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  1. #1

    Insights on AI and Control Zones

    I did some testing in the editor because I was having some unpredictable behavior on the map I'm working on. Maybe others will find this useful.

    Enemy AI in a Defend Zone:
    • Will alert to gunfire (both player and NPC) within 80 units.
    • Will notice you standing within 56 units in front, with an angle of roughly 30 degrees.



    Enemy AI in a Move and Defend Zone:
    • Will alert to gunfire (both player and NPC) within 74 units.
    • Has the same visual alertness as the Defend Zone.


    Enemy AI in a Defend Cautious Zone:
    • Will alert to gunfire (both player and NPC) within 150 units.
    • Will notice you standing within 70 units in front, with an angle of roughly 40 degrees.


    Testing was done with an AR-C, both horizontally and vertically, so the hearing zone is a sphere. I fired away from an enemy that was locked into an idle animation then looked to see if he'd move. In all 3 zones, firing suppressed didn't alert beyond 10 units.
    I then tested with a few other weapons, and found some slight variances. Popping off a few rounds with the MBP .50, for example, actually required you to be a few units closer to the enemy.

    With that said, keep these "spheres of influance" in mind if you have a situation where you don't want a firefight to alert the entire map.

    A NOTE TO UBISOFT: I also noticed that the game music doesn't start until you come within 80 units of an enemy, and if you quickly pop in and out of 80 units, it will play multiple instances of the music.
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  2. #2
    This is excellent! Very helpful. Thank you.
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  3. #3
    Helpful information! Have you tested this using different difficulties?
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  4. #4
    Interesting. If you have the patience, you should see about testing the specifics of the AI and their spawning habits, as well as how they interact with vehicles. I made a map where you defend a gas station, and all of the reinforcements arrive via vehicle.
    It was insanely tedious setting them up as some of them didn't get in the cars and would instead walk across the map (which meant the player would sit there for a while doing nothing until the NPC suddenly spotted them) and if there were too many AI alive at once, the proceeding wave wouldn't spawn all of the AI assigned to that wave.. so if I had 4 NPCs getting into a vehicle, only 3 would spawn and when the game finally decided to spawn the remaining one, they had no car to get into and would thus do the walking thing.
    I eventually got it set up and "stable" but it's very, very limiting as the amount of reinforcements had to be cut down to prevent spawning from being hindered, and it was very tedious to place the NPCs in the very correct location so they'd actually get in the vehicles. Moving someone across the map an inch would sometimes even disrupt it and suddenly nobody gets in their car anymore.
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  5. #5
    Originally Posted by Arekan_ Go to original post
    Interesting. If you have the patience, you should see about testing the specifics of the AI and their spawning habits, as well as how they interact with vehicles. I made a map where you defend a gas station, and all of the reinforcements arrive via vehicle.
    It was insanely tedious setting them up as some of them didn't get in the cars and would instead walk across the map (which meant the player would sit there for a while doing nothing until the NPC suddenly spotted them) and if there were too many AI alive at once, the proceeding wave wouldn't spawn all of the AI assigned to that wave.. so if I had 4 NPCs getting into a vehicle, only 3 would spawn and when the game finally decided to spawn the remaining one, they had no car to get into and would thus do the walking thing.
    You're in luck, I experimented on the exact same thing and here's what I discovered:
    Sometimes, the editor (in PC version) allows you to set Wave 2's preference of walking vs. getting into a vehicle. The option sometimes appears, sometimes it doesn't. But:
    In Outpost mode, if you assign Wave 2 NPCs to a control zone far off and put a vehicle next to them, they will get in and drive to the designated zone. I have set the zone as "move and defend" one, just in case, but I can try with others as well. I tested it with a truck and a helicopter, the helicopter worked 100% of the time regardless of the wave. When the alarm was triggered, the reinforcements got in the chopper, flew over and started shooting me from the air.
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  6. #6
    You're welcome, fellas.

    I'll probably do some more testing at some point, Arekan. If/when I do, I'll update the thread.
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  7. #7
    rioseven's Avatar Banned
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    Great thread. Maybe this info could have been in the Map Editor Manual in some kind of Advanced Editing Section.
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  8. #8
    rioseven's Avatar Banned
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    Originally Posted by Mike_Sterling Go to original post
    You're in luck, I experimented on the exact same thing and here's what I discovered:
    Sometimes, the editor (in PC version) allows you to set Wave 2's preference of walking vs. getting into a vehicle. The option sometimes appears, sometimes it doesn't. But:
    In Outpost mode, if you assign Wave 2 NPCs to a control zone far off and put a vehicle next to them, they will get in and drive to the designated zone. I have set the zone as "move and defend" one, just in case, but I can try with others as well. I tested it with a truck and a helicopter, the helicopter worked 100% of the time regardless of the wave. When the alarm was triggered, the reinforcements got in the chopper, flew over and started shooting me from the air.
    I'm thinking off adding a helicopter.

    Can you, in detail, explain how to set it up. Do you need to use Aviator AI NPCs. Does the AI need to be inside the control zone when they spawn. Can the helicopter be placed outside the map limits? Does it work with wave 2? Is there a set distance that they have to be away from the action... too near... too far?

    EDIT: figured it out. Very simple.
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  9. #9
    Just be sure to test multiple times before publishing if you use helicopters. I was using a vegetation mix were the trees were fairly tall and the helicopter would not get enough altitude to clear the trees and would get stuck in the trees while on approach to the outpost. I'd have to walk around until I could hear the helicopter to just spot it glued to the tree tops outside the map area going full throttle. However the few times it did make it to the playable area it was a blast.
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  10. #10
    I have a map on the PS4 called AI maze assault where the AI navigates a maze and fights each other. I found that the control zones will also affect how the AI approach the control zones.

    Move and defend will cause the AI to sprint with their weapons drawn. Defend will cause the AI to walk cautiously to the point. Move will cause the AI to move at a leisurely pace.

    So you could use move to make a convoy, defend to have them search out a crash site, and move & defend for a beach assault.
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