Matrix Games Forums

I know playing Armored Brigade is a fine dance between macro and micro managing units and that's fine - nothing's quite as fun as getting a tank into a good keyhole position to ambush the enemy from.

However, the one place I do not want to have to micro manage any units is telling them to reverse when they're under fire. Is there anything that is going to be done with AB2 to fix this? Can it be set that when units are given a defense order that reversing when under fire is just a part of their SOP? It's just such a waste to see units get killed when you issue the reverse order and it doesn't execute in time.

The current workaround in AB2 is to use a so-called "easy mode" that reduces the delay by 90%, effectively eliminating it or limiting it to a manageable few seconds.

The long-term solution, which we are still working on, involves TacAI stances. Combined with orders, these should result in different behaviors. However, this is quite tricky to code, primarily because different players have varying preferences regarding exactly how a unit should behave.

I've said this a few times before, Steel Beasts does the best job of stances/ROEs/SOPs of any wargame I have played. And the behaviors of the units and the "tacAI" is a beautiful thing to watch sometimes. The combination of reaction to incoming fire, reaction to casualties, location, spotted units, etc. all wrapped up in combinations of stances and SOPs is a great tool. It does require some good planning of movement and expected enemy locations, but it lets to manage the chaos of enemy contact with realistic decision-making and own-units' reactions. You can also inhibit intervention through comms nets that lets you feel the frustration of a real commander that you screwed up and there's not a damned thing you can do but watch you men die.