Merc awareness and camo effectiveness

[Art Blade]

 

[hans_dampf36]

Hi folks,

I am new here but already did some considerable FC2 modding. So, I post my experience here:

I believe Diablo_Lobo is not right about Merc's or enemies awareness. In contrast, the values to be changed appear in enemy_archetypes.xml.

There you get the following parameters that affect merc's behavior before and during combat:

1. This affects the merc's capabilities with firearms. fMissWidth, fTimerToMissTarget are interesting parameters.

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<object type="ShootingSystem">

2.This is about how their stance influences their accuracy. With fCrouchingFactor you see that they become better when they are crouching. It's the opposite with fMoveSpeedRunFactor.

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<object type="ShooterStatus">

3. Here are the values that were mainly discussed above. Feel free to change them as already stated. But this time they really affect the mercs and not the buddies or whatever.
There are factors like fCombatMultiplier that change their vision or detection capabilities according to the situation. Then the area specific FOV parameters follow: desert, Savannah and jungle.

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<object type="SensorySystem">

4. Lastly, you may even change how the vegetation and other environmental factors affect the merc's visibility.

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<object type="VisibilityEvaluatorParameters">



I hope that helps. Correct me when I am wrong.

[PZ]

Welcome to OWG Hans,

Very interesting post - FC2 is still one of my favorites and I sometimes fire it up when the mood strikes. It is also quite fun to modify, and I'll try your suggestions - kudos.

[hans_dampf36]

Thanks for the welcome.

Has anyone ever tried the following parameters in the very same file?
I think the mercs may even run out of ammo if you like ...
At least some ammo information is given to them in the <InventoryPacks> in gamemodesconfig.xml.


<object type="Inventory">
            <value hash="8C965C28" type="String">assault</value>
            <value name="packInventoryPack" type="Hash">CCE9D60C</value>
            <value name="archGPSVehicleArchetype" type="BinHex">00</value>
            <value name="bUnlimitedAmmo" type="Bool">False</value>

[Art Blade]

hey Hans, nice to have you around and thanks for the post(s) -- I'm sure there are still a few guys here who might give those ideas of yours a shot, so to speak  :-()

Also +1 :-X from me for reviving the modding with fresh insight. Keep 'em coming :)

[hans_dampf36]

It works:
mercs can now run out of ammo when you set the unlimited ammo flag to false and only allow a few shots for them in the <InventoryPack>, e.g., something like <Ammo type="smg" count="10" />.

[PZ]

  :-X

That's fantastic - what do they do when the run out of ammo?

[hans_dampf36]

It's a bit weird: they still aim at you and keep pulling the trigger ... click ... click ... sounds can be heard.

[PZ]

 

Sounds just like what those dimwits would do!

[Art Blade]

 :-D

[fragger]

Welcome to the site Hans :) Nice w@&k on the mods so far :-X

FC2 is a classic, I haven't played it for a few years but it's a great favourite of mine. Who knows, I might give it another go one day. It may not have had the array of activities and stuff that later FC titles had, but it's far and away the most immersive one of the series (and with no trippy drug nonsense...)

Nice to see people like yourself keeping it alive with fresh ideas 8)

[hans_dampf36]

Thanks for the kind words.

However, when modding enemy_archetypes.xml I have experienced a serious problem: the mercs and the weapon vendor will sometimes become invisible. That means cars are driven by ghosts and only the guns of the mercs keep moving on right the ground. You hear their voices and chatter; they even fire at you (but mostly miss).

Has anyone experienced a similar problem?

I am quite sure that the problem is caused by adding enemy_archetypes.xml to the patch.fat/dat.
It even happens with an original file without any modification. So, the parameters therein do not cause any trouble. Instead, it seems like the entrie file is not well supported during XML conversion and fcb generation.

So far, I have tried different versions like the Steam one supplied by the Bootstrap package for modding and the retail patch version. None seems to w@&k; at a certain point in the game the mercs become invisible. It is strange that the modification has worked quite some time. Otherwise I would not have reported its effects to you.

Any help is welcome.

[OWGKID]

I have noted this as well, enemies no longer spawn in their vehicles... Which is a little dull, but somewhat relieving ;)

[Art Blade]

 :-D

[hans_dampf36]

I have done some changes to enemy_archetypes.xml and now it works a bit better than before: I have just left the main merc types (Blue_Faction.X and Red_Faction.X) active in the file; every other type (various corpses, assassination target) was commented out.

