Trying to develop an evacuation map

[DLaurier]

So here's the idea.

A german force (understrength battalion) is at the east end of a largish map.

They need to evacuate to the west end.

Russian forces are coming from the north to try to pin them against a river to the south.

I am a bit purplexed by the AI.

How to make the German AI move west as a single mass. And the Russian AI to move to block them???

Advise would be welcomed

I'm thinking of a longish map.

[poorfish]

"How to make the German AI move west as a single mass. And the Russian AI to move to block them???"

If all the German forces are A1 for example, the just make a swath across the map in the AI, they will usually move as one, but sometimes some units will chose the same path to the same point resulting in unit slowdowns. Keep making sucessive swaths until the goal is reached.

For the Russians who are trying to stop them, there are any number of tactics that could be used - which is the most likely approch the Germans will use to reach the exit, what forces will be used when and how to achieve that, and so on. The German part of the AI is realitively easy compared to the decisions the Russian AI will have to accomplish to stop them.

As the AI author, you have to decide who's going to win in the end or can either side win with each having the correct balance of forces. Else is there a historical battle you can model the forces/outcome and so model the AI?

I'm sure others will have a different approach, so the above is not the last word by any streach ...

[kevinkin]

Hi there .. are the German units enough to cover the map in line north to south? To effectively block them you will need to know how they will arrive near the exit - spread out or bunched up. I would sub-divide the Germans into a few groups to help you predict somewhat how they will arrange themselves as the move to the exit. Not sure if it matters, but its a good idea to check the map edges - in this case North to the Reds and west to the Germans. Setting the scenario length and the speed of the German retreat will take a bit of testing to get right. An idea is to start with a smaller size battle and apply what you learn to the larger one. Another is to program the German AI and watch them retreat across the map to the exit without Red intervention. This will sort of give you the minimum length of the scenario. Adding in combat will delay the Germans so you will probably have to add significant length once you add in Red combat.

Kevin

[Combatintman]

You probably need to be more sophisticated than that. I would use at least three elements for the Russians. One to fix the Germans frontally and the other two to conduct the envelopment - although you could get away with a single fix element and a single envelopment element.

For the Germans you will need at least two elements again - how you dice it up is up to you but your two elements ought to retreat by bounds (one firm and one moving - rinse and repeat).

While you could do the withdrawal as a programmed AI plan - triggers would work well here.

[A Canadian Cat]

I would suggest you think about what you would do and then try to emulate that. For example while some of your men are maneuvering towards the exit other units should be protecting then and then when those units move someone else should be protecting them. Then your battalion can repeat that and escape.

In the above 4 platoon is divided up amongst the companies (dotted line) and then each one becomes an AI unit and their movement orders are coordinated so that they move and cover each other as they work towards the exit.

So 2 company covers the other two as the move long the river. Once 1 company is in place next to 2 company and 3 company has moved along the river it is safe for 2 company to break any contact they have and move towards the river and then towards the exit until the have taken up new defensive positions. The other units do similar.

That is one way to do it.

[Pete Wenman]

DLaurier - don't try to run before you can walk.

I believe The Passage which came with RT is very similar to what you describe so have a look at it in the editor, if you don't mind spoiling it.

Otherwise set up units on a simple, if not plain, map and get the AI to conduct certain movements, and watch over and over again how it behaves.

Note how changes in order type (Advance vs Dash etc) and changes in waypoint size/location etc affect the AI's movement.

In short learn to understand how the AI works, and imo this can only be done by trial and error.

P