Is there an AI mod that makes it feel like you are playing against Chris Eck every single mission? Like modelling how he manage initiative and force turns and manage evasion etc? The current AI really feels pointless after 200 hours of play...
ECK AI mod?
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https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/foru...-notepad-all-your-diy-mod-needs-here.1094232/
Around the bottom of the initial post tells you how to unshackle the ai reserve. You can also use the Amechwarrior's link provided to fiddle around the decision weight. I made mine more likely to melee so all you ML boats are in for a nasty shock.
Still can't beat a good player in 1v1 but might make them seem more human.
Around the bottom of the initial post tells you how to unshackle the ai reserve. You can also use the Amechwarrior's link provided to fiddle around the decision weight. I made mine more likely to melee so all you ML boats are in for a nasty shock.
Still can't beat a good player in 1v1 but might make them seem more human.
https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/foru...-notepad-all-your-diy-mod-needs-here.1094232/
Around the bottom of the initial post tells you how to unshackle the ai reserve. You can also use the Amechwarrior's link provided to fiddle around the decision weight. I made mine more likely to melee so all you ML boats are in for a nasty shock.
Still can't beat a good player in 1v1 but might make them seem more human.
oh...!!!! NICE!!! Its time to FREE THE AI!!! Unshackling them for the rest of my all out diff ironman campaign!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Been a while since I played so memory is fuzzy. The AI definitely reserves so you can't cheese that turn one lance-alpha any more. Can't remember if they reserved when everyone's in view though...
I just did the Unshackling hahaha! Can't wait to play!!! I mean the AI is so retard the game just feels super boring... I kept having to shout at the AI "Why [Mod edit: language] you get yourself killed with such a stupid move?!" just one sole heavy walking into line of sight of 4 Braced and reserved down mediums just to take one stupid useless shot and die... its more frustrating than fun...
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Just played one skirmish round against AI, with AI unshackled, AI 25 mil and me 20 mil and it was really fun! AI was indeed reserving down against me and in response to mine reservation! It was nice until its still stupid enough to take bait. I just have to sprint my spider left and right across the center of the battle line and the enemy would just take the bait and waste low probability shots against the spider while my heavies take them apart bit by bit... oh well... AI would still be AI...
Disappointingly, my 20mil lance still won against the AI 25mil Atlas lance.... sigh... and I won getting only my spider killed.... sigh... got the "Make the most of what you got" achievement on this though haha even toyed around wiith that final Atlas as it ran out of AC20 rounds hahahaha wasted it missing shots on a sprinting spider
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This times ten!
Much more than letting the AI use reserve, his mod gives the AI a purpose and underlying strategy for mechs and Pilots. An enemy pilot with Juggernaut will close and use melee on your bulwarked mechs to break it, Outrider pilots will fire and then move out of LOS.
Hit the more difficult enemy toggle, reduce your money and salvage and bump up the salvage needed to something more than three pieces and you have a whole new game.
The Better AI mod doesn't add anything though - he just shifted the weight modifiers a bit. For example, the vanilla mechs don't melee as much because the modifier weight for melee and closing the distance were set too light compared to ranged damaged potential. The change in behavior might fool you thinking there's a purpose behind the new AI but it's still all about setting percentage threshold.
Baiting the skirmish AI with a light might work but in campaign, you risk setting off more than one lances and a dead scout will still hurt you financially if you lowered the reward setting. Personally, a self-enforced stock loadout is the best way to go. Oh, and shift all those CT ammos to the STs so no one shoting those Thunderbolts.
Baiting the skirmish AI with a light might work but in campaign, you risk setting off more than one lances and a dead scout will still hurt you financially if you lowered the reward setting. Personally, a self-enforced stock loadout is the best way to go. Oh, and shift all those CT ammos to the STs so no one shoting those Thunderbolts.
I enjoy reconfiguring the mechs in the mechbay way too much to run stock only. I drop weapons and add armor, possibly jump jets as well.
For me anyway running my up armored jumpy single range bracket builds lets me compete with 'Better AI' enhanced lances that have me out numbered and outgunned based on my difficulty choices. I fear that stock mechs would leave me with a pile of missing limbs after each mission that'd bankrupt me. As it is my all medium lance is taking internal damage and losing limbs near every 2+ skull mission. Holding off on Smithon until I get a heavy or two, its only five pieces in my game but that still makes a world of difference than three.
