why do the legionares...

[ServiusTheGreat]

why do my legionares always reform there unit in the middle of a fight and completeley forget theres an enemy anywhere near them.its a bit annoying taking unnecassary casulties
but dimebagho truly a great mod
i havent gone outside for week

[DimeBagHo]

Have you got them set to "defend"? Units set to defend will try to hold the shape of their formation, even when engaged with the enemy. Units set to attack will flow more freely (but also tend to turn into a mob).

BTW, I'm glad you like the mod.

[ServiusTheGreat]

that could be it i havent checked that thanks dimebagho

[atraps]

i have noticed that these Roman units have guard mode on by default (its on at the start of battle)



im not sure if this is intentional or not but this puts the Romans (controlled by AI) at a disadvantage on the battlefield, because after some tests i did i noticed the AI doesnt turn guard mode off

Dime, you might wanna look into this...

[DimeBagHo]

Thanks for letting me know atraps.

[ServiusTheGreat]

one question *laughs nervously*how do you turn off guad mode

[synthesis]

i have noticed that these Roman units have guard mode on by default (its on at the start of battle)



im not sure if this is intentional or not but this puts the Romans (controlled by AI) at a disadvantage on the battlefield, because after some tests i did i noticed the AI doesnt turn guard mode off

Dime, you might wanna look into this...

I think when the computer is defending against attack, desc_formations_ai.txt specifies that they be in guard mode. Recently, I went on my own quest to tweak Roman AI, but I consider the manipular system way too sophisticated (and the phalanx a very strange deterrent to the AI) which causes all sorts of strange behavior. I did learn a lot on the way. Maybe one day I'll try to completely revamp it with a more practical approach and forget about emulating history.

[atraps]

I think when the computer is defending against attack, desc_formations_ai.txt specifies that they be in guard mode.

They are in guard mode even when they attack, not just defend.

[Balikedes]

there's a little shield on the bottom of the control panel during battles, where the "fire at will" and "formation" buttons are...

[atraps]

try this test and you will know wat i mean

custom battle
you-Rome
AI-Rome (rebels)
make the AI the attacking team
both of you get 1 unit of legionary cohort
start the battle and dont move let the AI attack you
you will see that when you and the AI are engaged the AI soliders will be all clumped toghter in a neat formation (turn guard mode off your soliders so you can see the difference better, its on by default)

[synthesis]

Well, I tried that and didn't get those results. First of all, guard mode wasn't on by default, but I put it on to test it. Also, the enemy walked up to me, threw pila, charged, and then threw more pila right when they made contact after the charge. When they did fight me aftwerwards, they wrapped around my edges and didn't stay in a nice, neat box.

It made me remember that I did modify the descr_formations_ai.txt slightly even since the latest version of XGM. Where it says ";;;purpose flags" in the Roman section, I removed "march" when it occurred with "attack" and "defend."

[atraps]

thats weird what version do you have?

i have 5.6.7, with darth formations on

[synthesis]

5.6.7 with Darth formations using alx.exe.

[atraps]

i use BI exe

maybe thats the reason...

[ServiusTheGreat]

yeah i havent put the legionares into guard mode until recently and they were doing it even then

[synthesis]

Maybe it's the opposite of the scattering bug.

[lankylars]

I would like guard mode to be off by default for all units.

And Dime (or anyone who knows, for that matter), why do different units have guard mode enabled during different battles? I.e. during one battle, samnite mercenaries began with guard mode on, but during the next they didn't. I've observed the same with velite gladiators and other units (playing as Romans).
It's very annoying having to check every unit before a battle in order to ensure that guard mode isn't randomly on.

[atraps]

I would like guard mode to be off by default for all units.

And Dime (or anyone who knows, for that matter), why do different units have guard mode enabled during different battles? I.e. during one battle, samnite mercenaries began with guard mode on, but during the next they didn't. I've observed the same with velite gladiators and other units (playing as Romans).
It's very annoying having to check every unit before a battle in order to ensure that guard mode isn't randomly on.

yes, also that seems to happen with loose/tight formation, skirmish mode, and fire at will

weird:hmmm:

[synthesis]

Are you sure it's totally random? Like say...can you take the same faction and use an identical army composition and get units with random modes on?

Look in the xgm/data folder and make a backup of descr_formations_ai.txt and then place the attached file in it's place. This should change all units to a default setting. All units have guard mode off except phalangites, which will be in a phalanx and have guard mode on. Units that use a precursor weapon before charging have fire_at_will off, and missile troops have skirmish and fire_at_will on. Loose density should be off for all.

The player initially deploys just like the AI, which is defined in the file I mentioned. Units get assigned to "blocks" and each block defines things like guard mode, etc. The use of AOR or merc units may confuse things since Thracian peltasts are categorized as light infantry but you would expect them to be with the skirmishers. As such, they have fire_at_will on but not skirmish.

[DimeBagHo]

The differences in settings are due to the use of troops in different "blocks", that have different purposes. Screening lines (in front of the main formation) are typically in loose formation, for example.