It worked better with the next very patch but after some playing and changing the patch again (other files than enemy_archetypes.xml) the problem was still there: invisible mercs after loading a savegame for a new session.

However, there may be one workaround. At least this works for me now: I have a savegame from ACT II inside the weapon dealer's shop. After loading this one and then switching to a savegame in ACT I the problem is gone - each merc is displayed properly with new modded behavior. It may w@&k for you, too.

Strange.

[Art Blade]

I remember some "problem" with the game caching information. Eventually it will get flushed out but some info just stays there for quite some time until it suddenly changes. Example, modding the jump height. Even if you did everything right, you'd likely not notice anything. Until eventually it worked. Surprise effect.

[PZ]

I also experienced strange behavior when changing the patch files and using saved games.  I recall in at least one instance that I needed to start a new game in order to achieve the effects I wanted while doing away with the undesired ones.

Curiously, I made additional mods to the files, got the new effects, and the old ones persisted when using the old game save.

There must be legacy data embedded in the game saves.

[hans_dampf36]

Hi folks,

I have been unable to figure out how to solve the invisible mercs bug when you have included a changed enemy_archetypes.xml. Patching that file remains a problem. So far only the workaround with loading a special old savegame works with the patch.

However, I was able the change the needed FCB files directly with hex editor in order to allow the mercs to run out of ammo. Now, mercs have a limited supply of ammo as you do.
The loading of savegames worked safely. There were no longer invisible mercs.
Therefore, I conclude that there is no problem with embedded legacy data in the savegames. More likely, there is a problem with the conversion of enemy_archetypes.xml back to FCB format in that particular case. I am glad that the other files do w@&k thanks to the tools we have at hand.

In the furure, I try to change more values than the bUnlimitedAmmo flag.

In the meantime, I would like you to suggest suitable values to be included in the FCB files to be altered. Maybe we can arange a common basis to be included in any mod.
Here are mine that worked very well; the mercs are a bit weaker regarding detection (buut not entirely blind) and longer are able to shoot you in impossible positions from 60m plus in dense jungle. Their awareness is much fairer now. Still they are dangerous on infamous level once they have detected you.


<object type="SensorySystem">
   <object type="FOVParameters">
     <object type="FOVMultipliers">
       <value name="fPreCombatMultiplier" type="Float">0.75</value>
       <value name="fCombatMultiplier" type="Float">0.95</value> <!-- old: 1 -->
       <value name="fPostCombatMultiplier" type="Float">1.15</value> <!-- old: 1.25 -->
       <value name="fPlayerInVehicleMultiplier" type="Float">1.75</value> <!-- old: 2 -->
       <value name="fNightTimeMultiplier" type="Float">0.5</value>
       <value name="fSniperLengthMultiplier" type="Float">6</value>
       <value name="fSniperAngleMultiplier" type="Float">0.15</value>
     </object>
     <object type="DesertFOV">
       <object type="FocusFOV">
         <value name="fLength" type="Float">60</value>
         <value name="fAngle" type="Float">45</value> <!-- old: 60 -->
       </object>
       <object type="PeripheralFOV">
         <value name="fLength" type="Float">35</value> <!-- old: 40 -->
         <value name="fAngle" type="Float">100</value> <!-- old: 120 -->
       </object>
     </object>
     <object type="SavannahFOV">
       <object type="FocusFOV">
         <value name="fLength" type="Float">35</value> <!-- old: 40 -->
         <value name="fAngle" type="Float">40</value> <!-- old: 60 -->
       </object>
       <object type="PeripheralFOV">
         <value name="fLength" type="Float">20</value> <!-- old: 30 -->
         <value name="fAngle" type="Float">90</value> <!-- old: 120 -->
       </object>
     </object>
     <object type="JungleFOV">
       <object type="FocusFOV">
         <value name="fLength" type="Float">20</value> <!-- old: 30 -->
         <value name="fAngle" type="Float">20</value> <!-- old: 60 -->
       </object>
       <object type="PeripheralFOV">
         <value name="fLength" type="Float">10</value> <!-- old: 20 -->
         <value name="fAngle" type="Float">30</value> <!-- old: 120 -->
       </object>
     </object>
   </object>
   

Cheers,

Hans

[PZ]

Nice w@&k, Hans  :-X +1

Yes, it would be nice to have a centralized area for modding, but I'm not sure how that would look just yet. There have been many great modifications, and I often have problems finding them.