Passive AI?

[StuccoFresco]

I'm playing a lot of scenarios and it seems the AI just lacks any kind of initiative when it comes to self preservation: battle after battle I'm able to slowly encircle unit after unit with barely any attempt to stop my advance and trying to avoid their fate.

I've seen their orders in the Editor and it's usually "Attack Hex", and indeed the selected units do move forward toward their objective and if able they settle on top of it... and do nothing. I can just wait for them to get there and slowly encircle them; they won't react.

Now, I'm not blindly rushing forward with a couple recce units, it's usually a strong well supported pincer maneuver, but the encircled units never ever try to contest the maneuver.

In both my "Sixth Army Strikes" and "Serafimovich" scenarios I've been able to encircle an entire Panzerdivision without issues. With infantry. This... shouldn't happen.

What's the problem here? I've tried to read the editor guide to see if it's an issue of their scripts being too restrictive, but there is not much aside from the "attack" order, which is tied to a single hex. So it seems the enemy unit beelines that single hex and there's that. It clumps around it and gets encircled fairly easily.

Is there some way to script the AI to be more flexible?

[Timian]

Need to x-talk / May take me a day or two or three to answer your question. Don.

[bcgames]

I've tried to read the editor guide...

Is there some way to script the AI to be more flexible?

Yes. The scripting system is based on IF THEN statement creation. What IF THEN statements would you like to see added to improve the scripting engine?

[StuccoFresco]

I've tried to read the editor guide...

Is there some way to script the AI to be more flexible?

Yes. The scripting system is based on IF THEN statement creation. What IF THEN statements would you like to see added to improve the scripting engine?

"ATTACK AREA" would be incredibly useful, maybe using Setup Zones. Instead of hyperfocusing on a single hex, the triggered units would engage every enemy unit in the area.

This could be used in several ways:
1- First you issue an ATTACK HEX to move a Formation or better yet two Formations (Formation A with units with 0 or no Shock, and Formation B with 2+ Shock) to a specific hex that HAS to be guarded.
2- When the hex is garrisoned, an ATTACK AREA order can be issued to Formation B to attack units in the Setup Zone. Mobile units would be used for this order, while the more defensive units garrison the vital objective and Dig In.
3- an emergency ATTACK AREA order can be issued to Formation B if Formation A gets cut off from supplies (i believe I've seen a relevant trigger): in case the enemy surrounds the objective, offensive units will try to break the siege. The Setup Zone for this order would be a "corridor" between the objective and the supply source(s).

This would ensure three outcomes:
1- the vital objective is reached by all the relevant units: if the enemy reached it first, both formations fight to retake it
2- if the objective is reached, defensive units camp on it. Mobile units keep engaging the enemy all around to avoid an easy encirclement.
3- if an encirclement still happens, mobile units will react to it by trying to open a safe corridor


As it stands, the ATTACK HEX order is basically an "encircle me later" order, I'm afraid.

[bcgames]

Attack Area was an idea that emerged in BETA testing of OVERLORD. It was tabled given the complexity of adding it at the latest of dates and the rewrite of all the scenario scripts. All this for a game designed for human vs human competition.

Now on to your question.

Encircled is an IF in scripting…so what is the THEN? What does the manual provide any answers to options to the question?

IF THEN. What are the conditions you face? What are the set of responses? Get that idea and you are after AI scripting.

Else play a human to get the fun of WEGOWW2.

[bcgames]

I’ll post a how to script when I get a chance to do it right.

[StuccoFresco]

I believe know how to do it with the current method.

I select the relevant Org for "Trig Org", set a "Trigger Test" as LOC_Isolated or LOC_encircled, and set "Resp Org" to the same Org, then "Resp Task" as "MOVE_ATTACK" in an hex in the rearguard.

If I want to get fancy, I can then give them another order with "Trigger Test" their presence on the target hex of the previous script, and then give them the order to counterattack the original objective when their readiness has recovered enough (through "Trigger Test" using "READINESS 60" or whatever).

This would artificially create a withdrawal and counterattack system indeed, but the main problem stays: AI units pile up in a single hex and just get encircled again because it doesn't really react to my encirclements. Selecting any given hex as target for any Response makes the AI clump up on top of it or immediately adjacent, and the AI doesn't seem reactive enough to the players' moves.

If having an Area as a target instead of a single hex is too much of a problem with the current system, maybe a possible solution would be to increase AI's aggressiveness parameters or whatnot? Something that encourages it to contest player actions?

[Timian]

Have you tried "AI Bonuses"? I'm thinking about the "+" radio button. Don.

[StuccoFresco]

You mean this (from the manual)?

AI BONUS
Here you can choose to give the AI a bonus.
+ bonus means that the AI has unlimited supplies and is not affected by Fog
of War. Therefore, if Fog of War is on, you will not be able to see the AI’s units,
but the AI will be able to see your units.
- bonus means that the AI starts with no supplies and receives no supplies.
Neither type of AI bonus influences combat results.

I don't see how useful it would be in this case.