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Messages - Drawde

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61
Singleplayer and Coop / Re: After 2.26 - The way foward
« on: 18-05-2010, 20:05:35 »
A quick update: I've now finished most of the work on the vehicle data (land and air) and emplaced/armament weapons, and am now making a start on infantry weapons. I should hopefully have the 2.26-compatible minimod more or less complete within a week, but I'll still have to do a lot of testing before release just to check there's nothing "broken".

One thing I have noticed about 2.26 is that the aibehaviours.ai file (in mods\fh2\ai) is a HUGE step backwards from 2.25 - it looks like all Legion's improvements have been abandoned. ??? I'd highly recommend you replace it with either the original 2.25 file, or the one from my minimod v1.2 (which should be compatible with 2.26)


62
Singleplayer and Coop / Re: After 2.26 - The way foward
« on: 16-05-2010, 20:05:08 »
aww...100% redone.. But all that work!

Isn't it possible to just incorporate it.

Honestly, it's a lot less work starting from scratch with the new files than having to methodically compare the 2.26 and mod files to incorporate all the official changes + additions (of which there are a lot - many not AI-related).
Most of the work is just copying and pasting data from the old mod files into the new ones; it'll take a fraction of the time it took me to develop the minimod to its current state - the one thing that may cause problems is tracking down CTDs caused by typos in the files (especially when creating a new AI template for a vehicle which doesn't have one, copied from an existing .ai file - if you forget to rename all the aiTemplatePlugIn classes, you inevitably get a CTD) - this happened a lot when making the first version.

(edit: Just discovered that, if you run BF2 in windowed mode, it tells you exactly what line in what file caused the CTD. This should make things a -lot- quicker)

The finished 2.26-compatible minimod should include everything that the last release (1.2) did, plus a few more minor additions.

63
Singleplayer and Coop / Re: After 2.26 - The way foward
« on: 15-05-2010, 23:05:25 »
I was going to start a thread like this myself, but no need now! Here's what I've noticed so far, from playing or looking through the files - probably not a complete list, though. I wrote this before seeing your post, so it repeats a few things you've already mentioned.

- SP support for Gazala! (no Alam Halfa, though) - plus PHL is now available in the SP menu (previously co-op only)
- Bombers now work properly (and the Stuka strafes targets as well)
- Bots can aim AT guns (the ones I saw - 2pdr, 6pdr and Flak 88 - at least)
- Bots use mortars! - at least when they can see their targets; the German mortar was shelling the British lines on Siege of Tobruk.
- The Sherman .50 cal bug (which caused the Luttich loading CTD) is fixed.
- Satchel TKing has been fixed ("c4" behaviour is set to 0.0 in the AI behaviour file - which seems to have had quite a few other tweaks since 2.25)
- The train locomotive has an AI profile (still no SP maps with it in, though)

On a less positive note, the static Pak40 CTD is still there (at least this is an easy fix). Some other things haven't been fixed, such as the messed-up min/max ranges for tank weapons, and the kamikaze AT mine attacks; playing 2.26 has reminded me how bad the unmodded AI is, bots are much less aggressive and there's a lot of clueless/"headless chicken" behaviour, with opposing bots and vehicles running around or facing each other apparently trying to work out how to fire their weapons...

Still, it's good that most of the serious bugs and CTD causes have been addressed. AI modding should now mostly just be a case of tweaking + improving rather than fixing (hopefully).

Since the next version of my minimod will be 100% re-done using the 2.26 files, it should incorporate all of the 2.26 improvements such as Nebelwerfer use (haven't seen this yet) and plane behaviour. (Really not sure how the latter got "broken" in my mod, but since planes need much less modification now, it shouldn't happen again)

64
General Discussion / Re: Any more maps for FH2 singleplayer?
« on: 14-05-2010, 18:05:22 »
I definitely agree that it'd be best to keep the "unofficial" SP development rather than becoming part of the dev team (even if the latter is possible). But it'd be nice if some of the basic fixes + tweaks made by me and others could be incorporated (I see from the changelog that the bombs have been fixed).
Most of the changes in my minimod are purely AI-related (the artillery viewpoint is a notable exception), they only modify values which are used by the AI.

If the SP forum is made more obvious rather than being a subforum of Feedback, then (combined with the very helpful sticky thread for downloads posted by cannonfodder) it'll be easy for anyone interested in SP/co-op to find the relevant files. Maybe even a link to the forum on the FH2 downloads page when/if the various SP-related projects are complete + polished enough.

Seperate artillery objects for SP are definitely a good idea, and should be easy to do, but it'll require a "map tweak pack" to be released at the same time as the AI minimod. I'll have a look at this when I've got a 2.26-compatible version finished.

