AI Reduced Vision Acuity

For all who find the enemy AI too hawk-eyed, there seems to be
a new choice in the "Workshop": you can set their vision to
"AI Reduced Vision Acuity: On"

Has anyone made experiences with this change yet?

I was just about to make a thread on this and other things I've noticed which are new in WOFF3. So, Please excuse this long post which will include your question....

These are my best guesses as to what the function will do...


Allows the auto pilot AI to act as a novice or veteran. Cool feature for 2 seater squads, I think.


AI enhanced skill: AI will not consider odds when deciding to attack.
AI reduced vision: AI will have less distance to spot you from far away.
AI damage affects skill: very cool feature where AI's flying ability will be affected by how much damage they take.
Aces and Historical pilots


Reflections, Glossiness and Dynamic lights: WOW, WOW and WOW.
Cockpit visual Damage Effects: Awsome
Exterior Bullet Decals: Cool. can't have too many choices I say.


Advance to next mission in same day, I believe.


I was able to advance the mission time up to 3 hours... nice.


Now, you can increase or decrease the whole flight's ammo or fuel with just one click...


Self explanatory and very nice.


Start as landing in QC flight.

Nice summary.
The Advance Mission time is nice as I recall flying early morning with 60 Squadron in January and the mission being in total darkness.
Now if I only had a chart with WOFF seasonal sunrise and sunsets I would really be cooking with gas.
The Visual Accuity setting is interesting. I am trying to think of the times I felt the AI was seeing TOO well and not many pop to mind. Course when flying Full Real sometimes things are not clear as to the big picture - which I like.

It's not only reduced vision but couple other things, too.
Having it off, means it is like it always was in WOFF2.

Set to on means that, the further away something is, the worse AI vision can get. Not always though, it depends on AI skill and if and how often he looks in this direction. Sometimes they can see you immediately, sometimes you can surprise them and attack them before they know what's happening. They can also reconsider decisions. That means your flight or the enemy can decide to attack, then seeing that you are too far away or too high or too fast etc., and the go back into formation again and continue their patrol. Very cool feature which creates more variables.

Okay if I understand what you are saying, it sounds pretty cool.
So if I have this setting ON the AI's vision varies by range, skill, and timing.
Whereas with the old way (2.0) range did not play a factor?

So now with "variable vision" (with it set to ON) we should get more and varied AI responses as they are always seeing "differently?"

Yes, exactly. There are more factors but generally you are spot on.

In the old way range plays a factor, too though. It's great. But with this setting it is more of a factor among other things, like skill, vision angles etc. I love it.

Sounds awesome and a definite ON click!
Thank you for the information.

Not necessarily - it could mean you can advance to the NEXT FLYING MISSION,
which would mean, you could overcome longer periods of very bad weather.
A word from the devs would be nice here?

OldHat is right. That is to jump to the next mission on the same day. If it's getting too late, it'll jump to the next morning.
That's for those who want maybe fly only one mission a day, and not necessarily early but afternoon patrols. Or if someone does not like the current mission, but still want's to fly on the same day with the next flight etc.

I actually wanted both the advance to next mission in the day and move time to later features and am thrilled to hear they are in there!

Remember that now all of your AI mates do develope themselves if you advance time. They are flying missions, adding flighthours etc. on their own while you are away. Also they might get killed, wounded, go on leave etc. So you are now even more only one small part of the whole

Creaghorn, remember a while back you were testing something on the AI's decision...



Is this what is part of WOFF3 now?

Yes, sort of. Not exactly the same but refined and apropriately coded etc.

Thanks for all the advice guys,really good insight Thank you

I am expecting the reduced AI vision to be a great improvement; AI had superhuman vision range and great to be able to tone that down now. Looking forward to trying it out.

I am hoping someone will give a definitive answer on what the "AI Enhanced Skill Level' setting does. Several people are making guesses about what it does but I'd like to hear a bit about it from a 'non guessing' source.

Well, I'm not that source, but I can provide a pic to show you the fine print....

Probably changing the name to "AI Variable Vision" may put people into the right mindset for what it does.
Lord knows I am going to use it now that I apparently stopped my CTD problem.

Thanks for posting that Oldhat; I don't seem to get those little 'clue' boxes on my system.

I find the name of the setting and what the setting does to be at odds. It seems to turn on reduced AI skill (i.e. gives the AI a death-wish stupidity) rather than increasing it?? Maybe I am reading it wrong?

Bump: I am hoping some other people will help me out on this 'AI Enhanced Skill Levels' setting. The setting function seems backwards to me (per my previous post), but I might be misunderstanding it.

Shouldn't turning on 'Enhanced Skills' make the AI think about odds before engaging, rather than the opposite. To make the AI 'smarter' I actually have to turn off enhanced skills? (That seems so weird)

It reduces their reliance on morale in effect, they will see you and attack - to the death mostly.

It was discussed here but I do not see the obvious Workshop setting nor can I find the post where I read it.
What was the setting that, essentially, made the AI "shoot more" based on their skill level but it didn't neccesary make them more accurate?

