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I feel like I'm going crazy...


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#1 Guest_Guest_Akkrand_*_*

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Posted 23 July 2004 - 06:29 AM

Hi,
I don't know what I've done, my guys used to once get in their humvees, battlebuses, and it was really cool to see that.
Over the course of lots of changes I've made, I've evidently undone my good work, as now either I get unbelieveable lag (scripts running every frame telling me a team is loading into transports) or battlebuses running at me empty, followed by a horde of rocket troopers on foot.

Just so I can clean my teams up, can someone illuminate me as to what I should be doing?
As in:
What's a basic set of instructions for a team to load into their transports and then hunt?
An example team would be 1 GLA Battlebus, 4 GLA Tunnel Defenders. All I want them to do is load into the bus and go off hunting.

I've got all the KindOf=TRANSPORT stuff done, haven't messed with the INI files since I first set that up.

Help, anyone?

Cheers,
Lord Akkrand

#2 Mithril

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Posted 23 July 2004 - 07:26 AM

Your teams must not be in the aggressive state, as they won't load then. (Double click your team, go to "Behavior" and set the Initial Team Behavior to Normal)
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#3 Akkrand

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Posted 26 July 2004 - 03:18 AM

Mithril,
I know about Agressive & Transports = Bad.
Extra clarifications:
My teams are in the normal state.
Their OnCreate Behavior is Guard Base
Then in their 'Generic' scripts I've got the script telling them to Load into Transports and Hunt.

I've tried with a script that just says:
IF
<True>
THEN
<This Team> Loads into transports
<This Team> begins hunting

and also one that calls this script sequentially (from what I gather that should mean the team loads into the transports, THEN goes hunting, as opposed to getting into the transports and hunting at the same time.)

Which of these is the better method?

Any other things to check for?

Cheers,
Lord Akkrand

#4 Mithril

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Posted 26 July 2004 - 07:15 AM

Yes if you run it sequentially it'll do it in the proper order, that's what the "Move up" and "Move down" priority buttons are for. Anyways are you trying to load into a battle bus? Try it with another transport and see if it works. The battle bus seems to be a bit of a "conundrum" as DZ says, I wonder how Thudo got it working...

Hmm I suppose you can't remember exactly which changes you have made?
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#5 Akkrand

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Posted 27 July 2004 - 12:06 AM

I think I've fixed it:
I moved the "Load into Trans then Hunt" script from the team's Generic scripts to its OnCreate script - then it only runs once. My guys now get into their battlebuses and go a-hunting.
Now I gotta test if it worked for my inf gen guys getting into their helixes, and my SupW guy loading MD's into his humvees, and ... well you get the idea!

Thanks for your help.

BTW I liked the look of that Tute you put up about dynamic attack plans... I'm gonna have to try that... sounds really evil. :D

Cheers,
Lord Akkrand

#6 thudo

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Posted 27 July 2004 - 12:38 PM

Akkand..

Thats interesting you move the "Load Into Transports then Hunt" script into OnCreate. Hmmm.. The only way I got the Infantry Team to garrison into a GLA BattleBus was to go into the GLAVehicle.INI (or other GLA-related ini file for the other 3 GLA factions) and go to the BattleBus section. Under this section go to *** ENGINEERING Parameters *** and where it says "KindOf =" add a TRANSPORT flag.

Note under the USA side where the Humvee or under GLA where the Technical is.. There "KindOf=" has a TRANSPORT flag there but the BattleBus never had!

I'm curious: does your infantry garrison a GLA BattleBus without the KindOf=Transport option? It shouldn't as stupid EA forgot to put that designation in. With TRANSPORT designated for the BattleBus, like the Humvee and Technical, now the BattleBus can easily be garrisoned.

Still.. if you have some advice regarding garrison China Rocket Troops into a Bunkered Overlord let me know - that one is a major bi*ch as, like the Bunkered Helix Transport Chopper, the Bunker is considered a building + the garrison has to take place AFTER the upgrade goes ahead rather than the Humvee/Technical which have it pre-loaded in the vehicle model.

Btw, getting the China Infantry General AI to garrison its Helixes and the USA Supr Weapon Gen to garrison Humvees is a cinch although I prefer the USA Laser to use Humvees and leave the Supr Gen to use Alpha Auroras. They are bloody nasty when used by my AI.

Garrisoning bunkered Overlords AND successfully disguisng BombTrucks are the top projects for AI scripting since April although the latter is far far more illusive. :D

Edited by thudo, 27 July 2004 - 12:41 PM.

