AI pathfinding, and killer rocks

[jerseyTom]

Is there any way to improve AI driver pathfinding? It seems quite frequently I have to go back and micromanage individual vehicles that fall out of my platoon because the driver can't figure out how to get around a tree or rock or building.

Also, is there a reason my vehicles and tanks can't drive over tiny rocks in the ground? They get stopped dead in their tracks by rocks the size of melons.

Finally, it seems tapping into rocks or trees (often while trying to get a vehicle un-stuck) kills crewmembers very easily.

[ChuikovChambered]

Posted by jerseyTom

Also, is there a reason my vehicles and tanks can't drive over tiny rocks in the ground? They get stopped dead in their tracks by rocks the size of melons.

They look like melon-sized, but they're not. I'd say more like pumpkin-sized. And firmly planted in the ground/

Posted by jerseyTom

Finally, it seems tapping into rocks or trees (often while trying to get a vehicle un-stuck) kills crewmembers very easily.

It seems quite frequently I have to go back and micromanage individual vehicles that fall out of my platoon because the driver can't figure out how to get around a tree or rock or building.

Yeah, if you're not careful, you can kill your crew off through full speed ramming of trees and rocks. Just be careful about where you're driving. And having to go back and micromanage individual units is just part of being a platoon leader.

My advice to you: Spend a lot of time as platoon leader, and get used to it. Then just maybe, you'll be ready for company leader. It's not an enviable job, but don't worry. Once not very long ago, I was just like you. Now I take platoons as an afterthought and can even handle a company if necessary.

Do you have TeamSpeak up and running? If you do, don't forget to head online for the public games every Friday night at 10 PM EST. The guys there will help out with whatever you need, but head out on TeamSpeak early (like say half an hour before gametime). Also, download the SB Pro PE Beta Version 2.370. It's what the gaming server uses.

[jerseyTom]

Even a pumpkin-sized rock, firmly lodged in the ground, a tank should be able to drive over, no?

Regarding pathfinding.. *I* have no problem with it. But any time I have a route for a platoon to follow and there's any amount of small rocks or trees around, the AI driver has a hell of a hard time getting through it, much less with any speed.

[Sean]

To get rid of the rocks, edit the theme of the scenario. Most of the newer themes have the rocks removed. There are maps on which the rocks are intended to be there to restrict movement, theres not much you can do about that other than spending the time to recon your intended route before you start the mission.

As far as buildings go, if you go rolling into a village in line or wedge formation, you can expect problems (especially if the town is very dense). Try going into a column formation well before entering the town.

Bumping into trees and rocks etc is bad, and its pretty likely you will disable a crew member if you run into things. Tanks are pretty tough, but those soft things inside aren't so tough. Gunners dont like bashing into their gunsight.

[Homer]

Reducing speed also helps.

[oscar19681]

Even a pumpkin-sized rock, firmly lodged in the ground, a tank should be able to drive over, no?

Regarding pathfinding.. *I* have no problem with it. But any time I have a route for a platoon to follow and there's any amount of small rocks or trees around, the AI driver has a hell of a hard time getting through it, much less with any speed.

Yeah thats why they found out suspension. But in sbp the rocks look small but the program sees them as very large rocks.

[Ssnake]

A collision with a pumpkin(+) sized rock at moderate speeds can and will damage a tank's track, roadwheels or idlers, and eventually break a torsion bar. There's real-life evidence here to support this. Maybe we need our computer-controlled drivers to act more cautiously in the presence of rocks and to automatically reduce speed if they are around, but then I can see why other players would complain that they decided for high speed because a tactical situation mandated it and they WANTED to take that risk due to some pay-off.

So, to that extent it's a judgement issue where to put the balance, and traditionally we make the computer follow orders, even if they are not very good orders. One lesson that the player is supposed to learn is to reconnoiter a planned route of advance in the 3D workld during the planning phase and identify troublesome spots, so you can either drive around them or create routes with column formation and slow speeds, eventually in combination with artillery smoke to provide some concealment during a phase of high vulnerability.

It's an intended element of friction. Friction causes frustration, and I agree that in a pure game it rarely is a good idea to deliberately frustrate a player - but then again SB Pro is about training and tactical education, and explorative learning.

Finally, it also is a question of experience. Once that you are more familiar with the controls you may find it easier to identify "typical" trouble spots and to deal with them. Well, apparently at that point you may have learned something.

I'm not trying to explain away a problematic issue. I guess that there can always be another improvement anywhere in the code; the question however is whether that particular point is so urgent that we should address it with priority.