Need Help. AI armies stuck forever.

**=NF= Vasileios_the2nd** · September 21, 2009, 08:26 AM

We all have experienced this, more or less. Sometimes AI looses any goal, and thus just sits on the map doing absolutely nothing.
In my case, I have Scotland as a horde faction. They sack the first 3 towns via a script, but after that, they end in a rebel area, where they cannot find a good enough target to move forth, reasulting in all the armies waiting endlessly in the same position.

I have made this trigger in the export_descr_character_traits.txt:

Trigger NoMoreDevastation
WhenToTest GeneralDevastatesTile

Condition FactionType Scotland
and IsGeneral
and CharacterNumTurnsIdle > 1

Affects MoveUDog 1 Chance 100

Which works nicely. Problem is that I can't find any good command to give them through the campaign_script, so that they start moving again.

The general idea is:

Code:

If 
     general hasn't moved for 2 turns
do 
     something

I don't want this to happen exclusively. I mean, I could give them a "sige this settlement" command, but I want to give them a generic one. Something that will work in any circumstances.

So, any ideas?
Note that as I have said again and again, I am (unfortunatelly) working on medieval2.exe and not on the kingdoms one.

Any help greatly appreciated.

**Vegas_Bear** · September 24, 2009, 12:23 AM

How about in the descr_regions file add the line horde_target like below. Maybe this will direct them to the cities you want.

HTML Code:

Smolensk_Province
	Smolensk
	russia
	Rus_Rebels
	177 110 83
	horde_target
	5
	4
	religions { catholic 2 orthodox 74 islam 2 pagan 20 heretic 2 }

**Archaon** · September 24, 2009, 05:22 AM

there is a limit on how far away the target is and if there is sea in the way, so maybe try moving the horde target around (or the spawn location) to get the desired effect.

**alhoon** · September 24, 2009, 07:54 AM

Interesting question.

I also would like a solution to this problem, although I don't encounter it very often. Also, for more aggressiveness, the spawned generals have a label that I use to send them attacking pre-specified cities.

**Augustus Lucifer** · September 24, 2009, 04:44 PM

Perhaps try increasing the horde_disband_percent_on_settlement_capture value in the descr_sm_factions.txt so that their horde armies will diminish after they take the first few cities. Either that or decrease it so they have more strength to carry on with.

**alhoon** · September 25, 2009, 01:00 AM

They usually don't capture the cities.

They exterminate and move away. Also, does the disband horde army works in Med2?

I have put the disband on 20% and even used the can_horde command, made a horde, captured a city... and nothing happened. Not a single unit was disbanded.

**Archaon** · September 25, 2009, 01:22 AM

If they reach the horde_target, they will occupy, guaranteed.
Anything that is not a horde target is sacked, guaranteed.

**Userpro** · September 30, 2009, 11:21 AM

Give al look at this little research-thread about horde-behaviour, maybe it can help you in in some manner.
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=198357

Stucking armies are almost always due to mapping-Ai-pathfinding issues!

**Byg** · October 01, 2009, 11:20 AM

Yes, regarding stuck ai armies, make a map with no obstacles so that no single settlement, army or fort can block any pass, crossing or destination of any kind completely via its zone of control and I bet you won't get any stuck armies. If I were a mapper I would have done this years ago.

Far better to let the ai have a fully traversible map and be able to shine a little with its basic capabilities than to have a map full of human player exploits and nonsensical ai behaviour.

**alhoon** · October 03, 2009, 07:27 PM

Originally Posted by Archaon

If they reach the horde_target, they will occupy, guaranteed.
Anything that is not a horde target is sacked, guaranteed.

Really, really, not happening. I have moded many of the cities as horde targets and they just burn them. I have hordes spawn in the province of horde targets. They just burn and move away... then they return and burn again. I have seen cities exterminated thrice.

**Userpro** · October 03, 2009, 08:40 PM

Horde settings in the descr_campaign_db.xml file will prevent the horde to settle down in the same province where they're spawned (they don't accept this as horde targed).

If they reach the horde_target, they will occupy, guaranteed.
Anything that is not a horde target is sacked, guaranteed.

Archaon is right, but only if the horde-ai has set the horde targed as "recognized" and valid (see horde limits)!

**Archaon** · October 03, 2009, 10:26 PM

Originally Posted by Userprobe

Horde settings in the descr_campaign_db.xml file will prevent the horde to settle down in the same province where they're spawned (they don't accept this as horde targed).
Archaon is right, but only if the horde-ai has set the horde targed as "recognized" and valid (see horde limits)!

Hey, i didn't know that a horde doesn't recognize the region it spawned in as a horde target.. Because in my mod (DaC) we use a character called Nagrat who spawns in and takes a region back immediately after it is lost, until we used horde_target he used to sack, now when he spawns in sieging and takes it he occupies.. Which is opposite to your findings..
Perhaps my character doesn't recognise himself as a horde, but then it makes no sense that when the region didn't have horde_target it would be sacked..

I'm sorry to not help with this post, as the information has made my personal tests and results seem invalid, yet they work, so i am trying to understand the conditions that may be different..

**alhoon** · October 07, 2009, 11:43 AM

Originally Posted by Userprobe

Horde settings in the descr_campaign_db.xml file will prevent the horde to settle down in the same province where they're spawned (they don't accept this as horde targed).

I didn't know. OK a few hours of playtesting hordes out of the window for this small detail.

Also I didn't know hordes were so complicated.

**Userpro** · October 04, 2009, 06:51 AM

Because in my mod (DaC) we use a character called Nagrat who spawns in and takes a region back immediately after it is lost

I'm not sure about the behavior when taking back a previous lost settlement.
I think it depends also from, if you use commands like spawn_character or create_army for this character!? It seems not to be the same for the horde behavior, as the first-time "emergent_faction" command.
If you use vanilla-horde-settings in the descr_campaign_db.xml file, it is as i said (for the first-time-emergent_faction). ATM, i cant remember which of the horde command line of them, is responsible for (will prevent the horde to settle down in the same province where they're spawned), but i think it was the starting_region_bonus entry!