View Issue Details

IDProjectCategoryLast Update
0021453AI War 2Bug - GameplayJan 16, 2020 12:00 pm
Reporterzharmad Assigned ToChris_McElligottPark  
Status resolvedResolutionfixed 
Product Version0.877 The Strikecraft Goldilocks Zone 
Summary0021453: Mercenaries do not inherit player tech level
DescriptionAs advised from: https://forums.arcengames.com/ai-war-ii/ideas-for-mercs/

Here is a save from 0.877, tested at the level of completion. The available mercs include Sentinel Gunboats, for which I have Mk-3. I also unlocked Melee once to see if the saws upgrade to mark-II. Neither do, are report in game as mark I with lower stats.

The saves are before and after summoning mercenaries on Metaxas near the player homeworld.
TagsNo tags attached.

Activities

zharmad

Aug 3, 2019 10:34 pm

reporter  

TestB1.save (647,144 bytes)
TestB1.savemet (51 bytes)
TestB1after.save (850,009 bytes)

RocketAssistedPuffin

Aug 4, 2019 7:55 am

reporter   ~0052396

Last edited: Aug 4, 2019 8:00 am

Far as I know, Mercenaries use the Strength values to determine the cost of their units. Since that value will increase with their Mark, they will have fewer but more powerful ships, but in the end have the same Strength anyway.

EDIT: Confirmed. Starting a new game then hiring Sabre Company gives you 33 Pulsar Tanks. Setting those Tanks to start at Mark 7 causes you to only get 7. Result is, if applicable they will have higher bonus multipliers and suffer less attrition, but are much weaker to things like Spider and Tractor effects.

BadgerBadger

Aug 4, 2019 11:18 am

manager   ~0052398

Wait, this bug report was that merc units always spawn at level 1. Puffin, are you observing Mercs to start with higher mark levels?

RocketAssistedPuffin

Aug 4, 2019 11:23 am

reporter   ~0052399

No. I changed the Sabre Company unit to start at Mark 7.

BadgerBadger

Aug 5, 2019 6:19 pm

manager   ~0052417

It looks like the game is no longer respecting the InheritsTechUpgradesFromPlayerFactions flag one can set on a minor faction. At a guess, this was broken by the change to Fleets.

BadgerBadger

Aug 5, 2019 6:26 pm

manager   ~0052418

I would hope that the strength_aip_multiplier would make up for the strength issue?

RocketAssistedPuffin

Aug 5, 2019 6:46 pm

reporter   ~0052419

If I recall, that flag was created during the original Fleets update.

I don't think it would. That'd increase their strength in general, but upgrading their Mark still results in the same strength value in the end, just concentrated in fewer ships. Essentially what happened to the AI planets before Fleets.

BadgerBadger

Aug 5, 2019 6:56 pm

manager   ~0052420

Yeah, but the strength should be consistently going up over time as the AIP increases. So if I originally spawned (say) 5 strength of mark 1 units, and then down the road I'm spawning 50 strength of mark 3 units, I should still get a good number of units.

RocketAssistedPuffin

Aug 5, 2019 7:05 pm

reporter   ~0052421

Aye, you would. Just the Mark increase isn't doing anything really, and as noted above, with Paralysis and similar on the field, it'd be worse.

Chris_McElligottPark

Aug 5, 2019 7:06 pm

administrator   ~0052422

This should be giving them the same amount of strength as if they were mark 1, if this were working properly. Basically if it was giving you 33 at mark 1,it should give you 33 at mark 7, too. But that was probably an oversight on my part.

The actual inheritance of techs I'm not sure was ever fully tested, as I think I added that during the fleets upgrades but I don't think I ever tested to see that it worked. Evidently there's a typo in there somewhere on that one.

RocketAssistedPuffin

Aug 5, 2019 7:14 pm

reporter   ~0052428

Huhm. So they should be using the base strength? Wasn't that added just recently for Counter Attacks?

I don't recall testing it either.

Chris_McElligottPark

Aug 5, 2019 7:17 pm

administrator   ~0052431

That was indeed just added recently for counterattacks. In this case I mean "should" in the sense of "I just thought of this and this is how it should be based on where my head has been at for a while, but I never did anything to the code to make that the case."

