AI orders

[Kinophile]

Hi All,

 

I've read through the Scenario Design handbook, but its not very helpful with AI orders.

 

The Editor interface itself leaves a lot to be desired...

 

I'm using Gauntlets Crossed as my base map.
T72s arrive from Red (West) end of Highway, progress East, turn south at Crossroads.

 

Can anyone explain how to do this simple Right Hook maneuver:

1. First reinforcement wave (1st TANK PLATOON, 3 x T72s) arrive 25 MINS in.
2. T72s DASH 1km WEST to OBJ Crossroads., (they are outflanking a Blue assault on Red urban defense line)
3. T72s turn SOUTH, form firing line, ADVANCE into Blue Flank.

OPTIONAL:

    4. T72s reach OBJ Office Block, turn NORTH EAST, form blocking position on retreating Blue.

    5. RED ARTILLERY drops heavy (2 x 152 batteries) barrage on expected Blue assault wave positions @35 min mark, hopefully coinciding with tank assault.

 

I've ID'd the unit involved as R1, given it 25 mins delay, exact span.

I've given it a setup zone, placed them in column on the highway.

Painted some yellow unit objectives (crossroads, then line at OBJ Office Block.)

Tried to figure out the unit orders menu.

 

In scenario test, Tanks arrive, Nothing happens.

 

So, how does the Unit Ai objectives brush work?

 

Group/Unit orders..wtf?

Most confusing menu setup ever.

Can trigger/no trigger does waht? trigger the next order? 

 

Artillery Barrages, how?

 

Many thanks!

KP

Edited July 28, 2015 by kinophile

[sburke]

I'd have started with the manual.  Triggers -

(posting this as it is far less confusing than me having to describe them)

Also note on page 106 right after this there is a section on AI Artillery designations for support fires.

 

Sometimes you will want an Group to act based on battlefield conditions rather than set times. This is achieved with the use of Triggers. You can tell a Group to “Wait For” another Group to execute an Order or to “Wait for” a unit (enemy or friendly) to touch a Trigger Objective. The same basic principles apply to both Order and Objective type Triggers, however you will probably find some situations where one type works better than the other.
What Triggers can not do is provide alternate commands. AI Orders are still followed one-after-another without branching. Triggers simply allow you to control when the next Order executes based on the Trigger parameters you choose.
 

Setting up a Trigger
Triggers are always set up first and then linked to specific Orders. A Trigger can be used by as many Orders in as many Friendly Groups as you want, but an Order can only be assigned to use one Trigger. Setup can never be used as a Trigger and the last Order of a Group can never be triggered.
For an Objective Trigger you must first designate a Terrain Objective on the map, then choose what sort of unit can trip it. You can choose between friendly or enemy and either any type of unit or only armored ones.
For an Orders Trigger you must identify a specific Order (Setup is not an Order) in a friendly Group and change the popup just below the Order Number to “Can Trigger” from “Not Trigger”.
Now that you have a Trigger specified you need to instruct one or more Groups to use it. Find the Order you want to wait for a Trigger and click on the “Wait For...” button at the bottom of the Orders panel. When you do this a dialog appears with a popup menu that shows all the Triggers you have made. Select one and it becomes the active Trigger for that Order.

Exit Between Times
The first thing to understand is how the “Exit Between” times affect tripping. The first time tells the AI to NEVER start the Order until that time even if the Trigger is tripped. The second time tells the AI to NEVER start the Order later than that time even if the Trigger is not tripped. The time period between the first and second settings is when the Order is paused waiting for the Trigger to be tripped.

If you want a Group to always wait for a Trigger to be tripped leave the first timer to 00:00 and set the second timer to something greater than the scenario’s maximum game time. If you want a Group to give up on a Trigger if it isn’t tripped by a particular time (a failsafe) then leave the first timer to 00:00 and set the second timer to the time you have in mind. Sometimes you will want a Group to wait until a specific time even if the Trigger is tripped, in which case you set the first timer to that time. If the Trigger is tripped before then the Group will start executing it’s Order only when the first timer’s time is reached. If it hasn’t been tripped by then the Group will remain idle until either the Trigger is tripped or the second timer’s time is reached (whichever happens first).

