Apologies for the long gap in updates; I haven’t had the energy to work on Parabellum recently due to work being very stressful and all consuming. Thankfully, we’re now at the end of that project, so I’ve had the chance to pick this up again.
I’ve spent some time recently improving the vehicle AI. Previously, it would only advance on the target, before stopping and firing. It was basic, but functional. I wanted to add a little more to it, to make enemy and allied vehicles less static targets.
How the AI works
When an AI controlled vehicle picks a target, it checks if it’s in range. If it isn’t, it first tried to move into effective range. Once able to bring weapons to bear, it will fire a few shots, and then “shuffle” a little, moving to a different spot nearby to try and throw off the enemy’s aim. A player may duck into cover to reload, then find the enemy has moved when they re-emerged.
The AI will also attempt to move into a flanking position at random intervals. The most common type is to attempt to move to the left or right of their target, but they can also attempt to get behind too. The idea is, more veteran units will flank more frequently, with elite units trying to get behind their target more often.
The AI will re-assess it’s movement if the target has also moved; so it will not blindly go to a spot that is no longer a flanking angle.
It’s not perfect, or really that advanced, but it’s a step up from what it was before and in practice it works quite nicely for Parabellum. I was going to make a video showing it off, but I’ve found some issues with pathfinding I’d rather resolve first. It’s close, but I feel it’s not done so doing a video would be a bit premature. Still, thought a text update was a good way to show signs of life!
-Rob
Parabellum 