to reinitialize all SOG AI back to its normal operation. 
• I have a role defined for a "Scout" (it's easy to do others - sniper - medic - etc) - at times I want to scout ahead with just one squad member - so a chosen unit can be removed from the squad for temporary individual instruction.
• I keep track of role assignments in both the lower and upper Function Keys to accommodate up to 20 squad members.

 

Profile Commands   (I don't know why the image quality is so poor - the source are high-res JPG)

 

 

 

SOG AI

Just one more bit of feedback on SOG AI for the record - it seems that even when you have your squad set to silence - the squad members will initiate contact with grenades when they have silenced weapons.

 

In my humble opinion - overall SOG AI with Prairie Fire - is the best ArmA has ever been.

 

Thanks JB - for all your hard work and effort.

 

Regards,
Scott

 

 

[scottb613 285]

Hi JB,

 

I see you haven't been active - so - - - please - - - don't let this draw you back in. This is just an FYI or placeholder for - if/when - the urge hits again. We all need our breaks - enjoy yours.

 

I think something may have changed since I did my last serious testing - this seems to be a new behavior introduced into SOG_AI.

 

There seems to be some confusion when ordering team specific (red or green) actions. 

 

Order Team Red to lay dog in a position - order Team Green to lay dog in a different position - Team Red starts jostling around - some members get up - some run back to my position. I tested with only SOG_PF and SOG_AI loaded. This behavior seems to affect all actions (go, cover, lay dog) when trying to order each team individually.

 

If possible - most commands on the wheel - should be capable of independent actions - by team (red or green) - without interfering with the other team. Most did previously.  I think "Stop" did not work independently since the beginning.

 

Thanks for all you do.

😉

 

Regards,
Scott

[johnnyboy 3793]

22 hours ago, scottb613 said:

I think something may have changed since I did my last serious testing - this seems to be a new behavior introduced into SOG_AI.

 

There seems to be some confusion when ordering team specific (red or green) actions. 

 

Order Team Red to lay dog in a position - order Team Green to lay dog in a different position - Team Red starts jostling around - some members get up - some run back to my position. I tested with only SOG_PF and SOG_AI loaded. This behavior seems to affect all actions (go, cover, lay dog) when trying to order each team individually.

Hi Scott, thanks for the report.  I haven't updated the mod since last November, so I can't explain a behavior change unless BI made an AI change that is disturbing how my code works.

22 hours ago, scottb613 said:

If possible - most commands on the wheel - should be capable of independent actions - by team (red or green) - without interfering with the other team. Most did previously.  I think "Stop" did not work independently since the beginning.

That makes sense.  Maybe this winter I'll be able to look into this issue, and also insure all the wheel commands can be team specific.

[RebelElephant 0]

Hey, is there any consistent way to get my SOG AI units to break out of a previous stance order, like yesterday I asked them to go prone, possibly with the VAN command instead of SOGAI. but then for remainder of session no matter what i did they stayed prone the whole time crawling around.  Tried everything from Halting, stealth, VAN commands to SOG, SOG commands back to VAN. Nothing worked.  only new recruits broke the "stuck" condition, but the original ones just crawled all over the map! haha kinda funny actually. Thanks so much!  As a newbie to ARMA this mod is a game changer, literally!

[johnnyboy 3793]

Hi Elijah.  For some strange reason beyond my control, the vanilla stance commands are "stickier" than the equivalent sqf script commands.  SQF commands from my mod won't reset the stance after using the vanilla stance command.  The way to clear that condition is to use the vanilla Copy My Stance command.   After that, they should then resume obeying the SOG AI command wheel stance commands.

[RebelElephant 0]

On 8/29/2024 at 12:21 PM, johnnyboy said:

Hi Elijah.  For some strange reason beyond my control, the vanilla stance commands are "stickier" than the equivalent sqf script commands.  SQF commands from my mod won't reset the stance after using the vanilla stance command.  The way to clear that condition is to use the vanilla Copy My Stance command.   After that, they should then resume obeying the SOG AI command wheel stance commands.

thanks. I believe I'm getting more consistent behavior and breaking them out of the "sticky" stance problem.

[scottb613 285]

Hi JB,

 

I've been documenting my thoughts from countless hours of using SOG_AI. These are only intended as humble suggestions or food for thought - if you decide to dive back into the code for this mod. Just my two cents - please take it - or leave it - for what it's worth.

