Ai forward observer & mortar packs

[Unnamed_ 0]

Hi,

I am writing some AI Observer & Mortar packs for Flashpoint, there are versions for SEBNAM and Invasion 1944 as well.

FCOFPMortars.pbo adds the following units to Flashpoint:

West - Observer

West - Observer (Sniper)

West - Black Op (Observer)

West - Black Op (Day Observer)

West - FC 80mm Mortar

East - Observer

East - Observer (Sniper)

East - Spetz Natz (Observer)

East - FC 80mm Mortar

Res - Observer

Res - FC 80mm Mortar

Along with some basic example missions:

Malden - OFP Mortars & Scripts.abel

Malden - OFP Observers & Mortars.abel

Malden - OFP Observers & Snipers.Abel

Malden - OFP Ranging & Firing.abel

Desert Island - OFP Players & Observers.Intro

FCSEBNAMMortars.pbo adds the following units to SEBNAM:

West - AirCav Observer

West - Army Observer

West - Marine Observer

West - SF Observer

West - LRRP Observer

West - SEAL Observer

West - MFR Observer

West - FC M19 Mortar (Air Cav)

West - FC M19 Mortar (Army)

West - FC M19 Mortar (USMC)

East - NVA Observer

East - VC Observer

East - FC NVA 60mm Mortar

East - FC VC 60mm Mortar

Along with some basic example missions:

Malden - SEBNAM Mortars & Scripts.abel

Malden - SEBNAM Observers & Mortars.abel

Malden - SEBNAM Observers & Snipers.Abel

Malden - SEBNAM Ranging & Firing.abel

Desert Island - SEBNAM Players & Observers.Intro

FCINV1944Mortars.pbo adds the following units to Invasion 1944:

West - 82nd Observer

West - FC Inv44 60mm Mortar

East - Wehrmacht Observer

East - Fallschirmjaeger Observer

East - Waffen SS Observer (Sniper)

East - FC Inv44 81mm Mortar

Along with some basic example missions for each version:

Malden - INV1944 Mortars & Scripts.abel

Malden - INV1944 Observers & Mortars.abel

Malden - INV1944 Ranging & Firing.abel

Desert Island - INV1944 Players & Observers.Intro

FC SEBNAM Observers & Mortars

FC INV1944 Observers & Mortars

FC OFP Observers & Mortars

And there's a manual to:

Documentation

Here are a couple of screen shots from the SEBNAM version:

It's still not finished, somethings are added as a test and somethings have been disabled. I just want to know if the Observer acts in a semi-intellegent way, when directing fire. And can actually do domething worth while.

The radio system I'm messing with, might be to much trouble or just plain annoying?

At the moment only decision it makes, with regards to what target to engage, is the number of units. I'm still not sure exactly what to include here.

Well theres probably more you can do with it than just Mortars. But for now, if your interested, let me know what you think.

Cheers

[Wilco 944]

Downloading now

[ZiRo 0]

I'm liking what im seeing - i would be very interested in reconfig'ing this to my needs exept it requires the mortars to be in the same group - which im not to happy about.

I'll take a look closer tommorow - i'll rip it apart and taylor it to my needs - if thats ok?

Edit:Right, I've looked at the pbo, about 50 sqs files, i don't have time. Could you do me a favour?

I just wish they didnt require the observer to be in the group, it makes things difficult to actually let squads call fire, not just FO's. + it looks odd when your squad has half the team taken up by mortars

-ZiRo

[deathsai 0]

It would be nice if you explained how to use the mortars here, and then put it in the readme.

[SgtNick 0]

It would be nice if you explained how to use the mortars here, and then put it in the readme.

Hey what deathsai said..............

[Unnamed_ 0]

@ZiRo

I did anticipate mortars being assigned to an observer outside of their group. I did not implement yet, as I do not know for sure the scripts will not lag on most PC's. So I concentrated on getting the heavy stuff done first.