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#7 Mithril

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Posted 27 July 2004 - 08:05 PM

Hey thudo I've found someone who supposedly got the helix garrisoning (thus overlord garrisoning) working. Name is pete, old man, or old man pete, he hasn't really decided on the name yet hehe. This is the thread, its at the very bottom, first paragraph. I don't know how you could get in contact with him though...
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#8 thudo

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Posted 27 July 2004 - 08:52 PM

Hey thudo I've found someone who supposedly got the helix garrisoning (thus overlord garrisoning) working. Name is pete, old man, or old man pete, he hasn't really decided on the name yet hehe. This is the thread, its at the very bottom, first paragraph. I don't know how you could get in contact with him though...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>


This is his solution he says:

I created the helix and then i make it an object,, then i have the

rocket team garrison an object inside a certain trigger area. i havent created all of it yet, still trying to

get back in the swing. yeah i realized im doin all of this for a game that will be dead as soon as LOTR BFME

comes out. hehe i have to admit the download i saw was pretty sweet for it.

I am naming the object - helix team_helix
i am naming the rocket team - helix team_rocketguys
I am naming the trigger area - helix bunker team

---
I take it this is for the China's Helix and NOT Infantry General's Helix as the latter already has the KindOf=Transport option allowing troops to easily garrison inside.

I think when he meant: Create Helix as an object he meant - "create helix as a team under the Team section". This would make sense.
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#9 Akkrand

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Posted 28 July 2004 - 04:07 AM

Hey thudo,

Yeah the Battlebuses I use have the KindOf = TRANSPORT thing going.

As far as the bunkered overlord goes, I've got no idea man, but seriously it wouldn't be something I'd bother about, as a human I've found bunkered overlords to be quite useless, other than having the guys there for when the driver gets killed by Jarmen Kell.
Bunkered Helixes for non-Inf General; now that's useful - but I understand its the same problem essentially so good luck with that, but alas, no advice on how. :(

Nor do I have any idea (or have even tried) with the bomb truck problem. I'd always figured if I decided to start working on it, you'd probably figure it out before I did, and my work would have been wasted. Also because I actually do my scripting in 1/2 -> 1 hr stretches whilst at work, I find it hard to run test games, at least ones where I have to monitor the script debugger. Boss could be looking over my shoulder at any moment, gotta be stealthy :) .

Cheers,
Lord Akkrand

#10 thudo

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Posted 28 July 2004 - 05:28 AM

Hey thudo,
Yeah the Battlebuses I use have the KindOf = TRANSPORT thing going.

As far as the bunkered overlord goes, I've got no idea man, but seriously it wouldn't be something I'd bother about, as a human I've found bunkered overlords to be quite useless, other than having the guys there for when the driver gets killed by Jarmen Kell.
Bunkered Helixes for non-Inf General; now that's useful - but I understand its the same problem essentially so good luck with that, but alas, no advice on how. :(

Nor do I have any idea (or have even tried) with the bomb truck problem.  I'd always figured if I decided to start working on it, you'd probably figure it out before I did, and my work would have been wasted.  Also because I actually do my scripting in 1/2 -> 1 hr stretches whilst at work, I find it hard to run test games, at least ones where I have to monitor the script debugger.  Boss could be looking over my shoulder at any moment, gotta be stealthy  :) .


Coo.. thought the BattleBus you were using was with the KindOf=TRANSPORT flag in the ini. No other way and yet again shows the lameness of EA's devs on the project.

Yeaa.. The reason I was chatting with Mithril about garrisoning bunkered overlords back in April was just to see if we could do it. Now, if you were able to get a regular China Helix to upgrade its bunker then have a team of infantry garrison it, then go on the attack - well, thats progress.

Yes a Bunkered Overlord seems useless but its mostly a technical achievement: essentially it shows the sequence where one UNIT (originally just an object) can be upgraded with a TRANSPORT module allowing for it to be garrisonable by troops thus becoming a TRANSPORT OBJECT like a Humvee.

Tactically, its dumb to have it with Jarmon Kell but just to be able to get out to the battlefield and see it in action especially if the opponent being attacked is caught off guard would make the achievement a sweet one.

Nevertheless, would be it too much to post the entire sequence of scripts and their corresponding teams so I can fully test this. Its a huge deal other than the BombTruck disguising.

Speaking of which, Mithril is still thinking about how to implement it. I've had people in the last 4 months tell me why both: just have the bombtruck disguise as its own units and then have it escort a group of tanks to an enemy base and surprise the enemy that way: a sorta tiger in the pride of lions.

The whole issue with the BombTruck disguising is due to the logic: it applies "a CommandAbility <DisguiseAsVehicle> to itself on Nearest Object of type <Tank>." The problem is the "Nearest Object of type <Tank>" and not "Nearest ENEMY object of type <Tank>". Grrrrrr! This would have solved everything and make the bombtruck a cinch for the AI to use as an efficient stealthed killer.

So what we have now is, Mithril found out that it can disguise when placed in the ON ENEMY SIGHTED tab and no where else. So when our BombTruck goes out, one can set a timer (say for 5-10sec) once it seems an enemy unit then once the timer is up it will then use the "Apply CommandAbility <DisguiseAsVehicle> to itself on Nearest Object of type <Tank>" hopefully on the closest enemy tank and not its own. Problem is: the BombTruck is exposed on the battlefield as it goes out to find that enemy to initiate the disguise countdown.