 

 

As I am sure you are aware of my opinion - SOG_AI and voice control go hand in hand. I recall an old video of yours where you seemed to have a pretty poor experience with voice control. Two thoughts on that:

• You have to have a decent headset to maximize performance - so the sounds don't get picked up by your mic. I use Logitech's Hyper X Cloud III and I'm very happy with them.
• Recently - I got tired of always having the boom mic from my headset in my face (it's detachable) and switched to a conference mic as pictured below. Much better and reasonably priced ($30). Honestly - I almost NEVER miss a command issued to my Voice Attack profile and I don't think I would be playing ArmA without SOG_AI and VA. Both vastly adds to the immersion and enjoyment. Running complex macros is such an advantage in game play. If you ever need anything on the VA side - just give me a shout.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Regards,
Scott 

[johnnyboy 3793]

Saigon street food.  Rats compliments of Spearhead DLC.

 

 

[scottb613 285]

Hi Folks,

 

Rat on a stick - man - I'm getting hungry... Nice...

 

 

Regards,
Scott

[johnnyboy 3793]

4 hours ago, scottb613 said:

Rat on a stick - man - I'm getting hungry... Nice...

Haha, nice pic!

 

Hey Scott, believe it or not, I'm working on the mod.  In my dev version, I've got most of the commands working as team or selected unit specific now, where rest of team continues to follow you after you send one team to some spot, etc.  

Regarding the Stance commands, the command wheel has limited space, hence the cycle up or down through the stances.  Not great, but I don't plan to change that.

And, sadly, the most important feature you suggested (designate a Point Man), I gave it a try and couldn't get it to work right.  I can make player unit 2 and Point unit 1 (but player is still group leader), and when player moves forward the Point guy wants to flit forward left and right from cover to cover while rest of team is nice and disciplined following player slowly.  It looks terrible and breaks stealth immersion.  I may give it some more time, but its not looking good.  It's a shame, as that would be a truly cool feature.

[scottb613 285]

5 hours ago, johnnyboy said:

Haha, nice pic!

 

Hey Scott, believe it or not, I'm working on the mod.  In my dev version, I've got most of the commands working as team or selected unit specific now, where rest of team continues to follow you after you send one team to some spot, etc.  

Regarding the Stance commands, the command wheel has limited space, hence the cycle up or down through the stances.  Not great, but I don't plan to change that.

And, sadly, the most important feature you suggested (designate a Point Man), I gave it a try and couldn't get it to work right.  I can make player unit 2 and Point unit 1 (but player is still group leader), and when player moves forward the Point guy wants to flit forward left and right from cover to cover while rest of team is nice and disciplined following player slowly.  It looks terrible and breaks stealth immersion.  I may give it some more time, but its not looking good.  It's a shame, as that would be a truly cool feature.

 

Hi JB,

 

Hah - yeah - I'm x-Navy - seen all that stuff firsthand - and worse. Look up Balut - there was a drunken night in the Philippines - a long time ago - when we were all tasting the "local delicacies". The hair on the back of my neck stands up when I think about it. Someone "accidentally" dropped one on the floor and the little head flopped out. Uggh...

😉

 

No worries - no rush - this is just a hobby after all. I greatly appreciate all your hard work and sharing - it certainly makes my ArmA experience far better.

 

The most helpful change for me - is - to be able to order my two teams on different tasks without interfering with each other.

 

If possible and not too much trouble - could you share your code for "Copy My Stance"? I'd like to run that on selected units. There was a very old script referenced here on the forum - that did exactly that - but all the links are dead.

 

As far a point man - this Vanilla macro works pretty well in conjunction with SOG_AI and it is as simple to execute as saying "Squad Patrol" or hitting a single button on a joystick/keyboard. It puts the point man out front in stealth mode - the rest of the squad is strung out at a nicely spaced walk - in what seems to be a realistic format for a jungle patrol. It certainly helps with the immersion aspects. Then following up with subsequent commands - I can order the point man to flank left, flank right, halt, - or return - as conditions dictate. It also invisibly handles if your "Scout" unit was selected from the F11 to F20 range. I suggested the mod for those people that don't use VA - appreciate the interest.