And I am sure I asked this before. Does the AI carry the same ammo load (number of rounds) as the player?

Duke, the "Workshop" has now two pages - click on the bottom right corner.
Second page will show the AI settings.

Yes but nothing that seems to indicate to me "AI shoot more" or did I completely misunderstand the discussion?

I think you did. Pol wrote, that you can select wether the AI is more careful,
and may not eneter afight, or retreat earlier - or an AI that will engage you
always, and fight you to the death.
But not sure, how the settings are called, sorry - you must find out yourself.

Hmmm...I must be having a stroke then.
Let me look some more.

Ok found it.
It is not a click box but a already incorporated feature so I am only partially senile.

http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/4255816/Turn_off_features_of_WOFF_3_?#Post4255816

So...

AI Enhanced Skills 'ON' = stupid AI that fights to the death?
AI Enhanced Skills 'OFF' = smart AI that weights odds and preserves itself?

Seven answers later this still makes no sense to me, and still seems completely backwards.

Well disregard all my posts sir.
I am guilty of hijacking the thread and talking about a whole different feature

Yes. I guess just think of it as "TERMINATOR AI is ON or OFF.
For people who want every fight to the death, which is how it used to be back on OFF, they can have that option.

So, let's talk AI settings until one of the devs pitches in.

Here are the workshop AI options and their descriptions:



AI Never Backs Down
This seems similar to AI always engages, so my selection is "Off"

AI Enhanced Skill Levels
-There are 3 skill leves: Novice, Veteran, Ace.
-Seems to allow "self preservation" as well if turned "Off". So 1 vs. 12, that one will try to engage the 12. No, not for me.

AI Reduced Vision
-As Creaghorn explained, I'd leave this on to keep the AI's vision reduced.

AI Damage Affects Skill
-I keep this on because it seems that some of the aircraft parts do not allow partial damage. e.g. ailerons, cables, instrument panel, Pilot injury (not death).

What are your thoughts folks?

Thanks Hellshade. Based on what you've confirmed, I do think this setting could have a better name ... along the lines of your suggestion (Terminator AI). The term 'Enhanced' had me baffled (still does, hah-hah) since the setting doesn't 'enhance' the AI skills but rather seems to do just the opposite (takes you back to a stupider AI).

I will set this item to 'off' and get back to exploring WOFF3 in all it's glory!

Agree with all your setting ideas there OldHat, and will be using the same for myself.

It seems it's both skill-dependent and numbers-dependent.

I have to say, I love the more cautious AI, both because it's much more realistic and because it gives me a whole new set of things to decide. Now when I show up with a full flight, enemy flights often just pack up and leave - and I notice (even from observing the "AI" logic that the TAC suggests) that they don't leave in a panic like they might if they're being outfought, but they simply turn away and head back home at their cruise altitude. If they had an altitude advantage, they don't surrender it willy-nilly or break up their formation. Now you have to think about if you're gonna chase them over the frontline to the other side, and whether next time, you might want to sneak up on them by hiding in cloud. Decisions decisions! Decisions are good

Those are the settings I use.
And, the way Creaghorn explained it (or as I understood his explanation), "AI Reduced Vision" is not some flat reduction in vision range but just more factors go into what and how the AI sees.
And yes indeed CCIP, so far so good with the 3.0 AI behavior.

So after more than a year, are the AI settings
OFF
OFF
ON
ON
still they way to go?

Yes,I think that most people would agree that those are the best default settings. However, about half of the time I set the first one (AI never backs down) to on. Doing so results in long drawn-out dogfights, which I greatly enjoy. When set to off the enemy will eventually run away. Then you either just let them go or give chase. However, they'll let you just pull up right behind them and shoot them down, which isn't much fun.

Not always true. I've seen them going into spiraling dives where it looks like they will crash and then at the last minute, they pull out and zoom away towards their own lines. I've given chase to them as they run away, only to find their friends are now latched directly onto my tail and I must turn and face them or be shredded myself. Sometimes you can grab some easier kills as they try to fly away but there are other times when things turn out to be not so simple.

[quote=OldHat]I was just about to make a thread on this and other things I've noticed which are new in WOFF3. So, Please excuse this long post which will include your question....

These are my best guesses as to what the function will do...


Allows the auto pilot AI to act as a novice or veteran. Cool feature for 2 seater squads, I think.

How Novice auto pilot AI is different to Veteran auto pilot AI?

Thanks.

This is an old thread, you pulled up here. But basically Novice/Rookie has less flying skill so less manoeuvres, also uses less effort in any that he uses. He also has worse vision, and scanning, less moral etc - like a rookie.

This option is to create a pilot to match the fictitious pilot you are making, as we all have mega skills these days (computer based of course, and some real piloting ;)).

Does this mean it has nothing to do with Auto pilot then as mentioned by OldHat?

Thanks.

It IS about Autopliot. To clarify - if you fly much of your mission on "Autopilot" the AI will behave as you choose in that option. He will behave as a Novice or Veteran. I simply answered your last question "How Novice auto pilot AI is different to Veteran auto pilot AI"

Ok, now I got it.

Thanks.