Micromanaging

[Saint19]

As I get to know the sim a little bit better and as I watch Herman's videos(nice vids by the way) I am struck by how much micromanaging this takes.

I don't mind it to some extent. But overall I'd like to develop a plan, watch it start to take shape and intercede where appropriate. I'm not so much interested in choosing exactly what weapon to fire at a Mig, or which bomb to drop...or when to hit afterburner. I'd like to think the pilots and ship's crews have a good idea of what to do for more immediate concerns.

I do like watching it all play out and don't want the game to be such an overview that I'm only apprised of results. But I'm not sure I want THAT much micromanagement.

So I'm a little confused at the moment. I mean, is this inherent within the sim, or is it also mission specific, the micromanaging that is???

[Saint19]

Found an old thread from Matrix's forum that MarkShot started. He explains it in greater detail, and better than I did.

http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=1629600&mpage=1&key=&#1629600

[Herman Hum]

Glad that you enjoyed the videos and found them helpful. If you have further requests, just post them on the HfD and we'll try to meet them.

I agree that Harpoon (and MNO) require a great deal of micro-management. The AIs are simply unable to behave any more intelligently. I like to think of the H3 AI as the equivalent of a High School graduate. He does not have higher education, but he should be able to give you a fair and decent day's worth of work. The H3 AI is aggressive, but can be lured into traps.

In the last iteration of HUE v3.10, they released some of the control characteristics of the AI-controlled missions so that users could try and make the AI behave a bit more smartly. Unfortunately, they never explained how to use them. Also, they (probably, as far as I can tell) did not release the control parameters for the most important behaviours.

Global Conflict Blue 2 is likely the most advanced for AI management. They are currently working on AI scripts to handle behaviour. Unfortunately, even such 'simple' programming is probably beyond the abilities of most casual users.

To see just how weak the AI is, check out this pair of videos: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFCE2B0DBA0F13F2F
The same scenario is run twice; once under All AI-controlled missions, and a second time under manual control.

Unfortunately, in H3, it is not possible to mix human and AI control. Once you turn control over to the AI, you pretty much turn it over 100 percent. If you really want to test some ideas for transferring control to the AI, I can make a few suggestions. I rarely use AI missions when I play.

One thing you might wish to do is set up some simple AI missions such as Airborne Early Warning, Jamming, or fighter patrols. Once the enemy appears, you might wish to use the "Unassign" hotkey to take manual control back from the AI in order to conduct the mission, personally. The AI is generally competent to repeat mundane tasks and get the aircraft back to the base without running out of fuel.

[Saint19]

Well I know plenty of folks with high school diplomas that do just fine while I also know plenty with advanced graduate degrees that you can't get an honest or good day of work out of. Trust me on that one eh.

But I do realize there are many limits on what the AI can do. It'll never be able to think and react like a human, or have common sense. Regarding the AI behavior, yeah I'd like to explore having them do SOME tasks so that I don't have to micromanage everything.

One thing I tried to do was set waypoints and then have an ATTACK waypoint. I don't have that down yet as they release their weapons at the first waypoint before they ever get to the attack waypoint. I may have the sequence wrong.

[Herman Hum]

But I do realize there are many limits on what the AI can do. It'll never be able to think and react like a human, or have common sense. Regarding the AI behavior, yeah I'd like to explore having them do SOME tasks so that I don't have to micromanage everything.

One thing I tried to do was set waypoints and then have an ATTACK waypoint. I don't have that down yet as they release their weapons at the first waypoint before they ever get to the attack waypoint. I may have the sequence wrong.

I don't think setting up an Attack Waypoint works. Once you create a mission, it is LIVE throughout its duration. Of course, you should experiment for yourself.

The idea I had was:

1) Set up either a Generic Strike mission or a Specific Strike mission. If you do not know what a Specific Strike mission is, you can check out this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBxsHt3Q ... D8&index=7

2) Put a long delay on it. We can use the Alpha Strike 1 scenario as an example. The scenario duration is only 2 hours. So, put a 12 hr delay on the Strike Mission. This way, the AI doesn't take over and try to plot your aircraft on a different path.

3) Assign the planes to the mission.

4) Manually order the planes to launch.

5) Manually plot the path for the planes to the target.

6) As the planes come into range, they will fire on the first eligible target that fulfills the mission parameters.

This process might help you a bit. At least it allows you to control the flight path of the aircraft. However, they will fire as soon as range and altitude requirements are met. The aircraft might also do other things on their own such as activate radar/ECM. I am not positive about that. Remember, the aircraft may have altitude restrictions for their ordnance. Walleyes require 1000m altitude and CBUs cannot be dropped above an altitude of 3500m.

[Saint19]

Ok. I'll experiment over the next few days. I've seen the vids on ground strikes and how once you setup the mission the AI takes care of it...but just makes a beeline to the target. So yes I'd like to control the routes to some extent. I've seen there is a video for how to combine missions with plotting as well.

I can try with Alpha Strike. I would also like to be able to use these techniques in other missions. My own missions mean I'd know what was coming.

So it would be great to find other missions where I could use the tactics rather than only using them in simple missions I design.