Ready to give up

[Lardlord 10]

Hi,

I used to love OFP, and have really been trying to get into ARMA 2... At first the game seemed great... The map is amazing and the graphics are superb. But now, after 2 weeks of trying to get to grips with it, I feel totally despondent and ready to give up...

I feel I am ready to give up because it just seems so, so hard... and it's not that I keep getting killed, it is my stupid squad - they just keep getting shot to shit, whatever I order them to do. I just can't find the right setting to have them on...

These are my particular problems:

- If you tell them to crouch/alert then they don't lie down when they should and get shot to fuck.

- put them on prone/danger and they move so slow that they get shot to fuck.

- I am on the BADLANDS mission in the campaign (after a many reloads to get there) and they just use up all their ammo like total twats. When I tell them to take an enemy's gun, they either don't do it, or get shot to fuck...

MY point is - there is NO setting / combination of settings you can have them on, that will make them behave like a soldier with half a brain, would in the field...

There are no half measures... Tell ‘em to lie down and that’s ALL they do. Tell em to crouch and that’s ALL they do... Then they get killed and it's all over, you have to reload... At least in OFP, if your men acted like retards and got shot-up, you could carry on and fight... it's game over in ARMA 2.

And in OFP, if you didn't bother commanding your men, they would just copy your stance... which was great, because they would lie down when you did, crouch when you did etc etc..

You spend your whole time trying to command them so they don't get killed and its no use... they act like total spazzes and die. You don't even get the chance to fire you own damned gun, because you are desperately trying to navigate the terribly fiddly menus, to stop your men from behaving like brainless fools with a death wish...

The frustrating thing is, I know it is possible, because I've seen clips on YouTube etc of people controlling their squad and them behaving like real soldiers with a brain... How the fuck do they do it?! God only know, but life is too short to waste on this shit... So disappointing.

[SASrecon 0]

Are you patched up to date?

Even the latest beta patch has made the AI more responsive as far as I can tell.

If you really can't be bothered just open up the editor, load up a plane/heli and fly around to remind yourself how nice ARMA2 can really be ;)

[jw custom 56]

Hi,

I used to love OFP, and have really been trying to get into ARMA 2... At first the game seemed great... The map is amazing and the graphics are superb. But now, after 2 weeks of trying to get to grips with it, I feel totally despondent and ready to give up...

I feel I am ready to give up because it just seems so, so hard... and it's not that I keep getting killed, it is my stupid squad - they just keep getting shot to shit, whatever I order them to do. I just can't find the right setting to have them on...

These are my particular problems:

- If you tell them to crouch/alert then they don't lie down when they should and get shot to fuck.

- put them on prone/danger and they move so slow that they get shot to fuck.

- I am on the BADLANDS mission in the campaign (after a many reloads to get there) and they just use up all their ammo like total twats. When I tell them to take an enemy's gun, they either don't do it, or get shot to fuck...

MY point is - there is NO setting / combination of settings you can have them on, that will make them behave like a soldier with half a brain, would in the field...

There are no half measures... Tell ‘em to lie down and that’s ALL they do. Tell em to crouch and that’s ALL they do... Then they get killed and it's all over, you have to reload... At least in OFP, if your men acted like retards and got shot-up, you could carry on and fight... it's game over in ARMA 2.

And in OFP, if you didn't bother commanding your men, they would just copy your stance... which was great, because they would lie down when you did, crouch when you did etc etc..

You spend your whole time trying to command them so they don't get killed and its no use... they act like total spazzes and die. You don't even get the chance to fire you own damned gun, because you are desperately trying to navigate the terribly fiddly menus, to stop your men from behaving like brainless fools with a death wish...

The frustrating thing is, I know it is possible, because I've seen clips on YouTube etc of people controlling their squad and them behaving like real soldiers with a brain... How the fuck do they do it?! God only know, but life is too short to waste on this shit... So disappointing.

...and yet so many many people has managed to complete the campaign, they must have been lucky i guess :rolleyes:

P.S. nice language with the shit and fucks!

[Alex72 1]

I feel your pain and the AI could be better. Especially not going into auto danger so we can keep telling them to move etc when "danger" is around.

Myself though having played this a lot and am comfy with the AI controls i can keep my guys alive pretty well, but it needs for you to work hard with the menus. I just did a mission where all my guys came out alive, but i had to micro manage them from the first step all the way to the end. Each individual i tell where to go and what stance to be in. When danger kicks in - even though there is no real danger - i feel i lose control over them and things can go real bad.

But you can control them pretty good by telling them exactlly what to do all the time. Exactlly where to sit and look etc, but when auto danger kicks in you just have to say a prayer - if thats your thing - or go "ah wtf" as me. :) Especially when someone seen an enemy that is lying hidden somewhere and thanks to that i cant tell my guys to get into my car/tank to blow that place to bits or i cant tell them to take better positions since we now have a window for movement... Bit annoying and i hope its fixed real real soon. I think youll notice you have more control over your men when that happens.

Hope someone have better ideas for you though. And hopefully we will see improvements in this field soon with the release of Operation Arrowhead (where ARMA2 also get patched up to the "same" level).

[kremator 1065]

Not REALLY going to miss you. Good advice has been given above but I would recommend spending time reading through these forums. Lots of addons give improved AI capabilities.

If you don't have the inclination to read all the wonderful information stored in here, please do !

For instance - there IS a mod that makes you AI copy your stance!

So don't gripe, ask respectfully and the community will help. Piss us off and you can go jump.

