Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[urkspleen]

When you send the gargantuan to attack, what almost always happens is that only the leading half's weapons are in range, or can swivel around to fire at the target you choose, while the other half (sometimes just the turbo-laser) pretty much sits there unless other enemies come close...I don't know anything about coding or anything else that this might involve, but can someone somehow rewrite the AI (I think that is the write term) for the Gargantuan so that when it attacks, it swing the "back end" around so both ends can fire with the most effectiveness at the same target?

[Solar]

Re-writing the AI is difficult at its best.

You can do that yourself though if you make it face the right direction by clicking and dragging when you give a movement order.

[urkspleen]

yeah..I've been able to to the clicking and dragging thing, and it works sometimes...it's hard because the arrow is hidden beneath the gargantuan. It just doesn't make a lot of sense not to, because isn't that would any commander want...almost like a broadside, you get the most and biggest guns firing at once for maximum efficiency.

can you make it automatically make it face a certain angle to the target or something?

[Solar]

no, it is all based on calculations, getting the most power on the enemy. Are you sure it isn't the best it could be? the power of those cannons it gets to fire against the enemy could be more powerful than just one side of the gargantuan.

[urkspleen]

when one "head" of the gargantuan is facing its target, at most it fires 1 turbolaser and 4 laser cannons (sometimes the farthest pair don't fire). if a "side" faced the target, you would get 2 turbolasers and 2 laser cannons. Turbolasers, to my knowledge, do a lot more damage than laser cannons, and more than makes up for the lower number of weapons brought to bear. (5 for "head" on target, 4 for "side".) The net result is that you get the best mixture of number and sized guns if you "broadside"

[Solar]

i don't know, check how strong each weapon is and what type of damage they do. that makes it more complex than you think.

[urkspleen]

I know what you mean. i would check it if I knew how, but from a logical standpoint what I said makes sense. Turbolasers probably do more damage against hard targets like vehicles and structures, and laser cannons focus more on infantry and light vehicles.

[Solar]

exactly, which side it uses will probably change depending on what you ask it to target.

[urkspleen]

can we do that? or are you saying that it does that already...

i think you are saying that to make this change most effective, you would need to make it use the weapons that are best suited specific to each target?

if you're saying that, than I like the idea....makes sense

[Solar]

i think it already does that, hence the odd behaviour.

[urkspleen]

 After a brief analysis (I played the game), I have found the following:

My initial premise was not entirely correct. However, I did find problems with the Gargantuan's AI. The Gargantuan displays a "lazy" behavior:

1. When sent to attack a building or non-moving target from a location not currently in range, the Gargantuan will only advance enough untill the point where only 1 turbolaser can fire, or is in range (this will only change if the target approaches the gargantuan, and as more weapons come into range they will fire).
2. If the Gargantuan is firing on a target, and then is told to switch to a target that is already within range of at least 1 weapon, it will not move to fire more efficiently (only weapons in range will fire, vehicle will not move to use more).
3. The Gargantuan does not change position when firing on targets of different classes (i.e., infantry, vehicles, buildings). This means that no matter the target, the Gargantuan's behavior will follow 1 and 2.

My conclusion is that if a change will be made, it should somehow focus on making the Gargantuan more aggressive and efficient.

(this analysis is drawn from brief gameplay. If anyone finds something different, please post it)

[Tanus]

After a brief analysis (I played the game), I have found the following:

My initial premise was not entirely correct. However, I did find problems with the Gargantuan's AI. The Gargantuan displays a "lazy" behavior:

1. When sent to attack a building or non-moving target from a location not currently in range, the Gargantuan will only advance enough untill the point where only 1 turbolaser can fire, or is in range (this will only change if the target approaches the gargantuan, and as more weapons come into range they will fire).
2. If the Gargantuan is firing on a target, and then is told to switch to a target that is already within range of at least 1 weapon, it will not move to fire more efficiently (only weapons in range will fire, vehicle will not move to use more).
3. The Gargantuan does not change position when firing on targets of different classes (i.e., infantry, vehicles, buildings). This means that no matter the target, the Gargantuan's behavior will follow 1 and 2.

My conclusion is that if a change will be made, it should somehow focus on making the Gargantuan more aggressive and efficient.

(this analysis is drawn from brief gameplay. If anyone finds something different, please post it)

I tested, and found the exact same as you.  Damn thing sure is lazy! Anywho, I tried moving it around manually when I wanted it to kill something else, which worked ok, it just isn't practical.

Is there any way that any of you know of to fix this?

[urkspleen]

like I said, I know nothing of modding...this is something to ask a mod-team member or experienced user...

[Solar]

Unfortunatly to get it to work properly is difficult.

Remember that i, a 16 year old teenager, would have to try and simulate a master tactician using complex maths to work out all the figures. Not to mention i am not that good at LUA yet,

[urkspleen]

Is there anyone else who can help you?

maybe distribute the math to people, have them solve it, and give it back to you?

[Solar]

The math could be distributed but only Mike knows the LUA to do it and his maths is more than capable so not really.

[urkspleen]

not really meaning what?....meaning that it can't be done?

[Solar]

meaning that it would be pointless distributing the maths,

[urkspleen]

ok....is this change still on the slightest possible way feasible? 

[Solar]

possibly, but it is a lot of work.