I suspect the current version (1.2) will run with FH2.26, but I wouldn't recommend it, as my fix for the bombers will have the opposite effect! (they'll be back to the unmodded 2.25 kamikaze dives). There are also a lot of 2.26 changes to vehicles + weapons that won't show up, as the minimod .tweak files are based on those from 2.25.

I'll probably download 2.26 tomorrow (when the download servers won't be quite so busy  ;D ) - will be interested to see whether Alam Halfa etc. actually do have SP support as suggested by the changelog, and whether some other bugs like the AT gun aiming and Pak40 wreck CTD have been fixed. (the changelog mentions "Pak40 wreck added" so the latter might be in; also some mention of PIAT fixes)

65
General Discussion / Re: Any more maps for FH2 singleplayer?
« on: 13-05-2010, 10:05:19 »
I was just about to post the same thing!
With the various SP fixes + addons, there are several playable maps with the Tiger - Goodwood 64 is now (nearly) CTD-free, and Op. Cobra and Totalise are now playable. (No King Tiger yet, though)

It may be a while (2-3 weeks) after the 2.26 patch before fully compatible SP files are ready, though. I suspect Remick04's new maps will work, but my AI fix minimod won't (and if it does, you'll miss out on most of the additions + fixes in 2.26)

66
Singleplayer and Coop / Re: AI tweak/fix minimod v1.2
« on: 13-05-2010, 10:05:37 »
I'll check out the Crete mortar bug later, I suspect that this (like the Cobra crash with the M3A1/Opel) is just a random CTD and very hard to fix.

AT bots ignoring infantry sounds like an innate/hard-coded problem with the BF2 AI (can't remember if vBF2 bots were like this). IMO I'd rather have them like this than unable to use AT charges at all, though - on maps without bazookas/fausts they're important in balancing tanks vs. infantry.

Bots (e.g aircraft, mortars, armoured cars) generally seem to be fixated on attacking tanks even when they're given a very low target priority vs. lighter targets.

I suspect the Bofors issue can be fixed by reverting the .tweak and objects.ai files to the original 2.25 ones. If not, it must be a side effect of being able to fire at ground targets (but why doesn't the Flak38 and Vierling have the same problem?)

I have to say that I'm NOT really looking forward to the 2.26 patch release, as basically the quickest way to update my minimod (and make sure that it incorporates all of the official patch's changes) is to completely re-make it from square one, using the 2.26 files. This should be much, much quicker than developing the mod from scratch (probably a week or two) but will not be much fun. Hopefully the final result should be worth it, as (from the changelog) there are a lot of changes + fixes relevant to SP even if not directly AI-related.

67
Singleplayer and Coop / Re: Sticky request
« on: 13-05-2010, 10:05:55 »
Great idea - should be very useful having all the SP-related files available in one obvious thread, some of them like Winterhilf's Falaise + Goodwood are very hard to find otherwise.

It'd probably be a good idea to host my AI minimod on the mediafire site as you've done with the other files, I'm not sure what the bandwidth capacity of my webspace is. There shouldn't be a problem with keeping the file updated, as when I update the minimod I'll upload a new file (and post a link here) rather than updating the existing one.

68
Singleplayer and Coop / Re: Mt. Olympus
« on: 10-05-2010, 21:05:57 »
I wonder if the "setUseNoPathfindingToGetToObject 1" line in objects.ai has something to do with this? Though most vehicles, as opposed to static objects, don't have this line (and I assume the default value is 0)

69
Singleplayer and Coop / Re: AI tweak/fix minimod v1.2
« on: 10-05-2010, 21:05:45 »
Definitely sounds like the problem is due to the archives from a previous version being in the FH2 folder. If you've installed the minimod by extracting the files + putting them into the FH2 archives, you don't need the mod archives or serverarchives.con.

I set up my minimod with seperate archives to make it easier to revert to unmodded FH2 for playing online - it's also easier (probably) to install for those who don't have much experience with altering archive files.

70
Ran Mt. Olympus 64 twice (with planes + train enabled) without a CTD, so whatever you've modified seems to have done the trick! :)

You've done a great job at setting up the AI for this map, it seems to play better than most of the "official" AI-supported maps do - bots seem to be able to cope with open ground tank battles, infantry combat in the town, villages + castle, and air combat equally well, and don't get fixated on one or two CPs (as on Luttich and Op. Aberdeen, for example), with plenty of fighting in all areas of the map.

