Escort missions : AI is horrible...

[-Nomade-]

Please, devs, can you fix AI, or do anything, for the "escort missions" ?!...

I like these missions, because it's a welcome change in the routine of the fights, which are quite redundant.
But, seriously, i fail 2/3 of these escort missions because of the stupidity of the NPC I just wanted to help...

Most of the time, pairing warp is a pain in the A**, with one of the ship missing it, while the other is already far away. And mission fail.

AI seems to be incapable of avoiding meteors, specially at the beginning while pairing warp. This results in long sequences of turning around, looking for a way, while the player can't do anything but despair...

So very long missions (compare to other), often failed... highly frustrating !

[Zidders 'Rockin' Bard' Roofurry]

I've been complaining about this since I first got a preview copy about five months before it came out. They've tweaked and tweaked it since then but at this point I doubt It's going to get any better. We can only hope that should a second game come out they ditch they escort missions because escort missions suck no matter what game they're in.

[CursedPanther]

Yep, just said literally the same thing a couple of weeks ago.
http://steamcommunity.com/app/290300/discussions/0/351660338716492740/

Unfortunately it seems to be a minor bug of inconvenience more than anything else.

[alveolate]

someone make a mod that disables escort missions pls.

[Zidders 'Rockin' Bard' Roofurry]

Originally posted by alveolate:

someone make a mod that disables escort missions pls.

I don't think that's possible given the main storyline relies upon them. They don't always fail. Sometimes you have to cancel them and restart a few times.

[Quazar]

If the dude you're escorting had the ability to ignore most stellar mass except enemy ships, would you complain?

I think not. They could make these missions skate past big rocks. Would be more fun if a bit less realistic.

[Zidders 'Rockin' Bard' Roofurry]

Originally posted by callmerob:

If the dude you're escorting had the ability to ignore most stellar mass except enemy ships, would you complain?

I think not. They could make these missions skate past big rocks. Would be more fun if a bit less realistic.

Then you'd have people complaining about it messing with immersion. The only solution is to not have escort missions because they suck.

[Darphnix]

FYI:
You could actually remove the escort mission parts of main story and all escort missions with a mod.

I know how to deal with them now, so I see no reason to erase them. That said; the thread sparked an idea to increase the allowed distance to the escort target (Safe guard for unintended warpjump) and increase the credits earned through those missions.

[Zidders 'Rockin' Bard' Roofurry]

Originally posted by Darphnix:

FYI:
You could actually remove the escort mission parts of main story and all escort missions with a mod.

I know how to deal with them now, so I see no reason to erase them. That said; the thread sparked an idea to increase the allowed distance to the escort target (Safe guard for unintended warpjump) and increase the credits earned through those missions.

My issue with them has more to do with the portions of the mission that involve you relinquishing control of your ship. Any length of time where you are no longer in control of your ship or character in a game is a bad thing. The worst thing you can do to pull someone out of the game is take away their freedom of will. That's what escort missions are all about-taking away the players freedom of will.

At least some rpg's allow you freedom of movement but more often than not those force you to keep an eye on some other characters life meter which means you become even more aware of whatever weaknesses the games AI system possess.

AI characters are almost always made to be OP since unless the AI is REALLY good it can't hope to out-think a human. This means devs have to make escorted characters a lot stupider and a lot weaker than who or whatever you're fighting. That often leads to them being useless in combat or glitchy. 99% of the time escort missions are the proverbial monkey wrench tossed into the gears of any game they're added to. The only game I've ever played that did them decently was Resident Evil 4. It's the exception to the rule though.

[Chargeit]

Yea, I'm dealing with 2 attempts at "Scavenged Battlewagon" because the AI can't figure out how to make it around planets and it gets stuck in an endless loop of trying ti fix itself but instead aiming straight for the planet. Killed my enjoyment of the game and I'm done with it. The devs need to fix their AI or remove escort missions from the game.

You know, I'd expect this kind of thing in a EA title, but, a game released for the better part of the year, it's ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥.

