Fair bots modification for Local Play bots

[Murcielago]

Hi guys,

I want to share a little modification I created to make bots… fair. Using this modification stops bots from being able to shot you through walls like a super Esports star.

I created 3 fair bots levels to make allow people to have their own experience.

By the way, easy fair bots still being Insurgency Sandstorm bots so take care with them!

The modification in addition to allow you to pick the level of the bot, also allows you to choose how many allies (FriendlyBotQuota) and enemies (SoloEnemies) you want on your match.

Do not add inside the file: EASY, MEDIUM or GOOD.

EASY:
[/script/insurgency.inscheckpointgamemode]
bBots=True
SoloEnemies=6
FriendlyBotQuota=4
AIDifficulty=0.1
bAllowFriendlyFire=True

[/script/aimodule.aisenseconfig_hearing]
HearingRange=3
LoSHearingRange=0
bUseLoSHearing=False

[/script/aimodule.aisenseconfig_sight]
SightRadius=300
LoseSightRadius=350
PeripheralVisionAngleDegrees=40

MEDIUM:
[/script/insurgency.inscheckpointgamemode]
bBots=True
SoloEnemies=6
FriendlyBotQuota=4
AIDifficulty=0.3
bAllowFriendlyFire=True

[/script/aimodule.aisenseconfig_hearing]
HearingRange=5
LoSHearingRange=0
bUseLoSHearing=False

[/script/aimodule.aisenseconfig_sight]
SightRadius=300
LoseSightRadius=350
PeripheralVisionAngleDegrees=90

GOOD:
[/script/insurgency.inscheckpointgamemode]
bBots=True
SoloEnemies=6
FriendlyBotQuota=4
AIDifficulty=0.5
bAllowFriendlyFire=True

[/script/aimodule.aisenseconfig_hearing]
HearingRange=7
LoSHearingRange=0
bUseLoSHearing=False

[/script/aimodule.aisenseconfig_sight]
SightRadius=600
LoseSightRadius=700
PeripheralVisionAngleDegrees=180

Paste that info inside the file. Do not change the format of the information as adding a line between information will disable the information.

Feel free to watch the videos to see the results.

This video was recorded using EASY fair bots:
https://youtu.be/rnd1dyOt0q8

https://youtu.be/zfrg5JDos60

https://youtu.be/LoY_45pL0ZU


How this works?

Please read the entire post and make a copy of the file/folder in case you make a mistake. It should not be any issues. If any open the file and delete all the information inside it and save changes. This will revert any issues.

There is a file inside the game folder where you can add this information.

The location of the file is: C:\Users\YourComputerName\AppData\Local\Insurgency\Saved\Config\WindowsClient

It is called Game.ini. The file can be open with NotePad to add this information. To make the game a better experience for new players you only need to add the text above inside the file like it is shown in this video: https://youtu.be/yzqYlZkmVNc?t=152

Enjoy this awesome game!

[::OG:: Whiskey]

Thanks for this. I'll have to test out these settings! :)

[Helsing -db-]

We probably have a different understanding of the term "fair". From my point of view this configuration just makes the bots phlegmatic and... straw stupid.

[§^-|_*[(@ATTISALVA@)]*_|-^§]

Originally posted by Helsing -db-:

We probably have a different understanding of the term "fair". From my point of view this configuration just makes the bots phlegmatic and... straw stupid.

You can change it to your liking, it's just an .ini file

[Murcielago]

Originally posted by Helsing -db-:

We probably have a different understanding of the term "fair". From my point of view this configuration just makes the bots phlegmatic and... straw stupid.

Did you try it?

Try it then post again ;) You will see how amazing the game becomes! No more shooting throw walls and not more super fast reaction bots.

Yes, the values do look like week... But try it and let me know! ;)

I am having a blast with the game and also I cannot understand how everyone complains about the bots and you are the first 3 people posting here ;)

[Murcielago]

Originally posted by Whiskey:

Thanks for this. I'll have to test out these settings! :)

Test this values. I called FUN SETTING. It makes bots more human.

