4.12 ai...

[Bearcat]

OK as some of you may know I have been pretty hard on the AI.. the friendly AI in particular.. but after flying quite a few hours offline since 4.12 was released I have to say that .. it is not as bad as I thought.. In fact the AI in 4.12 is pretty darned good.. on both sides.. There are ways around the AI gang bang issue. For one thing the commands have changed .. and it is a big change so before doing anything else take a good look at it.. Anyone Help Me used to be TAB 7 .. it is now TAB 8.. so if you are hitting TAB 7 .. well duhhh (smacks himself upside the head..) and that is just for starters ... I have also found that mixing up the commands between target all and attack fighters flight by flight seems to help... In this respect something like VAC is priceless!! In another post I made in here griping about the Gangbanging AI while the friendlies watch thing... JtD suggested that I let the rest of the flight press the attack early then jump in.. He was right.. !

Aside from being able to assign a flight number to my flight this is the best tact to take I have found.. Once the fighting starts .. if you keep an eye out and don't try to make all the enemy flights aces .. and act like you are fighting live pilots (as in don't take it for granted that they won't see you or that they will fly a predictable pattern.. because they don't anymore..) you can survive and actually have fun.. even in a 16 vs 16 fight.. If all the flights are actively engaged they will respond more readily to commands.. it is only when they get outside the immediate battle zone that they get stupid.. or really stupid I should say.. I have also noticed that the enemy AI are still good shots.. but they seem to suffer from some of the same things we do .. like panic.. and blind spots.. I was able to actually hide from 3 190s that were after me by hiding behind the mountains just south east of Sevastopol on the Crimea map. I nailed one of them before the other two caught me in a pincher .. but it was a very engaging fight.. In another incident I was able to stay underneath a bandit.. and he had no idea where I was so when he came out of his roll I was able to nail him with a few shots and that was all it took.. once he was wounded it was just a matter of staying on him till the right shot appeared.. In another fight I was being chased by 3 bandits and I was able to loose them in the clouds ... None of this was possible before.. not like this ..

Don't get me wrong there are still some issues with the AI .. but given the complexity of AI programming .. which I know absolutely nothing about.. I am in no position to speak too loudly.. As a consumer and particularly one who remembers how it was 6 years ago.. I have to tip my hat. I imagine that getting it the way it is was a challenge enough.. but it is much better than I thought initially. Now on all enemy ace AI it will be a short fight with anything more than 4-8 planes each.. at least with me... but by mixing it up, particularly on the enemy side.. (I make all the friendlies aces or veterans..) it can get interesting.. Hopefully at some point in the future we will be able to program each individual pilot in the QMB like we can with the skins on the pilots and AC in the QMB now.. since we can do it in the FMB.. that would really make it interesting.. for those of us who like to use the QMB ... but even as it is.. with some creative commands and not getting too ambitious on the enemy AI.. it can get pretty nice when you are going for the quick in the morning before going to work sim fix... yes indeedy!

With some of the other features in 4.12 the whole flying experience is different now.. Very nicely done!!

[Treetop64]

Agree... You actually have to think a bit against the AI now... didn't used to be that way...since before.... all you... had... to... do ..... was.... waitforit todo predictable patterns.

(BC, how many times have you had to replace the [period] key on your keyboard over the years? Honestly?)

[EJGr.Ost_Caspar]

Thanks for the nice posts! Yes, AI is a very complex matter and one of the hardest things to manage in the development. I have no clue about Ai either, but its sometimes very surprising, what large results a small change can have - even for the author of the changings.

BTW: my personal experience showed me, that the AI pilots of my flight always perform attacks better, when they spot the enemies themself and I don't do any order. As if they have an own wild will and my orders could interrupt their eagerness.

[Bearcat]

Originally Posted by Treetop64

Agree... You actually have to think a bit against the AI now... didn't used to be that way...since before.... all you... had... to... do ..... was.... waitforit todo predictable patterns.

(BC, how many times have you had to replace the [period] key on your keyboard over the years? Honestly?)

LOL.. Never.. actually the A , E & part of the S key are the ones that have faded away... the period key is still all j=here. I kind of write like I am thinking at the time...

Thanks for the nice posts! Yes, AI is a very complex matter and one of the hardest things to manage in the development. I have no clue about Ai either, but its sometimes very surprising, what large results a small change can have - even for the author of the changings.

BTW: my personal experience showed me, that the AI pilots of my flight always perform attacks better, when they spot the enemies themself and I don't do any order. As if they have an own wild will and my orders could interrupt their eagerness.

Do you think the option to program individual AI in each flight is a possibility in the future? That woyld make it even more interesting.. Flight/element leaders could be set at Aces & Vets with average and rooks spread throughout the ranks accordingly..
__________________

[JtD]

Originally Posted by Bearcat

Do you think the option to program individual AI in each flight is a possibility in the future? That woyld make it even more interesting.. Flight/element leaders could be set at Aces & Vets with average and rooks spread throughout the ranks accordingly..

As pointed out elsewhere, it is like this already. Not only can each AI be given an individual skill level, they also have random sub-qualities added to their basic skill level.

I always tend to think that if people request things that are already there, they don't really miss whatever they are requesting.

[EJGr.Ost_Caspar]

Hehe! "BUZZ"


EDIT: Ahhh, I start to think, he is talking about QMB. Sorry, the quick missions are based on templates, which brings its restrictions and reduces the choises to a minimum. Thats the reason, why there is a FMB.

[Pursuivant]

Originally Posted by JtD

As pointed out elsewhere, it is like this already. Not only can each AI be given an individual skill level, they also have random sub-qualities added to their basic skill level.

This is incredibly cool. Thanks for doing this!

But, are there any plans to: a) tell us what those sub-qualities are (e.g., in campaigns), b) allow mission builders to set those sub-qualities?

[Bearcat]

Originally Posted by JtD

As pointed out elsewhere, it is like this already. Not only can each AI be given an individual skill level, they also have random sub-qualities added to their basic skill level.

I always tend to think that if people request things that are already there, they don't really miss whatever they are requesting.

This can be done in the QMB? If so please enlighten me..

I know it can be done in the FMB but I am talking about the QMB. Just a simple Rook,Average,Vet,Ace setting in the QMB with the more detailed settings left to the FMB. If this is already possible then by all means please enlighten me.. I stated in the other thread that you are referencing that I was referring to the QMB..

Originally Posted by EJGr.Ost_Caspar

Hehe! "BUZZ"
EDIT: Ahhh, I start to think, he is talking about QMB. Sorry, the quick missions are based on templates, which brings its restrictions and reduces the choises to a minimum. Thats the reason, why there is a FMB.

Precisely what I am referring to... ! Thanks... Too bad.. are you sure it is not doable for individual AC in a flight.. we can set the flight AI.. maybe this can be extended to the individual plane in a flight level.. If not so be it.... but between you guys and the modders some amazing things have happened in this sim over the past 5 years.. things we only dreamed about in 2005.. so perhaps....

[Bearcat]

Another great feature that is AI related that I have noticed.. If you have say 4 flights.. as each flight gets wiped out they disappear from the command line when you TAB so you can get a good picture of what you have left if you loose track with all the screaming.. ('M takin hits!! YAAAHHHHHH!!)

[EJGr.Ost_Caspar]

Its a bit more realistic though, to call for someone and don't get an answer.