ARMA 2 Micro AI Thread

[axure 10]

None of them could drive straight road without zig-zagging like crazy. 2 of the trucks got stuck to a tree and one drove into a lake. Only 1 truck managed to get to the destination.

I was just thinking... If a human player drove the first vehicle in a convoy, would the bots follow nicely, or behave just as stupidly as left alone.?

Another wonder: How on earth was this game released with bugs as obvious as this one? Because it really seems like either it wasn't really testet thoroughly (major negligence) or the problem was simply ignored (with intention to patch in incoming months). Either way, this is an unfinished product. (Obviously, driving is not the only AI problem - seeing through walls was mentioned many times. Or seeing in pitch dark without NVGs.)

Edited June 4, 2009 by axure

[sabre4809 0]

Don't think I've seen this posted. Channel has some good AI vids.

http://www.youtube.com/user/Estarcream

[MQ-9 Reaper 10]

Micro AI is definitely worth the hype, numerous vids on the web attest to this.

The link given by Sabre Tooth Sniper shows the improvements. The firefights in the first 2 vids are really good and the AI is very convincing. I have not seen any games with better AI and firefights yet.

The only real problem I have seen so far with the AI seems to be their driving ability : in this video it looks like there is a problem with drunk drivers in Chernaruss. ;)

[CarlGustaffa 4]

I'd say not only the AI looks to be driving under influence :D

Estarcream videos looks very promising. I sure hope AI will also use cars (and other editor/script base objects) for cover in future patches.

However, don't AI know to use smoke?

[mr reality 0]

I was just thinking... If a human player drove the first vehicle in a convoy, would the bots follow nicely, or behave just as stupidly as left alone.?

Well if the driving is like ArmA1 then it will be pretty darn hard to stay on the road. I always thought it was strange that i could fly jets and helos pretty well, but when it came to driving a truck i was bloody awfull.

[yarex 0]

AI could be more like human:

- Some can shoot better, some worse

- Some run away like a chicken when attack starts and commander or most of the team is killed

- Some are heroes and will not use cover

- Some will just find cover and hide

- Some can retreat under some circumstances

- Some can see in the nigh better, some worse

- Implement morale and exhaustion factor that will affect soldier behaviour in all conflicts

+ Also enemy could improve over time and be able to learn.... some rpg factors introduced would be cool

[fabrizio_t 58]

Some more "issues" with ARMA2 AI i have noticed so far:

1) major issue: AI does not seems to take advantage from editor-placed objects in order to take cover. Can anybody confirm that ?

2) Group cohesion issue: AI leaders move too fast and tend to run way ahead of their groups and engage enemies on themselves, like they did in ARMA. Since they now try to move from cover to cover the problem is normally less severe than in ARMA, however sometimes this behaviour leads them to be easily killed, since nobody in their group will be able to cover them efficiently.

3) disembark issue: AI groups don't spread and run quickly for cover when disembarking from vehicles. They simply go prone and stay idle in a big bunch. An easy target for enemy ...

Despite these issues i still enjoy ARMA2 AI and i think it's way better than ARMA one.

Edited June 6, 2009 by fabrizioT

[fabrizio_t 58]

Just did a very small video showing how AI handles the transition between SAFE state and COMBAT behaviour. It's just a 30 secs. feed showing an AI patrol spotting enemy, running into cover and firing some shots. Notice the usage of hand signals.

Sorry for vid/audio quality, i'm no way an expert.

[Espectro (DayZ) 0]

Just did a very small video showing how AI handles the transition between SAFE state and COMBAT behaviour. It's just a 30 secs. feed showing an AI patrol spotting enemy, running into cover and firing some shots. Notice the usage of hand signals.

Sorry for vid/audio quality, i'm no way an expert.

I pitty the c0w who eats the tarmac - that's simply outragious, and I demand a patch right away!! :p

[^Th0mas^ 10]

The micro AI on foot is great. Some of the best i`ve seen in a video game. But it looks like they havent improved the driving AI at all in 8 years. If they improve this the game would be great. They could also do improvements on the AI in air.

[Estar 10]

I see someone has already linked my AI vids.

Infantry AI has improved from ARMA but could still use a lot of improvement. Would be nice if the AI fired from cover more often.

As of now, they don't really use suppressing fire and will basically use all weapons like sniper rifles only firing when an enemy is in their line of sight. This makes combat sort of boring when almost every shot fired is a hit/kill (BAMBAM THUD ARRRGH ...Silence... BAMBAM THUD ARRGHHH ...Silence...). Would be much better if the AI would take cover and then fire from that cover towards the general direction of enemies/incoming fire.