[/script/insurgency.inscheckpointgamemode]
bBots=True
SoloEnemies=6
FriendlyBotQuota=5
AIDifficulty=0.1
bAllowFriendlyFire=True

[/script/aimodule.aisenseconfig_hearing]
HearingRange=3
LoSHearingRange=0
bUseLoSHearing=False

[/script/aimodule.aisenseconfig_sight]
SightRadius=300
LoseSightRadius=350
PeripheralVisionAngleDegrees=25

Apparently what make the big difference between the default bots and this "Fair Bots" is on two parameters: HearingRange and PeripheralVisionAngleDegrees. These makes bots super aware of everything.

While I studied the issue I so people using settings for those parameters in the hundreds! Bots are competitive and FAIR using:
AIDifficulty=0.1
HearingRange=3
PeripheralVisionAngleDegrees=25

Someone used 360 for PeripheralVisionAngleDegrees... That means bots have eyes on their back.

Bots, by default use sound to track players. HearingRange=3 make them "Fair", think about when a bot can hear you 100 of meters away... That's is what I saw people using! Then think when many bots can hear you from far away and can use the sound to know where you are... That is the issue. I tested different values and the most human like is the settings above.

Using that setting you will have fun, and also you will be able to learn the map and try different things as bots will not use "super powers" ;)

Thanks for your time

[Murcielago]

Originally posted by §^-|_*(@ATTISALVA@)*_|-^§:

Originally posted by Helsing -db-:

We probably have a different understanding of the term "fair". From my point of view this configuration just makes the bots phlegmatic and... straw stupid.

You can change it to your liking, it's just an .ini file

Yeap, feel free to change the values! If you find something cool. Please post it here! ;)

[Murcielago]

Does anyone make the bots to take longer to conquer the checkpoint?

By default there is no time to reach the point to fight back.

To reduce that issue you can add more allies. That will increase the chances of blocking the checkpoint and allow the player to fight back.

[::OG:: Whiskey]

I've been playing with the bots' vision and hearing. Haven't settled on hard values yet, but what we're playing with seems to stop the wallbanging. The bots still snapshot us, but so far I've had no reports of wallbanging. Yet.

[Murcielago]

Awesome! It is nice to see a happy customer!

Thanks for posting.

I am having a blast with the modification. Now I can enjoy all the little details the game has!

Be aware that the more enemies the harder it will get. But now you can tweak the enemies. Like I mention. The key things are:

HearingRange: Distance where enemies will be able to hear you if you do not use stealth. Decent values range: 3-7

PeripheralVisionAngleDegrees: That apparently make the vision/awareness wider or narrower. Decent values range: 25-180

Then you can add or remove allies and enemies to balance the game to your like!

Thanks for your time

[Pop]

Originally posted by Murcielago:

Originally posted by Helsing -db-:

We probably have a different understanding of the term "fair". From my point of view this configuration just makes the bots phlegmatic and... straw stupid.

Did you try it?

Try it then post again ;) You will see how amazing the game becomes! No more shooting throw walls and not more super fast reaction bots.

Yes, the values do look like week... But try it and let me know! ;)

I am having a blast with the game and also I cannot understand how everyone complains about the bots and you are the first 3 people posting here ;)

He hosts servers and tweak the ai far more than this. From what I remember, he also uses ImprovedAi which opens up like a hundred or two hundred more options to configure.

Go to mod io and seach for ImprovedAi, and you can see the extent to what is actually possible to do. With the basic config available, the ai doesn't get fair, but boring, imo.

[Pop]

Originally posted by Murcielago:

Does anyone make the bots to take longer to conquer the checkpoint?

By default there is no time to reach the point to fight back.

To reduce that issue you can add more allies. That will increase the chances of blocking the checkpoint and allow the player to fight back.

Or increase capture time, which would impact both you and the enemy team, but it does give you time to get back from a respawn. Pair it with shorter time between respawn waves and maybe additional waves, and that should alleviate some of that issue.

