[1027] Fleet AI overrides manual orders

[duzzud]

1.0.2.7 fixed save corrupting crashes for me, but tweaks to fleet AI have adverse effects:

1. manually controlled fleets override orders, dropping the manually given order and persuing their own. For example, it is impossible to micro a fuel tanker to refuel a ship, because "Stop" or "Move" (to keep it close to the tanker) are simply ignored almost immediately.

2. Ships jump into combat eventhough they have no fuel. Worse still: they override an explicit refuel command!

3. Captured Hive-Carriers stay forever in "Jumping" mode and never jump.

[Erik Rutins]

Do you have any save files showing these issues please which you could share with us?

[duzzud]

I checked my saves and I hope this helps:

In the save the 8th Fleet is ordered to refuel at Nemban 1 Spaceport. Keep your eye on the carrier "Advocate of Karuse". It will abort its refuel order once the fleet decides to attack a craft, despite no having completed the order (switches to No mission, even though it still has no fuel).

To the glactic north west of Nemban 1 Spaceport you will find two hive carriers stuck for some time. I think after reloading the save they will jump eventually. I have no current save for their uncontrollable behavior, where they decide to target something and reset every order given. I will try to reproduce it.

I have noticed that ships now persue targets well outside their set engagement range, e.g. jumping well out of a system to some point in space.

Edit: Same game. Added save with perpetual "jumping" state of Hive Carrier. The "Crimson Vendetta" in the Murubi system doesn't jump until it runs out of fuel (over 1 year in game = over 6 minutes)
Edit #2: Same game. Added save on top of Hive Carrier not responding to manual attack commands and immediately resetting the target given with some arbitrary target which might be a jump away even though it is ordered to attack a particular target close by.

[Thineboot]

[1.0.6.4] and nothing has changed

You have a fleet that kills a space creature.
There is still no fleet order to collect carcasses and debris.
On rare occasions the fleet does it on automatic.
In most cases it has other things to do, like doing nothing or waiting for a fuel tanker aka doing nothing.
So you have to order each ship individually to pick them up.
Since there is always a bunch of small debris you switch manually to automatic - move to button, click, move to (A), click
Often leading ships decide to run off for another task the AI thinks is more appropriate = cancel given order and pursue AI tasks. Which is ok AFTER finishing a given MANUAL order. For Shakturi sake, can you just flag manual orders to be finished before taking over full control? Make use of this "Raid"-field if you can't add another value, make it negative so you know it's used for this purpose. What's the point of babysitting ships just to collect all those valuable stuff that's floating around, when you have to keep staring and clicking endless one debris after the other? A player knows what they want, just let the ships do what they are ordered before taking over control again.
I could add more for fleet ships, that skip orders just to escort their leading vessels without any need - the thread is gone, blasted into many little pieces that are waiting to get picked up.

I know, it doesn't sound very polite. But at some point it just nerves too much, sorry. It's known for ages, many have complained, and it's still there. It's more like a vabanque game, whether your orders will be followed or not. And when you think it's working and look away for a moment it bites you in the highest card in the deck, again.