Formations in the OBAT which are usable by AI?

Crueldwarf · #1 May 16th, 2018, 02:29 PM

Is there a way to determine which formations in the OBAT AI can use and which are strictly for the player?

Is it possible to 'teach' AI to use new formations?

DRG · #2 May 16th, 2018, 04:44 PM

The AI uses different formation for each nation and over different time spans.....some OOB's have only a half dozen time changes where different formations may be used and some other have dozens of time changes where formations change so no....you cannot 'teach' AI to use new formations...it's all predetermined

Crueldwarf · #3 May 17th, 2018, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DRG

The AI uses different formation for each nation and over different time spans.....some OOB's have only a half dozen time changes where different formations may be used and some other have dozens of time changes where formations change so no....you cannot 'teach' AI to use new formations...it's all predetermined

Are these formations are marked somehow? Or there is a file somewhere with a list of them?

I guess that the most of them are 'original' formations from the Vanilla Steel Panthers but maybe some were added when the game was rebuilt to WinSPMBT?

scorpio_rocks · #4 May 17th, 2018, 10:12 AM

The AI uses the Picklist files to choose it's force.

These files are which formation numbers the AI uses - understanding the actual process and the files themselves is however (apart from a few clues spread around these forums) a black art...

zovs66 · #5 May 17th, 2018, 10:29 AM

For both games (WW2 & MBT) the pick list hints are in:

:\Shrapnel Games\The Camo Workshop\WinSPMBT\Game Data\Picklists

Reade the info and see the dat files.

DRG · #6 May 17th, 2018, 12:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zovs66

For both games (WW2 & MBT) the pick list hints are in:

:\Shrapnel Games\The Camo Workshop\WinSPMBT\Game Data\Picklists

Reade the info and see the dat files.

NO

ONLY MBT uses external picklist so there is no \Game Data\Picklists in winSPWW2 and yes they are in that file in MBT but unless you are psychic you won't understand what you are seeing if you do open one up without the master file..... and the master files are not released because we don't want people poking around with the picklists

DRG · #7 May 17th, 2018, 12:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crueldwarf

Are these formations are marked somehow?

No, they are not. There used to be " AI only" formations in the OOB's but we got rid of those around 2005..... there are a very ( very,very) few formations in the OOB's that only the AI uses but they are not marked as such any longer. There are 17,549 formations in MBT so you won't find them

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crueldwarf

I guess that the most of them are 'original' formations from the Vanilla Steel Panthers but maybe some were added when the game was rebuilt to WinSPMBT?

There **may** be some very, very small chance that there are residual, tenuous connections to the original SP2 picklists for some basic formations that the original nations used but they are VASTLY more complicated than the originals

Crueldwarf · #8 May 17th, 2018, 01:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DRG

Quote:

Originally Posted by zovs66

For both games (WW2 & MBT) the pick list hints are in:

:\Shrapnel Games\The Camo Workshop\WinSPMBT\Game Data\Picklists

Reade the info and see the dat files.

NO

ONLY MBT uses external picklist so there is no \Game Data\Picklists in winSPWW2 and yes they are in that file in MBT but unless you are psychic you won't understand what you are seeing if you do open one up without the master file..... and the master files are not released because we don't want people poking around with the picklists

I do not really want to mess around with picklists. I mostly need to understand what formations in OOB are 'free game' for editing/removal and what should be kept around at any cost.

Suhiir · #9 May 17th, 2018, 01:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crueldwarf

I do not really want to mess around with picklists. I mostly need to understand what formations in OOB are 'free game' for editing/removal and what should be kept around at any cost.

As part of the USMC OOB rebuild I had to remake the picklists from scratch, NOT EASY.

It's best to assume ALL formations currently existing in an OOB are in use. Don't mess with them. There is no "easy" (or even "not easy", it's a pain in the ***) way to get the AI to use new formations.

Now ... if you want to create now, alternate, formations in currently blank formations, have at it. Such formations will be player ONLY and invisible to the AI.

DRG · #10 May 17th, 2018, 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crueldwarf

Quote:

Originally Posted by DRG

Quote:

Originally Posted by zovs66

For both games (WW2 & MBT) the pick list hints are in:

:\Shrapnel Games\The Camo Workshop\WinSPMBT\Game Data\Picklists

Reade the info and see the dat files.

NO

ONLY MBT uses external picklist so there is no \Game Data\Picklists in winSPWW2 and yes they are in that file in MBT but unless you are psychic you won't understand what you are seeing if you do open one up without the master file..... and the master files are not released because we don't want people poking around with the picklists

I do not really want to mess around with picklists. I mostly need to understand what formations in OOB are 'free game' for editing/removal and what should be kept around at any cost.

All OOB's have an ample number of free Formation slots so if you need to make personal custom ones then just add them to the end of the list