Suggestions for AI Improvements in Future Updates

[Pursuivant]

Originally Posted by majorfailure

-How will you handle multiple flights (10+) approaching their respective different bases -you can't be everywhere?

Here's one idea:

A) Map makers and mission builders could define fixed camera views at each airfield as "Ground Control" positions. One Ground Control view per airfield.

B) Pressing some key allows you to cycle through the different ground control views.

c) Pressing Ctrl-C (or some other bound key) has the same effect as switching to a different crew position, in that the previous crew position you occupied goes to "autopilot", but rather than switching to a different position within your plane, you instead switch to the ground control "crew" you're currently monitoring.

Alternately, there can be keys bound which allow you to instantly move from an air crew position to a ground control position.

Originally Posted by majorfailure

-Online it will be difficult, making a break is akward at best.

Yes, but in that case you can have the option of assigning a player to just play ground control for some side. This could also include options like allowing a player to be a Forward Air Controller who can shoot off flares, lay marker panels and pop smoke grenades to mark targets, or a operations officer in charge of vectoring flights of friendly aircraft towards unidentified radar contacts.

Originally Posted by majorfailure

-I believe such a task as setting landing priorities for (damaged) planes can very well be done by AI -there are not to many variables there IMHO -and it could be done with a decision table like that:
-Highest priority: Plane on fire, Pilot bleeding.
-Second: Plane already out of fuel or engine dead.
-Third: Plane with heavily damaged engine or running out of fuel in very short time(e.g.<120sec).
-Fourth: Plane with any other engine damage, plane with injured pilot, plane with fuel low, but enough for say 5 minutes.
-Fifth: Plane with any other damage.
-Sixth: Plane in undamaged condition.

Additionally, planes which fall into the first four categories should divert to the nearest airfield and shouldn't bother circling prior to final approach, but should go right in to land.

Realistically, planes with damage that doesn't require them to land immediately, but which does make it more likely that they'll crash should either be diverted to a different runway or should land last so they don't risk delaying landing for the other planes using the airfield.

Badly shot up carrier aircraft shouldn't even try to land. Instead, planes which are on fire or are very damaged should attempt to ditch close to a friendly ship.

Finally, crew aboard planes which are very likely to crash on landing (e.g., landing gear inoperable) should attempt to bail out at a safe altitude over a friendly airfield or next to a friendly ship leaving just the pilot and co-pilot to try to land the plane.