RocketAssistedPuffin

Aug 5, 2019 7:22 pm

reporter   ~0052432

Ah, got it. In that case there is no problem / oddity that I can think of currently.

Still all the other stuff with Mercs, being kept in reserve all the time, and my own behaviour of only ever wanting to use them at high AIP...wonder if it'd be better to just "frontload" their power? Make the initial strength value much higher, and tone down the scaling. Make them last shorter times, but increase the hire count?

Chris_McElligottPark

Aug 5, 2019 7:39 pm

administrator   ~0052433

Well, the first part is still broken, in that the InheritsTechUpgradesFromPlayerFactions is not working.

And then the second stuff with my intent for them needs to be implemented, as it is a deficiency in the implementation (something that was in my head but never got implemented), even if not a traditional bug per se.

---

As to your second comment, I could see that sort of working, but I do worry about the early game becoming too easy. Mercs are too weak in general, but I'd like to get them working properly in the mid and late game before we buff them too much I guess.

RocketAssistedPuffin

Aug 5, 2019 8:10 pm

reporter   ~0052437

Fair enough. I have noticed myself that I stopped caring for them lately.

BadgerBadger

Aug 8, 2019 6:08 pm

manager   ~0052491

I'm pretty sure the mercenary unit spawning mechanism
                GameEntity_Squad entity = GameEntity_Squad.CreateNew( spawnFaction, entityData, entityData.MarkFor( pFaction.Faction.CurrentGeneralMarkLevel ),
                    spawnFaction.Faction.LooseFleet, point, Context );
or
                GameEntity_Squad entity = GameEntity_Squad.CreateNew( spawnFaction, entityData, entityData.MarkFor( spawnFaction ),
                    spawnFaction.Faction.LooseFleet, point, Context );
no longer works with the new Fleets tech system.

RocketAssistedPuffin

Jan 16, 2020 12:00 pm

reporter   ~0055613

StarKelp got this when he redid Outguard.

Issue History

Date Modified Username Field Change
Aug 3, 2019 10:34 pm zharmad New Issue
Aug 3, 2019 10:34 pm zharmad File Added: TestB1.save
Aug 3, 2019 10:34 pm zharmad File Added: TestB1.savemet
Aug 3, 2019 10:34 pm zharmad File Added: TestB1after.save
Aug 3, 2019 10:34 pm zharmad File Added: TestB1after.savemet
Aug 4, 2019 7:55 am RocketAssistedPuffin Note Added: 0052396
Aug 4, 2019 8:00 am RocketAssistedPuffin Note Edited: 0052396
Aug 4, 2019 11:18 am BadgerBadger Note Added: 0052398
Aug 4, 2019 11:23 am RocketAssistedPuffin Note Added: 0052399
Aug 5, 2019 6:19 pm BadgerBadger Assigned To => Chris_McElligottPark
Aug 5, 2019 6:19 pm BadgerBadger Status new => assigned
Aug 5, 2019 6:19 pm BadgerBadger Note Added: 0052417
Aug 5, 2019 6:26 pm BadgerBadger Note Added: 0052418
Aug 5, 2019 6:46 pm RocketAssistedPuffin Note Added: 0052419
Aug 5, 2019 6:56 pm BadgerBadger Note Added: 0052420
Aug 5, 2019 7:05 pm RocketAssistedPuffin Note Added: 0052421
Aug 5, 2019 7:06 pm Chris_McElligottPark Note Added: 0052422
Aug 5, 2019 7:14 pm RocketAssistedPuffin Note Added: 0052428
Aug 5, 2019 7:17 pm Chris_McElligottPark Note Added: 0052431
Aug 5, 2019 7:22 pm RocketAssistedPuffin Note Added: 0052432
Aug 5, 2019 7:39 pm Chris_McElligottPark Note Added: 0052433
Aug 5, 2019 8:10 pm RocketAssistedPuffin Note Added: 0052437
Aug 8, 2019 6:08 pm BadgerBadger Note Added: 0052491
Jan 16, 2020 12:00 pm RocketAssistedPuffin Status assigned => resolved
Jan 16, 2020 12:00 pm RocketAssistedPuffin Resolution open => fixed
Jan 16, 2020 12:00 pm RocketAssistedPuffin Note Added: 0055613