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AI seems to be god-like when it comes to honing in on player position even when player is at distance and concealed
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Description

Background/Problem:
I’m proposing a tweak to how AI detects players who are concealed at a distance; however, I could see this applying to (some) vehicles as well but will stick to talking about players below.

I have no idea how the AI targeting algorithms work but as a developer I can imagine how I might attempt to implement them. That said (and I'm making a leap/assumption here) but if the AI "sees" essentially what would be rendered for a non-AI player by the rendering engine then I can extrapolate some ideas as to what give it this god-like power even when the other player is almost entirely concealed. Note that when I say the AI "see" I obviously mean what the algorithms let the AI detect/sense given they are not coupled to the rendering engine.

Before I continue, I actually plan to address the rendering issues/suggestions presented here in a separate bug/tweak as I feel this can be incorporated into the rendering engine thereby improving the overall immersion and realism of combat. That said I need to go into detail on those rendering algorithms so I can use them as a comparison to what I would sense the AI “see.”

Since I think ARMA 2 (or maybe an ARMA 1 patch – I’ve played since OFP in ’02 and I know it was one of the ARMAs) concealment in grass or other objects that only render to a certain distance leads to just a portion of the players body being rendered at greater distance (i.e. distances beyond where grass and some shrubs are rendered). For example if one player is prone and the other player is at a distance of 1000 meters they may only see the top of the other players head and backside in the grass.

While a great feature the way that blends into the background coupled with the fact that the grass is replaced with the flat ground texture makes finding the players relatively easy depending on the cover involved (especially if they move a little but it’s not required). This is because other players tend to stick out like rocks/objects and hence this becomes a way to detect players (i.e. just zoom in on anything that looks like a rock or other outcropping). I feel this really hinders game play because otherwise concealed players stick out like a sore “rock.” :P

Shifting back to AI. If the AI “sees” the same kind of information and in their case the bits of the player that are “visible” are sensed/discerned as a player and not rocks or other objects I can see how the AI get their abilities. Note that I feel the AI is also bel to discern between a rock and a player’s clothing/body nearly instantly so this probably should be tweaked as well per the adjustment factors I propose below.

My suggestion:
I suggest that the AI engine (and rendering engine but that’s another tweak/bug) apply a few adjustment factors to determine how discernable something is from the background. As a first go, I can see a percentage concealed modifier coupled with size/area, player camouflaging (uniform), and distance of the player being concealed.

The concealment modifier would be based on the percentage of the player’s body that is concealed (or conversely exposed).

Size would take into account not just the physical size (i.e. body plus holstered/stowed weapons, vehicle size, etc) but also the overall “area” of what is visible. For example a prone player at level height will only expose their head/weapon while the same player viewed from a vantage point that is 10 meters higher would potentially expose far more of their body (legs, back etc).

Coupled with the concealment modifier, size, gives a rough estimate for the magnitude of what is potentially exposed to another player/AI. I would say that depending on the size a player would have to be at least 70% concealed for any rendering/detection modifiers I propose to be applicable but I leave such a threshold up to BI .

Player camouflaging (fatigues, color vs background color, ghillie, civilian clothing, etc) would then be coupled with distance to slowly blend and eventually fade out a player. A character with bright red clothing would not blend or fade out at nearly the same distance as the same player wearing terrain favorable fatigues.

Effect of Optics:
Optics would be treated as a distance modifier to these adjustment (i.e. reduce distance). That said care needs to be taken here as well. If they reduce distance they should also potentially re-enable the rendering/effect of grasses/objects otherwise the player will be just as visible as before. If rendering or effect of grasses can’t be enabled via optics then they need to start blending per the other adjustment factors. To be clear effect of grass in the last 2 sentences relates to the AI algorithms.

Thermal:
Continue to work as is

Conclusion:
The net effect is this allows a player to stay hidden more effectively from both the AI and players. In terms of the impact to the AI detection algorithms I think it will keep the AI looking a bit longer before they hone in on a player.
I fully realize there is a lot more that needs to be flushed out on a design suggestion like this but this is at least the start of a conversation. For example do irregular/mechanical objects stand out more thereby affecting adjustments (i.e. rocket launcher).
Furthermore I realize that while this makes sense to me it could be alien to whoever reads it so I’m more than willing to expand and clarify these ideas.

Details

Severity
Tweak
Resolution
Open
Reproducibility
Always
Operating System
Windows 10 x64
Category
AI Aiming / Shooting
Steps To Reproduce
  1. Load up some AI on a patrol (no thermal gear) a) they can be perpendicular to your position, or going away, it doesn't matter as long as they aren't aware of your position initially
  1. Have the player at some distance and concealed very well
  2. Fire at one of the AI (no need to kill as per above just a single shot that lands near them is often all it takes but sometimes it takes a couple). Regardless stay concealed and still and only take additional shots if the AI remain for the most part unaware
  3. AI hunts for a second, finds you, and you start to take near direct shots even though you're effectively concealed and would be nearly impossible to find.
Additional Information

Some Examples:

Situation:
A player wearing terrain favorable fatigues has their body entirely concealed by a shrub and only a fraction of their head is visible (concealment at 90%) as is a portion of their main weapon.

Short range (i.e. grass , shrub, or object still rendered):
Everything is fully rendered as is today.

Medium Range (i.e. grass, shrub, or object no longer rendered):
Everything is fully rendered as is today but based on the adjustment factors (concealment, size, cammo, distance) the player is blended and faded into the background textures.

Long range:
Same as Medium but more fading and blending occurs and the player eventually disappears.

Same example user crouches and is not well concealed (80%):
The distance required to achieve the same blending/fading increases because the visible area/size and concealment have all changed.

Same example but the player is standing up and only 65% concealed:
Concealment threshold of 70% isn’t met so the player is rendered just as they are today.

Same example but the prone player has a AA launcher on their person:
Size/area increases and cammo decrease which pushes the distance at which blending and fading occur.

Same example but the prone player is wearing bright red:
The user’s clothing gives their position away very easily and they cannot attain concealment (though I could see 95+% concealment % doing helping out in such cases but that would be an additional parameter).