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Originally Posted by Imp
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4)ANY change to the formation structure of either side of a scenario WILL CANCEL ALL waypoints for both sides so waypoints must be the very last thing that is done. A change to even one unit of either side cancels ALL waypoints
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I am a novice but this seems wrong waypoints must be the last thing set on that side but you can buy & cross attach or even reassign units in the other side without adverse effects on waypoints set for the other.
Hence the "trick" of buying them after you have checked AI side is moving as you want by playing with them set to human & computer control. |
Wrong or not it's the way the AI works.
And believe me, being a former programmer myself I have a clue how difficult any AI is to create in the first place and
ANY attempt to modify it
WILL lead to unexpected results. So Andy and Don will no doubt be wise and not even consider trying to modify it unless something something is outright broken, and it isn't.
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Originally Posted by Imp
Also in the guide
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5] When you initially set you waypoints the "first" waypoint to the game is the one right in front of your formation leader. When it moves, that first hex that will count as 1 waypoint crossed. However, tests have shown that the first turn does not always follow the "rules" so experiment on your own.
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Perhaps a note blow by blow would be helpful such as the easiest way around this is.
"Make the map wider than you need deploy units so they will move directly forward placing the first waypoint in the hex they would enter without waypoints (Note this waypoint will be deleted as game deletes one waypoint a turn if not used) Now plot waypoints normally so waypoint 2 will be the first it should follow."
Getting this part right is important because if it uses one more waypoint than you thought it can throw off the whole path.
I am not sure here might need to place it in hex unit would move to next turn. |
Try to think of it this way.
Turn one - Game removes waypoint one from each path.
Turn two - Game removes waypoint two from each path.
Etc.
Since any reinforcements you add that don't start the game on-map will be added turn one, or later, you need to create a stack of waypoints directly in front of the formation leader so it crosses a waypoint the first time it moves. So if you had the reinforcement arrive turn ten (10) you need to place eleven (11) waypoints directly in front of it.
Once a formation crosses it's first valid waypoint (11 in this case) it will follow the waypoint pathing until fired on or it reaches the end of the path.
Now, if a unit is fired on it will stop and do battle, but each turn another waypoint will be removed from it's list. Once the fight it is over it will attempt to move to the next valid waypoint.
Example :
Formation arrives as a reinforcement turn 10, waypoint 1 thru 10 have already been removed from it's que so it attempts to head to waypoint 11. If waypoint 11 isn't directly in front of it, it will attempt to follow the easiest path from it's current location directly to waypoint 11.
On turn 15 one of your scout units fires on the formation, it deploys turn 16, kills the scout turn 17, then reloads turn 18 since there's nothing else to kill. Waypoints 16, 17, and 18 have been removed from it's que while it was deploying and fighting so it will take the most direct, easiest, path toward waypoint 19.
That help?
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Originally Posted by Imp
I was hoping the old school would elaborate more or even take the time to do a demo scenerio with text listing the waypoints placed. Realise this would take time but a demo of how to get a vehicle moving flat out switching to 2 hexes a turn & then holding position would be nice.
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OK, to do the example you gave you'd have to experiment a bit (of course) but basically you'd set six waypoints (since a formation leader will attempt to cross three per turn if possible - you COULD use just two, but the more you use the finer the degree of control you have) places such that by the time it crosses the third and sixth it's movement allowance for the turn has been used up.
Then you set the next three waypoints two in one hex and the third in an adjacent one - thus the formation leader crosses three waypoints in two hexes - moving two hexes that turn.
Last you place three waypoints in one hex (possibly the one it ended in the previous turn) so it crosses them without the need to move - the formation leader remains stationary.
Doing this will result in the formation doing more-or-less what you want, you
WILL have to let a turn run, save the game, load turning both sides to player control, and check to see if it did what you wanted. If not tweak as needed to get the result you want.
This is one reason so few people do much advance waypoint work in scenarios...it's tedious, annoying, and requires many, many test runs to get "right".
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Originally Posted by Imp
Do scout vehicles first as ignore for first 3 turns so set to reinforcements or.
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Not necessarily.
Run some tests, see where they go most often, place waypoint four (4) close to there. They'll get back "on track".
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Originally Posted by Imp
How to get round APCs picking up troops
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Well I know one way
1) Buy the APC's and troops as separate formations. Make sure to purchase the passengers before the APC's so they'll move first.
2) Make sure you have a player unit placed on the movement path of the APC unit where you want it to drop troops (have to use a "fixed" unit with little to no movement speed to make sure they player doesn't move it elsewhere).
3) Take your best guess how long it will take the AI to kill whatever unit you used to force it to stop and deploy.
4) Create the "next" waypoint, the one that will be valid after the battle, for the passenger formation as close to the hex they'll be dropped at, or wind up in, as possible.
5) Create the "next" waypoint, the one that will be valid after the battle, for the APC formation heading a different direction from the way the passengers will move.
6) Since the passenger formation moves first it will move away from the APC's - thus when the APC's try to move they will not be in the same hex as the passengers - and won't (generally) move to pick them up since their next valid waypoint is a different direction.
Again, not easy or elegant, but doable.
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Originally Posted by Imp
Also nobody bothered to answer the question can you force vehicles to unload passengers, a simple no would suffice.
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See the above example for the only way I've found to force passenger unloading - if someone has another I'd love to hear it.
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Originally Posted by Imp
...I am sure many others have tried but after a few weeks of failing give up which is why new scenarios & Campaigns don't get built.
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Making anything other then a basic "let the AI banzai charge" scenario is a LOT of work. Even if you know "how". This is probably the main reason so few get made.
At least that's my best guess
Re: Help on controlling the AI please
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