Better Static Weapon Positions

[Vegas-zzz]

Overall Analysis Static weapons provide entrenched positions with better defenses and additionally provide more of a challenge for players when attacking. Proper suppressive fire is extremely important when defending positions, and static weapon emplacements are usually employed in strategic positions to fill gaps, even the spread of firepower for a force, and in some cases overwatch a surrounding area.

Current Limitations As is stands right now, most static weapons are spawned as part of existing compositions, particularly the nests (MG,AT,AA), and some roadblock variations. All of these are usually seen at ground level and often lack proper line of sight to actually be a challenge for players.

Suggestions

• [ ] Employ the use of static MG, AT, and AA emplacements on elevated positions. Hills surrounding objectives should be used for nests. It is much more of a challenge for players to attack a nest that is on top of a hill!
• [x] Employ static weapons on rooftops and inside some structures. Expand existing CQB data.
• [ ] Possibly create additional compositions to be used to fortify buildings so that the static weapons have some protection.

This may extend to Friznit's suggestion of "[AI Comd] Prepared Defences; Tougher Objectives"

Example Images From Eden

http://i.imgur.com/x3y6FTy.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/umpEkIt.jpg

Technical Challenges

• Building data for static positions would have to be configured. Perhaps as an extension of CBQ systems.
• Terrain analysis for placing nests on hilltops might get interesting. It would have to examine map elevation and determine clear area for composition spawn.
• AI tend to not care about static weapons sometimes. Would have to make sure static weapons stay manned.

[Will-Nichols]

We have found that the standard CQB aspect as referenced above doesn't really provide a true challenge when you are able to work in the same way that real world tactics are used. Too many times we have breached a room and found the AI to just be standing there looking away from the doors and windows at someone that made a sound outside of the building. It allows our guys a super easy game play experience and that is not necessarily a great thing for the various communities in the long run.

[highhead]

I have nevertheless put a static wepaons option on CQB. It will place some statics on roof if enabled.

[friznit]

Proof of Concept is in live release. Needs some refinement to placements and module settings could be changed to a more intuitive drop down.

[Will-Nichols]

I hope you guys can find a way to eliminate the issue of static weapons being placed on docks, inside walls and on front porches of 1 story buildings I would be more willing to enable this feature in an ALiVE mission. Otherwise I just manually place the weapons and add a unit to it then profile the units again. https://github.com/ALiVEOS/ALiVE.OS/issues/314

[highhead]

Static weapon placement via CQB is designed in a way it will try to dynamically find an open and free building position, which is often a flat rooftop or a balcony, terrace to allow for a relatively big firing angle to assist the static weapon effectiveness. This involves scanning for a position without another level or roof over it. Placing addiditional fortifactions like sandbags will often cause clipping and is not intended.

Vegas first screenshot looks like a perfect dynamic placement by CQB (see my screen). But the second one would involve placing static data somewhere which we try to minimize as much as possible,

I suspect 3rd party addons / building addons / CUP to not be perfectly working with it, so if you could pass an example mission with maybe only CUP id be happy to look into it, else it would need to be more specific (which building (addon) specifically doesnt work f.e.)