For me anyway running my up armored jumpy single range bracket builds lets me compete with 'Better AI' enhanced lances that have me out numbered and outgunned based on my difficulty choices. I fear that stock mechs would leave me with a pile of missing limbs after each mission that'd bankrupt me. As it is my all medium lance is taking internal damage and losing limbs near every 2+ skull mission. Holding off on Smithon until I get a heavy or two, its only five pieces in my game but that still makes a world of difference than three.
https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/foru...ase-better-ai-tweaks-for-deadlier-ai.1075322/
Here's the current link, but I think the old ones in that thread might still work. I think I should have an update out by the end of the week. While you will still throughly beat the AI, it should put up a harder fight. I'm finding that I actually need to pay for repairs in campaign mode.
Here's the current link, but I think the old ones in that thread might still work. I think I should have an update out by the end of the week. While you will still throughly beat the AI, it should put up a harder fight. I'm finding that I actually need to pay for repairs in campaign mode.
hahahah those thunderbolts are a joke... Boom... MG ammo explosion... pilot incapacitated..... LOL!
Oh hi there sir! Nice to see you pop by this thread! Awesome work you are doing there for the game!
Heh. Thanks for the compliment. I like to think if I had control of the AI forces I could smoke any one of you. So maybe don't tweak the AI to be THAT good.
I plan on giving @Amechwarrior's ai a go after I finish a tourney and the campaign. If you try it out, let us know how it feels.
Heh. Thanks for the compliment. I like to think if I had control of the AI forces I could smoke any one of you. So maybe don't tweak the AI to be THAT good.
I plan on giving @Amechwarrior's ai a go after I finish a tourney and the campaign. If you try it out, let us know how it feels.
HI SIR!!! Glad to see you pop by this thread!! Yes, I am trying it out now and also, I am wondering how long your challenger list is now and if I could have the honor of a round with you too sir? (just to make a point here, I learned all the advanced initiative play and reservation tactics from your videos exclusively)
@Amechwarrior and @HBS_Eck
I just had one round with AI Skirmish using Amechwarrior AI mod and I must say at times it really felt like I am playing against a human person in that mechs like the locust stopped doing the silly thing of running up to my heavies and shooting them but really skirt around, sensor locking for the team etc!
My lance : Spider + 2 Cataphract (20mil)
Opponent: locust + hunchback + vindicator + Atlas (25mil)
I see A LOT more role warfare on the AI part and that has got to be the biggest difference I felt in this mod and that makes it feel very realistic. AI is smart enough to counter reserve and also bait me with posting up with brace and see what I do. When I don;t take the bait, they are clever enough at last to run into a forest to shoot at me rather than shoot at me in the open, thus falling fully for my counter fire. Its especially interesting since I am replaying the exact same scenario with the exact same lance set up as before and actually experiencing a very different gameplay experience against the AI. As Amechwarrior said, it doesn't make the AI "more difficult" but it makes the AI "more human like" and that was exactly what it did. The enemies made moves that MADE SENSE and fun to interpret and be able to anticipate sensibly rather than making largely random (like a stick walking around you and bracing thinking it can bait you into firing at it) moves or overly predictable moves (like just charging into your firing line head on). Self preservation is evident as well and that makes it feel realistic as well. Injured mechs do try to take cover rather than do the kamikaze thing. Vindicator is playing its sniper role just PERFECTLY. Staying beyond visual range and sniping... that feels really awesome.
Some issues I noticed:
AI locust seems to be overly enthusiastic about locking targets because its locking a lot on targets that are stationary without any evasion pips. Unless I am missing something, locking a stationary target when the rest of its team is also in visual range grants its team no benefit at all...
