Release 2.5.0 - Turing
Added new FSM with greatly streamlined performance and functionality
Added Group Memory layer for CQB
Added infantry cover seeking function
Added infantry ability to reposition within buildings
Added better checks to skip out FSM if AI behaviour is forced
Added new leadership assessment, contact, and tactics state
Added Group Attack -- making the entire group attack a single target
Added Group Garrison -- letting groups temporarily garrison buildings
Added Group Hold – groups without clear sight of enemies or when overwhelmed by enemy fire will reassess while hiding and manning nearby static weapons
Added group ability to respond to distant snipers by suppression or garrisoning or counter-attacking
Added Dynamic Reinforcement framework with a reinforcement event handler*
Added Eden settings to toggle group AI and reinforcement option
Added improvements to taskAssault waypoint (reliability and tactical proficiency)
Add two different ‘contact states**
Added ability for vehicles to call artillery fires
Added more refined support for ACE3 medical AI. (Fewer instances of AI attempting first aid while engaging or under fire).
Added friendly fire check to AI called artillery
Added units set to ‘FULL’ speedMode will not choose slow or defensive tactical options.
Added improved handling of mechanized/armoured infantry working in conjunction with tanks. Tanks will cover while infantry attack
Added post-contact behaviour. Units with active groupMemory will continue clearing suspected enemy locations.
Added more active use of ‘enableAttack’ in contact and group actions to more tightly control AI.
Added and improved player UI elements
Added Polish Localisation
Added Russian Localisation
Added many performance fixes and enhancements
Improved mod file structure for easier maintenance
Improved FSM priorities for added dynamism
Improved vehicle AI performance and speed
Improved infantry group AI in scope and intelligence
Improved CQB ability by increasing aggression and movement speeds
Improved infantry dodging and seeking cover
Improved group flanking
Improved group hiding
Improved group assaults in speed and consistency
Improved check body routines by differentiating between allies and enemies and adding a shared communications and group memory layer
Improved fleeing state in speed and cover seeking ability by assessing enemies within line of sight or current suppression states
Improved and fixed various aspects of civilian AI
Improved armed trucks will continuously suppress targets and will attempt to shift location if threatened.
Improved handling and threat management of armoured vehicles shifting locations
Improved FSM timings
Improved many debug markers and system messages
Improved group assessment state with better performance and more intelligent responses to enemy presence
Improved AI will attempt to suppress targets at longer ranges
Improved AI will use ‘hide’ and ‘garrison’ tactics in smarter, less intrusive manners.
Improved debug information with more salient content in Debug UI
Improved debug draw performance
Fixed Debug UI not resetting on Single player Restart
Fixed Debug UI not removing old and unused controls correctly
Fixed group hiding from being too invasive
Fixed Infantry fighting vehicles and tanks unwillingness to destroy buildings held by enemies.
Fixed AI units becoming stuck in ‘ATTACK’ pattern when an enemy is incapacitated with ACE3 enabled.
Fixed civilian AI running in place
Fixed Static artillery (mortars and modded guns) not resetting after a fire mission.
Fixed AI less likely to drop prone away from cover
Fixed packing and unpacking static weapons. Occasionally modded weapons would fail to register. Function more reliable overall.
Fixed units that have gone through a contact state will always re-assess.
Fixed units without ready weapons attempting to assault into CQB!
Fixed friendly fire issue with contact state
Changed lambs_wp_fnc_taskReset now returns a group instead of boolean.
Removed CQB formations***
This is the long-awaited full structural improvement and rewrite of the mod. It comes with a
fresh new FSM and reorganised and improved functions. In truth, the listed changelog does
not do it justice as nearly every function has been improved or expanded. Listing all changes
would add page upon page.
Tactically, the AI is smarter than ever. Individually, the new FSM brings an entirely new
experience in fighting AI. Responsiveness has been much improved, and the AI is more
likely to apply suppressive fire to known and suspected enemy positions. Group assessment
stages have been equally improved and the group tactics have been painstakingly tested and
tried and expanded.
Units engaged in CQB will share targets and building information within their own group. This adds a group memory layer, which means units will try to search through and attack
suspected enemy positions in a coordinated manner. Units that are out of range will
contribute suppressive fire.
Reinforcements
This version also adds a simple, yet potent reinforcement system connected directly to the
information sharing feature. Reinforcing groups will make simple pre-battle assessments and
may deploy or pack static weapons, change formations, or other acts of reorganisation. As
always, it is non-invasive and is only activated on groups set by the mission maker.
Use is easy. Set a variable on the group, and this unit will now respond when allies within
radio communication range call for help. Setting the variable can be done in multiple ways:
Either through Zeus modules, Eden settings, or writing it directly to the group.
setVariable [“lambs_danger_enableGroupReinforce”, true, true];
With an entirely new FSM framework and reorganised file structure, we’re expecting some
trouble. Though rigorously tested internally, in many large scale games, there will
unquestionably be some hiccups. We will be on the ball to fix these as they come.
The new FSM brought with it some changes in functionality. Among those features which have been temporarily disabled are the CQB Formations module. The functionality exists in the back end, but the group memory feature is set to do a better job. We will listen to feedback in regards to re-implementing this in the future.
Many of the internal functions have been moved from the lambs_danger to the lambs_main module. This is part of the mod restructure, which makes the mod easier to maintain, more portable, and more customizable for the end-user. It comes with the unfortunate price of having to re-check your settings.
Finally, the team would like to give thanks to: DarkWanderer for excellent feedback on the civilian.fsm. MiszczuZPolski and Veteran29 for Polish translations and FoxnotMulder and Necrossin for Russian translations.
From the team
diwako / joko / nkenny
Steam Workshop: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1858075458
Addendum:
* REINFORCEMENT. The reinforcement feature could do with a few more words.
Groups with the reinforcement variable set will respond to friendly information sharing events. If the enemy is known, they will move towards that location. If not, they will move to the unit calling for help.
Groups will act with increased autonomy. Based on the distance and visibility of the enemy they will: Adopt formation changes. Shoot flares. Pack and unpack carried static weapons. More types of behaviour will be added in the future. Be aware that the reinforcement feature may override existing waypoints based on the context of the situation.
The level of emergent play can be enhanced by attaching more checks to the eventhandler: “lambs_main_onReinforce”. As per our design philosophy, the default implementation remains seamless. You won’t see AI randomly stealing cars or wandering away from their assigned tasks!
** CONTACT. On first spotting, the enemy or being fired at the unit will enter a contact state. This version expands the previous behaviour by introducing an aggressive Push-through response to units that, though threatened, are not both suppressed and surprised. In the aggressive response, the enemy will suppress known or likely enemy locations and attempt to move into and through them.
All in all the AI is quicker to respond to contacts and less likely to become stuck. Getting the drop on the enemy is more important than ever!
*** CQB formations removed for this version. Their old functionality is better handled by the group memory feature. The old framework has been updated and will be re-implemented under a different guise at a future time