Haven't had time to try out the other two maps yet, will have a look at these tomorrow. The only comment I can make so far is that neither Normandy map has a strategies.ai file - this isn't essential for Olympus as it's a "headon" map with both sides attacking - but Totalise, in particular, could do with a strategies file to let the Germans know when to defend and when to counterattack.

71
Singleplayer and Coop / Re: Mt. Olympus
« on: 09-05-2010, 20:05:08 »
This is very odd... With the aircraft disabled, the map runs fine - but with any aircraft (I've tried every possible combination) it will inevitably CTD sooner or later (usually sooner). But it looks like I'm the only one experiencing this issue.
I've tried reverting to the 1.2 AI minimod files (after disabling the train) and have tried removing my modified AI strategy files for the map, but still get a CTD every time.
What's even weirder is that none of the aircraft cause any CTD problems on other maps. I tried disabling all the AA guns instead of the aircraft, in case one of these was the actual cause of the crash, but no luck.

Looks like I'll just have to wait and see if the updated Mount Olympus works OK for me!

I also spotted the stuck bots in the Monastery ladder room, and there appears to be another upstairs spawn point, in a room accessed by stairs, where bots get stuck; this may just be a pathfinding/navmesh issue, as they should be able to use the stairs. 

BTW, please don't take all these error reports as criticism - you've done some amazing work in getting these maps working so well in SP. (Many of the "official" maps have just as many bugs and/or CTD issues)

72
Singleplayer and Coop / Re: AI tweak/fix minimod v1.2
« on: 09-05-2010, 19:05:07 »
I tried Supercharge...it plays a lot better, but when the Brits push the Germans back to the town, they camp at both gates in tanks. They bail after a bit, but then jump straight back into another tank. The occasional bot does go into the town, but are quickly killed.

Unfortunately the AI doesn't seem to "understand" that CPs inaccessible for tanks need to be attacked with infantry, so with CPs a long way apart (so bots on foot usually get killed en route) you just get tanks camping the entrance and not being able to do anything. Gazala 64 (with the pre-2.25 SP mod files) has the same problem with a couple of the British CPs.
Not sure if there's any way to get the AI to understand what to do in this situation. But I'm working on re-enabling AI use of transport passenger seats (now that they know how to get out - usually!) so this should help a bit.

73
Had a CTD as soon as I shot the Pak at Flak battery. Maybe I forgot to update something.

Have you installed the latest version of my AI minimod? That fixes the Pak40 destruction CTD.

74
Singleplayer and Coop / Re: Mt. Olympus
« on: 08-05-2010, 20:05:08 »
It looks like the aircraft are the source of the CTD in the 64-player version, for me at least. With all the planes disabled (add "rem" before the ObjectTemplate.setObjectTemplate lines) the map runs fine. With any of the aircraft enabled (I've tried disabling + enabling them in various combinations) it will inevitably CTD sooner or later.
Don't know why this is, since all the planes (and AA guns) in this map occur in other SP maps that don't CTD.

I temporarily removed the train to test if it was the cause of the CTD and I haven't had it crash on me yet, (though I haven’t done too much testing.)

The train definitely isn't the cause of the problem (for me at least), I've now fixed the CTD related to this vehicle (and seen bots use it) and the map will still CTD with the train disabled and aircraft enabled.
Have you made any modifications to the aircraft locations/setup on the map since you released it?

Hopefully a solution can be found sooner or later, as this really is one of the best SP maps for air combat!

One more aircraft-related comment, I've noticed that they frequently cause TKs on this map by mowing down bots crossing the runway! At the start of the game you often get 4-5 TKs each side from this. This is partly because so many bots spawn at the airfield CPs, far more than are needed to fly the planes. Disabling the planes seems to discourage bots from spawning there, so it looks like the vehicles at a CP/spawnpoint influence whether bots choose to spawn at them.

75
To add to Djinn's post - if any of the FH2 devs are reading this, I'd be happy for any of the fixes/changes/ideas in my AI minimod to be "stolen" for a future patch, if you don't want to use my modifications directly. I don't mind not being credited, I just don't want to have to start again from square one when 2.26 is released  ;D

The AT gun and bomber fix, and the various CTD fixes (Sherman top MG, Pak40, Compo B, Jeep) ought to be in at least, as they're straightforward bug fixes rather than tweaks or additions. The PIAT CTD fix needs more work though, as my temporary fix allows you to equip the weapon when out of ammo. (I'd be interested to know why the "switch when out of ammo" line causes CTDs when bots use it...)

The raised artillery viewpoint is definitely NOT suitable as an "official" addition though, as there's no way to make it only appear in SP/co-op games, and it will probably make artillery overpowered in MP, as it allows you to see further without using a spotter.

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