SOP Changes

[rmeckman]

I've been playing Armored Brigade II for a bit now and am enjoying the stand-alone scenarios. However, one issue that is very confusing is how a unit's (or formation's) SOP changes while the game is in play. This doesn't seem to be discussed much in the documentation. After some testing, I've come up the following observations:

1. At game start, each unit has a "default" SOP that generally applies unless overridden using the Waypoint Editor. This "default" SOP is modified using the SOP button at the bottom of the screen
2. When the Waypoint Editor is used to modify the unit's SOP at a waypoint, the new SOP only applies while the unit is working on that specific waypoint. Once the unit starts working on the following waypoint, it immediately snaps back to the "default" SOP unless the player has also modified the SOP for that waypoint. For example, the player adds 4 waypoints for a unit but only changes the SOP at waypoint #2. The "default" SOP will apply to waypoints #1, #3, and #4. The modified SOP only applies while the unit is working on #2.
3. A major exception to observation 2 occurs when the Waypoint Editor is used the modify the SOP of the unit's last waypoint. In this case, the modified SOP at that waypoint becomes the new "default" waypoint. For example, the player adds 4 waypoints and only modifies the SOP at waypoint #4. The old "default" SOP is used for waypoints #1, #2, and #3. The modified SOP applies to #4 and also becomes the new default thereafter.

I think these apply to either units or formations although I haven't tested formations as much.

Others can chime in if I've missed something or got it wrong about the SOPs. These observations may be useful if other players are as confused as I am about what SOP applies when. I guess a lot of this complexity can be avoided by sticking only with the "default" SOPs and avoiding any SOP changes in the Waypoint Editor.