Smarter Opponent AI and Bugfix Mod
Posted: Thu Nov 28, 2024 2:18 pm
This is a mod that alters the opponent AI in Close Combat 3, and potentially improves it. It’s an early version. I intend to release major updates approximately once a year.
Requirements:
- A legal copy of Close Combat 3 or Cross of Iron from GOG or Steam. I haven’t tested the original CD version but its “full install” might work… maybe.
- You need to place all the ZIP’s contents including CC3Mod.exe in the same folder as the CC3 executable for your version of the game (that might be CC3.exe or cce.exe for Cross of Iron) or set the current directory accordingly. The original executable must not have been renamed since it is opened by CC3Mod.exe.
Download link: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/oz71bt08 ... cfgwi&dl=0
You need to run CC3Mod.exe as described above to launch the mod. Yeah it’s scary. Apply Occam’s Razor though: I am likely not posting something like this in a niche game community to infect you with malware. And nobody can change the AI behavior in this game without a custom executable.
Features:
- Is compatible with recent Close Combat 3 and Cross of Iron releases.
- The AI requisition logic has been somewhat improved.
- The AI is A LOT better at defending.
- The AI has a currently screwy but sometimes passable attack strategy which means you might actually be pressed a bit.
- Has a rewritten renderer based on SDL. It is more likely to work properly with modern Windows.
- Some crashes in the original have been solved although there’s some rare ones still.
Limitations and future improvements:
- The AI was tweaked on the original CC. It works in CoI as well but is simply somewhat worse there because some values are hand picked for the original game.
- The AI needs to learn how to use mortars, flamethrowers, MGs on offense, and some other special unit types.
- The attack logic needs a lot of work still, e.g. it struggles against mortars.
- The AI uses the old pathfinding currently, which means it will get stuck in things and might not find its way on the Stalingrad maps.
- The old refit logic is used which tends to lead to over-investment into vehicles when more infantry is needed in campaigns.
- I’ve disabled multiplayer, the bootcamp, and the battle maker, because those are not the focus of the mod and would take me a lot more effort to support.
- The videos don’t work for now.
- There are some graphics bugs remaining that I hope to sort out the coming year.
- The zoom in mode has been disabled due to most of the graphics bugs being there.
- I intend to get rid of all ancient dependencies that remain by replacing them with modern libraries, like DirectSound.
If you find the original AI difficult and the game works well for you, the mod is not for you. If you on the other hand place your troops, go AFK, and found that the opponent has lost the game while you were doing your dishes, this mod is for you. Or, if you purchased CC3 on Steam but can’t play it due to crashes, this mod is also worth trying.
I don’t want to exaggerate how good the opponent is. But the very fact it behaves differently to before should feel fresh for a few hours before you figure out how to beat it. There’s also the potential for future improvements.
Suggested settings:
- Play with the 2 min victory timer after capturing all locations.
- Don’t put a too short overall time limit, the opponent will likely take at least 20 minutes to clear a map even if you’re AFK. It will be stuck on the two last Stalingrad maps.
- The opponent AI was designed for fog of war. It can handle it but doesn’t really need the full vision settings, dealing with and enacting surprises in the fog of war is of course the core of the game.
- Always disable the Act on own initiative for both sides because that setting is basically like “commit suicide at random”, in a game where the loss of a single unit iss very noticeable.
- Restrict yourself from using mortars for now because the opponent won’t use them and haven’t been taught how to survive them.
As you know, there’s a terrible war going on in the region that this game covers. The game is a historical document and reflects the era it was made, i.e. the late 1990s. Don’t apply it to recent events. Slava ukraini!
Requirements:
- A legal copy of Close Combat 3 or Cross of Iron from GOG or Steam. I haven’t tested the original CD version but its “full install” might work… maybe.
- You need to place all the ZIP’s contents including CC3Mod.exe in the same folder as the CC3 executable for your version of the game (that might be CC3.exe or cce.exe for Cross of Iron) or set the current directory accordingly. The original executable must not have been renamed since it is opened by CC3Mod.exe.
Download link: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/oz71bt08 ... cfgwi&dl=0
You need to run CC3Mod.exe as described above to launch the mod. Yeah it’s scary. Apply Occam’s Razor though: I am likely not posting something like this in a niche game community to infect you with malware. And nobody can change the AI behavior in this game without a custom executable.
Features:
- Is compatible with recent Close Combat 3 and Cross of Iron releases.
- The AI requisition logic has been somewhat improved.
- The AI is A LOT better at defending.
- The AI has a currently screwy but sometimes passable attack strategy which means you might actually be pressed a bit.
- Has a rewritten renderer based on SDL. It is more likely to work properly with modern Windows.
- Some crashes in the original have been solved although there’s some rare ones still.
Limitations and future improvements:
- The AI was tweaked on the original CC. It works in CoI as well but is simply somewhat worse there because some values are hand picked for the original game.
- The AI needs to learn how to use mortars, flamethrowers, MGs on offense, and some other special unit types.
- The attack logic needs a lot of work still, e.g. it struggles against mortars.
- The AI uses the old pathfinding currently, which means it will get stuck in things and might not find its way on the Stalingrad maps.
- The old refit logic is used which tends to lead to over-investment into vehicles when more infantry is needed in campaigns.
- I’ve disabled multiplayer, the bootcamp, and the battle maker, because those are not the focus of the mod and would take me a lot more effort to support.
- The videos don’t work for now.
- There are some graphics bugs remaining that I hope to sort out the coming year.
- The zoom in mode has been disabled due to most of the graphics bugs being there.
- I intend to get rid of all ancient dependencies that remain by replacing them with modern libraries, like DirectSound.
If you find the original AI difficult and the game works well for you, the mod is not for you. If you on the other hand place your troops, go AFK, and found that the opponent has lost the game while you were doing your dishes, this mod is for you. Or, if you purchased CC3 on Steam but can’t play it due to crashes, this mod is also worth trying.
I don’t want to exaggerate how good the opponent is. But the very fact it behaves differently to before should feel fresh for a few hours before you figure out how to beat it. There’s also the potential for future improvements.
Suggested settings:
- Play with the 2 min victory timer after capturing all locations.
- Don’t put a too short overall time limit, the opponent will likely take at least 20 minutes to clear a map even if you’re AFK. It will be stuck on the two last Stalingrad maps.
- The opponent AI was designed for fog of war. It can handle it but doesn’t really need the full vision settings, dealing with and enacting surprises in the fog of war is of course the core of the game.
- Always disable the Act on own initiative for both sides because that setting is basically like “commit suicide at random”, in a game where the loss of a single unit iss very noticeable.
- Restrict yourself from using mortars for now because the opponent won’t use them and haven’t been taught how to survive them.
As you know, there’s a terrible war going on in the region that this game covers. The game is a historical document and reflects the era it was made, i.e. the late 1990s. Don’t apply it to recent events. Slava ukraini!