Huge AI battles?

[vvpulsevv 10]

Can someone point me in the right direction as to how I can get a huge 1500 AI battle going, like you see in many arma ii videos on Youtube? It seems the single-player campaign and scenarios are all small, isolated battles. I know it can be done using the editor, but I'd like to load something already created, as I'm new to this game and the editor is a bit overwhelming to me, at the moment.

Thanks.

[metsapeikkoo 10]

Then learn to use the editor perhaps?

It's not really rocket-science. You just need to insert two groups, one for BLUFOR, and one for OPFOR(or was it REDFOR?) then copy and paste said groups couple-hundred times and thats it. Also, you might want to put some waypoints.

[walker 0]

Hi vvpulsevv

It is simple in the editor.

Place your self on the map as a civilian player.

Place an infantry group of BLUEFOR on the map from the group menu.

Select waypoints option in the menu select the leader of the group and double click him to give him waypoint on his current position, set this waypoint to guard.

Use bounding box selection to select all the units.

Press [Ctrl] + [C] to copy the selection (hover the mouse over them as the paste option is always relative to where the mouse was when you copied)

Press [Ctrl] + [V] to paste an identical section of units on the map. Now you have two units

Use bounding box selection to select both sets of units.

Press [Ctrl] + [C] to copy the selection (hover the mouse of halfway between them as the paste option is always relative to where the mouse was when you copied)

Press [Ctrl] + [V] to paste an identical section of units on the map. Now you have FOUR units. I bet you can see where I am going with this ;)

Now just exponentially Copy and Paste until you have 70 units. Should not take more than about 6 copy and pastes.

Select the Triggers Option in the menu. Double click on the map where you want the fight to take place. Set Type to "Guarded by BLUEFOR(west)"

Now repeat for the OPFOR. (Remember the trigger type for them is Guarded by OPFOR)

Should not take more than about 5 to 10 minutes.

Press preview and hey presto instant war.

I know I can hear you "Why don't you just give a saved version of what you did?"

Chinese Proverb: "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."

BIS have a Wiki to help people

http://community.bistudio.com/wiki/ArmA:_Mission_Editor

Trust me when I say the editor is the best thing in ArmA.

Kind Regards walker

Edited November 14, 2009 by walker

[Hachiman 10]

I know it can be done using the editor, but I'd like to load something already created, as I'm new to this game and the editor is a bit overwhelming to me, at the moment.

Thanks.

If you have any questions at all regarding the editor I'm certain the community would be only too happy to walk you through your first mission step-by-step. Just give it a try and don't be shy to ask any questions. You won't regret it, I promise. :)

[Guest]

Hey mate,

I am the Author of those pretty stupid Huge battles lol, and it's actually very simple. Create just One Blufor group, and give them One waypoint to "move" pretty far ahead of them.

Hold shift and click one of the guys in that group, and it will select all the men in that group. Then press Ctrl+c, to copy them. Press Ctrl+V to paste where you want, and repeat the exact sme for the opposite side, so that they are charging into eachother.

You can then add jets and helo's and fixed machine guns etc to add more to the battle. It's also worth adding a little fog so you can get a higher framerate.

Any questions, just ask and loads of people will help :)

[An Fiach 10]

Also, enjoy when your pc bursts into flames :D

[tj72 0]

I wasnt immediately aware (back in OFP days) that the ctr-c/v functionality was there. Im not sure if the Arma2 manual makes it clear as I only skimmed through it. Very good tip by walker.

I was going to say the hold shift and click thing to select a group and its WP's because its such a powerful feature but richiespeed13 beat me to it. Especially useful if the drag box selection includes stuff you dont want to select. Like a ton of WP's mixed with other groups WP's.

Also you can hold shift and drag to rotate active selections. If you pull the mouse farther away from the selection the rotation slows down for better precision.

click with control down is the granular deselect also.

You can hold the del key down and remove items with the mouse like a paintbrush tool. I dont think there is a ctrl-z undo so be careful.

With the above features, its so easy to lay down a basic patrol pattern with a bunch of move/search and destroy etc. and end it in a cycle waypoint and then clone that patrol all over the island (or maybe just a large portion of it so save resources) then repeat with different group types of infantry tank/air and others untill you have the type of opfor buildup you are imagining. You can make them run a perimiter or walk up and down city streets, tank patrols can cycle through various towns with refuel/repair stations along the way or many other patterns. It takes minutes to set this up but the mission can be highly replayable which is a good example of the editors power.

You can premake an infantry group one time in a template mission if the F2 groups arent what you want. ctrl-c and v works if you load up another mission. I like to make squads with alot of the same type. Specialized squads mixed with good misc squads makes for a strong dynamic Opfor for my tastes. My point here is that I can make the OPFOR once and copy paste it with ease across many missions and islands in no time. The huge AI battle mission is a great way to test out new Islands!