 

 

Squad Patrol (you just can't really do this stuff as a keyboard warrior)

TEST VAR [_scout]
Begin Integer Compare : [_scout] Has Not Been Set
    Play sound, '{VA_SOUNDS}\error_beep.wav'
    Exit Command
End Condition

KEYBOARD HIGH
Begin Integer Compare : [_scout] Is Greater Than 10
    Press F12 key and hold for 0.1 seconds and release
    Set integer [_scout] to [_scout] minus 10
    Set Boolean [_flag] to True
    Pause 0.2 seconds
End Condition

SOG FOLLOW ME
Press T key and hold for 0.1 seconds and release
Pause a variable number of seconds [_keyPause]
Press 1 key and hold for 0.1 seconds and release
Pause a variable number of seconds [_keyPause]

SOG SILENCE
Press T key and hold for 0.1 seconds and release
Pause a variable number of seconds [_keyPause]
Press 5 key and hold for 0.1 seconds and release
Pause a variable number of seconds [_keyPause]

VAN FORM STAGGARD COLUMN
Press ` ~ key and hold for 0.1 seconds and release
Pause a variable number of seconds [_keyPause]
Press 8 key and hold for 0.1 seconds and release
Pause a variable number of seconds [_keyPause]
Press 2 key and hold for 0.1 seconds and release
Pause a variable number of seconds [_keyPause]

VAN MODE SAFE
Press ` ~ key and hold for 0.1 seconds and release
Pause a variable number of seconds [_keyPause]
Press 7 key and hold for 0.1 seconds and release
Pause a variable number of seconds [_keyPause]
Press 4 key and hold for 0.1 seconds and release
Pause a variable number of seconds [_keyPause]

VAN REGROUP
Press ` ~ key and hold for 0.1 seconds and release
Pause a variable number of seconds [_keyPause]
Press 1 key and hold for 0.1 seconds and release
Pause a variable number of seconds [_keyPause]
Press 1 key and hold for 0.1 seconds and release
Pause a variable number of seconds [_keyPause]

SCOUT SET STEALTH
Quick Input, '[F{INT:_scout}]'
Pause a variable number of seconds [_keyPause]
Press 7 key and hold for 0.1 seconds and release
Pause a variable number of seconds [_keyPause]
Press 1 key and hold for 0.1 seconds and release
Pause a variable number of seconds [_keyPause]

SCOUT ADVANCE
Quick Input, '[F{INT:_scout}]'
Pause a variable number of seconds [_keyPause]
Press 1 key and hold for 0.1 seconds and release
Pause a variable number of seconds [_keyPause]
Press 2 key and hold for 0.1 seconds and release
Pause a variable number of seconds [_keyPause]

CLEAN UP
Begin Boolean Compare : [_flag] Equals True
    Set Boolean [_flag] to False
    Set integer [_scout] to [_scout] plus 10
    Press F11 key and hold for 0.1 seconds and release
End Condition

Play sound, '{VA_SOUNDS}\confirmation_beep.wav'

 

Regards,
Scott

 

[johnnyboy 3793]

Balut...yuk!

 

Here's the code for copy my stance.   There's a sleep in the forEach loop so there's a slight delay in each unit responding in sequence.

[units group player,"AUTO"] spawn
		{
			params ["_units","_stance"];
			sleep 1;
			{sleep .2; _x setUnitPos _stance;} forEach _units; 
		};

For point man, if I simply allow setting a unit to be on a different team (say yellow or blue) so he is unaffected by other team move and follow commands, that could be helpful, right?

And if so, I'd likely have him rejoin Team Green or Red if Leapfrog command given.

[scottb613 285]

6 minutes ago, johnnyboy said:

Balut...yuk!

 

Here's the code for copy my stance.   There's a sleep in the forEach loop so there's a slight delay in each unit responding in sequence.

[units group player,"AUTO"] spawn
		{
			params ["_units","_stance"];
			sleep 1;
			{sleep .2; _x setUnitPos _stance;} forEach _units; 
		};

For point man, if I simply allow setting a unit to be on a different team (say yellow or blue) so he is unaffected by other team move and follow commands, that could be helpful, right?

And if so, I'd likely have him rejoin Team Green or Red if Leapfrog command given.

 

 

Hi JB,

 

Gracias amigo.

 

In addition to the Vanilla code posted above - I have found that when in a SOG_AI File - I can order my scout to advance to take point. The only difference between the two - is in Vanilla Mode the Scout seems to seek cover and pause - while - in SOG_AI Mode he's in constant motion as long as the rest of the patrol is in motion and doesn't seek cover.

 

From my perspective another color is not needed - I really like the simplicity of only having two teams. I usually run a 9-man patrol to keep it manageable. Whatever you think is best.

 

Regards,
Scott

[johnnyboy 3793]

I just tried this running SOG AI.  I pick a unit and use Vanilla 1 + 2 to tell him to advance (while in sog ai Stealth mode).  He moves forward but too fast for me, immersion-wise.  I'd like him to move slow, or match player speed.

