Slitherine

Posted: **Sun Dec 01, 2019 2:11 pm**

Hi

I thought I more or less understood the AI settings of the game. However I encountered this week something I do not understand.
In an epic battle I'm creating I want a line of Heavy Foot to advance to a certain point without being distracted too much by skirmishers that may be in their path.

So I set the aggression for that group to 902.
Based on
2 - Move at speed of slowest unit in team
4 - Ignore all enemy unless close - don't move towards them even if close
128 - Non-lights ignore light troops unless they are very close
256 - Ignore foot unless close
512 - Ignore mounted unless close

However when one of the HF units encounters a LF unit on its path it just stops.

It does not attack and also does no advance anymore on following turns.

: LF_blocking_HF.jpg (93.33 KiB) Viewed 2420 times

The red line was the starting point of the pike units. The raw pike units are from different groups and had been set to "64 - Stay in current tile".

As you can see the pike units with no skirmishers within two tiles moved the full two tiles. The two pike units with a slinger unit in their path moved up to these slinger units, but did not attack them. The pike unit with a light spear unit in front of it did not move at all nor did it attack the light spear unit. This remained the same on following turns. So these skirmisher units could keep on slinging stones and spears at these pike units without getting attacked or the pike unit trying to move away,
I do not think this is correct, but what am I doing wrong? Can someone please explain this?

When I use "8 - Ignore all enemy unless close - engage them as per other orders if close" instead of 4, so with the AI aggression set to 906, the pike units do attack the skirmisher units but also the pike units next to the units with the skirmishers units on their path move to them. But this is just what I want to prevent them doing. No need to have the line disrupted by skirmishers.

Posted: **Sun Dec 01, 2019 2:55 pm**

As you say it is

"4 - Ignore all enemy unless close - don't move towards them even if close"

They will turn to face them and possibly shoot at them, but they won't charge them.

Just remove the 4 I think. As far as I can recall I have never found a use for it anyway.

Don't add 8, because that has a special exception for light infantry who are in shooting range, to allow it to be used for stationary cavalry wings, to allow them to react rather than just stand there taking punishment..

Without 4 or 8, the ones that are not blocked should ignore the light foot.

Posted: **Sun Dec 01, 2019 6:08 pm**

Thanks Richard for your reply.

Unfortunately removing the 4, i.e. using aggression 898, does not help.

The pike units that were not blocked by a skirmisher unit did move towards them. So their line was totally disrupted in their first turn already.

: Agression898.jpg (137.57 KiB) Viewed 2405 times

Do you maybe have something else I can try?

I have also tried 906 and I believe this will be the closest I can get as you can see. All pike units at least continued in their own path.

: Agression906.jpg (178.99 KiB) Viewed 2403 times

Posted: **Sun Dec 01, 2019 6:46 pm**

rbodleyscott wrote: ↑Sun Dec 01, 2019 6:46 pmI have also tried 906 and I believe this will be the closest I can get as you can see. All pike units at least continued in their own path.

Probably. I don't see how you can get better than that. The only way the pikes can get rid of the light foot is to charge them, and if they do they are subject to variable move distance.

Posted: **Mon Dec 02, 2019 7:47 pm**

Hi Richard,

I see. Is there maybe something that can reduce the chance the pike units follow any unit, e.g. a skirmishers unit that is evading? I'm thinking of a very well disciplined pike unit that does not easily forgets its orders to stay in line. Maybe something in the squads file? Although I would not want the unit to become much stronger in battle if that goes at the same time.

Posted: **Mon Dec 02, 2019 8:51 pm**

Pi-R wrote: ↑Mon Dec 02, 2019 7:47 pm Hi Richard,

I see. Is there maybe something that can reduce the chance the pike units follow any unit, e.g. a skirmishers unit that is evading? I'm thinking of a very well disciplined pike unit that does not easily forgets its orders to stay in line. Maybe something in the squads file? Although I would not want the unit to become much stronger in battle if that goes at the same time.

No, there is no way of doing this except by modding scripts.

Posted: **Tue Dec 03, 2019 6:01 pm**

Well I will probably have to use a scenariotemplate.bsf file anyway. I want the AI's cavalry to make a flanking move,i.e. first get passed the players line and then move sideways to get behind the players line. So the AI has to move first to a target AI point and from there to another one. Cannot do that using the AI window of the editor.

Posted: **Tue Dec 03, 2019 6:38 pm**

You won't be able to achieve the "staying in line" thing using a scenario script.

You would need to add a modded version of AITools.BSF in /Data/Scripts in your user created scenario folder.

For example you could stop Pike units from being subject to variable charge movement (when enemy evade) by inserting

Code: Select all

if (GetAttrib(id, "Pike") == 100)
{
   vmd = 0;
}

after line 2014 in an unmodded copy of the v1.5.23 version of AITools.BSF.

So you would have

Code: Select all

vmd = VariableMoveAdjustment();

if (GetAttrib(id, "Pike") == 100)
{
   vmd = 0;
}

Slitherine

AI problem: Skirmishers stopping Heavy Foots?

AI problem: Skirmishers stopping Heavy Foots?

Re: AI problem: Skirmishers stopping Heavy Foots?

Re: AI problem: Skirmishers stopping Heavy Foots?

Re: AI problem: Skirmishers stopping Heavy Foots?

Re: AI problem: Skirmishers stopping Heavy Foots?

Re: AI problem: Skirmishers stopping Heavy Foots?

Re: AI problem: Skirmishers stopping Heavy Foots?

Re: AI problem: Skirmishers stopping Heavy Foots?