Also you can put in fortifications that may be critical in providing hard cover in this game where it is very important to have for various reasons. Lay in lines of sand bag walls and fortresses and see how they affect the gameplay. The AI should use cover objects to good effect in ARMA2.

Then you simply repeat for the other side and if the waypoints of the two sides overlaps you will have the battle at those areas. You can directly send the forces towards each other but I think you will find the mission too repetitive if you dont set up the waypoints a bit more scattered and complex so the battle doesnt break out immediatly but after a reasonable time for the groups to move around and encounter the enemy in a randomized way.

I think you find you will want to incorporate some modules and scripting features eventually. Its alot cooler to run dynamic scripts on spawned AI then the static waypoint tangled mess method, because your large battle will look like a web of chaos in the editor once you copy paste enough times. A scripted method will have no waypoints and be much cleaner to work with.

Maybe you want dynamic waypoints and the groups to work together and do things like call in artillery or reinforcements or reload ammo back at base. The more you get the more you want is an apt phrase for the editing "bug" you may catch. Then you are on your way to see how deep the editing rabbit hole goes. I assure you, if you pursue the more advanced scripting elements this game supports, you will be rewarded with your hard work and investment of time.

But to get a huge AI battle going, just start by using the tips you recieve in this thread, hit preview a hundred times and you will see the potential and limitations clearly. Too many groups will crash or lag the game and the correct amount will be determined based on your system parameters. Top end systems will enjoy a bigger number of max AI of course. So add and delete groups with ease but make note of the resource hit by previewing often so you can tweak it to the best result.

Again, its worth the effort of investigating the more advanced editing elements like scripting/configs and addon authoring once you get further along.

[Alex72 1]

Dont ever when having things marked in the editor press CTRL+Z as that will erase it all. Unless thats what you want to do. But marking a lot of units/gear and then hold SHIFT+press DELETE is better. Better to get used of that key combo than the other as its too close to CTRL+C/V. Dont know how many times i done that lol...

[viibez 10]

Hey mate,

I am the Author of those pretty stupid Huge battles lol, and it's actually very simple. Create just One Blufor group, and give them One waypoint to "move" pretty far ahead of them.

Hold shift and click one of the guys in that group, and it will select all the men in that group. Then press Ctrl+c, to copy them. Press Ctrl+V to paste where you want, and repeat the exact sme for the opposite side, so that they are charging into eachother.

You can then add jets and helo's and fixed machine guns etc to add more to the battle. It's also worth adding a little fog so you can get a higher framerate.

Any questions, just ask and loads of people will help :)

I just tried to watch one, its was so dark i couldnt see anything.

have you made any large missions available for download?

[jakerod 254]

Dont ever when having things marked in the editor press CTRL+Z as that will erase it all. Unless thats what you want to do. But marking a lot of units/gear and then hold SHIFT+press DELETE is better. Better to get used of that key combo than the other as its too close to CTRL+C/V. Dont know how many times i done that lol...

CTRL+X doesn't delete anything. It cuts the units out and if you hit CTRL+V they come back. If you hit CTRL+Shift+V they come back exactly where they were before. That combination also works if you are copying from one level to the other. They will always appear wherever they were Cut or Copied from.

It is better to use CTRL+C/V than SHIFT+DELETE because if you hit CTRL+Z by mistake you cut them and can paste them backnothing happens but if you hit DELETE and miss the shift key then you just deleted them and can't get them back.

EDIT: CTRL+Z doesn't even do anything. I think you meant CTRL-X which is Cut and means they can be pasted back.

[Mr Sarkey 0]

I wasnt immediately aware (back in OFP days) that the ctr-c/v functionality was there.

:eek:

Best function in the game, I couldn't live without it.

[boneboys 0]

If you hit CTRL+Shift+V they come back exactly where they were before. That combination also works if you are copying from one level to the other. They will always appear wherever they were Cut or Copied from.

Thanks for that titbit Jakerod

[Guest]

I just tried to watch one, its was so dark i couldnt see anything.

have you made any large missions available for download?

Try adjusting your screen lol, myself, and a few hundred thousand other people can see it ok :P

Sorry to be a bit useless, but none are available for download. They are really easy to make though, shouldn't take more than a couple of minutes if you want to give it a go.

[maturin 12]

Try adjusting your screen lol, myself, and a few hundred thousand other people can see it ok :P

Sorry to be a bit useless, but none are available for download. They are really easy to make though, shouldn't take more than a couple of minutes if you want to give it a go.

Speaking of which, do you use some special spawning/scripting technique to get the fairly regular, spread out pace of air attacks? Or is it just a lot of planes on Search and Destroy?

[Guest]

Hi Mate,

I just gave them a move waypoint order, they keep circling around until they either die, or have no enemies to engage. Pretty amazing how clever they are :)