[GUIDE] AI Squad Command

[Colt45_GTO 10]

now i understand the color selection.

excellent tut :D

[Arasaka 10]

Fantastic guide - many thanks!

[clanitho 10]

Many thanks for this tutorail, is it possible to download your mission ?:bounce3:

[Comanche3G 10]

Excellent work rotkeps, great guide dude. I spent a lot of time acquainting myself with commanding the AI and learned all the aforementioned, but never thought to write a guide myself, even after looking for a good one and not finding it, until this morning. I will now ramble on about the shit I like to do with my AI.

I personally love giving F2 and F3 to crewmen, and getting in the commander's spot of either a BTR-90 or an LAV-25. I then pack the back with six marines, usually a medic, machinegunner, and four SMAWs. From the commander's seat I like to simply click on a map location, and my AI driver will drive down the road to the objective. This process is much more refined in ArmA2 than in either previous incarnation of the game, however, and the driving seems to be faster as well. There is also the advantage that in the case of enemy contact en route to the objective, the AI gunners are very accurate as long as they can spot their target, and you can switch to driver for a hasty break contact when you hear that boom that makes your sphincter pucker up.

I usually experiment with different mixes of units, but I find this one to be the easiest and most successful in my toolbox. A clever tactic I like to use is to dismount my crunchies, and send them to a weak strongpoint. Their silent apporach is excellent, and sometimes I even kill my engine for a listening halt. As the squad advances on the strongpoint and later, the depot, I watch them on the map. They eventualy report a contact, to which I issue the order 1, 8 to take cover. I then fire up the engine, and haul ass to their position, usually driving past them towards any enemy infantry and light vehicles.

Hueys and Hinds come in as a close second, and if the particular server will let me, I like to crew one up and follow my APC to serve as a base of close air fire support and CASEVAC. It's very hard-on inducing hearing the chopper come in behind you as you take strongpoints. They bust up any armor your APC cannot engage very nicely. Coming in on foot also allows you a chance at spotting any AAA first and knocking them out for your air.

Another excellent tactic I've employed is sending spec ops in on foot to spot targets prior to an assault, usually with a hold fire command in effect. I move them along forests, and place them in woodlines for concealment, effectively establishing a brand of radar coverage of the area when executed properly (not being spotted). I would like to experiment more with using tanks and airplanes as parts of my squad one of these days, but initial attempts have left me a bit wary. The airplanes seem hard to control, and the tanks are just too slow, I like to relegate heavy armor assets to reclaiming towns and establishing defensive lines. You can probably tell by now I spend a lot of time playing this game on my map.

I can still find quite a few things to complain about with them, such as the necessity to disembark a heli pilot to create a smooth landing, not being able to effectively stop, no altitude control, and no in-cockpit position change (I love gunning, it's just hard finding a good pilot). As far as infantry goes, I really wish there was a good, swift way of sending them into building to clear and hold. That would be awesome, and I've always found CQB lacking in these titles. You can't tell me out of all of these virtual soldiers, none of them is carrying a shiv.

I'm real proud of the work Bohemia has put into its AI up to this point, because I can only imagine what a daunting task it must be to get them to do all of what they do now. But I can honestly say this; I have not found their equal in any other game. These little bastards are pretty efficient when you practice controlling them and realize their strengths and weaknesses. This kind of programming will no doubt make it into the processors of future unmanned vehicles, if it's not already there!

[JesterOC 10]

Thanks for the tutorial! I will study the videos tonight. Is it possible to create a multi-player mission like the one you had in the video using the demo? I know how I would do some of it with the single player editor, but the multiplayer aspect seems a bit limited.

JesterOC

[walker 0]

Hi all

With the permission of the author rotkeps; I have transferred a version of this manual to the BIS wiki so as to ensure the very essential information of this manual does not keep getting buried in the forum by subsequent posts.

Changes to the original text made

1) I removed the original intro as it is suited to a forum but not a wiki IMHO.

2) I added a simplified introduction ascribing the author, the documents previous history and linking to this thread as the originating document.

3) I made some minor changes to layout to suit wiki style and limitations.

4) I also added default number keys and listed actions of primary number key menus not mentioned in the original text, as placeholders and to provide a structure and encouragement for latter additions to the manual.

The wiki page is here

http://community.bistudio.com/wiki/ArmA_II_AI_Squad_Command

Once again thank you rotkeps for helping the community and providing it with valuable information.

Kind Regards walker

[SeaVee 10]

Thanks so much for having taken the time to do this manual.

VERY helpful.

This, in conjunction with Voice Activated Commands has dramatically speeded up my learning and enjoyment of the game.

[MetalMike 10]

Thanks for this guide, as one of the few things I hate about Arma is commanding AI; for this reason alone I prefer stealth missions, and they aren't as common as I'd like them to be. So this guide should help me tolerate AI a bit more.

[Killerwatt 0]

Thought this could do with a bump for all the latest recruits.

[MrXToTheN 10]

Awesome guide, thank you! I'm still struggeling with the AI after many hourse spent in ArmA1/2 and AddOns.

[Bucic 1]

Well done with the guide!

A question. How do I issue orders using the complex menu? Yes, you read me right. I read the corresponding manual chapter and it didn't explain it. When I press e.g. F2 I get that weird menu (undocumented) with "Communication" at the bottom. If I press [backspace] I get the complex menu but with no subordinate selected. I know that I can press F2, 1, 1 to get him to return to formation but for that I need to memorize the complex menu master keys ([1] to [0]).

Did I miss something?

[BLSmith2112 0]

I'm having difficulty trying to get AI suppression working. I give the order to a specific unit and they do not fire at a particular location. Also does the AI that is being fired at react in any particular way? I'm just curious if suppression is even a key asset.

[jakerod 254]

I'm having difficulty trying to get AI suppression working. I give the order to a specific unit and they do not fire at a particular location. Also does the AI that is being fired at react in any particular way? I'm just curious if suppression is even a key asset.

I don't know how it works really but I never use it and I normally do pretty well.

[Fria 10]

I'm having difficulty trying to get AI suppression working. I give the order to a specific unit and they do not fire at a particular location. Also does the AI that is being fired at react in any particular way? I'm just curious if suppression is even a key asset.

The suppression command seems to be more like a "rapid fire" order. It just increases their rate of fire and willingness to shoot through concealment. They are still quite reluctant to suppress partially visible units and only fire at single targets they can track. Works great for open areas when combined with a more intense AI mod though.