EXTREMELY wierd AI behavior. Glitch?

[CaptainMattJ.]

I finally found a convoy with no escorts, but it turns out that this one is armed with deck guns. so i get really banged up on the surface, so i dive before i die cause i have 5% hull integrity (:rotfl2:) and so i sank three ships and damaged another and i have 1 torp left. well on the mini map i see one thats not moving, so i assume its damaged. i come up and fire my stern torpedo. turns out she wasnt damaged before the torp. so im waiting for the rest of the convoy to move along so i can surface and finish her. so i tc, and they arent going away.

this is where it get REALLY weird. the ENTIRE convoy comes back to the disabled ship, and circles it. There have been like 5 merchants who have deliberately sailed RIGHT on top of my position, like theyre trying to DC me or something. and theyre just circling me over and over.

Its like the AI laid a trap. the ship who wasnt moving was the bait then they come back and wait for me to surface so they can gun me down

has ANY1 ever seen this before?

[THE_MASK]

No but i like it :O:

[IanC]

has ANY1 ever seen this before?

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showpost.php?p=1433205&postcount=13

[CaptainMattJ.]

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showpost.php?p=1433205&postcount=13

its just the wierdest s**t though.

could u give me the link to that thread though?

[Nisgeis]

could u give me the link to that thread though?

Click on the top right hand corner, where it says 'Thread: Blah blah blah'

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?p=1433205#post1433205

[CaptainMattJ.]

Update:
THe convoy has just completely stopped.......for no reason. the damaged one is still kicking but the rest have just stopped their engines entirely.

[IanC]

Update:
THe convoy has just completely stopped.......for no reason. the damaged one is still kicking but the rest have just stopped their engines entirely.

Very crafty convoy :hmmm:... they're trying to fake you out, using the old 'cut engines' trick. They're just waiting for you to surface then you'll have 20 merchants bearing down on you, don't fall for it!

[GoldenRivet]

actually, they're not.

this is a glitch and goes against everything convoy tactics stands for.

[IanC]

actually, they're not.

this is a glitch and goes against everything convoy tactics stands for.

GR... :har:
I was trying to make a joke...

[CaptainMattJ.]

actually, they were. they were waiting for me.....like ever seen saving private ryan? remember when the guy got shot by a sniper. all the other guys were lying in wait until they caught where the sniper was. well its like that, cept they baited the sniper, and the sniper didnt bait them. see they were using the damaged ship as BAIT! then when id come up theyd al show theyre sharp teeth (deck guns) and waste awaythe last 5% of my hull integrity. THE FUNNY THING IS! i did surface AND i sunk the damaged ship and slipped under before they could get a shot to hit me heheheheheheh.

It autosaved like 20 seconds after i surfaced and by that itme i had already fireda few shots at it so it autosaved RIGHT at they started firing their guns.

i had to keep reloading and finding new way to avoid them and eventually slip under. i finally found a good one. full back hard to port and if i went full back id start to sink for osme reason. so i did that. fired off the last shots to kill his health then ran as fast as i could into the hatch and ordered periscope depth at flank speed. still got hit though :P. but it did 3% hull damage.

so right now im like 2% hull integrity back to lorient. those two are a DANGEROUS mix. cause getting OUT of lorient is a navigational nightmare. i ALWAYs scrape the dam pen walls or SOMETHING when i leave. Thank god you dont have to dock your boat yourself. Ughhh.

[Will-Rommel]

:har:

That post really made my day (night actually) before going to work.

[IanC]

SH5
You don't go after the convoy, the convoy goes after you! :eek:

[E.Luden]

good thing that your chief stocked up on plenty of BdU issue super glue, otherwise your boat would have fallen apart

[CaptainMattJ.]

good thing that your chief stocked up on plenty of BdU issue super glue, otherwise your boat would have fallen apart

naw, we didnt have any glue, so we used scotch tape.

[Frumpkis]

I remember seeing this a few times in early versions of SH4 (before final patch and mods), where one or more merchants suddenly start acting like escorts. So it could be a legacy bug in the code rearing its head again.

