Game AI behavior programming

[Angry_Kitten]

What im curious, has anyone ever been able to compile regarding how the enemy AI are supposed to behave based upon skill level, number of enemy, if you have wingmen or not, skirmish or duel mode, plane the AI is in?

 

I have seen some real funky behavior in the skirmish mode for some reason. 

 

1. MY wingman doesnt join the fight until I set it up with 3 opponents

2. if i have 2 opponents set up, ground attack, bombers, c47 will simply try to fly away. When i start shooting at them they do the dodge and evade. My wingman just flies away. 

3. If i have 3 opponents, my wingman will join in the fun and actually get the kill credit for everything. 

4. 3 opponents will actually coordinate and HUNT me down. Its a little nasty when 3 B25D will have 2 come at your directly, while the 3 circles around to shoot you from 6 high.

[PatrickAWlson]

Would have to see your mission settings to say anything about the AI.  The ability of mission designers to influence AI is extremely limited.  Here's what I believe to be true:

1. AI skill level.  I have no idea EXACTLY how this impacts the AI.  I know that in general they will shoot better.  No idea how it impacts choice of maneuvers or ability to carry them out.

2. Waypoint priority.  This one is really important.  Set it to low for bombers and they will fly like fighters.  Set it to high and the gunners won't even bother returning fire.  I generally use low for fighters and medium for attack planes and bombers. 

3. Altitude.  You have to give the AI some altitude to perform more interesting maneuvers.  If the AI is low they will mostly circle, although I have seen improvement in this regard.  Still, the AI faces the same restrictions as a human: if you don't have altitude then the maneuvers menu shrinks pretty rapidly.

 

Things that I would like to see:

1. Medium bombers should never use fighter AI.  Don't care what WP priority is, it just should not happen.  Each plane should always be flown in a plausible fashion.  I could see medium bombers being flown somewhat more aggressively than a C47, but not pulling high G maneuvers.

2. Skill level should have a major impact on maneuvers.  First, the maneuver tree should be trimmed for worse pilots.  Second, the ability to fly close to the envelope (or not) should be impacted by skill level.  When I see gun camera film I am often surprised by how unaggressively the target is maneuvering.  In GB the AI is always turning tight circles.

3. Better use of real life tactics in attack planes.  Get in, drop ordnance, get out.  This can be done effectively with bombers (Attack Location) but for ground attackers there is very much a decide, drop one bomb, decide again, etc.  All while getting shredded by AAA.

 

[AEthelraedUnraed]

I've seen something similar in a mission I'm making. I spawn a formation of two fighters that are supposed to drop a bomb somewhere and then attack the player. The formation leader does exactly what he's supposed to do, but the wingman just flies off to the west at a leisurely speed and doesn't attack either the ground target or the player (they spawn heading east, and that's also where their first waypoint is). It might be that he's returning to base (I think I checked the AI return to base decision checkbox), but he's got plenty of fuel and ammo, and he spawns undamaged.

 

I did use the Spawner MCU instead of the Activate MCU, with the first waypoint activated after both aircraft report the Spawned message (I need to do something ASAP after they've spawned, and with the Activate MCU you cannot guarantee that they have spawned already, without building in a certain delay). A Spawner MCU shouldn't remove the target link from wingman to flight leader, should it? Or is there anything else that may be the problem?

 

20 hours ago, PatrickAWlson said:

1. AI skill level.  I have no idea EXACTLY how this impacts the AI.  I know that in general they will shoot better.  No idea how it impacts choice of maneuvers or ability to carry them out.

From what I've seen, it seems that it does somewhat impact the choice of maneuvers. Rookie mostly limit themselves to circling, whereas aces do all sorts of funny things (if they've got the altitude, as you say).

 

20 hours ago, PatrickAWlson said:

Things that I would like to see:

[...]

4. Gunners that return fire even on high waypoint priority.

 

I'm making a mission where the player is intercepting a ground-attack F.2B (which is standing in for a light bomber until the DH.4 is released). Even on medium mission priority, the Brisfits drop all bombs at the first sight of the player, get into a dogfight (they're fighters, after all) and completely forget about their mission. On high mission priority, they stay on target but their gunners won't return fire ?.

 

Worked around that with a distance check. They use high waypoint priority, but as soon as any German aircraft gets within a couple of 100 metres, this priority changes to medium. This way they only attack the player after they are attacked themselves, which feels somewhat appropriate.

Edited March 12, 2021 by AEthelraedUnraed