Strategic Bots
Of course, no discussion of having bots defend and snipe would be complete without mentioning the DefensePoint and DistanceViewTrigger actors. I recommend taking a look at both of these snippets before moving on.
Ambush
Ambush & camping in DM...
Defense
Now, A DefensePoint actor should be placed at every location you want a bot who has its orders set to "Defend" to go. This includes both sniping points and places where you want the bot to stand to defend a flag base/release switch/assault goal/and possibly control point, although I'm not sure of the specifics for either Assault or Domination.
If you are trying to create a normal defense point, all you have to do is set the team number to the team that is going to defend the point, set a weight if desired, and rotate the DefensePoint to the correct orientation. Bots will automatically go there if their orders are set to "defend".
Sniping
Beyond mere defense, it's possible to make a bot snipe when it sees the enemy.
If it is a sniping spot, set bSniping to true under the AmbushPoint tab contained within the preferences of the DefensePoint actor (the DefensePoint actor inherits the sniping info from it's parent class, the AmbushPoint actor). Also, make sure to rotate the DefensePoint so it points in the direction you want the bot to snipe. It is also a good idea to place DistanceViewTriggers in connection with the sniping point to any spot where you want the bot to snipe. Note that failing to do this in conjuction with sniping points that are far away from the action (ala the sniping lofts in Face), tends to result in bots toting rocket launchers and other weaponry besides the sniper rifle up to the sniping point and standing out in the open making their head a nice sweet target. (Also note that just because the bot doesn't have the sniper rifle out doesn't mean you failed in placing the DVT's, they won't switch to the rifle until the first time a DVT is triggered).
Setting the view direction
A technique when setting the direction of this actor (and other bot sightlines):
- make a Sheet brush on the X or Y axis, and very wide.
- in Top view, set the centre of the sheet brush on top of the DefsnePoint actor
- Rotate the sheet until one end of it is on the thing you want the bot to see (you may need to make the sheet bigger)
- Now select the nav point actor & rotate it so its directional arrow matches the RBB line
Further Discussion
Although I don't like this technique myself, there are some people who swear by placing DefensePoint's in the opponent's base in certain gametypes to make the action more intense, perhaps someone would like to elaborate on this...