[SnR 1]

Stop playing Single player, Join a server - Join a community ;)

[Sgt.Spoetnik 10]

Hi and welcome, Its indeed a bit hard to get the grips off commanding the AI in a way they dont get shot after 5 sec in the fight, best way is to train yourself in the editor in commanding the AI in all the freedom you want without enemy units shooting you. Learn the commands and formations off your units and when you think your ready you can trow in some unfriendly's and go hunting,

for the campaign there are some bugs in there but with the latest patch most bugs are fixed, if you run dry on ammo search the enemy's for weapons and ammo,same for squadmembers.

when you start to know how to command the AI you can do some more difficult stuff like boarding choppers and dropping them on the battlefield,use support and arty to suppress enemy or to heal and fix any friendlies,...!

Just dont give up, its a bit hard but with a little training it can become more fun then you imagined.

Also read this forum and look for stuff that can help you out,and there is always someone that will reply to your questions(mostly friendly:D),and there is lots off stuff around that increases the fun bigtime,like Islands,units,vehicles,mods,scripts,...

Good luck and hope you can still have fun with Arma.

Cya

[eggbeast 3684]

just park your bots in a layby and take another vehicle on tour...

rip out the distributor leads, leave them some coke and magazines and pick them up when the mission is over...

[Lardlord 10]

Please could someone post alink to mods that improve AI, especiialy the one that makes 'em copy my stance.

Thanks, and apologies if I offended, it's just that I'm really frustrated!

[Zipper5 74]

Well, commanding the AI hasn't really changed that much since OFP. Anyways, I created these videos for just such a situation. I too have been playing since OFP. Check them out, they might help.

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[maturin 12]

Currently AI squad behavior under fire is borked, and we are anxiously awaiting a patch. They suffer from collective seizures unless you put them in a compact column formation like a boy scout troop on a nature walk.

[jakerod 254]

If Badlands is the one that I am thinking of, then I just left them behind. In the other levels I team switched to them sometimes. I also played on a lower patch though so maybe that has some kind of effect. I tend to have them in a close column formation so I know that when I am behind cover they normally are too. Also, I do all the offensive stuff while I have them sit back behind cover and watch my flanks. This way they are doing something to help me with my goal but aren't attacking which is their weakpoint. They are fine at sitting still if you tell them to move behind cover.

[Barely-injured 0]

A couple of points:

* the third option below prone and crouch "I forgot what it is called" does make them copy your stance to an extent (obviously not as much as OFP but that was too robotic for my taste).

* The AI in this game "despite common belief" is very capable. However commanding them in a way that makes the most use out of them is very hard to master. I am one of those people who have been playing BIS games since the OFP demo and even I still learn new tips and tricks every once in a while, even very recently.....and i am sure there are still more tricks to learn..... I guess it is what they call a continuous learning experience :p

* There are a number of mods that improve the AI performance dramatically for example there is GL4 and SLX and Zeus, you can find them in the addons section of the forum or in websites like http://www.armaholic.com

* However I feel your pain regarding Badlands as i am playing it right now, I usually enjoy using GL4 but I don't use it in the official campaign for fear of messing up the missions. Non the less in that mission even though the allies that you can order using high command seem to preform horribly, the guys under your immediate command (i.e. Razor team and whoever you can buy) seems to be kinda of manageable to me. Build a barracks and buy as many soldiers as you want.....even maybe use them as cannon fodder :D but keep razor team protected.

* Finally there is the newest beta patch released recently which should by all means be safe to use in the campaign. People are reporting that the AI is more responsive in it. However you might have to revert to the beginning of badlands for it to work "I am not sure about that".

Hope that helps

[Antigoon 10]

the third option below prone and crouch "I forgot what it is called" does make them copy your stance to an extent (obviously not as much as OFP but that was too robotic for my taste).

I think it's called "keep low", not sure though.

Also if you have an english os, you can try one of those voice activated programs mentioned on this forum. I know it made single player interesting again for me, as I used to only play multiplayer (wich you should try out btw)!

[walker 0]

Hi Lardlord

You should look at the BIS wiki hints and tips where a lot of this is explained.

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

Also Zipper5's walkthroughs are full of useful advice on efficiently controlling your AI.

I added links to Zipper5's walkthroughs, I hope you do not mind Zipper5. :)

I guess what I am saying Lardlord is that ArmA is worth persisting with.

Kind Regards walker

[Lardlord 10]

Hi Lardlord

You should look at the BIS wiki hints and tips where a lot of this is explained.

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

Also Zipper5's walkthroughs are full of useful advice on efficiently controlling your AI.

I added links to Zipper5's walkthroughs, I hope you do not mind Zipper5. :)

I guess what I am saying Lardlord is that ArmA is worth persisting with.

Kind Regards walker

Hi all,

Thanks very much for the help and especially for ZIPPER for the videos. Very helpful... definately going to try to persevere. Apologies for my initial negativity.

[Arma-2-Guru 55]

You can change it in the option menu so that your men can be smarter than the enemies, it kinda balances it out a bit. What difficulty do you play on?

[Whoatherefatty 10]

just park your bots in a layby and take another vehicle on tour...

rip out the distributor leads, leave them some coke and magazines and pick them up when the mission is over...

QFT. If they cant figure out to hit the ground when being shot then they'll never figure out the proper timing order. Good call.

[Bulldogs 10]

What you should do first is to set your squad to "aware" and don't alter their stance at all, then get in the habit of ordering your men in a manual bounding overwatch...

By that I mean that when you move you set one man to a position, then set another member to advance to another position, then move the next squad member, and when it's safe then move yourself. Do this often, especially in towns or low visibility areas and after a while it'll feel more comfortable.

Then you can start introducing other aspects of commanding your AI. Just take it slow, if you try to rush too much learning in then you'll end up with confused.

Just the first key to remember is overwatch. If you know the position of your enemy then it's much easier. Always try to get your main overwatch (a machine gunner is a great overwatch) to be in a higher up position so they have a literal overwatch on the whole situation... but watch out for those tricky flanking soldiers.