Is the A.I. stupid or what ?

[MaddogK]

<S>
Permission to come aboard sirs ?

Hello all,
First post here and thought I'd say hello. Just installed SHIV a week ago and running 1.5 with GFO, and think I've gotten all of 8 hours of sleep all week as I'm totally hooked. I've got flashbacks of SS2 but better graphics, but somehow am confused about the A.I. My second mission in my career (Tambor boat) puts me in a patrol in the NW corner if the south china sea where I spot a slow moving convoy of medium tankers and freighters protected by 4 destroyers, so I pop up the scope about 5 miles out to draw in the destroyers (which works) then drop down below the layer and engage silent running and head for the fleet. I pop up again 1000 yards abreast of the convoy, let loose a salvo taking out the 3 lead ships which brings the destroyers back at flank speed. I drop back down below the layer and shadow the convoy for another hour and notice the destroyers head back out to resume the search from before the first sinking, and again pop up to take 2 more kills (again drawing the destroyers back) and go deep again. Like clockwork, an hour later the destroyers head back to the initial search area, and as before I take a couple more tankers.

Am kinda wondering if these A.I destroyers are acting normally for SH4, or perhaps they're 'green' being so early in the war.

Also wondering if there is a greenlight mod for the GFO addon.

Great site BTW.

[Bothersome]

Welcome aboard mate.

The DDs are just running a script that tells them what to do for a giving status. The scripts try to emulate intelligence but they're not quite there yet. They also have varying handicaps from level 1 to 5. The top guys can be pretty persistent. You'll get some of those later.

Just try to have fun and let imagination run with it.

[Ducimus]

Is the A.I. stupid or what ?

Depends on the mod. The AI can be as smart or as dumb as you'd like really.

[tater]

The campaign in stock is totally FUBAR. Many escorts are set to be bone stupid. Play either TMO (with the TMO campaign) or RSRDC, or don't bother, frankly.

[Ducimus]

I'm sure the AI settings in the other mods are fine too. GFO, perhaps not. GFO is "Game Fixes Only". I don't think webster would have wrenched with the AI under that theme for a mod, so its probably stock. In which case, yes, the AI is incredibly stupid. On the other hand, he could have, but was very conservative with his adjustments. I really don't know.

[tater]

Pretty funny since IMHO the campaign is the most broken thing about "stock." :D

[MaddogK]

Ok, thanks for the info. I'll go thru the GFO docs to see what Webster may/may not have done to the A.I. and kick the realism up a bit more when I'm back in port (it's 70 ish now) and play a few more battles. I'd prefer to play at least 1 stock campaign before I go mod happy, and being mid-December I think it's time to head to Java for a reload to see what the A.I. does down there before I commit to another mod install.

Anyone know if RSRDC will install over GFO ? A few items I've removed from GFO (that close-up sonar mod and the red radar scope) but I'd hate to lose the entire package.

[Armistead]

Check the RSRD thread, probably a version for it or most likely just run the stock version over GFO.

[MaddogK]

Check the RSRD thread, probably a version for it or most likely just run the stock version over GFO.

yup, did that and couldn't find ver 4.01 that GFO referred to in it's docs, so I installed the current RSRDC version, current patch, and the GFO patch for RSRDC ver 4.01 and all seems to work. This time 'Capn' Crunch' drew Thresher and she's underway. I'm thinking it's time to throw on a weathered skin.

Thanks for the advice guys.

[Armistead]

Just remember RSRD is historic, traffic is cut down some, but convoys are realistic. I seldom go to the patrol zones, but if you do hang around a few days after the star grays out, seems to help.

[tater]

Just remember RSRD is historic, traffic is cut down some, but convoys are realistic. I seldom go to the patrol zones, but if you do hang around a few days after the star grays out, seems to help.

"Seems to" being the important bit. The patrols are unrelated to the traffic—they have only broad date ranges when they could occur. You RTB, and XX days later you are sent out. The actual date you leave, and the travel time to the patrol area are entirely unpredictable—so you're seeing a pattern that is not there. Really.

[MaddogK]

Just thought I'd let you know- the current RSRDC campaign did exactly the same thing last night as the A.I. did in my first post. Guess it's a 'feature' I'll have to exploit.

:yeah:

[I'm goin' down]

Ducimus is subtley luring you into TMO. When you do, you will probably think about posting a comment to this is effect,

Is the AI smart or what?

(In RFB the dds are tenacious if they locate your boat. Once difference in TMO is that they locate your boat more frequently and at great distances.)

[Armistead]

You also have to understand early war you can get by with things. Also, RSRD is a campaign mod, not a gameplay mod, so it doesn't mess with the AI like TMO would. Still, beware, RSRD doe's add some mean ships and he probably adjusted some settings. However, as stated the stock AI is about a waste of time, load TMO and run RSRD with it.

You'll no longer fight escorts with your DG.
Merchants are better fighters with TMO than the DD's were in stock.
Planes will do you in.
You'll find it hard to attack a convoy, make one mistake and you'll have plenty to deal with.

You can realistic play with TMO or arcade play or stock.

[Thrair]

Yah, if you want tough AI, try TMO. But be wary, they are nasty.

In a bit of a bad mood with the game myself, atm. But that's more from my own mistakes than anything else. But still, be careful with TMO. Escorts are much more tenacious than in stock. Especially in late war. :x

I'm probably doing something wrong, but late war I can't get anywhere near convoys or task forces unless there's a heavy storm. One reason I kind of prefer early war play.