What's the best way to manage large AI groups?

[krause]

What is the best way to manage large AI groups? i.e. you have to give a route of 10-15 units over 20 kilometers. What I do now is:

Rapidly try to form the route, after I issue the first order, the lead unit is already moving... and there is no way to copy/paste routes once the mission starts it seems. Is there any easy way to synchronize large movements as a commander?

[Gibsonm]

Well it depends on what you are trying to achieve and there's little detail regarding the specific situation in your post.

Multiple units on a frontage can be problematic.

Multiple units on say a road is relatively easy.

Plot the route that everyone will use begining with a new waypoint (not right clicking on the lead unit).

Then when you are happy with that route plot the routes for the individual units to that "start point", they will move to the start point and then follow the route to the end (or say the "release point").

You then need to plot individual routes for the units from the release point.

Order of March etc depends on the unit's mobility and the sequence with which you plot the routes (so a nearby unit given the route first will start down the shared route faster than a unit further away and given the order later).

[krause]

Thanks a lot Mark - you have no idea how much of a pain this was!

[Gibsonm]

You can add some sophistication to the release point area by plotting routes with "embark if ..." commands matching their call signs.

So unit X embarks on the given "post release point" route if their call sign matches the one in the logic.

That way the units spread out at the end rather than creating a traffic jam that you then need to sort out.

[krause]

You can add some sophistication to the release point area by plotting routes with "embark if ..." commands matching their call signs.

So unit X embarks on the given "post release point" route if their call sign matches the one in the logic.

That way the units spread out at the end rather than creating a traffic jam that you then need to sort out.

Thanks again, will look into this. Been playing as the opfor commander in a lot of h2h scenarios - so good things to know.

[Ssnake]

You can also plot a number or routes in the planning phase that do not originate from a unit, but from an unconnected waypoint. These would be your contingency plans; connect your units to the root point of such a "deserted" route, and you'll have rid yourself of a lot of trouble.

In a similar way, marking promising firing positions can be useful as well. Create four waypoints (let's call them a, b, c, and d here).

a] is your primary firing position

d]is your alternate firing position some 100m to either side of a]

b and c are "nexus points" to which you create each a retreat routes from a] (d], respectively) and from which you make an assault route to a] (and d]). That way a unit can stay in the battle position for a longer time as it can dodge incoming fire, both direct and indirect, until you find the time to turn your attention to it again.

(e.g. it arrives at a] retreats to b, then advances to d], retreats to c, and and advances to a] again - cycle complete)

Then click the retreat route from a] to b, and select "copy route chain". Right-click other promising battle-positions that you identified before, and select "paste". You then only need to adjust the location of b', c', and d'] instead of plotting everything by hand again.

For formations on a frontage, plot the route for the CO (ideally in short legs of, say, 500m or so). Define phases of coordination, and apply an "Embark, if... Trigger X is set" condition (and an "Embark, if.. Trigger X is NOT set" on a following coordination route).

Once done, copy the route chain and paste it to the platoons of this company. You can then use Shift+Click to select multiple waypoints and route segments to click & drag them as a whole, where necessary, and adjust individual waypoints where needed.

Now the company will roll forward nicely on parallel routes. Occasionally a platoon may lag behind. Depending on the situation you either want to wait for the trailing element, or press forward. You control that by activating the trigger (or not) so that the embark condition on the coordination route is fulfilled. At the next coordination phase you use the same trigger again, just in reverse logic. That way you can use the same trigger multiple times and just need to memorize that, say, Shift+3 is for making the company advance. In fact, you don't even need to remember whether it's on or off as you just need to change its state as soon as everybody stops.

Admittedly, this only works in the planning phase. You can do that offline however (and save the work results as a PLN), and load the corresponding plan file at the beginning of a multiplayer session.

[streakeagle]

I cannot overstate the value of preplanned routes and waypoints. I can spend hours trying out lines of sight to find out the nature of the terrain and coming up with contingency plans. I don't mess with advanced conditional scripts yet, I just hop around as quickly as I can telling everyone which route to follow and monitoring their progress. If you don't get overwhelmed, the AI can be nudged into performing very effectively. The automatic cycle between retreat and re-engagement can be effective, or the AI can manage to retreat at a bad time and re-engage at a worse time