Author Topic: About P51DRockets  (Read 3600 times)

Offline cannonfodder

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Re: About P51DRockets
« Reply #30 on: 08-08-2010, 08:08:28 »
Also bots dont get punished for flying outside the combat area...
Do you know how the bot pilots navigate?

Maybe 5-10 seconds after the Typhoon disappears from view (when watching it from the airfield), you'll get the message 'Bot X is no more', so they must be committing suicide. But they usually only do that if they're stuck or "off-the-mesh"... :-\

Offline Devilman

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Re: About P51DRockets
« Reply #31 on: 08-08-2010, 08:08:03 »
There is no "mesh" for air vehicles
I know i can chase a bot into the combat area,which the bot enters first,i will die after the usual 10 seconds,but the bot continues flying
If in a 2 seater as gunner,and going into the combat area,the bot will turn back into the map,when recieving the out of map message,but only with a human gunner

As for how bots navigate,not sure but they generally fly random paths,until an enemy comes into one of its weapons range,the straighten up to fly over (if enemy is on land) or fly behind if an air vehicle

Clivewill would know more about this though

Offline cannonfodder

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Re: About P51DRockets
« Reply #32 on: 08-08-2010, 10:08:27 »
Yeah what I meant was, maybe they're killing themselves because they've flown too far away from their reference point(s), much like earthbound bots do when they aren't on the navmesh.

There'd have to be a limit to how far away from the map they're allowed to fly, otherwise they'd be chasing each other away from the map area all the time... :-\

Offline Devilman

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Re: About P51DRockets
« Reply #33 on: 08-08-2010, 11:08:03 »
earthbound bots die,if their spawnpoint is not on the navmesh
bots in vehicles wont drive off the navmesh
bots on foot wont walk off the navmesh

i have seen bots fly miles away from the edge of the combat area

are the bots suiciding,as they do when not on the navmesh,or are they just crashing

Offline djinn

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Re: About P51DRockets
« Reply #34 on: 08-08-2010, 11:08:45 »
I'm sure bots get penalized. Ive seen planes drop from the sky in practically all maps that have them. Esp. Stukas

And tanks in Luttich from allied side.

@remick
Not sure about if it was when i used the NA 25pdr or after I changed to the updated bot normandy one. I do note that @ least for Drawde's version, bots are less likely to man normandy versions than NA ones. How they fire though, I think is identical


Offline Remick04

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Re: About P51DRockets
« Reply #35 on: 08-08-2010, 22:08:02 »
The issue on Totalize isn't that they leave the 'combat area' they leave the map entirely. The AerialHieghtMap is essentially a 2d image that maps the topography of the terrain and any buildings on the map, so that AI pilots are not crashing into the ground or tall buildings. It still happens occasionally but no more often than Human pilots I'd say. It covers the entire map, not just the combat area, but does not cover the surrounding terrain beyond the borders of the map. So bots flying off the map I'd assume get lost, some by chance turning correctly and getting back on the map, and others flying straight until the 'out of bounds' timer killers them. I tried expanding the dimensions of the AerialHeightMap but it just seemed to screw up the file. It's possible I did it wrong, but with my limited knowledge of how BF2 works, I'd imagine there isn't a way to expand the dimensions of the heightmap, without also having to expand the dimensions of the map itself. So I'm just going to move the start positions of the allied planes, it’s significantly less work.

I placed some 'AIonly' spawnpoints next to the 25pdr guns on totalize with 'enter on spawn' checked, so any bots spawning their will instantly enter the guns for the sake of testing. If I use the NA 25pdr the guns work fine firing on targets at the factory. (All other flags seem to be out of range, I could fix this but it may cause gameplay balancing issues.) If I use the Normandy 25pdr_ mkiv they don't seem to fire. I see them looking at targets, but the barrel seems to be aimed to low, and they never shoot. The nebelwerfer also seems to be firing shallow of its target, but it is constantly firing.

Offline djinn

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Re: About P51DRockets
« Reply #36 on: 08-08-2010, 23:08:26 »
Drawde got that fixed in the last mod. You might want to check that out. In Beta 1.3B, the nebelwerfer fired short. But in Beta 1.3C, i.e the current one, it fires accurately....

