AI needs tactics

[warbrand2]

A little annoying that even in late game the AI just bum rushes you to try and kill you.


For this reason I think the AI needs tactic packages. these would be AI behavior packages that spawn with specific mechs.



Examples of tactic.



Flankers
info: one of the first ones ran into, these NPCs try to get behind your mechs and hit their rear armor and any opportunity. Generally seen with light mechs and medium mechs never on a heavy or assault.


Snipers
info: seen mid to late game these are always in auto-cannon or PPC mechs, will attempt to stay at furthest range possible and use called shots once every 3 turns. Be warned while they don't aim for the head if you do not balance your weapons systems in your mechs you may just find most of them gone with a single shot.

Scouts
info: unique to light mechs, always used on raven mechs. These ones sprint more often then not, and will use sensor lock at any time they can. Even if they can directly see the mech. Scouts in 3+ will always have a customized mech with an ECM if you have urban warfare.

Gunboats
info: alpha strike kings, like snipers they like to use called shots. Unlike snipers which will do so with one or two weapons they will do so with everything. while also trying to stay at a medium range.

Brawlers
info: current AI

Crashers
info: melee focused, these pilots are generally in things like firestarters, or support weapon focused mechs. Generally have customized weapons to have more support weapons.

LRM boats
info: attempts to stay out of direct line of sight of the players. Always have multi target. And in 3+ missions always has breaching shot. Be warned an LRM boat maybe death by paper cuts but they will deal a lot of damage.

SRM boat
info: What happens when you load a catapult or trebuchet with SRMS, these guys know. Walking shotguns getting into close range and letting loose with high damage bursts.

Lostech mech
info: rare, seen in 4+ only. these ones use lostech weapons and systems. Some of which are only gained by taking them out. watch your self and be warned. The mech may even be a lostech one as well.


tank support
info: not a mech but a group of tanks that will try to stick close to an allied mech usually an LRM boat or sniper. these are seen at late game only and are there to make it harder for a light mech on the players side to just come in and take out the LRM boat or sniper.




With improved tactics on the AI's side the number of AI's can be shifted. A single lance v lance can be difficult if you have to work around the enemies tactics or they are countering yours a balanced lance is needed more then ever. No more cheesing the game with a raven and two catapults to destroy everything with out ever being seen.

though with this the player should get a guide to some tactics and the ability to have vehicle lances of their own. As well as multi player lance encounters.


The AI just needs work. Way to easy to cheese and even difficulty overhaul mods are not helping with that. They just make it harder to get to the cheese point.

 

[warbrand2]

Not on the multiplayer lance encounter. these are flash points in which the hostile is another players lance in a PvP encounter. These would be rare and would have tonage limits.


These points will be called "Last merc standing" And will be two merc lances fighting over a single fort. both drop in at the same time and it works like a PvP match though the stakes are higher as this is in a carrier setting. Doesn't happen in story. Pay for these missions is high and always gives a mech of tier for its difficulty example a 2 star one which limits mechs to 55 tons and pilots to 5 as highest stats would give a heavy mech and a chance at lostech. Even the looser will get a payout in these missions though.

Story behind this once idea

"Last mechs standing" Some shady contractor is looking for the best lance to do a job. Unfortunately they don't trust the well known ones so what are they doing, hiring two lances from opposing companies to fight each other Winner gets the next job looser gets a payout for repairs and mech pilot replacements.

Winning gives: 1x mech depending on difficulty, 1x lostech item (10%), unique mission on planet which is harder then normal but gives a high payout and salvage with both being maxed by default.

 

[Amechwarrior]

While I agree the AI needs more tactical awareness, I don't think it needs too many roles. I do wish it would be easy to mod in new roles as right now they are fixed in stone with an enum system HBS is phasing out.

Either way, the AI already has a lot of the roles you suggested, but doesn't use them to their fullest for gameplay balance. Snipers for example are a working dynamic role that with just a few variable changes can be made to act as you described.

The Gunboat, SRM and a few others are already just Brawler with a few non-exclusive adjustments.

Flankers is actually in the code, but not part of a dynamic role pool. I'd only add maybe two new roles myself.

• Flankers - For faster heavy or support based units
• Vehicle Sniper - For LRM Carriers and other long range vehicles.

What needs to be adjusted is the AIs awareness of friendly units outside it's own Lance and a system of selecting who moves next based on factors like damage state, distance and LoS to enemies, Sensor Lock and so on.

Those two features alone would greatly improved the AIs weaknesses against LoS mitigation and Reserve use by the player without even enabling reserve to the AI.

Downside to all of this is I think HBS has nerfed the AI to where they want it, dumb tactical moves aside. The stock AI is there for new/bad players and making the default harder would push then out.

I'd love to see a "Hard AI" difficulty option, but now that's a huge feature to support that only the core players would enable. I know because my modded AI needs constant attention and adjustments with just the handful of roles we have now. Adding even more makes the work of balancing and tuning the OPFOR even harder.

 

[warbrand2]

Hmmm yeah, my idea came from not knowing how the system really works. All I know is you can cheese it with one raven and two catapults.

 

[Blade_mercurial]

Hmmm yeah, my idea came from not knowing how the system really works. All I know is you can cheese it with one raven and two catapults.

Well, the Raven breaks AI completely. Simplest solution there is of course don't use it. Even without the Raven, the AI can be quite easily exploited on a number of levels. I myself have tried to tweak the AI behaviour, including giving it the ability to Reserve, but no matter what you do to improve it, dumb behaviour cannot be entirely avoided...

 

[Amechwarrior]

Yea, ECM + Reserve is just broken until the AI is altered at the code level to target units that have not acted yet. I was talking outside of the ECM issue for the above changes.

 

[Justin Kase]

...I'd only add maybe two new roles myself.

• Flankers - For faster heavy or support based units
• Vehicle Sniper - For LRM Carriers and other long range vehicles.

What needs to be adjusted is the AIs awareness of friendly units outside it's own Lance and a system of selecting who moves next based on factors like damage state, distance and LoS to enemies, Sensor Lock and so on.

Those two features alone would greatly improved the AIs weaknesses against LoS mitigation and Reserve use by the player without even enabling reserve to the AI.

Downside to all of this is I think HBS has nerfed the AI to where they want it, dumb tactical moves aside. The stock AI is there for new/bad players and making the default harder would push then out.

I'd love to see a "Hard AI" difficulty option, but now that's a huge feature to support that only the core players would enable. I know because my modded AI needs constant attention and adjustments with just the handful of roles we have now. Adding even more makes the work of balancing and tuning the OPFOR even harder.

Vees could definitely use a few more AI types, Sniper, Scout and Flanker would all allow for some extra fine tuning with the way they work.

Flankers and Commander would be the two that I would add in for 'Mechs. With Commander being the 'hard AI'

I would've loved to have seen the older AI that was too good at beating the HBS staff

 

[The Shadowhawke]

I've found the AI to be really sucky or completely appropriate, depending on the circumstance; sadly more of the former.

Specifically, I find vehicles can be handled the best by the AI.

The AI at its best is Shrecks, LRM carriers, and Mantis keeping the range and cranking shots into my lance while their mechs try their best to furball me...exactly as they should