AI combat behaviour: work in pairs

[Voyage 34 10]

Hi guys! Hope not to break any forum rules, or to post in the wrong section.

Maybe I just discovered the wheel, but i have a question about an AI behaviour i noticed just yesterday.

I was playing in an AI leaded group - assaulting a depot, nothing in particular - we got a contact, and the leader (with most of the squad) was waiting before advancing. I took the initiative and i decide to advance on my own, when i see a guys of mine advancing him too, about 50 mt. away. I thought "that's good!", i go on, kill some bad guys, and i notice he's behind me. "Is he following me?". I started going around and he were really following me! As i moved he was behind me. "Woooow, that's really nice...".

It was the first time I've seen that; maybe i never noticed that, or maybe that's a 1.07 patch's feature. Anyway I tried to reproduce it in the editor, but I can't understand how it works.

We're always in combat mode. In a USMC fireteam i never get followed. In a USMC squad i sometimes get followed by one or two guys, mainly when playing in an AT soldier (M136), while sometimes no one cares about me (playing with a rifleman).

In a russian squad I get mainly followed when playing in a machingunner role, or a RPG18 soldier (notice that in a machingunner you often get an automatic rifleman "buddy", while in a RPG18 soldier you have a RPG7 guy behind you - sometimes with a third rifleman).

That's really nice, but I can't understand how it works; did someone never noticed that? I firstly thought it was the famous "attack in pairs" seen in the beta patches, but i sometimes have even 2 guys behind me.

If someone knows something about which roles are "escorted" in a squad and what's the logic behind that (I don't mean the ratio, but how it works) please post it there.

PS: I use only a "no engage" mod for the AI leaded squads, but if you just put a squad with a move wp in combat mode you should anyway see that.

Edited June 28, 2010 by Voyage 34

[neokika 62]

I am not sure but, maybe you were a Fire Team Leader?

Go in the editor, place a group, and make one of the Fire Team Leaders to be the player (you), then try again.

_neo_

[Bouben 3]

Yes, I would also like to know how this works. Because sometimes I order one unit to advance and next 4 soldiers is following him, which is not always what I want them to do.

[NeMeSiS 11]

I think it was introduced in 1.05, or maybe before. You can check the version history if you really want to know.

EDIT: Check the highlights from 1.02.

Edited June 28, 2010 by NeMeSiS

[Voyage 34 10]

@neokika: I played in several roles, and if I'm not wrong the only time I played as a FT leader in a USMC squad (= 3 fire teams) I expected - if they have to follow someone - to have at least my fireteam behind me, while no one cared about me. Mah..

@nemesis: I saw the "attack in pairs" but seem strange that I never noticed that since 1.02. And as said above sometimes I've had 2 guys with me, that is not properly a pair. So how this system works and how it assigns soldiers to other soldiers remains unclear.

PS: your signature rules

Edited June 28, 2010 by Voyage 34

[Muahaha 10]

Yep, been noticing this AI improvement lately. Doesn't matter whether you are the fire team leader or just another grunt, you will have a combat buddy.

[WisemanRAX 0]

In the Army it's called buddy rushes but your buddy has to provide covering fire while you move, and not just rush with you. At least that is what I remember.

[TillGrave 10]

In the Army it's called buddy rushes but your buddy has to provide covering fire while you move, and not just rush with you. At least that is what I remember.

Weapon on safe, moving!

[Murklor 10]

Working in pairs? Damn you got some high demands!

I'd settle for AI that can say... Crouch walk.

That way you can at least imagine friendly fire not being done on purpose because your crouching back wasnt mistaken for an AI that either run, stand still or is laying prone in one spot.

[Muahaha 10]

Working in pairs? Damn you got some high demands!

I'd settle for AI that can say... Crouch walk.

That way you can at least imagine friendly fire not being done on purpose because your crouching back wasnt mistaken for an AI that either run, stand still or is laying prone in one spot.

Actually AI in pairs IS already implemented in game, some of us has noticed it.

Friendly fire thats another story...:rolleyes:

[cossack8559 10]

when i first read this post i had no idea what you meant... and just 10 minutes ago i was playing a mission i made with a squad of men on guard controlled by the a.i... i was the machine gunner in the a.i controlled squad... so i move forward a few paces and i notice that 3 men from the squad move with me??? i move back and forward and the 3 men copy me in line formation while the rest of the squad stood still...

very strange... could it be because i was 2nd highest rank in the squad or something?

[Voyage 34 10]

when i first read this post i had no idea what you meant... and just 10 minutes ago i was playing a mission i made with a squad of men on guard controlled by the a.i... i was the machine gunner in the a.i controlled squad... so i move forward a few paces and i notice that 3 men from the squad move with me??? i move back and forward and the 3 men copy me in line formation while the rest of the squad stood still...

very strange... could it be because i was 2nd highest rank in the squad or something?

That's what I meant...seems like sometimes machinegunners and AT soldiers have some kind of escort by riflemen (or often automatic riflemen for machinegunners and RPG7 soldiers for AT guys). The problem is that this cannot be considered (imho) work in pairs, because you can have even 2 or 3 guys behind you..

I think that the most logical thing would have been to have 1 less important role soldier (es. rifleman/RPG7 rifleman/automatic rifleman/grenadier) linked to each important soldier (RPG18/machinegunner/squad leader), but it's not like that.

To be precise the "work with your buddy" would be better applied to a USMC squad, which single fireteam (3FT x 4 soldiers) can be divided in 2 pairs (even if actually no one seems to follow the FT leader).

[Second 0]

It been there atleastin ArmA and ArmA2. Problem is that it's very hard for player to know who is his pair, what his pair is doing etc. And there's not even most basic communication methods for AI pair. Player quite basically can't teamwork with his pair. Which renders it to be pretty useless.

It sure looks and at start feels good to have someone along your side when your advancing by rushes in low stress situation when you have luxury to just admire AI... Until the point when you get shot at and mechanical SOPs can be threw to trashcan. You should be able to inform your buddy and teamwork with your buddy, not just follow/mimic some pre-scripted AI behavior.

Ofcourse this is problem of all shooters. I can't think even one shooter which would have even most basic-level combat pair/combat buddy system installed.