Using BF2142 Autocontrolers

Using BF2142 Autocontrollers

By Dnamro

This article dicusses the issues with Autocontrollers, advantages and how to use them

Autocontrollers allows weapons to be automated and vehicles to be piloted automatically. In BF2142 main game, autocontrollers are used for the deployable sentry guns and for the missle silos in Titan mode. Autocontrollers are designed to be used in any game mode. Based on the number of options in the Autocontroller. AI file in the mod's AI folder, it appears that there were plans for using autocontrollers more extensively in the main game that, for whatever reason, did not pan out. When using an autocontoller for vehicle control, it only allows the vehicle to move in a straight path and will not avoid obstacles or enemies. It is very much like auto pilot on a modern plane. Also, note that when a vehicle gunner postion is autocontrolled, it will show that player name is R2 (an apparent Star Wars nod).

**Explanation of properties:**

* operatesAlone: If this is set to 0 the AI will only be activated if a player enters another pco of the vehicle. E.g. You could have an automatic cannon on a vehicle that will activate and help the player driving the vehicle
* scanningSpeed:  This is the speed at which the AI will scan the area for enemies.         Make sure that the MaxSpeed and Acceleration of the rotational bundle is set up so that the AI isn't restricted by it.
* fov: Field of view of the AI in degrees
* viewDistance: view distance of the AI in meters
* useSiren: if 1 the weapon will warn before opening fire. A horn template must be added to the AltFire button
* reactionTime: Time between first noticing an enemy and opening fire.
* targetLostTimeout: time that AI will continue to look in the direction it last saw the enemy after it has lost sight of him.
* sendFireWarning: will add flashing icon to minimap when firing
* reportEnemiesToTeam: will report target enemy to team
* allowTakeOver: will allow player to enter position of autoController. AutoController will be activatedagain when player exits pco.
* maxTrackingInput: this is the maximum steering input allowed for the autoController while tracking an enemy.
* Decrease this is you want it to aim slower.
* checkLineOfFire: AI will not fire if a friendly soldier is in it's line of fire
* discoverCloakedEnemiesDistance: AI will detect enemies within this distance even if they are cloaked
* flipOutAtHealth: autoController will flip out when it's health goes below this value (0.1 = 10 percent of full health)
* scanningInputScale: input to rotational bundle will be scaled with this value when autoController isn't firing  and isn't flipping out. Use this to get a smooth scanning motion while still letting the rotation bunde keep a high maximum rotational speed (this is good when flipping out)
* scanningSpeedWhenFlippingOut : use this scanning speed when the autoController flips out
* reloadOnTeamChange : used only by the missile silos to force a reload delay of the weapon after it has been captured
* onlyAttackNetworkBattlefieldObjects : if true, this autoController will only attack objects that are reported to it's owners squad. I.e. player who owns the autoController must be in a squad or the autoController will attack nothing. Default is false.
* simpleFirePlan: an autoController with this property will do nothing but just fire it's weapon all the time This is used to make the recon drone keep firing as long as it's deployed

The current Autocontrollers currently available are SentryGun, UAVDrone and CP\_CANNON. Other Autocontrollers can be added as needed and add to the PCO tweak file.

**Issues**

There are few issues with using autocontrollers:

* When used on a stationary weapon, the ability to zoom/magnify/scope is disabled. This appears to be a game bug.
* When used on a vehicle gunner postion, you can't switch to that position from within the vehicle. The only way a player can take over an autocontrolled vehicle position is that the postion must be enterable from the outside. This also appears to be a game bug. Note that BF2142 main game does not have any autcontrolled gunner positions.
* Guided missiles that are autocontrolled can cause a crash. I don't know why the missle silos work, but the Stationary BF2142 Guided missles don't
* There is also a limited verticle FOV with autocontrolled weapons. This can provides a possible weakness to where the autocontrolled weapon may not attack if the enemy is above or below the verticle FOV.