It won’t take long to enable it, so consider it included in the next version. Although there will be limits, an AI Officer does not know how to use an AI Observer for spotting.

@deathsai & SgtNick

I guess the Manual I so lovingly crafted, was not much help? I will add these as tutorials, but there are to many to explain in just one read me file.

Open the mission editor and load up the desert Island, go to the map reference HD67. Place four FC Mortars on top of the hill, and make sure there all pointing East and all belong to the same group. They should look something like:

Set the special option to None, so they don’t get moved back into formation.

Now go to map reference ID66 and place an Observer on the top of that hill. Again make sure he is pointing East, and type DoStop This in his Init field, so he does not return to formation. Name him Observer01:

Place a trigger anywhere on the map. Change its Axis a & b, Activation and name to Trigger01, so it looks like this:

Place some enemy in view of the Observer, or get them to move into view. You should now have a mission that looks like this:

Create an Init.sqs script  for your mission containing the following:

This will start the observer as soon as the mission starts, if you want to command\play the Observer your self, then you don’t need the Call to FO_Activate.

Hope this makes sense, for more info on all the available options you will have to use the Manual I'm afraid.

Cheers

[ZiRo 0]

Just use the Officer for the spotter, if he needs mortar support (e.g if he encounters large numbers of enemy compared to his own numbers), then he can, but only if theres an RTO.

I think that'd be a better system, but keep your current one with the spotter aswell if you see what i mean. Just get them out of the groups for a start ;)

I understand what you mean about the ai not using spotters and totally understand, but then again - do you really need someone to give anything other than a map click/coords?

-ZiRo

[cornhelium 0]

Hey Unnamed - great work, I was hoping you were still working on this since reading about it on OFPEC.

I'll be giving this a go tonight (when I get back from work )

Cheers,

Cornhelium

[Lt_Phoenix 0]

I'm looking forward to trying this out when I get back from school.

Any plans of making a tutorial mission too?

[cornhelium 0]

Oh wow - I just tried this and it rules!

I just loaded up the Malden "Observers & Mortars" mission in the editor and played as one of the Russkies trying to take the hill instead of as the guy commanding the FO and voilŕ, enemy arty coming down on me & my squad    I've been trying to trick OFP into doing this for months - thank you Unnamed!

Three superficial suggestions for the final stage:

1. One of the mortar shell explosion sounds has a nasty "click" at the end that sounds like digital distortion. Then again it might just be my speakers.

2. I really love the "swizzle" sound of the flying shells on the Sebnam/CoC UA mortars, but prefer the louder volume on these ones. I suggest taking the Sebnam sound and upping the volume to a shade quieter than these ones.

3. Edit - my mistake

Overall though, this is just fantastic and a lot of work must have gone into it. Now we can have the immersion of knowing that Arty can be called down on us if we're spotted, whether  driving a truck behind friendly lines, duking it out on the FLOT or trying to escape on foot from enemy territory. And we can remove that threat by hunting down and killing the FO/and or the mortar battery.

Ditto the sniper and FO pair. Hunting these two down should make for some serious OFP tension - thanks!

Cheers,

Cornhelium

[drow 0]

edit - looks really cool, i will check it out tonight

in regards to arty, i like the old idea of having to choose coords rather than the mouse click thing, this way you need to get your head down while you call in a strike, and it takes a little longer like it really would in the field (establish where your enemy is, takes time to call it in, but the firepower is worth it),

unlike having a strike like a bullet from your gun,,, always ready,,, and instantly executed (click-map, take the firepower for granted).

PS - lol, sorry if im completely off topic in regards to how this system works.

[Unnamed_ 0]

@Lt_Phoenix

Creating good mission example out of this sort of stuff is a whole different kettle of fish. I was happy just to get the thing working, there are some already included, just to prove it does work

@cornhelium

Quote[/b] ]1. One of the mortar shell explosion sounds has a nasty "click" at the end that sounds like digital distortion. Then again it might just be my speakers.

