If you command your squad member to target and engage an enemy target he will refuse to do so. He will then reply (often but not every time) "Negative" on the radio. {F21896} {F21897}
Description
Description
Details
Details
- Legacy ID
- 230712956
- Severity
- None
- Resolution
- Open
- Reproducibility
- Always
- Category
- AI Issues
Steps To Reproduce
Steps for AI_engage_bug_AT_test.Stratis_2.zip:
- Load the enclosed repro mission.
- Order your AT mate to stop.
- Move through the 3 checkpoints to the waypoint until you see an enemy Ifrit HMG.
- Reveal the Ifrit HMG to your AT mate.
- Order your mate to target the revealed enemy.
- Order your mate to engage the targeted enemy.
- Nothing should happen at all. There should be silence in the radio and no action taken by the AT mate.
- Now order your AT mate to move to a position in a third checkpoint marked by a blue arrow with the target and engage command still active.
- He will say "Engaging" after directly spotting the Ifrit HMG but after a while of movement reports "Negative" and stops the engagement.
- Experiment with another positions where you move your mate and try to make him engage the target. You may find something interesting.
OBSOLETE but might be useful:
Steps for AI_engage_bug_far.Altis.zip:
- Load the enclosed repro mission.
- Reveal the enemy soldier in front of you or the enemy tank.
- Order your mate to target the revealed enemy.
- Order your mate to engage the targeted enemy.
- Fast forward the game time and wait.
- Watch your mate (on the map) fail the task ("Negative" reply long time of inability to accomplish the task - running all around the map taking a huge and long trip to get to the target).
Additional Information
There is another issue connected with this problem:
- If your mate reply "Negative" to your "Engage" order, the order is sometimes not cancelled and your mate is still in engage mode. Moreover, if you then give your mate some other target he will automatically try to engage this new target as if "Engage at will" command was given.
- It seems as if a direct LOS and/or distance to a target are the reasons for AI unit refusing to even start the engagement. This conclusion is apparent from the repro mission "AI_engage_bug_AT_test.Stratis_2.zip".
More info on the LOS and distance testing (22.4.2014):
- if there is a terrain or object blocking LOS of an unit which is supposed to engage a target, the engage process is not started at all (most of the time*)
- the distance between the engaging unit and its target might be an irrelevant factor after all but it will need more testing to confirm
- Sometimes the unit is able to start executing the engage process even if a terrain or object is blocking its LOS but will fail if the unit is not able to get direct LOS in few seconds after the start of the process. Sometimes the unit will run far far away in irrational directions.
Observed in Dev Beta 0.77.0.109751, Dev 1.09.114055 and Dev 1.19.123859.
Event Timeline
Comment Actions
In the repro mission you have set Combat Mode to "Hold Fire", which will remain so until you set it to "Open Fire". You also have "dostop this" on the unit's init which should also be interfering.
I did notice sometimes the engage order would make the unit turn away from the target apparently in a flanking manouver.
Comment Actions
The settings you have described are deliberate and wanted. The behaviour you see is happening even without those settings set up in a normal single player gameplay. It is set up only for better control over the tests. You can order him to open fire when he is in the engage mode. Sometimes he will attack the tank, but with the infantry target it is even less stable.
Comment Actions
It is connected to the HOLD FIRE command. Otherwise an AI subordinate is happy to engage a target close to me, even if I am kilometers away.
Comment Actions
Interesting. Thank you for the info.
EDIT:
Well, I have recently experienced situations when my AT gunner refused to engage an enemy armored car with his AT weapon. He was ordered to engage a spotted car but did absolutely nothing (no response, no movement). Then after a while said "Negative". Only when his LOS was completely clear he accepted the order but it took him quite a while to do something. HOLD FIRE was not active this time.
Comment Actions
OK, I have made a test case for this and can finally confirm that it is NOT connected to the HOLD FIRE command.
It seems as if having no direct LOS is the reason for a unit to not to engage.
Also when he finally had direct LOS he started to engage but after a few steps reported "Negative" and stopped the engagement.
So definitely, HOLD FIRE is not the reason.
Another thing I have observed is that a unit with no LOS and far away from the target will say nothing and do nothing and just keep quiet after you give him an order. Then, when you move him closer but still with no LOS he will say "Engaging" but reports "Negative" after few seconds. With direct LOS it is similar but he actually tries something.
EDIT:
Also, the engage command is still not correctly ended when unit reports "Negative". The unit is apparently given only a silent "No target" order but "Engage" is still active. See the info in the ticket.
EDIT2:
Would it be possible that he is reporting "Negative" because he lost LOS again?
Comment Actions
Uploaded a new repro mission and updated the info and steps.
EDIT: Updated the new repro mission.
EDIT2: Please, ignore the repro missions not mentioned in repro steps. I don't know how to delete obsolete uploads.
Comment Actions
Here you go:
AI_engage_bug_far.Altis.rar [^] (87 bytes) 2013-09-05 00:31
AI_engage_bug_AT_test.Stratis.rar [^] (3,147 bytes) 2014-01-09 08:13
AI_engage_bug_AT_test.Stratis.zip [^] (4,465 bytes) 2014-01-09 08:32
Thank you.
Comment Actions
After some random gameplay I believe even more that blocked LOS could have major influence on this bug. But I can be wrong.
EDIT: I will try to test this theory when I have some free time.
Comment Actions
OK, what I have found out so far is this:
- the engage command is apparently broken in many ways
- if there is a terrain or object blocking LOS of an unit which is supposed to engage a target, the engage process is not started at all (most of the time*)
- the distance between the engaging unit and its target might be an irrelevant factor after all but it will need more testing to confirm
- this bug is probably going to be rather complicated to test and fix**
- Sometimes the unit is able to start executing the engage process even if a terrain or object is blocking its LOS but will fail if the unit is not able to get direct LOS in few seconds after the start of the process. Sometimes the unit will run far far away in irrational directions.
- I am asking anyone with enough scripting knowledge if he/she is able to prepare better, exact and more analytical repro-mission to test this.