If you are going to reposition planes create spawn AI-only points near vehicles, you might want to consider making planes in maps like Alam Halfa and especially Crete parallel too, since planes sometimes crash into each other on take off.

For spawn points, it might be worth noting mgs at the 88 ridge on Supercharge never getting used i.e the main bunker, the PAK38 at the Sidi Abd el Rahman and that at El Daba (i.e the one in the town facing Gazal Stn).

Frankly, there are actually alot of tactically important vehicles that never get used due to bots never 'seeing' them, like the PAK38s on Sidi Rezegh or the mg positions at Magazin 19.Regimentgefeschistand i.e the underground two story building. (I highly recommend also putting the flag cap area solely underground to make it only infantry cap-pable.)


The Howitzer is pretty innacurate in Totalize and I don't think it will damage gameplay too much if it could fire further than the station. Actually I think it would add alot to cinematics :-)

Small other note, Drawde made vehicle positions for Mobile vehicles like tanks etc such that bots could/would enter and exit, while those for static guns were made fixed so the bots formed static defensive lines with them.... Usually external positions had less preference, making bots more likely to bail from them than driver and mg positions on vehicles. Drawde also changed their destruction time to make it the same as in Conquest i.e Vehicles blow up and remain for a bit longer than they used to in SP, but as long as in CQ, and I think partly damaged vehicles lasted longer before losing their health and blowing up.

Drawde also tried to put many vehicles back from Conquest esp. in El Alamein since it was last coded as SP in 2.0 and so had not been updated. The same fact may exists for other maps. For the AT riflemen though, if it is not possible to get them firing at range in the same fashion as MG gunners, I'd reluctantly say, restore them to stand-firing... But it would once again make PZIIs and light vehicles AT-rifle fodder.


Might also be worth seeing if you can get the 64 version of Bardia and put it in (Done by WinterHilf) it was left out like Alam Halfa. It only had SP and not COOP, another thing you could repair... I will try and post it up on my DL site (Link under SP downloads thread for Alam Halfa)


Sorry for being a nag about all these, I just don't want all the work or some of to be lost if possible. It seems until now, every version of SP takes a few steps foward in some regard, and a few steps back in others, more often more of the latter. Wil try and write a comprehensive post of the issues in the singleplayer Project thread so its all there once and for all...

Offline cannonfodder

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Re: About P51DRockets
« Reply #37 on: 09-08-2010, 11:08:48 »
...are the bots suiciding,as they do when not on the navmesh,or are they just crashing
Not sure, as they're out of view when the '...no more." message pops up.

Next time I play it I'll watch them with the binocs, but I'd assume it's suicide 'cos they're fairly high up when they fly off toward no man's land.

Offline Drawde

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Re: About P51DRockets
« Reply #38 on: 15-08-2010, 19:08:03 »
There seems to be a similar flying-off-map issue with the Stukas on Mersa Matruh. Very often I've see them drop their bombs then fly out to sea, then get a "Bot X is no more" message shortly after.

(edit) Also, regarding the 25pdr, theoretically the AI should treat both the NA and Normandy versions the same way, as they share the same object and weapon .ai files (in the NA 25pdr folder). There was a bug with the gunner viewpoint for the Normandy gun in a previous minimod version, but this is now fixed.

Offline djinn

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Re: About P51DRockets
« Reply #39 on: 15-08-2010, 19:08:53 »
Yer, I think the isue is placement. Bots on Goodwood, for instance seldom spawn near the 25pounder. In Alam Halfa, on the otherhand, bots spawn right infront of it, so eventually... At least once, in every 3 plays or so, you get the 25pounder acting... It seems to also be a matter of navmesh somehow... Bots on Siege of Trobruk, for instance, ALWAYS man both 25prd and LeFH, and yet seldom man the LeFH on Olympus, even though it has one of the best LOS any arty piece could get on any map!

For the fly-overs. It seems the Stuka does that in practically ALL maps. depending on the fight area, it may circle around for another pass, but it eventually flies out of range. It might have something to do with the speed at which the Stuka flies, or a bug that goes across for all the maps..... In Alamein for instance, ALL planes eventually 'wander off' towards the British main and are killed for deserting