I noticed the same myself, and just assumed it was my Sound Blaster card and hardware acceleration? As its never been really happy with OFP. I'm not up on addon making, GFX707 was kind enough to let me use his Mortar for the standtard OFP version, so I just changed what I had to, to get it working. I'll take a look at the sample.

Quote[/b] ]2. I really love the "swizzle" sound of the flying shells on the Sebnam/CoC UA mortars, but prefer the louder volume on these ones. I suggest taking the Sebnam sound and upping the volume to a shade quieter than these ones.

Yeah someone else mentioned that, I'll take a look at there settings. I love this side of indirect fire, I could play a whole mission just based on tracking these batteries down.

Quote[/b] ]3. The Radio sounds great when you're on the same side and the targets are being called out, but I noticed I could hear the same info whatever side I was playing on. If this can be fixed or a basic radio on/off game logic could be added that would be great.

You should only hear them if your in the same group as the Observer, so it sounds like a bug. Or do you mean using the voices for East, that came with "Red Hammer"?

Edit:

@drow

The player as Observer was really an after thought, and covered exceedingly well by CoC’s UA. I will include the functions for translating map coordinates back to target positions. I’ll have to brush up on dialogs, its just a shame you cant embed them completely into add-ons.

Thanks for the feedback, I'll have a go at sorting them out.

Cheers

[cornhelium 0]

Hi Unnamed,

Yep - sorry, please ignore my point 3 about the radio. I'm not hearing the enemy call out targets in the Ranging & Firing mission - I guess it was my meddling with the Observers & Mortars mission that caused problems

Cheers,

Cornhelium

[Unnamed_ 0]

Actualy you were correct, you can hear the observer when playing East on that mission. But no text, I must have had the volume down or something to miss that  

Thanks again, I'll get it sorted ASAP.

Cheers

[ZiRo 0]

For my Artillery/Mortar fire solutions im think im going to use CoC UA 1.1, because:

A) i can make the ai use it pretty well.

B) i can let the players use it. (if they are in commanding roles)

C) more types of fire at my disposal.

But im not saying your work is bad, its good quality, its enevitably going to get used.

Well done, more of the same please

-ZiRo

[the_shadow 0]

hm, it´s really good i think, but it will be even better if you make some more types of artillery, like 105mm and 155mm (for west)

122mm, 152mm and 220mm for east..

[Unnamed_ 0]

@Ziro

Hmm…To be fair I think you have missed the point a bit It's not supposed to be an alternative to CoC's UA, in fact I hope to get it working with UA.

Its primary purpose is to allow the AI to use Binoculars more effectively when scanning an area, from a fixed position. AFAIK Binoculars are the only optics in OFP that actually increase the AI's ability to know about other units.

It does not provide a magic eye for the AI, you could just use a trigger for detecting units that are present, if that’s what you want. It operates within the confines of OFP's game engine to provide the enhanced detection you would expect from field glasses. So if you crawl or hide behind obstructions (trees, buildings e.t.c), the AI will not be able spot you, but if you run around in the open your dead meat even at a 1000 meters.

The Observer was used with my Mortar Scripts for convenience and as a demonstration.

You don’t need to use it with my scripts, it will benefit any unit in OFP. For an example take a look at the Sniper mission I included. Without the observer, snipers would only detect static enemy within about 200 meters, and moving enemy at 500 meters.

Grouped with the Observer that range is extended to 1000m, allowing the AI snipers to open up at around 900 meters (depending on terrain).

Now you could script all of this yourself perhaps, but that would be a nightmare given everything required to calculate true line of sight.

But if you don’t want to handle all the AI targeting yourself. Or like me, you want something for large MP games that can operate in a random mission (CTI being the prime environment I had in mind) in a self sufficient mode, without any hand holding from the player?

You only have to compare a human’s ability in OFP to spot targets over the AI's ability. It's not hard to see this will go some way to evening up the odds for the AI.

