Pick lists

[cbreedon]

Could someone explain how these work? I am using a modified OOB. OOB 92 as Guatemala. I am playing a generated campaign using a British para company with a Challenger 2 and a platoon of 105's in 2014. I was defending against the Guatemalans. The battle wasn't much of a fight. The computer picks 8 V100 commando light APC's and 4 60mm mortars.

looking at the picklist file, it is just a series of numbers. Is there any key for decoding what they mean?

Edit: Just playing around and picked a meeting engagement against a company of Ghurkas in 2014. The Guatemalans picked 30 60mm mortars. Seems odd. It may have to do with the modified oob but I am not sure.

[DRG]

The picklists are designed to pick formations we select to give balanced play so if formation 9 was an infantry platoon and was a common pick and you change it to a 60mm mortar Pl well guess what ? The picklist will still pick formation 9 because that's what it's told to pick. The AI knows NOTHING about the composition of that formation just that it's has to pick it.

The best thing OOB Hackers can do when creating custom OOBs is follow the existing OOB structure whenever possible so if the old formation 9 was an infantry pl that's what you should put in there. ( or only use custom OOBs for human only play )

We don't include the nation template because quite frankly we DO NOT want players messing with the picklists because we KNOW that whats going to happen is players will make change then forget about them then one day the AI buys "8 V100 commando light APC's and 4 60mm mortars. " when it should be buying light infantry and "WE" have a weird problem to solve. The MBT picklists are external so we don't have to re-write code to make an adjustment with 93 nations to deal with and initially a half dozen or more OOB designers that made more sense at the time than the internal lists in WW2 which are EXTREMELY convoluted depending on the nation and the number of potential opponents and "fronts'( the WW2 Brit picklist has to deal with German tanks in the desert in 1942 and and predominately Japanese infantry in the far east..that cannot be done with one universal pick )



Don

[Suhiir]

I'll second that.
Picklists are not something the average, and most above average, players even want to consider messing with.

As DRG/Don said they select formations specified in them as "common" (around 75%), "uncommon" (around 20%), and "rare" (around 5%) during a given time period.
Unless it's a very low points battle they will (almost) always select some sort of mortar and anti-air formation after selecting the first (usually) infantry formation (with any inherent mortars and AA it may have). Then based on what the picklist designer knows/believes to be the typical (i.e. foot vs motorized vs mechanized vs armor) types of formations used by the nation it will go thru and select formations till it runs out of points to spend.
Typically every 3rd or so formation selected will be mortars or AA weapons, thus the AI tends to field a lot of both.

[Mobhack]

Well then - did you make your modified OOB exactly match the original OB 92's formations (type, and dates in and out of service)?. That is the simplest way to hack an OOB - the original pick list is quite simple for that one. The tank company is 45-2020 as is the conscript and rifle companies, the rifle platoon and so on. The transport helicopter formation is in the 80s - it might use that one too.

Naturally, you can change the units in a platoon (Say from 4 MBT to a 3 MBT platoon if needed), or an original 1 heavy rifle team + 3 standards to say a 3xStandard rifle team if that is what you need).

Also naturally, you can change the template stuff in a company - if it comes with an HQ section and a sniper and you don't want the sniper - edit that. If you want 3 platoons, and the stock one has 3 then put in the extra platoon.

To test the AI pick simply do many AI purchases with it, and see what was bought in meeter, defend and so on. Play around with the points value and perhaps the decade (this one seems mainly to have formations available right through, not 1945 rifle co, 1958 rifle co, 1974 rifle co and 2011 coy, like some do.

cheers
Andy

[cbreedon]

Thanks for the replies. I'd like to get more info on editing and to try to edit the lists but I know that's not going to happen.

I found the OOB out on the interweb and thought it might be fun to do a what if campaign with the British in Belize vs Guatemala. It looks like I'll have to play with formations a bit and rearrange since the original designer did not keep the formations in the same slot.

cheers

[shahadi]

Originally Posted by cbreedon

Thanks for the replies. I'd like to get more info on editing and to try to edit the lists but I know that's not going to happen.

I found the OOB out on the interweb and thought it might be fun to do a what if campaign with the British in Belize vs Guatemala. It looks like I'll have to play with formations a bit and rearrange since the original designer did not keep the formations in the same slot.

cheers

It is 22:37 hrs, after a long exhausting day, so I may have missed something in your post. If I copy that you intend to author a campaign, Belize v Guatemala, then you need not be concerned with pick lists. Again, if you are to author the campaign, make a custom OOB inserting your formations above slot 900. In the Editor, you buy for both sides, then design each scenario accordingly.

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[cbreedon]

Hi Shahadi
Thanks for your reply. I was actually just using the auto generate campaign function rather than creating my own.

But you may have planted a seed in my brain :-)