AI is still taking bait... I just have to sprint my spider in between and once again the big hitters are all trying to hit it and waste ammo in the process. They were ALL trying so hard to hit my spider its almost amusing to watch. All the while, until the spider died, the enemy team was all just focus firing it... that lasted 11 rounds while I took the time to take out its hunchback and took one shoulder and both arms off its Atlas. One good observation is that the enemy is using just minimal weapons to wear down the spider's evasion and shooting with more weapons at it only when its evasion is sufficiently low. Thats pretty awesome. But still, they were trying so so so hard to hit that low probability target that my cataphracts were just standing there taking shots without return fire (enemy maybe only shot at my phracts only twice or thrice in that whole 11 rounds only when they don't have an angle on the spider. )
At turn 12, despite the locust taking a possible flanking position on my phracts, it was STILL sensor locking the spider! LOL! The spider got their entire team tied up and by this time, my spider had only 1 leg and a cored CT and still running and shooting with its sole LL. At this time, my 2 phracts has already cored the CT of the Atlas, took its left shoulder and both arms. Both phracts are still in prime condition. The spider got taken out by the vindicator at round 12... after tying up their whole team for 12 whole rounds. Now the Atlas notices my phract and shoots at it with the only thing it has left... the AC20... after the spider dies, the Locust at last do its job of taking some back shots. But at round 13, it only took one shot to kill the Atlas. So at this time, the enemy has only killed my spider after much much much effort but I havee already killed the Atlas and the hunchback while my phracts have all armor intact.
Turned around and killed the locust in round 14 by melee. Final vindicator just rushed me and prompted got killed too... I like that final rush cos its really frustrating to play if its just still trying to stay at the edges and snipe me from time to time.
AI locust tends to reserve down and then move during the medium phase just to sensor lock which robs its team's medium of first move against my mediums and results in me being able to take out their mediums fairly easily. Oh, nobody seems to be shooting at the targets the locust locks either... everyone's just shooting at the spider bait.
So all in all, I think the AI just takes baits way too seriously and focuses too much on low probability shots.
Hope this feedback helps in fine tuning the mod! Its not Eck for sure but its still a FAR BETTER version than the vanilla AI! I love the mod and will be playing it for the rest of my current 1.1 ironman run with all diff maxed.
ALL in ALL, PHENOMENAL job with the mod sir! It really changed the feel of the game tremendously! Thank you for your contribution and effort to this awesome game!
I just had one round with AI Skirmish using Amechwarrior AI mod and I must say at times it really felt like I am playing against a human person in that mechs like the locust stopped doing the silly thing of running up to my heavies and shooting them but really skirt around, sensor locking for the team etc!
My lance : Spider + 2 Cataphract (20mil)
Opponent: locust + hunchback + vindicator + Atlas (25mil)
I see A LOT more role warfare on the AI part and that has got to be the biggest difference I felt in this mod and that makes it feel very realistic. AI is smart enough to counter reserve and also bait me with posting up with brace and see what I do. When I don;t take the bait, they are clever enough at last to run into a forest to shoot at me rather than shoot at me in the open, thus falling fully for my counter fire. Its especially interesting since I am replaying the exact same scenario with the exact same lance set up as before and actually experiencing a very different gameplay experience against the AI. As Amechwarrior said, it doesn't make the AI "more difficult" but it makes the AI "more human like" and that was exactly what it did. The enemies made moves that MADE SENSE and fun to interpret and be able to anticipate sensibly rather than making largely random (like a stick walking around you and bracing thinking it can bait you into firing at it) moves or overly predictable moves (like just charging into your firing line head on). Self preservation is evident as well and that makes it feel realistic as well. Injured mechs do try to take cover rather than do the kamikaze thing. Vindicator is playing its sniper role just PERFECTLY. Staying beyond visual range and sniping... that feels really awesome.
Some issues I noticed:
AI locust seems to be overly enthusiastic about locking targets because its locking a lot on targets that are stationary without any evasion pips. Unless I am missing something, locking a stationary target when the rest of its team is also in visual range grants its team no benefit at all...
