ARMA II Thread

[Dowly]

Originally Posted by Skybird

Yes. Ironically, to me it seems that with every incarnation of their series, Flashpoint, ArmA, ArmA2, the AI dramatically dropped. It was far from flawless and well-done in Flashpoint, but still better than in ArmA 1+2.

Actually, this is a pretty good point. The AI in Flashpoint wasn't the sharpest one, but it also didn't feel like you were fighting robots. Arma 1 and arma 2 has the "run-stop-turn-run" AI. They really effed up somewhere.

[Fincuan]

The same run-and-stop behaviour is found in OFP too. Its AI just felt good because it was something completely new. The Arma2 AI is vastly improved over its predecessors, but still nothing new, just an evolution.

[Dowly]

^ Well, yes and no. It's not long ago that I went back and played OFP:R and it very much felt better tbh.

As for the the AI improvements, I'd have to say that stock AI in arma 2 is worse than in A1. Why? Because the grid is now smaller, the AI makes changes to it's path much more frequently and most of the time, the change is: Stop-turn-run-stop-turn-run back.

The various AI mods naturally fix this, but still, OFP AI was much more "scary" imho than A1/A2 AI.

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by Fincuan

The same run-and-stop behaviour is found in OFP too. Its AI just felt good because it was something completely new. The Arma2 AI is vastly improved over its predecessors, but still nothing new, just an evolution.

If this AI in ArmA2 is considered to be an improvement over it'S predecessors, then I hope I will be far, far away once they make a quantum leap.

The AI never was flawless, it had problem from all beginning on. But in Flashpoint it was less often a showstopper in SP than it was in ArmA, and in ArmA it was worse but still not as bad as in ArmA2. In ArmA2, I would rate it not just as buggy, but as a complete failure, both enemy and friendly AI. A truly nerving, truly frustrating 100% showstopper for single players, imo. That's why I deinstalled it now. I did not need enemies and their AI to mess up any mission I had set up - for messing up the mission, my own squad already proved to be sufficient. Not to mention new issues I have never seen in the earlier titles, like for example getting sightings reported from locations on the other side of a hill or oiver ridiculous distances, and AI units x-raying right through the hills. On max realism settings. And vehicles no longer can drive even on a wide olpen straight road, but start to zig zag from the woods on the one side of the road into the other side of the road - not even the steering AI in non combat situations works anymore.

Sorry, that is no improved AI to me, but two steps backward and a complete disaster, and a very miserable product quality. For SP at least.

They should delete all SP content in ArmA2 and print a red bar "MP only" on the cover and sell it exclusively as an online game. That would be fair deal with their customers, then.

Anyhow - [taking a deep breath] - my questions above still are unanswered.

[Fincuan]

One of the few specific issues you described, telepathic sighting reports, have been there since OFP. Yes it sucks that it hasn't been fixed, but it's not something new that came with Arma2. They don't really see through hills, but it's very obvious that especially with lots of forest and bushes around the AI sees things cresting a hill long before a human would. They do hear extremely well, and the groups also communicate their sightings to their side a lot more efficiently than before. Ie. you are seen by one, and suddenly the whole world knows your exact location.

What comes to the other issues, I haven't seen that bad problems with the AI since Arma2 v1.0. Sure the AI isn't even remotely comparable to real humans, which is why I avoid SP as much as possible, but it isn't certainly a showstopper either. At least not when compared to the previous versions. My biggest problem with it is the lack of general improvement along the way. Some aspects have improved a lot, for example finding cover, operating in built-up areas, operating in pairs and small patrols, flanking quite agressively. In other areas there's frustratingly little improvement, like responding to ambushes and sniper attacks. Mods and babysitting done by the mission creator help to a certain extent, but for example the issues with hyper-sensitive senses(or sometimes hyper-dull) haven't quite been solved yet.

Oh, and they do drive on roads quite well if the combat mode is "safe". Any combat mode towards more danger, and they don't like roads that much. Also one easy way to make the AI aware of what's going on around the map and react to it, without resorting to mods or scripting, is to use "GUARD" waypoints and triggers. If enemies are spotted within such a trigger any groups with such a waypoint will proceed to the location and hunt down the enemy for a bit, with the first placed trigger having the highest priority and so on. They'll then return to their waypoint for another "tasking".

What comes to your issue with the A1 missions, they should work by just dropping them to the correct folder(missions or mpmissions), provided you're running all the necessary addons. If you only have the necessary island but not the units you will still see the mission in the listing, but you can't play or edit it.

[Skybird]

It seems then that you are palying a completely different ArmA2 than the one I was trying (Combined Operations default, latest patch). Neither did vehicles stay on road even in safe conditions, nor is it just forests the AI is looking (or listening, it does not matter for the final effect is what counts) through, but massive hills with several dozens meters in height difference. It does not help that own squad ignores commands at random, and that ordering that idiot in my team to go stealth, lay down and hold fire may cause him to chnage sdtance from kneeling to stand uporight and open fire at a target on the other side of the village.

I don'T know what version and mods you are playing, but what you say is not in congruence with what I saw in ArmA2CO default witgh latest patch.

Nor was it that worse in ArmA which i have gone back to now (although it is not perfect and also creates many opportunities for cursing, but you can work around most issues), and OF.

However, everyone as he pleases. The old ArmA1 missions I spoke of, seem to be lost for not being compatible with the new patch standard or with ACE or both, for I have not used unit mods, just a sound mod in my earlier ArmA1. For Avgani 1.5 I started to redo the design, and found the map to have dramatically changed from version 1.1 I was using before, so maybe it even makes sense. Why United Sarani missions do not get recognised with ACE, I do not see. But okay. There is always SBP to fall back to.

[CCIP]

Any of you still active with this? I finally got this running and been playing (i.e. learning to suck a bit less than previously) with a couple of friends. However I'd always be happy to play with more people

[Castout]

Im awaiting my Reinforcement pack to arrive. I'll be back into the game then I guess. But people who are playing on the servers have been dwindling lately i think. Most are empty most of the time.