Its doable but messy. :dry: The result would again achieve a major milestone for the SAGE scripting initiative as the BombTruck represents considerable difficulty.

Anyway, please try to write down the complete team and associate script sequences to bunker a China Helix and its garrison by troops. I could REALLY use that for the Overlord. If it works.. I'll buy ya a case of the best beer you can buy! EUROPEAN BEER! :blush: Well.. Canadian Beer is good too but nothing beats Euro Suds! Yummmmmmm!
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#11 Guest_Guest_*

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Posted 29 July 2004 - 12:55 AM

Hey thudo I've found someone who supposedly got the helix garrisoning (thus overlord garrisoning) working.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I already have made scripted maps ( full art of defense v8 ) with helix bunker filled with troops and also bunker overlord filled with infantry ( full art of defense v10 )

#12 thudo

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Posted 29 July 2004 - 03:39 AM

I took a look at your AI scripts for Full Art Of Defense v10 and here is what I have:

Faction: SkirmishAmerica

Script: 05
Evaluate every: 5sec.
Deactivate Upon Success
Spawn Unit 'tank1' of type 'ChinaTankOverlord' on Team 'teamSkirmishAmerica' at waypoint Waypoint 'Tank_1'
100.00% of Team 'teamSkirmishAmerica' perform Ability 'Command_UpgradeChinaOverlordBattleBunker'.
Enable Script 06

Script: 06
Evaluate every: 5sec.
Deactivate Upon Success
Spawn an instance of Team 'tankcrew1' at Waypoint 'Inf_1'.
Team 'tankcrew1' attempt to load into Unit 'tank1'

So the key here is the last line: "Team.. attempt to load into Unit .. "

And yer saying this works for both China Bunkered Helix and Overlord?

Noticed yer just spawning units at locations based on when a Script is enabled but I assume it should work when an AI is asked to build a team at a specific time.

Essentially, I want the Bunkered Overlord + 5 infantry to be created as an attack wave throughout the game and as random as possible. This Bunkered Overlord will merge with a team of either BattleMasters or fellow non-bunkered Overlords and engage the enemy.

Edit: I noticed in Full Art Of Defense v8 that the way you got the infantry to garrison inside a China Helix was have Helixes and Infantry as a team, then under the Reinforcement tab you have "Load Members Into Transports" checked and nothing else in this tab (except Veterancy set to Heroic). Team is aggressive and the Helix Bunker is created as normal under the Generic Tab. This is totally different that v10 where you used the "Team.. attempt to load into Unit .. " script. Interesting..

Edited by thudo, 29 July 2004 - 03:59 AM.

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#13 Hostile

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Posted 29 July 2004 - 08:07 AM

Always wondered, who made the Art of Defense maps. Cause they taught us all alot. EA guy or some unknown "dude."

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Posted 29 July 2004 - 10:36 AM

Obviously i made those ful art of defense maps :p
If you spend much time scripting even a non EA employee can find a solution
how to script something that was not done before

I tried also to directly spawn infantry in those bunker overlord tanks but that did not work. So i had to upgrade the overlord with a bunker first and let the infantry
enter the bunker later on.

Just want to mention that full art of defense v10 also contains some bombtrucks that upgrade and disguise themselves in a cessna airplane before they attack

#15 Mithril

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Posted 29 July 2004 - 11:39 AM

Uhm.. you've managed to get the bomb truck to disguise correctly, with a great degree of consistency..? If so.. how?
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#16 Mastermind

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Posted 29 July 2004 - 08:55 PM

I think his solution is map specific, since the way he phrased it makes it sound like they disguise as a cessna. I'm not sure, but that's how it sounds.
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#17 thudo

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Posted 29 July 2004 - 11:25 PM

Hrrmm..

Interesting.. He seems to have allowed the BombTruck to disguise without even remotely using the ON ENEMY SIGHTED field. Essentially, Team 'Terrorbomb' is created down the line as a sequence of teams in order based on a pre-determined # of sequential map scripts. Nothing fancy yet effective! Once one main script is done, it activates another, such as the Disguise Script which does this:

Spawn an instance of Team 'terrorbomb' at Waypoint 'AI_Start01'.
Spawn an instance of Team 'terrorbomb' at Waypoint 'AI_Start03'.
Team 'terrorbomb' use Ability 'Command_DisguiseAsVehicle' on nearest object of type 'AircraftCessna'.
Spawn an instance of Team 'terrorbikes' at Waypoint 'AI_Start09'.
Team 'terrorbikes' begins hunting.
Enable Script 'Bombtruck hunt <1>'.

The next script is essentially to cause Team TerrorBomb to hunt.

The TerrorBomb Team itself has 4 BombTrucks, very bare Identity specs really, initial team behaviour is set to Normal (otherwise no real Behaviour stats), and Generic stats are just to begin hunting and upgrade half the team to either HighExplosive or BioBomb.

Now..

How can we use this script logic and adapt it to a real-time experience? Possible? He obviously bypasses ON ENEMY SIGHTED so this is good.
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