Question about missing AI...

[Kieme(ITA)]

Hello everybody,

I've kept playing single missions and QB recently... and this is what I've noticed about AI (I've always set it on Veteran or Elite only):

In QBs there are problems regarding enemy units positining at the very start of the game.

I've played more than 10 QBs and in all, I repeat, all cases AI wouldn't do a single move on its own. In all cases I had to search for enemy around the map, and they would only reply to direct fire.

So there's NO AI in QBs... the only way now is to play them against humans.

What I disliked more than anything else is general AI performance in Single Missions or Scenarios.

In every scenario AI will do some basic movements at first, bringing troops to a position etc. AI moves groups of vehicles very very close toghether to a precise spot, it will always do the very same thing over and over.

The most disturbing fact is that after achieving the basic movement AI will just stay there, no matter what.

I've seen only one occasion in which a BMP of mine shot like 3 Bradleys staying in one square, after some minutes (and after 3 Brads burning) a M1 from some hundreds meters away decided to move in and see what killed the Breds. This episode would be remarkable IF only it would happen right after the first Brad gone and IF it would be a standard behaviour.

In man occasions AI will also let the infantry move out the vehicle in open terrain and direct front of prepared and engaged enemies (already spot!).

Anyway you'll notice such wrong behaviour (I refer to the initial move and then nothing more) especially if you play RT mode in scenarios. The last 10/20 minutes are pure waste since the enemy won't do anything more even if you still have some positions of your own).

So my final word about AI is that this is completely missing. I like the editor's option that allows you to create some fixed and sure AI movements but this is all?!

I was enthusiastic right after having solved my running problems but after seeing this I feel really deluded again. This "AI problem" I'm reporting isn't just a bug, It's a complete programming failure.

Please let me know what you experienced about AI performances.

regards,

Kieme

[MERC]

Maybe your experiencing "scenario design" issues instead of AI?

I can't speak to QB (I have always used those in CM1 as PBEM games). I have been playing only scenarios and campaign game.

My experience is not so harsh on the AI. I have found the AI will take advantage of my mistakes frequently. It has launched counter-attack(assuming at the planning of the scenario designer) and caught my strykers in the open and trashed them.

Now the AI pathing can be annoying at times, but I thought maybe the CMSF designer were just trying to replicate real-life.

[Cameroon]

Hi Kieme, just wanted to back up some of the things you've seen in QBs with a screenshot:

Ok, there's obviously something wrong with that.

(sorry for the wide image, leaving for work and didn't have time to resize)

I don't know if it's related to the discussion we've been having over in the QB AAR thread, but it's absolutely something wrong with the computer opponent's setup.

[Cameroon]

Bump, with another picture.

This time I went into the editor and tweaked the map. The default map has setup zones for the Red AI but NO terrain objectives. Eh?

I thought perhaps that is why the AI units were all clustered over on the side and was hopeful it was just shoddy QB maps (unfortunate, but easily fixed).

However, even after making sure that both forces have objectives the AI did not set up its forces at all.

I finally got them to try to hold onto some objectives by giving them Assault orders in the plan, but that should NOT be necessary in a defensive QB.

So, three questions (bugs?):

1) Why is the AI not performing any setup at all

2) Why is it "just sitting there"? You can see that there's an anti-tank unit there, but it hasn't bothered to fire at me. In the editor, the defending force is "Active".

3) Why are there so many fewer troops than in the first picture? Back in my setup zone I've got infantry and mech transport, but there's like a platoon defending - that doesn't seem right?

At first I'd thought there must be some sort of circumstance to what Kieme was seeing that explained it, but obviously not. Here's to hoping that this thread is a duplicate and that somewhere else it's already been noted, confirmed and a fix being worked on.