AI auto targeting

[ExMachina]

So I just had 3 bearing only surface contacts and I did an "auto" engage--the AI obediently launched a whole bunch of missiles AND then a bunch of torps!!! [X(]

That's what I call shooting my wad [:'(]

How about an auto engagement where the AI pops up a window showing what it wants to do and the player has the option to veto/amend the attack? Wouldn't that be the best of both worlds?! [8D]

[mikmykWS]

Okay if you do an auto attack you are giving up control to the AI. It is optimistic.

If you use the manual control option you can actually pick the weapons individually.

[ExMachina]

Right. But that's a pretty crazy auto attack, you have to agree? I mean to simultaneously fire off a guided missile and a torp at a surface contact would probably get you relieved of duty in most navies [:)]

Also, the more I play the more I'm noticing weird AI behavior (like firing off missiles at no target in particular--I just watched the AI waste 5 Sea Sparrows...it kept firing them and the losing them (running blind) and then would fire another...and there was NO detected target the whole time!)

(That said, I finally DID win the First Contact 1986 as Norway...in spite of the AI trying to empty my magazines [:)])

[mikmykWS]

The AI is very optimistic and some of that has to do is we'd rather it fire too much rather than too little. If you'd like more control take over and manually fire.

What did the Sparrows appear to be launched at? Surface engagement?

Mike

[ExMachina]

What did the Sparrows appear to be launched at? Surface engagement?

Right. The only hostile units were surface units. Maybe I ordered an auto attack and that's all the AI could muster after a while? Again, a pop-up for auto attack weapons allocation would be rally nice...

[NefariousKoel]

I just had three Sea King HAS.1 ASW helos, performing an ASW patrol in the FOST scenario, locate a sub with active dipping sonar. Well, one of them located it and sat there for the 3 minutes with the dipping sonar in the water, keeping track of him just fine.

The other two eventually pulled up their own and started moving in for the kill. Time to get some payback! Then the helo that is holding the detection via it's dipping sonar pulls it up and also proceeds to go in for the shot. Unfortunately the contact ends up being lost for nearly 2 minutes while all three helos are "engaged offensively", attempting to get there. But their air-launched Mk46 torpedoes drop on the last known location and just circle with no hit. The datum is so old that the sub is out of acquisition range of my 'lil fishies (see?).

Ideally the only helo that had the contact would've kept it's dipping sonar down while the other helos on the mission prosecuted the target. I figure that I'll just manually tell the helo to stay low and dip sonar.. but how do I get them to actually put it down? I tried hovering over the surface at 0kts but that didn't do anything (20m or less altitude IIRC) and I couldn't find any other command to get it to happen. The EMCON had sonars set to Active (else all these mission helos wouldn't have ran the active dipping sonar before). So I couldn't figure out how to force dipping sonar manually. Halp!?

I see two needs in this case:

1) Some way to manually order Dipping Sonar On.

2) More coordination between multiple ASW helos that only use Dipping Sonar, on the same ASW mission. Otherwise the AI won't be using them as effectively as they could be.

I suppose this second routine could also be used in Mission situations where there's only one unit used as the Recon and others as the Bombers. Such as the (in)famous Soviet Naval Aviation Bomber attack regiments with their radar scouts out in front relaying the contact info back to the shooters. Kinda the same concept, right?