Imoen just ran in an Ogre with her bow... again ... and got smashed... again.
Aasimar069
Member Posts: 803
EDIT : This bug was fixed in previous patch. But patch 8 (with Italian language) marked the return of this bug, amongst others.
After finishing the game with my Cavalier, I have begun starting over with a Fighter that will be dualed in Cleric.
I went with Montaron and Xzar and started looking for that Ogre just south FAI thanks to my metagaming memory of mine.
Imoen with her bow
My fighter with his warhammer and his plate armor
Monty, casting magic projectiles from afar (with the wand).
Xzar casting Larloch's minor drain.
Eveybody went fine until Imoen responded with her bugged default script to go in close contact with the ogre, with her bow.
She did not last long. And yes, she had arrows in her quiver.
Default script is bugged. It has been reported, we're waiting for the fix.
You will then say : take the ranged script !
The ranged script is not appropriate => why ?
- When at close range, the NPC will switch to melee weapon and start hacking the ennemy.
- At medium range, it will flee very far instead of shooting arrows, and then only will start to fire.
=> I only want the character to stand his ground and fire, since enemies are already attacking my best armored characters.
In the original games (Vanilla BG, Bg2), the scripts were working correctly (Ie : they stay where they are -or get in range with a ranged weapon ; they go to melee with a melee weapon).
Currently, it's better to deactivate the AI if you don't want your characters to stupidly meet their end, and move one by one the characters.
So what's the point having the AI options activated ?
After finishing the game with my Cavalier, I have begun starting over with a Fighter that will be dualed in Cleric.
I went with Montaron and Xzar and started looking for that Ogre just south FAI thanks to my metagaming memory of mine.
Imoen with her bow
My fighter with his warhammer and his plate armor
Monty, casting magic projectiles from afar (with the wand).
Xzar casting Larloch's minor drain.
Eveybody went fine until Imoen responded with her bugged default script to go in close contact with the ogre, with her bow.
She did not last long. And yes, she had arrows in her quiver.
Default script is bugged. It has been reported, we're waiting for the fix.
You will then say : take the ranged script !
The ranged script is not appropriate => why ?
- When at close range, the NPC will switch to melee weapon and start hacking the ennemy.
- At medium range, it will flee very far instead of shooting arrows, and then only will start to fire.
=> I only want the character to stand his ground and fire, since enemies are already attacking my best armored characters.
In the original games (Vanilla BG, Bg2), the scripts were working correctly (Ie : they stay where they are -or get in range with a ranged weapon ; they go to melee with a melee weapon).
Currently, it's better to deactivate the AI if you don't want your characters to stupidly meet their end, and move one by one the characters.
So what's the point having the AI options activated ?
Post edited by Aasimar069 on
6
Comments
Also, characters don't always seem to respond to commands and/or sometimes one of them seems to get left behind from a party move order, even though all have been selected - what's that all about?
I never use any scripts that involve spellcasting though. Under D&D rules its never good to have people casting willy nilly like it is in Dragon Age.
Don't be lazy (speaking about recoding the scripts, not letting the computer deal with the game).
Furthermore, basic scripts are very good for dealing with thrash mobs (gibberlings, gnolls and such) because it allows to dispatch them very quickly.
I keep my sweat for the real fights.
It may not be ideal, but for what you want it's the closest I've found for the behavior you describe.
But the lastest patch brought back old bugs and, amongst them, this one.
You want them to stand their ground and shoot the enemies, so that they go down quickly.
Your melee characters will tank them if they are close and thus attract them.
- Stand and attack with a ranged weapon (i.e. they won't charge the enemy)
- Change to a melee weapon should an enemy get too close.
I set the scripts to choose a melee weapon from slot 1 (far left slot) and a ranged weapon from slot 2 (next to the far left slot). So if anyone is interested I can upload the script.
Even then, one annoying thing I've seen also in BG:EE is that when ammo of one type of arrow, let's say, runs out, but there are still other types of arrows in the remaining ammo slots, then the character starts attacking with fists rather than using whatever ammo is in the next ammo slot.
I don't want my archers to switch their weapons in close range. Neither that the flee when the enemy gets too close so that they can shoot again from afar. If I wanted so, I would have set the ranged script to them.
I just want them to stand their ground and shoot what's in range, and that's what the default script was doing.
I don't want them to switch for a melee weapon in close combat because there will always be my tanks between them and the ennemy.
By definition, even archers with swords are not fitted to fight in close range (poor life pool, poor armor, poor melee THAC0) => Imoen and Coran for instance.
I would have thought that *should* an enemy 'rush' your archer, you would want them to switch to melee to prevent your 'up close' enemy from getting +4 to their attack rolls *AND* to prevent your archer getting -4 to their attack rolls with the ranged weapon. These are huge drawbacks - your archer using a ranged weapon in this scenario is a sitting duck...unable to defend nor attack with much success.
If your tanks are always between your archers and the enemy, then my script won't have your archer change to a melee weapon. They will 'stand their ground and shoot what's in range'.
But this should not prevent Beamdog from fixing the bugs.
As said earlier, this bug was fixed before, but with the patch 8 - with Italian language, these bugs have returned.
Concerning your comments : you always have time to bring your armored characters in the front of the enemy (thanks spacebar or autopause when enemy spotted).
I agree with the fact that they switch with a melee weapon is better for their survival (I'm aware of the bonus / negative effects), but the ranged script is already doing that (and on the top, the character flees to avoid melee range).
Since they are not fitted for close combat (unless you have a full plate warrior with two a handed weapon and bow/crossbow), I have no reason to keep them close to the enemy, and if so, I switch to a melee weapon (what are the chances of Imoen vs an Ogre in this case ? ;-) ) And go fight Tazok with Imoen lol, even if you switch to a melee weapon, you won't last long.
Do I really want Coran and his 20 HP + studded leather armor tank the wyverns ? ^_^
I will move him away just far enough so he's not / no longer targeted because one or more of my tanks draw attraction by attacking them. Furthermore, he's already in the 2nd row of characters so that he's not the first targeted.
The aim of a default script is basic attack with the selected weapon of what's in range without moving (=> they get (or are) in range and fire that's all. Nothing will attack them if paladin/warriors are already focusing the monster's attention.).
This script is satisfactory for most situations, since it allows your archers to dispatch the (lesser) enemies with minimal efforts.
You don't want your characters 'moving' into combat. You want them to move them manually and let the script do the firing?
I'm of the same opinion. Character positioning is critical to success and a script would be pretty bad at that - so positioning must be done manually.
The script I posted a couple of days ago doesn't/shouldn't 'move' the characters. They will stand and commence firing, but *only* if they are currently doing nothing. That means that a party should 'halt' when an enemy is spotted - because while they have an order to move, they'll carry out the move order before firing.
That's why the best solution is to fix the default script (actually as said before it was fixed, but last patch broke it again).