AI is still taking bait... I just have to sprint my spider in between and once again the big hitters are all trying to hit it and waste ammo in the process. They were ALL trying so hard to hit my spider its almost amusing to watch. All the while, until the spider died, the enemy team was all just focus firing it... that lasted 11 rounds while I took the time to take out its hunchback and took one shoulder and both arms off its Atlas. One good observation is that the enemy is using just minimal weapons to wear down the spider's evasion and shooting with more weapons at it only when its evasion is sufficiently low. Thats pretty awesome. But still, they were trying so so so hard to hit that low probability target that my cataphracts were just standing there taking shots without return fire (enemy maybe only shot at my phracts only twice or thrice in that whole 11 rounds only when they don't have an angle on the spider. )
At turn 12, despite the locust taking a possible flanking position on my phracts, it was STILL sensor locking the spider! LOL! The spider got their entire team tied up and by this time, my spider had only 1 leg and a cored CT and still running and shooting with its sole LL. At this time, my 2 phracts has already cored the CT of the Atlas, took its left shoulder and both arms. Both phracts are still in prime condition. The spider got taken out by the vindicator at round 12... after tying up their whole team for 12 whole rounds. Now the Atlas notices my phract and shoots at it with the only thing it has left... the AC20... after the spider dies, the Locust at last do its job of taking some back shots. But at round 13, it only took one shot to kill the Atlas. So at this time, the enemy has only killed my spider after much much much effort but I havee already killed the Atlas and the hunchback while my phracts have all armor intact.
Turned around and killed the locust in round 14 by melee. Final vindicator just rushed me and prompted got killed too... I like that final rush cos its really frustrating to play if its just still trying to stay at the edges and snipe me from time to time.
AI locust tends to reserve down and then move during the medium phase just to sensor lock which robs its team's medium of first move against my mediums and results in me being able to take out their mediums fairly easily. Oh, nobody seems to be shooting at the targets the locust locks either... everyone's just shooting at the spider bait.
So all in all, I think the AI just takes baits way too seriously and focuses too much on low probability shots.
Hope this feedback helps in fine tuning the mod! Its not Eck for sure but its still a FAR BETTER version than the vanilla AI!
I love the mod and will be playing it for the rest of my current 1.1 ironman run with all diff maxed.ALL in ALL, PHENOMENAL job with the mod sir! It really changed the feel of the game tremendously! Thank you for your contribution and effort to this awesome game!
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@Amechwarrior and @HBS_Eck
I just had one round with AI Skirmish using Amechwarrior AI mod and I must say at times it really felt like I am playing against a human person in that mechs like the locust stopped doing the silly thing of running up to my heavies and shooting them but really skirt around, sensor locking for the team etc!
My lance : Spider + 2 Cataphract (20mil)
Opponent: locust + hunchback + vindicator + Atlas (25mil)
I see A LOT more role warfare on the AI part and that has got to be the biggest difference I felt in this mod and that makes it feel very realistic. AI is smart enough to counter reserve and also bait me with posting up with brace and see what I do. When I don;t take the bait, they are clever enough at last to run into a forest to shoot at me rather than shoot at me in the open, thus falling fully for my counter fire. Its especially interesting since I am replaying the exact same scenario with the exact same lance set up as before and actually experiencing a very different gameplay experience against the AI. As Amechwarrior said, it doesn't make the AI "more difficult" but it makes the AI "more human like" and that was exactly what it did. The enemies made moves that MADE SENSE and fun to interpret and be able to anticipate sensibly rather than making largely random (like a stick walking around you and bracing thinking it can bait you into firing at it) moves or overly predictable moves (like just charging into your firing line head on). Self preservation is evident as well and that makes it feel realistic as well. Injured mechs do try to take cover rather than do the kamikaze thing. Vindicator is playing its sniper role just PERFECTLY. Staying beyond visual range and sniping... that feels really awesome.
Some issues I noticed:
AI locust seems to be overly enthusiastic about locking targets because its locking a lot on targets that are stationary without any evasion pips. Unless I am missing something, locking a stationary target when the rest of its team is also in visual range grants its team no benefit at all...