If you don’t want the added overheads of verbal reports, target weighting and mortar scripts, you could just use the Lite version.

@The_Shadow

Thanks, I agree completely about the different types. I do hope to get it working with CoC’s UA. Judging by there request for East artillery addons, the variety your after will not be far off.

So there will be no need to re-invent the wheel

Cheers

[dinger 1]

One of the first things I tried doing in OFP was put a sniper at 400 m range in the hope he'd shoot something.

Unnamed has succeeded in doing that.

The heart of the system is the observer addon.

The mortars are cool, and they show how the system can work for short range.

But we have been talking for months, and we do hope to have a system where UA can work with it.

The bigger problem is on my side: which is I need to write some tacfire routines so that we can take the target description the observer comes up with, and determine what asset to engage with, and what type of munition (shell + fuze).

anyway, the observer is cool and very useful for missions where the AI needs to have some brains.

[ZiRo 0]

hey, thanks for the observer, and i didnt miss the point, i just changed my mind about what i wanted.

Im gonna rip it apart and check how you made the observer see further, then reconfig some units.

-ZiRo

[KeyCat 131]

Hi Unnamed,

Just recently I had time to try this great addon and you have done a hell of a job here! Will have to play around with it some more but it really looks good and I eventually plan to add support for it in my GroupLink II script, hope it's OK with you?

Thanks for your hard work on this, greatly appreciated!

/Christer (a.k.a KeyCat)

[Unnamed_ 0]

Hi,

Glad you liked it. A GroupLink version would be excellent, the Observer needs a command structure above it to make better use of his information.

Let me know how you get on, or if there is anything I can add to make it easier to implement.

Cheers

[pzvg 0]

Hmm tried plugging the old M110 howitzer into your scripts, shows ingame, but FO gets no target plotting commands,

Q. Are the params scripts limited by shell size or type?

<no worries, I'm not planning to steal your work, just doing this for my own amusement>

[Unnamed_ 0]

Quote[/b] ]Hmm tried plugging the old M110 howitzer into your scripts, shows ingame, but FO gets no target plotting commands,

There are a few arrays that need to modified, I can IM the details if you want to try. Or perhps use the older version of my indirect fire scripts:

http://homepages.gotadsl.co.uk/~gssoft/Inv1944Mortars.zip

Basicly the same thats in the addon, just less code to wade through.

Quote[/b] ]Q. Are the params scripts limited by shell size or type?

I did not test many artillery addons, only the M198. I could not get a good match with the trajectory equation I have. I think its down to velocity, the m198 is 1200 m/s, the mortars I use are only 240 m/s. I think the physics are different for high velocity projectiles?

Quote[/b] ]<no worries, I'm not planning to steal your work, just doing this for my own amusement>

Hehe...All scripts are open for anyone to view\use, thats the way it should be with everything in OFP.

As long as I get at least a mention, I dont mind

[pzvg 0]

Hehe, yeah mon that'd be a ton o' crap to wade through <already did it>

I'll use your earlier script and see what I can get out of it,

<I'm no coder, but I can bang on something until it gives pretty good>

Hmm, perhaps modifiy the velocity? gotta see,

No worries, IF I put it out for public consumption, I'll probably forward it to you and let YOU release it, <could care less about "fame" just want stuff to do what I want, ya know?>

P.S. You're code is smaller than CoC's arty scripts, I've been working on adding WWII arty to them and OMFG! these guys must live in closets with UV lights to keep their skin healthy>

[bn880 5]

P.S. You're code is smaller than CoC's arty scripts, I've been working on adding WWII arty to them and OMFG! these guys must live in closets with UV lights to keep their skin healthy>

To avoid this I try to go outside, in Ottawa we have some great out door paths and parks you can enjoy, jogging, biking, hiking, mountain biking, you name it. (just have to watch the wildlife, ie polar bears)