[Zidders 'Rockin' Bard' Roofurry]

Originally posted by Chargeit:

You know, I'd expect this kind of thing in a EA title, but, a game released for the better part of the year, it's ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. :cfacepalm:

You're being a little harsh. While I've had issues with it I know for a fact that Travis worked his tush off to do his best to alleviate the issues. Maybe it was a bad design decision to add it but it wasn't because the developers suck. They thought it would be fun. It ended up being unfun for some folks and that's too bad. While I get being dissapointed it doesn't in any way justify you're being insulting towards them.

[CursedPanther]

Honestly though, if the dev can't figure out away to solve the problem without removing or seriously altering some of the core mechanics of the game, the type of mission should just be rid of for good. It isn't like the rest of the game lacks ways to earn cash, and they're usually much faster and efficient too when you have the right tools for the job.

[Chargeit]

Originally posted by Zidders Roofurry -{EAC}-:

Originally posted by Chargeit:

You know, I'd expect this kind of thing in a EA title, but, a game released for the better part of the year, it's ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥.

You're being a little harsh. While I've had issues with it I know for a fact that Travis worked his tush off to do his best to alleviate the issues. Maybe it was a bad design decision to add it but it wasn't because the developers suck. They thought it would be fun. It ended up being unfun for some folks and that's too bad. While I get being dissapointed it doesn't in any way justify you're being insulting towards them.

There's no excuse for the AI I experienced. It was like watching a bloopers reel. The kind of stuff I see in a youtube video and think, "I bet you have to try and find that".

I mean, in a main mission no less. And the game hasn't received a patch in something like 9 months? It's abandoned.

Sorry, but no. I don't think leaving such a clearly broken main quest in an otherwise solid game is something that should be brushed off. It's slack, lazy, and shows the dev really doesn't care about their customers.

[Zidders 'Rockin' Bard' Roofurry]

Originally posted by Chargeit:

Sorry, but no. I don't think leaving such a clearly broken main quest in an otherwise solid game is something that should be brushed off. It's slack, lazy, and shows the dev really doesn't care about their customers.

I know the devs. I was there during production when the first AI issues came up. I know how hard they worked to make this game as good as it could be. You're making a bunch of unfair assumptions about people you don't even know. It's not cool.

[-Nomade-]

Originally posted by Zidders Roofurry -{EAC}-:

The only solution is to not have escort missions because they suck.

Definitely not : these missions are necessary for such a game. They bring immersion, and break routine of the common fights.

But the way they manage IA for these missions is a mess : you're absloutely right when you point a finger to the loss of control, which means a loss of freedom, and so a loss of fun.

Maybe they shoud have imagine the opposite way : instead of you pairing with NPC, it could be the NPC pairing with you.
This could make you the only "player", not only a spectator. If you warp out, so does the NPC.
Besides, to avoid problems of pathfinding, the pairing could be right behind you, and not on the side. So you just have to clear the way in front of you, and then activate the pairing. Warp calmly, and if an obstacle makes you warp out, the mission won't fail because the NPC right behind you warps out too.

(sorry for my english if it's somehow odd, not my natural langage... Steam forums are a good way to practice ^^ )

[CursedPanther]

Originally posted by -Nomade-:

Maybe they shoud have imagine the opposite way : instead of you pairing with NPC, it could be the NPC pairing with you.
This could make you the only "player", not only a spectator. If you warp out, so does the NPC.
Besides, to avoid problems of pathfinding, the pairing could be right behind you, and not on the side. So you just have to clear the way in front of you, and then activate the pairing. Warp calmly, and if an obstacle makes you warp out, the mission won't fail because the NPC right behind you warps out too.

This is indeed of the solutions.

However apart from the asteroid/debris fields causing mis-jumps, the rest of solar are littered with randomly positioned AI opponents. So apart from those designated hostiles programmed for the particular escort mission, you have to deal with whichever space pirates or parties that are hostile towards you along your warp routes, that annoyingly doubles or even triples your mission time cuz there's no way to avoid warp disruptions. Before anyone suggests getting away with your rocket booster, no as every enemy in the later system has engine distrupting missiles equipped. Unless you're prepared to 'rocket boost' your way to your destination, you will just have to fight everyone of them off, or risk losing your host along the process.