AI bot feedback

I've been playing around with the bots since I found out that I can play other game modes with them in local play, using the new admin menu. So I decided to collect some feedback for AI guy at NWI. I hope this helps to make the AI better! 🙂

All the feedback is from push game mode this time. I used AI notarget to make the AI ignore me and just observed them battling and didn't interfere with them at all. Here's what I found:

Bot features I currently like a lot

  • Bots cap points better than before.
  • Bots do run for cover.
  • They actively use the 50cal truck in push when attacking!
  • They actively use smoke grenades when attacking. I think the attacking team bots could spam them even more though! 🙂
  • Bots take up positions when defending/attacking an objective.
  • Bots on both team seem to rush to the objective when it's contested.

I think the AI is already way better than it was in INS2. Of course there are things to improve, but there is definitely lots of potential!

Here are my current suggestions for improving the bot AI

BOT FIGHTING SKILLS

  • Current bot accuracy is probable tweaked for COOP play. Even when I raised the bot skill to 1 from 0.5, the bots were very inaccurate. Bot accuracy should be much higher for other game modes than COOP. I think a good idea would probably be a slider where you can set bot accuracy separately from other "bot skills"

  • Bots shoot a lot the times just full auto, instead of semi or short burst. Combined with inaccuracy, they burn through their ammo really fast. Maybe they could use semi auto more (the closer the range, the faster they shoot on semi) and use full auto only when going to builds or something like that.

  • Sometimes the bots reload at weird times (like see an enemy, shoot a few rounds, then reload while still engaged with the enemy). Maybe the bots could reload a full mag if they are not engaging anything currently or have not seen an enemy for some time if they don't have a full or near full mag.

  • There are some bugs when bots are taking cover from enemy. Sometimes their first reaction when spotting an enemy, is to run to cover, even when the enemy is close and a better choice would have been to just crouch and fire at the enemy right away. Similar situations have also lead to some weird choice of cover: sometimes bot apparently chooses a cover, that is behind the enemy, so they try to run past the enemy and get gunned down. Maybe have bots take cover away from enemy. Also, if not under fire maybe choose to shoot the enemy first. If under fire first, then maybe take cover as the first reaction. This has also lead sun funny situations 🙂 Once 6 security bots with main weapons spotted an insugent enemy, who had pistol in his hand, but apparently no ammo. The 6 guys start running for cover and the insurgent bot switched to his melee weapon and started chasing those 6 security bots 😃

  • I don't think marksman-bots or gunner-bots are looking for any kind of firing positions at the moment? They seem to run a lot and fire while standing a lot, which I don't think is optimal for those classes. Maybe there could be some sort of class specific behaviour for the bots?

  • Demolition-bot could more actively look for the 50cal truck, to take it out, if the team knows its location. The truck was not taken out that often, even though it happened some times.

  • Commander-bot of the attacking teams is not using smoke mortar at the moment. That could be changed.

  • Bots are using flashbangs outdoors, which is not optimal. Maybe the bots should only use them indoors.

  • Bots of the attacking team could maybe proceed slower and wait for a new wave if something like 50% of teammates are down, before pushing forward.

  • I think bots should crouch more often when they stop to shoot the enemy. I think bots should also always crouch when they stop moving (unless they need to see over and obstacle).

  • Bots should resupply if they run out of ammo.

  • Sometimes multiple bots are trying to man the 50cal MG on the truck. That leads to weird situations, like bots dancing back and forth between trying to man the gun and moving to the next objective. Only one bot at a time should try to man the gun.

  • Bots use pistol a lot. I wonder if this is because they fire full auto, they are inaccurate and thus waste their ammo really fast from their main weapon.

  • Bots of both teams sometimes take positions in places, that are nowhere near the objective (like Farmhouse, security attack, house near A. There used to be an objective in that house in previous versions). What might be the cause of this?

  • It's good that bots take cover when they see the enemy. It would be good though, if the bots would be able to move from cover to cover more proactively, maybe using information based on the know enemy locations or something. Now taking cover is reactive and a lot of the times it's too late.

NAVIGATING

  • Bots move too close to each other. Bots also move the exact same path with other bots too much, resulting in a conga line.

  • Bots get stuck in certain places:

Farmhouse, security attack, big concrete obstacles near C.
Farmhouse, security attack, a building near A, bots from both teams like take up positions inside of that building and won't move, unless someone steps on the objective A.
Farmhouse, insurgent attack, big concrete obstacles near E. Insurgent bots get stuck the after respawning.
Oilfield, insurgent attack, doublestairs between obj A and B
Oilfield, big concrete obstacle before obj D.

  • Bots are currently using 1-2 routes when moving towards an objective, most of the time coming from a single direction in big numbers. It would be nice have bots approach the obj from different angles. Would make them more unpredictable maybe.

  • Bots sometimes change their plans back and forth. This leads to them moving, well, back and forth instead of proceeding to the objective. I think I've only seen this with the attacking team bots. Or at least it occurs more often there.

  • I don't think I have seen demolition-bot use their GL. I understand, that this might be a good setting for COOP, but for push and other gamemodes they should be able to use it normally. They should be able to explode anything just normally! 🙂

OBJECTIVES

  • When attacking the final objective in push, a lot of the bots will not go to blow up the cache. Instead they take camping positions around it. There were situations where the attacking team got stuck: everyone were camping near the cache, but no one went to blow it up. Other times it works well, a bot from the attacking team just goes straight to cache and blows it up. But there is inconsistency here for some reason.

  • Defending bots might be too aggressive and run around too much at the objective. They take positions at the objective, but give up their position whenever an enemy steps on the objective. Maybe the bots already at the objective should move slower (running gives away their position)? Maybe if the bots at the objective are outnumbered, they just decide to camp and keep the objective until reinforcements arrive? It's good though, that bots who arent' at the objective, try to rush there!

  • Defending team bots should run to their defensive positions in the beginning of the round. Now they just walk there.

  • Bots should always sprint when they retreat to the next objective, when defending.

OTHER

  • Maybe the gunner-bot should always have heavy carrier so he doesn't run out of ammo?

  • It would be nice to be able to define the different loadouts for bots. They maybe don't need to have smokes when defending and when they are attacking they would have loadouts with more smokes.

I hope this helps the AI guy! 🙂