Gadget: Area Attack for ground units

[KDR_11k]

This gadget allows adding an area attack command to ground units. It's mostly intended for using artillery to attack suspected enemy positions outside of LOS and hitting a wide area without requiring the arty to have inaccuracy.

For a unit to get the command you have to add

Code: Select all

[customParams] {
    canAreaAttack=1;
}

to the unit's FBI.

[ZellSF]

So without lua, bombers are hardcoded to the the only units to have area attack? I've always figured artillery not having area attack was intentional...

[lurker]

Is this a gadget with an fbi tag so it doesn't get spammed on units that would look stupid area attacking or other practical reason, or because you think it shouldn't be a widget? Because all I need to set up a manual area attack is 5-10 seconds of completely brainless micro.

[KDR_11k]

It could be a widget but 1. I'm not good at widgets and 2. Area Attack really doesn't make sense on most things.

[Argh]

Thanks much, I will use this.

[LOrDo]

Cool! Im hoping this gets implemented, always thought more units should have area attack...

[NOiZE]

Thanks!

[[Krogoth86]]

Nice! Will try it out right now...

[smokingwreckage]

This totally makes sense for artillery.

[[Krogoth86]]

It still has a problem though. When you go ahead and make your area attack circle and then the mechanism chooses a point which is out of range (what can happen as you don't see the max range when drawing the circle) the unit doesn't try to close in but just holds its position with an attack order it can't complete and does nothing...

At least that's a situation I had - didn't try to reproduce it yet...

[NOiZE]

It still has a problem though. When you go ahead and make your area attack circle and then the mechanism chooses a point which is out of range (what can happen as you don't see the max range when drawing the circle) the unit doesn't try to close in but just holds its position with an attack order it can't complete and does nothing...

At least that's a situation I had - didn't try to reproduce it yet...

I did, and indeed the problem occurs

[KDR_11k]

Strange, just tested it with a pointer in KP and that thing does close in. Maybe it's because I tested with SVN...

EDIT: Hm, no, works with 76b1 too.

[NOiZE]

tried with multiple units?

[KDR_11k]

Yep, works with multiple units too.

[Argh]

Tried it out. Works well, very cool. I don't suppose you could make a "line attack" variation, so that people could very deliberately set up barrages to block a chokepoint? That'd be cute...

[[Krogoth86]]

Well I now also tried to reproduce it and it worked on the first try. So here comes the video proof (Divx Avi):
http://www.file-upload.net/download-639 ... k.avi.html

You'll see 6 Lugers being given an area-attack order at pretty much their max range (you'll see it in the video). Then you'll see three of em "shut down" with an attack order pretty much exactly at the range border. Well as I still have the raw video in a high resolution here comes a snapshot:


But it becomes even more serious:
When recording (i.e. "playing" this as I taped this from the replay) only two of em dismalfunctioned and it also were different ones. When playing the one to the very left and the one to the very right didn't fire - not so in the replay. This way there have to be some issues. It also is unlikely to be map dependent because I this time chose another map than the one where I noticed it first (-> Charlie in the Hills)...

[Argh]

Hmm. Well, it could get the max ranges of every weapon of every Unit being given the order, and not allow the user to issue a command past the max range of the farthest Unit from the target.

Or, the quick-and-dirty way is to just re-randomize the attack orders faster, and if any Units cannot hit any of the circle at all, then drop them.

[[Krogoth86]]

Besides that I think it has to just calculate some random spots to attack and "handle them over" to the engine so that they are constant even in replays. I don't really know how to achieve that but the way it is it's a replay killer as for example a Commander you killed in your game stays alive in the replay causing lots of confusion...

[Argh]

Lol... I brought up this indeterminacy issue awhile back... that's a new wrinkle...

[KDR_11k]

Hmm. Well, it could get the max ranges of every weapon of every Unit being given the order, and not allow the user to issue a command past the max range of the farthest Unit from the target.

Or, the quick-and-dirty way is to just re-randomize the attack orders faster, and if any Units cannot hit any of the circle at all, then drop them.

You know, I could just tell them to move into range first.

Being able to desync a replay is a SERIOUS issue but AFAIK not the scope of lua, it's probably an engine issue. I wonder what happens if area attack is used online, maybe the lua random function isn't as synced as we thought?

The lock up seems strange to me, what happens if the map is flat (looked to me like they were on a hill)? Can you get the same result with a regular attack order when given to the same position?

EDIT: Updated the gadget to make the units move in range