AI number 2 dumb as hell?

[Scorpion82]

I'm currently flying my 1st campaign and started enjoying the game after investing most of the time in studying and modding.

The problem I have now is that my wingman (number 2) don't do anything at all. If I command him "attack" my target he says "can't comply" regardless of target range. He is never firing anything at all. "Cover my back" is confirmed, but again my wingman does nothing, which actually costed me a virtual live the last time.

Interestingly number 3 & 4 are happily engaging air threats if I order them to do so.

 

So my question is, is the dumb number 2 a bug or could it be owed to the settings/aircraft dat-file mods?

[Vampyre]

So my question is, is the dumb number 2 a bug or could it be owed to the settings/aircraft dat-file mods?

 

Well, It has been my experience that #2 is in fact a #2. He will shoot Mavericks when instructed. When I use him for anything, I will load him with EO guided missiles and that is it. If you give him any other weapons (rounds for the gun included) he will promptly get shot down. As soon as he has exhausted his Mavericks I send him home. Other than that he is useless. If you are counting on him to help you, your virtual pilot might as well do this... :suicide2:

[+SayethWhaaaa]

You gotta bear in mind that your number #2 (lol, number 2!) is only as dumb as you let him be. If you tell him/them to attack a target, they generally will. But once that target is dead, they'll need another one to attack which you have to designate to them (ie, order them to kill). AGMs are good for this as they'll be rather economical with them, but load them up with iron bombs, cluster munitions, etc, and they'll drop a quite a few. I have noticed that sometimes you'll get a "can't comply", but I'm not sure why as I've flown a series of sorties with similar armaments and occasionally they won't. When you detect airborne targets, they sometimes won't shoot outside of their own detection range, but the bigger problem I seem to see more often with air to air engagements is that, despite being loaded out with AHM/SAHMs, my #2, even the others will close to IRM/gun range and take them on. Also, don't forget with your #2 to make sure you use the status check option or F6 to skip to their aircraft so you can keep tabs on their ordinance situation.

[Scorpion82]

You gotta bear in mind that your number #2 (lol, number 2!) is only as dumb as you let him be. If you tell him/them to attack a target, they generally will. But once that target is dead, they'll need another one to attack which you have to designate to them (ie, order them to kill). AGMs are good for this as they'll be rather economical with them, but load them up with iron bombs, cluster munitions, etc, and they'll drop a quite a few. I have noticed that sometimes you'll get a "can't comply", but I'm not sure why as I've flown a series of sorties with similar armaments and occasionally they won't. When you detect airborne targets, they sometimes won't shoot outside of their own detection range, but the bigger problem I seem to see more often with air to air engagements is that, despite being loaded out with AHM/SAHMs, my #2, even the others will close to IRM/gun range and take them on. Also, don't forget with your #2 to make sure you use the status check option or F6 to skip to their aircraft so you can keep tabs on their ordinance situation.

 

Well in the campaign my #2 never engages any aerial targets, I'm currently flying AA only. It doesn't matter what the situation is he never launches a single missile or uses his gun, he simply won't do anything except for flying in formation with me and brabbling some stuff. He even says "can't comply" when I order him to switch off radar. I have seen him sometimes engaging targets in "single mission", but that's rare. It is possible to adjust the "visible distance" in the aircraft's data.ini to increase actual engagement range for AI and allows for the use of BVR missiles. As said #3 & #4 do so quite well, #2 doesn't.

[+MigBuster]

What jet are you flying and what weapons?

 

 

The only time I ever saw a #2 refusing orders when not damaged, on bingo fuel, not defensive/offensive was when I loaded 6 AIM-9Ls on all the stock F-16As - reduce it to 4 and for some reason all is well - not sure if this ever got fixed in SF2 because havnt tried it.

[+Gepard]

I also had no problem with the wingman when flying Intercept or CAP missions. My experience was that i designated a target for the wingman then i shot this target down and my No.2 was from now hunting the other enemy planes on his own and got sometimes kills too .

[Scorpion82]

I'm flying the Eurofighter in WOE with 10/2008 patch. I have lowered the max visible distance and will check it out again.

[Lt. James Cater]

I would have to question this also.

 

In a campaign flying F-15s, my favorite wingman got 30+ kills. Usually i gave him his first target or two but he was quite successful in some wild dogfights on his own.

[Derk]

they'll be rather economical with them, but load them up with iron bombs, cluster munitions, etc, and they'll drop a quite a few.

 

The number of bombs dropped per pass as well as the use of gun ammo (length of the burst) can be set in the .ini 's (have to look up in which one, don't have it at hand in my office). Sure gives your wingman as well as the other flight/squadron members the capability to attack more than a single ground target.

 

Hou doe,

 

Derk

[Sakai]

Well gents, I may be able to help on this one. Your #2 engaging or not depends on his Experience, Morale, Fatigue, etc. When you start out your flight, make sure you pick a wing man with a high level of experience, as I have noticed this is the most important factor in his performance. When you tell him to attack a target, he will, air or ground. This does not change the way they attack targets. They will still use a whole string of bombs on a single ZPU. One way to increase their efficiency is to load them with two different types of bombs, so they drop one type per pass, or with mavericks so they will cherry pick designated targets. Very often, with a flight of two, I will have the #2 carry Anti-Radar missiles and cluster bombs. That way he keeps ADA off my back and I can kill the primary target.

