Opfor changes behavior based on number of players?

[desertjedi 3]

I've been playing co-op missions alone with AI backup and the intensity has been "good". The combat is intense but not so much so that I'm playing in panic mode.

I just got a buddy up and running on ArmA and we tried our first co-op mission. We played the same mission that I've played many times. But, this time, the enemy swarmed us like a horde of locusts! And I played the whole mission in panic mode.

Does ArmA scale the aggressiveness of the enemy AI by how many human players are playing? I'm hoping not because the mission went from one of "thinking and tactics" to one of "FIRE!!" and it was much less enjoyable.

[Kirby 2]

I'm pretty sure it doesn't. No idea otherwise.

Edit@MehMan: I can't remember what I put before the edit, I edited right after posting I think. I think it just didn't fit right or wasn't correct for the information.

[MehMan 0]

I liked your previous statement better Blazin. This is too neutral. The before edit one was better.

Also, which mission, how many human players, etc etc, AI settings for the mission. Was DAC involved.

[desertjedi 3]

The mission was TrainingIguana from the CoopPack Multi-Purpose Training pack.

Two players and AI was set to .5. No DAC.

Could have been a bit of a fluke - every mission plays out differently. I'll be playing more of the missions from this pack with this guy plus we'll eventually get a third guy so I'll see what happens.

It sounds like if it was the case that this happens, there would be a lot of quick one-word replies to my post..."yes".

[max power 21]

It could be that you or your friend were doing something to call attention to yourselves or to provoke the AI on that occasion.

[andersson 285]

Did your friend host it? If he has harder settings for the AI in his profile you will notice. If you used a dedicated server that profile can be different to your settings too.

[Maddmatt 1]

It is possible for a mission maker with the knowledge to make a mission scale to the amount of players. It takes some effort though.

[desertjedi 3]

Quote[/b] ]It could be that you or your friend were doing something to call attention to yourselves or to provoke the AI on that occasion.

LOL - yeah, he was standing on top of a boulder shooting at advancing Opfor. I kept telling him that you get best accuracy while shooting prone. But I'm sure he paid the price for his "enthusiasm".

I'm always the host and so far I have not deviated from the West - 1.0 Opfor - .5 settings though I'm considering upping the enemy to .75. I've changed the mission to use an 11-man squad instead of a 4-man and things are significantly easier...not easy but easier. 11 is the most that can fit in a Striker.

I've poked in most of the scripts and didn't see anything that directly mentioned increasing difficulty with number of players. I did see the usage of a enemy patrolling script that was "licensed" from a dude called Krogy(?) (sorry if I butchered that). You can watch the Opfor moving around the city from a high hilltop in a similarly scripted mission in that pack - Training Urban (Paraiso).

[gsleighter 0]

Try setting the enemy skill to the max, and their precision to about .4, you get heavy volume of fire, and the opfor acts more intelligently, it's what I use, and I get pretty good behavior most of the time.

[desertjedi 3]

Quote[/b] ]I get pretty good behavior most of the time.

When I heard that my first thought was..."can you do that for my kids?!!?"

I was wary about upping the Opfor's skill level. In most games, that simply means they can shoot you from 1000yds with a pistol...and...every shot is fatal even if you're hit in the ankle. I take it that's not so in ArmA?

If its not, then that sounds like something cool to try. I'm coming from the "Ghost Recon" scene where if one of your nose hairs was sticking out from behind cover, you were toast!

[gsleighter 0]

The two settings are in one of the config files in the Arma folder, found in "My Documents." Skill effects their decision making, and precision effects their aim, so high skill and medium-low precision gives you the effect I described. Just edit the appropriate file in Notepad, and when you're done, make sure you go into the file's properties and check "read only" so the game doesn't change the settings back on you.

[Wolfrug 0]

I did see the usage of a enemy patrolling script that was "licensed" from a dude called Krogy(?) (sorry if I butchered that).

Probably talking about Kronzky's Urban Patrol Script, a very much-used AI enhancer that you can find in tons of missions. The thing with this script is that "standing on a boulder shooting" is likely to get you flanked and hunted down like a dog in -very- short order, so it's really no surprise you got your asses handed to you. :P

Regards,

Wolfrug