 

The Tricky Part
While setting up Triggers is fairly straight forward, getting them to do what you expect is not necessarily as easily done. The more complex your Plan is, the more interdependent Groups are to each other, the more challenging it is to get the results you want. This section tries to get you started on the right path.
The most important, and definitely most difficult, concept to understand is which Order to select as the Trigger. The natural inclination is think of Triggers being tripped when an Order is complete (i.e. the units arrive in the painted area). This is not how it works. Instead a Trigger is tripped when the designated Order starts, not when it ends. Which means if you want to key off of units arriving in the painted area of Order 5 you must select Order 6 as the Trigger, not Order 5. While this may be counter intuitive to us Humans, to the computer it’s solidly logical and there are very good reasons for it.
The second most common source of error is having two or more Groups use Triggers to “leap frog” each other. This can definitely work, however designer error and/or unforeseen game events can cause a huge chain reaction that stops your AI from functioning. For example, you could find Group 2 waiting for Group 3 which is waiting for Group 4 which is unexpectedly waiting for Group 2. This error is commonly called “circular logic”. Careful use of the Exit Between timers can limit the damage, but keeping things simple is an even better way to go.
Combining Objective and Orders Triggers can produce some sophisticated behavior if done right. For example, Group 2 Order 4 waits until Objective Blue is tripped by enemy armor, at which point it starts a wide flanking action using three additional Orders. Order 6 places the units in a key spot which signals that Group 3 should begin its own movement. In which case Group 3 would be set to trigger off Order 7 so that it starts it’s attack when Group 2 is at the key spot.

 

TIP! In the event that you want the last action of an Group to be a Trigger (which it can not be by default) you can fake out the system. Create your last Order to do whatever action it is you want done, then create a new last Order with the parameters to be the same as the previous one and no painted objective zone. Then go back and assign a Trigger to the previous Order. This allows the last meaningful action of that Group to act as a Trigger even though technically it’s not it’s last set of instructions. That’s because the actual last Order is nothing but a repeat of the previous instructions.

 

TIP! There is no explicit way to instruct a Group to face after completing an Order. However, you can “paint” the rearward destination 1 Action Spot further than you want them to go, then create a new Order and paint the Action Spot where you want them to end up. What happens is the units move past where you want them to wind up, end that Order, then start the new Order which requires them to turn around and drive “forward” towards the enemy by 1 Action Spot. If you do not use Exit Before/After time variables then the progression from one Order to the next will be seamless.
 

Edited July 28, 2015 by sburke

[ASL Veteran]

You don't need Set Up Zones for reinforcements because those units will always enter the map where you originally place them in the editor.  If the components of one AI group is split between reinforcements and non reinforcements nobody that is a part of that AI group will move until the last reinforcement has arrived onto the map.

 

In order for a unit to do something you have to assign it to one of the 16 available AI groups.  Every unit defaults as part of group A1, but you have to manually assign AI groups 2 through 16 by using the F keys.  You then have to paint the orders for the various groups onto the map before the units will move to those locations.

 

Without knowing what you are doing exactly though it is hard to give much more than general guidance. 

 

Edited to add, there are no branching AI orders either.  Your AI controlled truppen are on a one way train track that always travels from station to station on a single path.  Just tossing that out there if you weren't aware of that.

Edited July 28, 2015 by ASL Veteran

[Kinophile]

Thank you.

 

However, lets get it right down to absolute simple mechanics here:

 

What is the exact button/menu sequence to make a unit arrive and move directly forward 1Km?

[Pete Wenman]

Well if you want the absolute basics have a look at this file

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/6fofm6fimk1cefp/k1.btt?dl=0

 

Study it in the editor and then watch the movement in scenario author mode until you get the relationship between the editor orders and what the and when the unit carries them out.

 

P