Battlezone Forums

Why is it that with all the sophisticated improvements we have, we still dont have bz1's "hunt" function?

It can be added via ODF, but as there is no 'hunting' code behind it, all that the command does is to send the unit to coordinates 0,0,0 (centre of the map) and back.

It would be nice if the command made units follow a pre-placed AI path, such as "hunt1", "hunt2" etc...

It can be done by DLL intercept, but only with scriptor DLLs that are watching a particular unit or with C++ DLLs.

bigbadbogie wrote:It can be added via ODF, but as there is no 'hunting' code behind it, all that the command does is to send the unit to coordinates 0,0,0 (centre of the map) and back.

It would be nice if the command made units follow a pre-placed AI path, such as "hunt1", "hunt2" etc...

It can be done by DLL intercept, but only with scriptor DLLs that are watching a particular unit or with C++ DLLs.

Can the human controlled AI units patrol along a set of navigation points or is that only possible with the enemy AI? Thanks.

As with the AI, yes via dll it can be done. Your units are no different than those of the AI, they are just controlled a bit differently. You can only press the available buttons, the dll just does with or without buttons.

if you want to see patrols in action, check out the latest G66 or FE mods.

I made a hunt DLL that worked via plotting random positions and giving a patrol order to that random location if the high difference was not too great. Of course, this failed because I had to keep the units under human control, and every time they got an order from the DLL at the priority to leave them under human control, they gave the voice over like the user had given the order. Picture this with 10 or more tanks where the orders are received milliseconds apart causing them to be separate sounds int he queue. I stopped hunting after 5 min and had it playing the sounds for given orders for like 2 hours before I just closed it.

Solve the priority of user order = voice over problem and I can make a fluid dynamic hunt by DLL.

I think BZ1 used pre-placed 'hunt' pathes.

That way the order to each unit would only need to be given once N1.

bigbadbogie wrote:I think BZ1 used pre-placed 'hunt' pathes.

That way the order to each unit would only need to be given once N1.

In a way. If the enemy is in detection range but AI settings prevent the hunting unit from engaging without an attack command from DLL, that doesn't help. You would think patrol meant patrol but the AI is fidgety.

I guess I could try spawning paths dynamically and then calling them up rather than free range.

I have never had any problems with patrolling units attacking enemies... not until the enemy is out of engage range anyway.

Maybe the DLL scriptor 'patrol' command does something extra than just ordering units to patrol.

It could, it also might not. I know the scriptor's commands to move objects are actually far more in the background (the spinning and moving object code).

Exactly. It might subtly order units to attack for a certain period and then return to the patrol for instance.

Or... maybe patrolling as an AI task has been damaged since PB5 (when I last used it).

I've been using it in place of goto for my hunt simulation without actual paths, just locations, so perhaps that is it. (I was intercepting any of the common orders to cancle hunt mode, so I had to find something other than goto.)

subAttackTask

Red Devil wrote:subAttackTask

That being just one of several settings, I didn't feel like digging up a list of.