[Derk]

Look into the aircraftobject.ini : you can set the number of bombs dropped per bombrun, the number of rockets fired (all through the "release count") and the lenght of the burst fired by the guns ("cannonburstlenght" in A2A, "releaseinterval" in strafe/ A2G), thereby limiting the use of ordnance by your wingman and the other flight members.

I set the release count for bombs at 2 and my wingman indeed uses 2 bombs per run.

Makes it possible to use your wingman on more than one groundtarget.

.

If I am mistaken in this please correct me......

 

Hou doe,

 

Derk

Edited June 4, 2010 by Derk

[Sakai]

Derk - My install shows that file to be a .dll, not a .ini. Can I edit them in the same fashion?

[+MigBuster]

No - my advice is leave dlls well alone.

 

aircraftobject.ini is in the object.cat

[Derk]

Derk - My install shows that file to be a .dll, not a .ini. Can I edit them in the same fashion?

 

Migbuster is right, extract it from the object.cat. I did it for SF1, WOI and WOE.

Don't know how it is for SF2

 

Hou doe,

 

Derk

[Lt. James Cater]

Not sure about all these inis and dlls but...

 

Just finished a mission about a half hour ago with a wingman bright enough to shoot down a MIG-25 while flying an A-7!

 

Yesterday, another wingman flying a Harrier bagged two Mig25s out of a flight that jumped us. Sometimes you just get surprised by what the AI can do.

[+MigBuster]

A lot of AI pilot will get into a slow turning fight regardless of jet :)

[Guest flavius_opium_maccus]

Look into the aircraftobject.ini : you can set the number of bombs dropped per bombrun, the number of rockets fired (all through the "release count") and the lenght of the burst fired by the guns ("cannonburstlenght" in A2A, "releaseinterval" in strafe/ A2G), thereby limiting the use of ordnance by your wingman and the other flight members.

I set the release count for bombs at 2 and my wingman indeed uses 2 bombs per run.

Makes it possible to use your wingman on more than one groundtarget.

.

If I am mistaken in this please correct me......

 

Hou doe,

 

Derk

 

I did that but after a while No2 won't "respect" the rule, he throughs all his bombs (no matter they are the same type or not) to the target, the other wingmen don't though !

It's true, I made some modification since then but nothing major I guess to influence this, but...

Do you have any idea what could interfere with the issue ? I would appreciate an opinion and some help as well.Thank you

[Derk]

One thing I've seen is that number 2 drops everything (including his ALQ 131 !!!!! ) when attacked by enemy air. That could be one of the issues and I wouldn't know how to prevent that or where it can be tweaked..

 

Hou doe,

 

Derk

 

 

[+Spectre_USA]

If you order them to go air-to-air, there goes the mud-moving munitions.

 

Same as when they get locked up by an air radar.

 

This behavior has been going on since I can remember.

 

When it comes to "cannot comply" when asked to peel a bandit off your 6, it seems that happens when they've been asked to

hit a ground target.

 

But the number one most irritating thing the AI does is run out of stand off weapons, and takes a guns run on a Zeus quad.

If they are good, they'll actually take it out as the stream of 23mm turns them into a mulchy paste-like substance...

 

[Guest flavius_opium_maccus]

If you order them to go air-to-air, there goes the mud-moving munitions.

 

Same as when they get locked up by an air radar.

 

This behavior has been going on since I can remember.

 

When it comes to "cannot comply" when asked to peel a bandit off your 6, it seems that happens when they've been asked to

hit a ground target.

 

But the number one most irritating thing the AI does is run out of stand off weapons, and takes a guns run on a Zeus quad.

If they are good, they'll actually take it out as the stream of 23mm turns them into a mulchy paste-like substance...

 

 

 

Interesting things...They are good to know, by all means.

But the situation described by me is a little different. Maybe I didn't stress it out properly. No2 does all that I was saying above in previous post, when has no pressure of that kind you mentioned. (not attacked or targeted by other enemy aircraft, there were no SAMs in that period I choose the mission and as I recall there wasn't any radar at all near that airstrip where the target was. ) And I could swear that his behavior was exemplary (lol) after I modified that "aircraftobjects.ini" file, the lines concerning how many bombs to drop in one pass.

Keeping in mind the situations you mentioned above ....it is...weird , because No3 and No4 they continue to drop (2 bombs at one pass) EVEN if there is a dogfight going on near them or they are targeted or shoot them at ! Strange, isn't it ? It's like a rule is applied only to some. I will continue to observe the matter and bring my conclusions.

I read that when you ask No2 to attack a bogey and he refuses is because he can't VISUALY see the target yet. And I noticed that when he's beside me, in formation and I have a enemy plane in front of me and it's VISIBLE on the HUD , he attacks the plane if ordered so.

 

 

PS - "he threw away the ALQ 131" That was a good one !

Edited June 16, 2010 by flavius_opium_maccus