[SDK AI inquiry] Overland transport?

[Padmewan]

As we all know, the AI doesn't know how to use land transport to move, e.g., an infantry with an APC. From a quick scan of the transport AI, it seems to be hard-coded around multi-domain movement.

So... I was wondering if anyone has a guess how hard it would be to tweak the transport AI so that a DOMAIN_LAND transport unit would know how to pick up and move a DOMAIN_IMMOBILE unit, or something like that?

In terms of understanding the existing AI, is it accurate to say that a unit that's prevented from getting to its destination due to intervening water "calls out" for a transport?

 

[Chalid]

No it works a bit different. The Transport states that it want to transport units somewhere (MISSIONAI_ASSAULT_SEA or similar) then every AI_Attack or AI_City_Attack unit that has no more urgent tasks checks if it can board that transport. If it can it will run to the transport and board. The transport then decides where the units will be unloaded. The Land unit has no say in the matter.

That system obviosly cannot easily be reused for landtransports.
One thing is that your immobiles can not board a transport. Another thing is that for mobile units the waiting times might be longer than the effective transport times (when realized like for sea transports).

I would realise it the following way:

You would need a new Unit_AI with a pickup function that collects the Immobile units and a drop function that selects where to transport them.

For the Immobile Unit you need a new Ai that triggers a MISSIONAI_PICKMEUP. The pickup function would then look for units with MISSIONAI_PICKMEUP and collect them.

So it is more or less inverted to the sea transport.

 

[The Great Apple]

I was going to have a go at making this work for the CCP. I'll move it up a bit on my todo list.

 

[Padmewan]

Thanks for the info Chalid. Obviously I gave it a VERY cursory scan.

I was going to have a go at making this work for the CCP. I'll move it up a bit on my todo list.

Wow... that would be really awesome!

Of course, I don't know that such an idea is Fun