AI is still taking bait... I just have to sprint my spider in between and once again the big hitters are all trying to hit it and waste ammo in the process. They were ALL trying so hard to hit my spider its almost amusing to watch. All the while, until the spider died, the enemy team was all just focus firing it... that lasted 11 rounds while I took the time to take out its hunchback and took one shoulder and both arms off its Atlas. One good observation is that the enemy is using just minimal weapons to wear down the spider's evasion and shooting with more weapons at it only when its evasion is sufficiently low. Thats pretty awesome. But still, they were trying so so so hard to hit that low probability target that my cataphracts were just standing there taking shots without return fire (enemy maybe only shot at my phracts only twice or thrice in that whole 11 rounds only when they don't have an angle on the spider. )
At turn 12, despite the locust taking a possible flanking position on my phracts, it was STILL sensor locking the spider! LOL! The spider got their entire team tied up and by this time, my spider had only 1 leg and a cored CT and still running and shooting with its sole LL. At this time, my 2 phracts has already cored the CT of the Atlas, took its left shoulder and both arms. Both phracts are still in prime condition. The spider got taken out by the vindicator at round 12... after tying up their whole team for 12 whole rounds. Now the Atlas notices my phract and shoots at it with the only thing it has left... the AC20... after the spider dies, the Locust at last do its job of taking some back shots. But at round 13, it only took one shot to kill the Atlas. So at this time, the enemy has only killed my spider after much much much effort but I havee already killed the Atlas and the hunchback while my phracts have all armor intact.
Turned around and killed the locust in round 14 by melee. Final vindicator just rushed me and prompted got killed too... I like that final rush cos its really frustrating to play if its just still trying to stay at the edges and snipe me from time to time.
AI locust tends to reserve down and then move during the medium phase just to sensor lock which robs its team's medium of first move against my mediums and results in me being able to take out their mediums fairly easily. Oh, nobody seems to be shooting at the targets the locust locks either... everyone's just shooting at the spider bait.
So all in all, I think the AI just takes baits way too seriously and focuses too much on low probability shots.
Hope this feedback helps in fine tuning the mod! Its not Eck for sure but its still a FAR BETTER version than the vanilla AI!
ALL in ALL, PHENOMENAL job with the mod sir! It really changed the feel of the game tremendously! Thank you for your contribution and effort to this awesome game!
Thanks for the AAR! The Sensor Locking is being tuned down for the next update and I don't have a way to force the AI to follow-up on something that has been Locked. I posed in the suggestions forum that Locking should set priority target for the rest of the Lance so at least it feels like the AI is executing a plan.
I'm amazed the SDR lasted so long. I might have to try your drop to replicate that. What map did you use?
Frozen lake was the map sir. Spider was running for 4 pips and 4 pips seems to do wonders against the enemy as they seem to miss every single time. Spider rushes forward, triggers the engagement and does nothing for all 12 rounds but running left and right and left and right between the enemy team and my team.
Oh one thing sir, was it changed in the mod such that being unstable pushes the mech down by 1 initiative? Because all of a sudden, knocking a mech into instability and not falling over, puts them down one initiative phase too.
Its a pity sensor locking don't set priority targets... that makes sensor locking for the AI a disadvantage rather than an advantage it seems.
I am really loving how the LRM and sniping mechs and vehicles are now consciously maintaining their distance from me and seeks to stay out of visual range... this feature is VERY cool!
Just had a campaign mission where I almost wanted to just hit the withdraw button due to how the enemies were positioning itself around me! In the end I still managed to kill them all without casualties but the fact that they gave me that feeling was awesome cos the reinforcements aren't acting alone anymore but coordinating with the main force to get into great positions BEFORE coming into range... scary!
Oh ... one question... why do mecchs with no weapons do not attempt to melee me at all but just walk around aimlessly?
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The mod shouldn't have affected initiative at all. If you can replicate that init. Knockback let me know. I've noticed some oddities in phasing while play skirmish mode and haven't been able to figure out what's causing it. My mod only touches the AI's behaviorVariables folder and the mech folder for role assignment. It shouldn't be messing with combatgameconstants.json or anything else that might change how initiative works other than letting the AI reserve.
I'm really enjoying where the sniper role is right now. The fact that almost every SP mission puts me in a dilemma for a few rounds is a great feeling. I know I can win, but it will make me pay for it or just plain give me no good targets and have to work for it.
With no weapons, the AI moves in to melee only mode, which isn't changed too drastically from the stock melee only. One role that overwrites that is lastmanstanding. If that weaponless unit is the last of its Lance, it will be more defensive than meleeonly, which is really bloodthirsty in comparison.