Here is a test video that someone made of the Killzone 2 AI:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqxpFAZ2P2c

Would be great if the ARMA 2 ai could get anywhere close to that. Men of War also has a pretty good cover system where anything including physics objects could be used for cover. Unfortunately the AI in that game doesn't use it very well.

Edited June 6, 2009 by Estar

[fabrizio_t 58]

As of now, they don't really use suppressing fire and will basically use all weapons like sniper rifles only firing when an enemy is in their line of sight. This makes combat sort of boring when almost every shot fired is a hit/kill (BAMBAM THUD ARRRGH ...Silence... BAMBAM THUD ARRGHHH ...Silence...). Would be much better if the AI would take cover and then fire from that cover towards the general direction of enemies/incoming fire.

Ok, can't agree more about AI precision.

However they do use suppression fire, the point is that their suppression fire is way too precise too.

That's the reason one of the very first tweaks i've done to my ARMA2 was lowering the precision values for both enemy and friendly AI.

Currently i have set these values into my XXX.ArmA2Profile file :

precisionFriendly=0.75;

precisionEnemy=0.75;

If you really enjoy LONGER firefights try lowering both to 0.60.

The effect: AI will need to fire way more in order to hit anything, due to degraded precision.

By the way i think the default 1.0 values (for veteran) were too unforgiving and unrealistic, since the game lacks the sheer amount of cover that reality can offer ...

Edited June 6, 2009 by fabrizioT

[walker 0]

Hi all

And so it goes

First off the AI are stupid and not good enough then they play the game and get their COD4 leet asses handed to them on a platter and all of sudden the AI is too good.

Of course we should ignore the sad fools who trigger fade from piracy and screwing with core files and experinece dead eye sniper AK47s and their own pistols then rifles that cannot hit the side of a barn.

But in the main it is the lowered expectations that comes from playing against scripted AI that is thicker than a slug and where the AI can take one shot to kill and the player can take 50. Sad but true.

Kind Regards walker

Edited June 6, 2009 by walker

[fabrizio_t 58]

@walker

sorry, i miss your point?

[Estar 10]

@fabrizioT

Thanks for the tip, gonna try playing with lower precision settings. Maybe more bullets will be fired during a firefight now. :)

@walker

what??? :confused:

[walker 0]

Hi fabrizioT and Estar

Just going off on one

Been through the same argument so many times now.

Was not aimed at you two.

Frustration due to not having ArmA II yet. :D

Kind Regards walker

Edited June 6, 2009 by walker

[fabrizio_t 58]

@walker

I see.

Just buy the game now, what are you waiting?

Now it's v1.01, same as upcoming 505 version and there's plenty of language mods around ;)

Only thing i miss is an english game manual.

[dmarkwick 261]

Armed Assault has at least one effective addon that affected the AI accuracy due to distance and/or suppression. I expect a similar one will make an appearance for ArmA 2 :)

[fabrizio_t 58]

Somebody keep saying that ARMA2 AI seems to be capable to see through bushes.

I don't think so:

[frederf 0]

There was an old test where they coded an AI to be completely blind visually but only gave it "hearing." A script was run that setPos'd a flagpole where the AI unit thought the player was located based on the hearing sensor. The player then stood out of sight a couple hundred meters away from the and fired into the air.

The AI, strictly based on hearing, placed the flagpole within 5-10m of the player consistently, even after the player moved a good distance well after firing.

[niQ® 0]

Hi

does AI see through bushes ? :)

[turin turambar 0]

There was an old test where they coded an AI to be completely blind visually but only gave it "hearing." A script was run that setPos'd a flagpole where the AI unit thought the player was located based on the hearing sensor. The player then stood out of sight a couple hundred meters away from the and fired into the air.

The AI, strictly based on hearing, placed the flagpole within 5-10m of the player consistently, even after the player moved a good distance well after firing.

Yeah, superhuman vision and hearing. And here is the definitive proof:

Today i was playing a mission in ArmA 2. While attacking a village, my "own" soldier/avatar begins to report "contact!, enemy in front of us", and variations of that, like 5 or 6 times at least. And i was thinking "what the hell, i am not seeing anything! i only see a empty landscape!!".

Well, it's reciprocal. The enemy (and friendly) AI has the same uncanny ability to see their enemies (me) from afar, through grass, ignoring light conditions, etc.

[Commando84 0]

You guys do know when running you also make sound fx that are heard by the enemy a.i?

Its a A.i based on hearing and seeing in Arma :)

[Litos 10]

The AI probably sees everything in super low graphics, which means no grass and no shadows. So that can easily reveal them your location even if you're hiding in the middle of the grass.

[Wynthorpe 10]

^^^^ So whats the point in all that lovely grass?!