 

I guess you have to frequently stop him, or redirect him using vanilla commands, right?

 

Also, sounds like I don't need to change anything as you seem satisfied with your vanilla commands for Scout, right?

 

I may still work on my own version of point man if I can get him to move slowly in front of team.

[scottb613 285]

2 hours ago, johnnyboy said:

I just tried this running SOG AI.  I pick a unit and use Vanilla 1 + 2 to tell him to advance (while in sog ai Stealth mode).  He moves forward but too fast for me, immersion-wise.  I'd like him to move slow, or match player speed.

 

I guess you have to frequently stop him, or redirect him using vanilla commands, right?

 

Also, sounds like I don't need to change anything as you seem satisfied with your vanilla commands for Scout, right?

 

I may still work on my own version of point man if I can get him to move slowly in front of team.

Hi JB,

 

When using the script I posted above - yeah - he moves at Normal Stealth speed. Which does look like running around from position to position. Ideally - it would be nice for him to run out in front in Normal Stealth Mode and once there - switch to Limited - maybe an alternating Crouch - so he's actually sneaking around. The rest of the squad is typically at a SAFE walk - so that should work fine. You would want to be able to retrieve him in a rapid manner (stand up and normal/full speed) if combat breaks out. I just can't really control that with VA in a manner that would be satisfactory. I typically recover for combat by using SOG_AI - Silence - Line - Follow Me (yet another macro). Silence - seems to reset all the Vanilla commands issued previously - reengaging full SOG_AI mode. 

 

Aside from immersion aspects - the Point Man seems to be very functional - as I get early warning detections all the time - and - most times I can issue a Halt command - so he takes cover remaining undetected.

 

I just updated everything in my VA profile linked in my sig - recently. I'm pretty satisfied on how it all works together.

 

Regards,
Scott

[johnnyboy 3793]

@scottb613Hey man, good news.  I've got a Take Point feature working well now ( in my dev version). My original failed approach was making player second unit in group and point first unit in group.  But your key combo approach of "selected unit advance" steered me to a working solution.  Since there is no Advance sqf equivalent command, I just send him X meters in direction player facing.  And I can toggle forceWalk on him, so he can move slow and stealthy, or fast.  Plus his stance copies player which also slows him down or speeds him up some.  It's pretty sweet.  Player follows Point at his desired distance, with rest of team following player as normal.  You can stop or redirect Point's direction of travel at any time, or take point yourself at any time.

 

Anyway, lots of testing still to do.

 

I want your opinion:  Should Point's default speed be fast or slow?   Player will have an action to toggle it.  I'm currently using default Slow as it makes more SOG tactics sense, but I expect players being impatient may more often opt for Fast.  Since you've been doing the point man thing for awhile, what do you think?  Default point speed Fast or Slow?

[scottb613 285]

1 hour ago, johnnyboy said:

@scottb613Hey man, good news.  I've got a Take Point feature working well now ( in my dev version). My original failed approach was making player second unit in group and point first unit in group.  But your key combo approach of "selected unit advance" steered me to a working solution.  Since there is no Advance sqf equivalent command, I just send him X meters in direction player facing.  And I can toggle forceWalk on him, so he can move slow and stealthy, or fast.  Plus his stance copies player which also slows him down or speeds him up some.  It's pretty sweet.  Player follows Point at his desired distance, with rest of team following player as normal.  You can stop or redirect Point's direction of travel at any time, or take point yourself at any time.

 

Anyway, lots of testing still to do.

 

I want your opinion:  Should Point's default speed be fast or slow?   Player will have an action to toggle it.  I'm currently using default Slow as it makes more SOG tactics sense, but I expect players being impatient may more often opt for Fast.  Since you've been doing the point man thing for awhile, what do you think?  Default point speed Fast or Slow?

 

Hi JB,

 

Been playing around with it myself - since you pointed out that the Point was literally running around - I put him a crouch - slowed him down a bit - I like it better.

 

Great news. So many cool features in this mod.

 

As for SOG_AI - you and I seem to be on the same page with this stuff. It's about immersion as well as game play - I would try slow first and see of people complain - as I try to be realistic as much as plausible. I walk slow and look around pretending my life depends on it. MilSim like - without the live team members. I also set my squad without respawn - they die they die - it tends to make you more careful. One got hit with that spring loaded punji trap the other day - the poor guy got skewered and couldn't even fall down. Too cool - horrible and amazing at the same time.

