Escort AI is dumb as hell

[maxxal22]

The AI is supposed to make the vehicles stay near you, but the vehicles keep moving faster than i can walk, effectively scouting and probably dying. I hope that the devs will make a button to command vehicles to move to X or something

[maxxal22]

Just this last mission I had the vehicles driving headfirst into the enemy formation

[The Colgate King]

Originally posted by maxxal22:

The AI is supposed to make the vehicles stay near you, but the vehicles keep moving faster than i can walk, effectively scouting and probably dying. I hope that the devs will make a button to command vehicles to move to X or something

Yeah the escort ai is terrible. I suggest you take out the initial enemies first, then review the map layout and position your lance before triggering the escort portion.

[Sticky Wicket]

Originally posted by The Colgate King:

Originally posted by maxxal22:

The AI is supposed to make the vehicles stay near you, but the vehicles keep moving faster than i can walk, effectively scouting and probably dying. I hope that the devs will make a button to command vehicles to move to X or something

Yeah the escort ai is terrible. I suggest you take out the initial enemies first, then review the map layout and position your lance before triggering the escort portion.

+1

This seems to be the best way to deal with this situation until some better mission scripting is added in.

[Twelvefield]

Like many, I avoid the escort missions.

[ThatBadGuy]

I'd much prefer the vehicles being escorted to follow my orders. The next to last mission has the dumb APC drive headfirst into heavies before I can engage them.

[Der_Scanner]

I avoid escort AND base-defend.
The last is so terrible... 4 Mechs from one side, followed from 2 other sides. If I stand inside the facility, they ignore me. If I go infront of them, they partially ignore me.

But in the endgame, when the enemy brings 85T-mechs into the assault, I have no chance to save the base.
Very bad are the maps, where the facility is in a valley and the enemy comes from the hills.

[Shirome Artiste]

Escort AI is "confirmed" as being broken.


Right now the allied AI units will do a normal move action along their predetermined route, trying whenever to follow that route as expediently as possible.
The AI will:
Maximize the distance travelled in its move, and will spend all its move points(Normal move, no sprint) even if it means ending the turn next to an enemy assault mech.
Fire any available weapons at a valid target IF any are in range when the move ends.
Skipturn if in the extraction zone and no enemies are nearby.

The AI will not:
Follow your mechs, despite being hinted at during mission briefings.
Make use of cover-granting terrain, unless it somehow ends up being the fastest route through their premade path.
Flee from enemies. They'll happily race ahead of you and get blown up.
Stay in one group. If you're given multiple types of vehicles to escort, enjoy 2 small vehicles zooming ahead of the slowpoke command vehicles or other variants. This ALSO means that any enemy reinforcements triggered when ANY vehicle reeaches the end zone will have numerous turns with free shots at the stationary vehicles until the other NPCs have caught up.

[Eagle_of_Fire]

From the experience I got from this kind of missions... You know the objective (where the vehicles are going) and they won't start moving until you secure the area they start with...

So...

Move your mechs in position _before_ starting to escort them? Maybe?

[RasaNova]

Originally posted by The Colgate King:

Originally posted by maxxal22:

The AI is supposed to make the vehicles stay near you, but the vehicles keep moving faster than i can walk, effectively scouting and probably dying. I hope that the devs will make a button to command vehicles to move to X or something

Yeah the escort ai is terrible. I suggest you take out the initial enemies first, then review the map layout and position your lance before triggering the escort portion.

True wisdom here. Although in my experience the enemy will target mechs before vehicles, so when the trucks decide to "follow" you by ramming through the enemy formations, you can usually sprint ahead to let them know you're there.

[The Colgate King]

Originally posted by Twelvefield:

Like many, I avoid the escort missions.

Escort missions tend to be good mech farms due to the limited units budgeted to the enemy, means more higher tonnage mechs.

[Teralitha]

Have u considered using sprint? I never have trouble with these missions...

[PsychoTexan]

Literally the nightmare of escort missions, my trucks have always charged the enemy like they're playing chicken with the enemy mechs.

[Rabidnid]

Originally posted by Twelvefield:

Like many, I avoid the escort missions.

I like them because they are so easy. The enemy is neatly divided in two and you can't really fail as the enemy needs to destroy all 4 transports for that.

Easy money/salvage

[Kool Aid Wizard]

There is no "AI", there are scripts to start a predetermined path and triggers on the map to conclude the script, that is it.

There is no "intellegence", no "decision making" capability, no analysis being performed, not even pathing, probably closets analogy would be a "macro".

However, because there is no updates to the route pathing being performed one turn to the next one may park a mech in front on the convoy and the convoy will HALT their progress indefinately.

[Zloth]

Seems like the escort missions are easier early in the game when you've got fast mechs that can easily keep up with them. Actually, doesn't something in the mission briefing say you've got a need for speed?

Anyway, honestly folks, what game has had GOOD escort missions? I really don't understand why game developers keep trying to do them when so many fail.

P.S. OK, Saints Row: The Third had good escort missions but that was a different... ;)