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Bot_Maintenance
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Aug 20, 2023 @ 4:34am
Jul 30 @ 1:00pm
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Predator
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Bot_Maintenance

Description
🤖 NS2 Bot Maintenance – Enhanced Bot AI & Commander Overhaul

The original NS2 bot system was abandoned by the developers in build 344 — so I give my best to make it better.
This mod massively improves Marine and Alien bot behavior, Commander logic, combat performance, and overall game flow.

⭐ NS2 Bot Maintenance – Major AI Overhaul (Highlights)

Marine and Alien bots now fight smarter, react faster, manage the economy properly, and follow Commander logic far more reliably.

Below are highlights of the latest update.
For full details, check the Changelog.

🪖 MARINE BOT HIGHLIGHTS
Smarter Combat & Movement

Correct Boneshield behavior (no frontal Onos shooting).

Improved dodging, leading, ballistic aiming, and close‑range reactions.

Jetpack Marines use fuel intelligently, kite properly, and avoid dead‑ends.

GL Marines avoid their own grenades and use arc‑shots more accurately.

Better Equipment & Objective Handling

Correct weapon switching (no shotgun/flamethrower spam out of range).

Marines pick up all dropped weapons and equipment anywhere on the map.

Axe logic for Harvesters, improved mine placement, reliable welding.

Cyst clearing works autonomously (one bot per cyst).

Improved Behavior Around Bases

More reliable Techpoint captures.

Better RT defense and structure handling.

Smarter follow system (flashlight sync, phasegate following).

🚀 JETPACK & EXO IMPROVEMENTS
Jetpack Marines

More efficient fuel usage.

Wave‑like dodging and proper kiting.

Actively secure dropped weapons.

Exos

Seek Marines with Welders for repairs.

Better obstacle detection and emergency retreat logic.

No more multi‑Exo egg‑rush conflicts.

👽 ALIEN BOT HIGHLIGHTS
Gorge

Full Bile Bomb overhaul (cluster scan, armor filter, finisher logic).

Proper Babbler management (no spam, minimum 3).

Correct Exo distance and ARC accuracy.

Lerk & Skulk

Smarter combat behavior and ambush camping.

No Sporecloud waste on Exos.

Onos

Correct Boneshield interaction (matches Marine logic).

Alien Team

Retreats only to living Hives.

🧠 COMMANDER BOT HIGHLIGHTS
Alien Commander

Biomass 1–12 researched correctly after Hive rebuilds.

Early defensive structures, tunnels at double RT, shade placement.

Chat alert when an Exo is trapped.

Marine Commander

Builds up to five bases without engine bugs.

Drops Shotguns/Welders/Mines at secondary Armories if HQ is down.

Mine limit increased (8 → 12).

Smarter attack, repair, weld, and scan logic.

💰 ECONOMY & BUYING HIGHLIGHTS

Dynamic weapon limits based on team size.

No more mass‑buy spam (no 8 SG or 3 FT at once).

Stable Exo purchases, Minigun priority vs Onos.

Worst‑Case system: detects critical situations → Exo rush possible or buy what you can as a last effort.

Team DPS‑based decisions and pres‑waste prevention.

🔥 RUBBERBAND SYSTEM

Marine bots dynamically adjust:

Accuracy

Reaction time

Turn speed

The further Marines fall behind, the harder they fight back.
Creates fairer battles, comeback potential, and prevents one‑sided matches.

🛠 SYSTEM FIXES

NaN vector sanitizer (Bomb.lua / movement crash elimination).

Multiple nil‑check fixes (Phasegate, AlienCommanderBrain, TechNodes).

Flamethrower coordinate fix, Welder build bug fix, ghost slot fix.

Improved pre‑spawn stability.

⚠ Known Issues

Rare unreachable Marine build orders if placed inside geometry.

Rare Skulk targeting bug (legacy engine).

Navmesh issues (vents, pressure points) — engine‑level limitations.

📘 HOW TO PLAY NATURAL SELECTION 2 WITH BOTS

1. Open the console

Press ^ (or your custom console key).
2. Load a map

map ns2_veil

3. Add bots
Automatically (both teams)

addbots 18

Specific team

addbots 1 2 adds 1 alien
addbots 1 1 adds 1 marine

Commander bots

addbots 1 2 com alien commander
addbots 1 1 com marine commander

Remove bots

removebots 1 2
removebots 1 1

4. Close console → ESC → “Vote for Commander Bots” → F1
5. Join a team and enjoy the match!

⭐ Have fun!

Have fun playing with these bots. If you enjoy this mod, feel free to rate it with the thumbs under the picture.
Popular Discussions View All (1)
0
Jun 30 @ 5:57am
Bot Maintenance Update: AI Overhaul, Smarter Combat, Stronger Commanders
Predator
59 Comments
< >
jackboy
Apr 20 @ 7:04pm 
update pls
s0m31
Feb 13 @ 4:16am 
just connect chadgpt and let it control everything. A good practice that microsoft introduced with their last very secure windows updates
delnaxsis
Feb 13 @ 3:23am 
And we are back :)
jackboy
Feb 12 @ 4:34am 
Thank you very much. I understand the amount of work that has gone into this workshop. You’ve put in considerable effort—both with Bhaz and now with the latest updates to the compatible workshop. I should take the time to look for what’s already available. Thank you for your hard work, Predator and Bhaz.
Predator  [author]
Feb 12 @ 4:24am 
I'm aware of the problem and have already brought it to Bhaz's attention. Controlling the Marines isn't easy for me either, but improvements are noticeable. It's easy to describe what they should do, but implementing it in the code is significantly more complex. Making them faster and more precise would be simple, but also tedious in the long run. I've tried various approaches, but my programming success has been limited, so I've put the work on hold for now. Perhaps Bhaz or I will find a good solution eventually, as making reliable decisions in all situations is a major challenge. Maybe someone from the community with solid NS2 experience and programming skills can contribute. Until then, you can add three more Marine bots or remove three Alien bots if that works better. My mod was created without Bishop and will be adapted for Bishop by Bhaz as soon as he has the time and energy.

For now, enjoy the bots as they are.
jackboy
Feb 12 @ 1:45am 
Or should I check the official Addbot option before starting the game? There should be an option for Marines to make them stronger. Please advise.
jackboy
Feb 12 @ 1:10am 
To properly assess the situation, you need real player experience. Simply grouping Marines to attack Alien towers is ineffective if their resource base is weak. Overall, Marines need to be stronger, especially in the mid to late game, where they struggle to reclaim lost resource points. I am waiting for the next update.
jackboy
Feb 12 @ 1:10am 
Meanwhile, Marine bots tend to group together and push the Alien base at unnecessary times. This often leads to heavy losses, particularly when their resource economy is not ready. The Marines perform well in the early game, but once the Onos appear, everything changes. Even with upgraded weapons or Exos, they are not strong enough and get swarmed easily.
jackboy
Feb 12 @ 1:10am 
To improve balance, I added three more Marine bots. This helped somewhat, and they even won three games in a row. However, Marines still struggle heavily in the mid-game. When they lose resource points, they can barely recover, especially since large numbers of Onos constantly attack their energy bases.
jackboy
Feb 12 @ 1:09am 
In the mid-game, after both sides have accumulated points, the Alien team usually takes the lead. By this stage, most Alien bots have evolved into Onos. Although Marines can purchase stronger weapons, they do not use them efficiently and are easily overwhelmed by the Onos. With equal numbers of bots, Marines consistently lose to Aliens.