 

With SOG_AI - one of my favorites is putting the squad in a defensive line - SOG Silence - SOG Form Line - SOG Go (macro) - it's real advantage when being pursued by a larger force. All your firepower from a prone position gives you a pretty good advantage over an advancing enemy. I just added the watch direction commands - so I can steer them to the threat axis - if they happen to be facing the wrong way.

 

Keep at it - sir.

😉

 

Regards,
Scott

 

 

[johnnyboy 3793]

Coming soon...AI Point Man feature added to SOG AI.  Kudos to @scottb613for the suggestion, and his key combos that helped point the way to get this done.

 

[scottb613 285]

Hi JB,

 

Look’n real good - sir….

 

Regards,

Scott

[Hans(z) 56]

Yo! JB,

 

looks really nice!

Could you please consider adding CBA on/off function for:

 

1) AI skill override (SOG AI sets players team to skill 1)

 

2) Auto-add grenades, mines, suppressor for secondary... IMHO I would make 2 toggles:

a) add toepoppers

b) add addition mines, grenades...

With these 2 toggles players can make desired combination to theirs liking.

 

All players of TFF2 would love SOG AI even more if you add manual initialization. At this moment SOG AI works only in the 1st mission of the campaign, the 2nd mission has to be restarted to initialize SOG AI.

 

Regards

Hans(z)

[johnnyboy 3793]

13 minutes ago, Hans(z) said:

1) AI skill override (SOG AI sets players team to skill 1)

Should be simple enough.  I'll try and squeeze that in.  I just added about 8 new CBA options to the dev version,.

14 minutes ago, Hans(z) said:

2) Auto-add grenades, mines, suppressor for secondary... IMHO I would make 2 toggles:

a) add toepoppers

b) add addition mines, grenades...

With these 2 toggles players can make desired combination to theirs liking.

Not sure exactly what you are asking here.  Currently, if mission starts without AI assigned, player can spawn a team, and then he has the option to change the loadout of each unit in the squad.  If mission starts with AI already in squad, then player does not have option to change AI loadouts.  I'll change that to always allow changing AI loadouts at mission start.  Which should satisfy this request.

17 minutes ago, Hans(z) said:

All players of TFF2 would love SOG AI even more if you add manual initialization. At this moment SOG AI works only in the 1st mission of the campaign, the 2nd mission has to be restarted to initialize SOG AI.

In my dev version, I think I have this solved.  I need to test it for FF2 though.

 

Thanks for your interest.

[johnnyboy 3793]

@Hans(z) How does the TFF2 campaign work when you go to second mission?  Are you still technically in the same mission session, but it's generating a new scenario?  Or are you starting the mission again, but it remembers to go to next mission in the sequence?

 

If you're constantly in the same mission session, then its weirder to handle.

[Hans(z) 56]

18 hours ago, johnnyboy said:

Not sure exactly what you are asking here.  Currently, if mission starts without AI assigned, player can spawn a team, and then he has the option to change the loadout of each unit in the squad.  If mission starts with AI already in squad, then player does not have option to change AI loadouts.  I'll change that to always allow changing AI loadouts at mission start.  Which should satisfy this request.

If the mission starts with AI team in squad, SOG AI automatically add some new equipment to their inventory: toepoppers, mines, grenades, etc. I would like to turn off this action, because I want my team to have exactly the same equipment as in mission briefing. In TFF2 you can play consecutively several missions. Missions are chained, so team's status and equipment should transfer inbetween the missions. => IMHO team shouldn't get mines/grenades refill every SOG AI initialization, because they are behing enemy lines without any means of resupply.

 

This could be done by 2 ways:

1st way

19 hours ago, johnnyboy said:

 I'll change that to always allow changing AI loadouts at mission start.  Which should satisfy this request.

 

2nd way

You can stop altering team's equipment (CBA option: "enhance team's equipment" YES/NO)

 

16 hours ago, johnnyboy said:

@Hans(z) How does the TFF2 campaign work when you go to second mission?  Are you still technically in the same mission session, but it's generating a new scenario?  Or are you starting the mission again, but it remembers to go to next mission in the sequence?

 

If you're constantly in the same mission session, then its weirder to handle.

I don't know exactly, but I found workaround to make SOG AI initialize in TFF2. In arma scenarios you have to click restart mission, then you have to load "save" from TFF2 menu. So my quess would be player is in the same mission session, but it's generating new scenario.