I'd also recommend having the increased capture time with more people on point be disabled, especially for local play. As this makes returning to a defense after dying more likely to happen before the enemy fully captures it.

[Pop]

And just to give you an example of why a config like this might not be considered fair, to people who know this game, let's talk hearing.

When it comes to players, you can hear footsteps from sprinting from 35m, and regular movement from 20m. Crouch walk is only audible to the one who does the crouch walk, while slow walk is completely silent to everyone.

This holds true for both ai and bots, although bots have a slow-medium fast walk that is also silent, which is not accessible to players. So if you want it fair, as you call it, the ai should hear you from the same range as you'd hear them on sprint and regular movement.

[Murcielago]

Originally posted by Pop:

Originally posted by Murcielago:

Did you try it?

Try it then post again ;) You will see how amazing the game becomes! No more shooting throw walls and not more super fast reaction bots.

Yes, the values do look like week... But try it and let me know! ;)

I am having a blast with the game and also I cannot understand how everyone complains about the bots and you are the first 3 people posting here ;)

He hosts servers and tweak the ai far more than this. From what I remember, he also uses ImprovedAi which opens up like a hundred or two hundred more options to configure.

Go to mod io and seach for ImprovedAi, and you can see the extent to what is actually possible to do. With the basic config available, the ai doesn't get fair, but boring, imo.

Pop, thanks for your information. I will take a look to the ImprovedAi mod. I will love to know more about the code ;) I love doing code.

By the way, my modification is a patch based on some data and me tweaking and understanding how things more or less work. I am aware it is a limited solution, but it is a working solution ;) It fix the issue. Then people can tweak how much the solution impact default behaviour.

Finally, I did not want to make anything complicated as I wanted everyone be able to do it. Anyone can copy and paste text into a file.

Like I said, I am going to take a look to the ImprovedAi mod.

Thanks again!

[chaikobar]

PeripheralVisionAngleDegrees=360 is from the template for the Game.ini, Many links to Github have Hardcore Settings, and this is simply copied.

For Example: frequently linked
https://github.com/zDestinate/INS_Sandstorm/blob/master/Insurgency/Saved/Config/WindowsServer/Game.ini

if you don't know your way around, it's a good thing to get started right away. Unfortunately ultra hardcore.

[Murcielago]

Originally posted by chaikobar:

PeripheralVisionAngleDegrees=360 is from the template for the Game.ini, Many links to Github have Hardcore Settings, and this is simply copied.

For Example: frequently linked
https://github.com/zDestinate/INS_Sandstorm/blob/master/Insurgency/Saved/Config/WindowsServer/Game.ini

if you don't know your way around, it's a good thing to get started right away. Unfortunately ultra hardcore.

Using PeripheralVisionAngleDegrees=360 is making bots to see even on their back. A normal human will have something like 180 degrees of peripherial vision.

Using PeripheralVisionAngleDegrees=360 and hundreds of meters of hearing with capability to use the sound to track the player is what allow bots to shoot throw walls.

With the little information I found (that link was one of the sources) I tweaked the real behaviour, in game, to make them fair bots. Basically I have been testing in a 1vs1 the settings. I found that many things do not make sense, other are redundant... And I am happy that I found a quick easy solution to allow me to enjoy the game. I am having a blast every time I play the game now! And because bots are not terminators I can see and enjoy many details that this awesome game has.

By the way, I did read the ImprovedAi mod information. I did not want to use it for two reasons, too complicated. Normal people will not read all the information an neither will even try to use things when they are complicated. I have been creating things for a while now. The other reason, is that most of the features described in that mod looks like there are inside the default game.

I shared that little modification as I notice that many people complained about bots not being "fair" so people will be able to have the great experiences I have!

I hope developers fix this and improve the game to bring more life to this awesome game. Not many games have all the features that this game has and neither they can run like this game does in a decent computer. So I hope, developers bring more life to the game as I think it is like a unpolished diamond. With some work can put to shame many other games.