I'm no expert (maybe Ducimus or one of the others can chime in here)... but it might have something to do with the way the "AI leader" position shifts to another ship when the leader is sunk. Somehow merchant AI gets shifted to escort AI, and one or more of them will start listening for your position, and doing simulated depth charge runs over you. Funny to watch on surface cam, but not that much fun if you're trying to polish off a slow sinker.

The behavior hasn't shown up again in my modded SH4, so either the final patch or the modded AI scripts fixed it. Maybe the SH5 modders can identify and fix this, or maybe it gets fixed with any major overwrite of the AI.

[Aufklarer]

I finally found a convoy with no escorts, but it turns out that this one is armed with deck guns. so i get really banged up on the surface, so i dive before i die cause i have 5% hull integrity (:rotfl2:) and so i sank three ships and damaged another and i have 1 torp left. well on the mini map i see one thats not moving, so i assume its damaged. i come up and fire my stern torpedo. turns out she wasnt damaged before the torp. so im waiting for the rest of the convoy to move along so i can surface and finish her. so i tc, and they arent going away.

this is where it get REALLY weird. the ENTIRE convoy comes back to the disabled ship, and circles it. There have been like 5 merchants who have deliberately sailed RIGHT on top of my position, like theyre trying to DC me or something. and theyre just circling me over and over.

Its like the AI laid a trap. the ship who wasnt moving was the bait then they come back and wait for me to surface so they can gun me down

has ANY1 ever seen this before?


Historically there were merchant ships fitted out specifically to deal with submarines. These were not destroyers by any means but they did have depth charge capability and guns mounted (more than destroyers were fitted with) on board that were concealed from view. The idea being to lure enemy submarines to surface, and then engage with their own weapons.

These ships were known as 'Q' Ships! they were wolves in sheeps clothing so to speak.

In a total of 150 engagements, British Q-ships destroyed 14 U-boats and damaged 60, at a cost of 27 Q-ships lost out of 200. Q-ships were responsible for about 10% of all U-boats sunk, ranking them well below the use of ordinary minefields in effectiveness.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/HMS_Tamarisk.jpg (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/HMS_Tamarisk.jpg)

'Q' Ship The HMS Tamarisk

[CaptainMattJ.]

ok, but these were definitely not Q ships, because thy only had 1-2 deck guns and no depth charges.

[Frumpkis]

ok, but these were definitely not Q ships, because thy only had 1-2 deck guns and no depth charges.

It would have been fun if actual Q ships were in the game, but if they were running simulated depth charge attacks over your position, it's a pretty clear sign that the AI has "flipped" from merchant to escort.

[Aufklarer]

I dont think that these were built into the game, and it does seem as if the AI has gone a bit mad. Treating them as if they were 'Q' Ships would seem the best solution. Also I think its not actually a bad thing, The AI throwing a curve ball at you keeps you on your toes, having them react in a different way to what you expect can add an element of suprise and fun to the game.

Who is to say that when briefed about their convoy crossing the ships captains were told "Ok guys if we come under UBoat attack i want everyone to cut engines and the 'Q' Ships go see if you can coax that sub to surface!" New tactics were implemented all the time by both sides in the war, constantly trying to remain one step ahead of each other.

The fact that the merchants seem to circle your position indicates that they had some sort of detection equipment, which isnt strictly accurate but aslong as the game dosnt throw that out everytime then i would embrace it with open arms, an unpredictable enemy AI is what we always wanted!

[Lonecrow]

Yeah Iv'e had merchants with the big guns almost sink me !!

[IanC]

I dont think that these were built into the game, and it does seem as if the AI has gone a bit mad. Treating them as if they were 'Q' Ships would seem the best solution. Also I think its not actually a bad thing, The AI throwing a curve ball at you keeps you on your toes, having them react in a different way to what you expect can add an element of suprise and fun to the game.


Just pretend that this horrible AI bug is simply like Q-ships? Umm... no. Not even close.
Imagination and denial can take us only so far, this is asking a little too much :lol:

[Aufklarer]

I assume this isnt happening repeatedly? I havnt had it happen even once so your either unlucky or something is corrupted. But untill its fixed by modders you have two options: deal with it or stop playing?

Its no game breaker in my eyes.

[TheDarkWraith]

if you want random and intelligent AI, take a look at this:
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showpost.php?p=1436291&postcount=1

Convoys will be much harder now and airplanes will take you out:DL