Scripting unit's actions

Borya · #1 January 5th, 2007, 04:54 PM

It's great that one can script unit's actions. However, when i tried to "prepare" a set of spells for my mage i discovered there was a limit on how much commands i could assign.

Is it possible to script more than 5 actions, like (Mirror Image)(Ame)(Ame)(Ame)(Ame)(Summon Air Elemental)(Aim) and so on, or the limit can't be bypassed?

Gandalf Parker · #2 January 5th, 2007, 05:10 PM

Nope.
Probably we should get out of the habit of calling it "scripting". Its more like your pretender making suggestions. The mage can still make decisions different than you have scripted based on what he sees when he gets into the fight. And apparently the only suggestion you can give after 5 rounds of combat is a very general thing.

Borya · #3 January 6th, 2007, 12:00 PM

Are there any spells which AI will never cast normally (by default)?

For example there's a 0-level spell Freezing Touch, which my mages will never use even if they are surrounded by hostile units, and even if they don't know any other spells.

Endoperez · #4 January 6th, 2007, 12:28 PM

I doubt it's not that AI never uses them, but that the mages were either unconscious, unable to cast spells due to being in melee, or having access to some other spell they would rather cast.

I've seen Hand of Death kill my group of sacred knights that went straight for enemy mages, against AI, so everything is possible.

Borya · #5 January 6th, 2007, 02:23 PM

Do you thinkg the AI will use spells through items then?

I gave one of my commanders Snake Ring (it allows to cast poison touch), put him in front, ordered to "attack closest", and tested in about 5 fights. He survived all of them, killed a lot of troops, but never used his Poison Touch.

Jack_Trowell · #6 January 7th, 2007, 06:31 AM

If you give your unit an order to "attack", you're telling him : don't was time casting spells, just attack

With this order the unit will neitheir cast spells nor fire ranged weapons.

You could give him as orders something like 'attack one turn' (to have him advance), maybe 2 times if the commander is slow or the ennemy is far away, and then you change him tocast spells.
If the commander is not a mage and has only the item spell available, it will cast it as often as possible. Note however that with ennemy in melee range there's a chance your commander will react and attack in melee sometimes instead of casting the spell. You can also just don't give any general order to the commander after the first (up to) 5
, and let you commander decide each round what to do.