Not to mention that the player is constantly moving through different areas and has one focus, so squabbles with NPCs are short and not prolonged, and many areas of the game are quite flat and open which the Combine don't work well in such as the Nova Prospekt Teleporter area.
@Codered08 limitations of the engine I suppose, since they didn't have a lean function they don't use it. Otherwise I could imagine the combine AI using it to full effectiveness; I mean imagine if they could, a consistent. Ream of fire from SMG and Pistol combine on multiple shotgunners rush in. Since they would be leaning it would be harder to hit them and make them quite a challenge in groups.
If you try to play the game like an actual IRL soldier: taking cover, advancing slowly, only firing on flanks, etc etc, you'll notice it really REALLY quickly, and the combine will end up just killing you. If you play the game *like Gordon Freeman,* running around, firing as much suppression as possible, picking them off like fuckin batman, then you don't notice it as much, because you're overwhelming the combine. Which is the whole point.
It's pretty easy to fix. Go to C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Half-Life 2\hl2\cfg and open the skill.cfg file. There you can find the "sk_combine_s_health". The default is 50 hp. I find 70-80 hp to be the most ideal amount for making them a bit more interesting to play against.
@@Horny_Fruit_Flies For me the health is kindda ok... The biggest issue that acutually impede you to see this in proper action, is the amount of damage that you can take, if they did like double the original damage, probably you would see that a lot more often
@@olivierrodriguesneto5995 You can change that as well in the cfg file. The player's AR2 does 8 damage per bullet, but the NPC's AR2 does 3 damage per bullet (wtf?). I usually make them do between 5-6 damage for the AR2. Not 8, since they become REALLY deadly, especially in Ep 2 where combines got their accuracy buffed (only for the AR2, with the SMG their accuracy is still insulting, with bullets flying out almost at a 90 degree angle from the barrel)
@@Horny_Fruit_Flies the only threat that an smg soldier presents is from very, very close range, but they were made for doing some kind of supression, but their accuraccy is just so bad, that it doesn't work even for this
@@olivierrodriguesneto5995 Yep. And the only way to improve their accuracy is in the source code since it's hard-coded, so you basically need to make your own mod and play HL2 maps from there. Or you could also play MMod since it comes with an option to improve their accuracy. Mmod has it's own cfg that I modified to make them even more challenging.
This is the best video of showcasing the combine squad ai! In my first playthrow I noticed that combine soldiers are realy good! I like their voice commands, my favorite one is: 5,4,3,2,1 push-push-push! And then they go rush while I am at low health
The Nova Prospekt area really makes them shine imo, had a friend playing HL2 for the first time who had no trouble with the soldiers until he got to that section. (He was also really bad and died to the CPs a few time on easy, but my point is still somewhat valid.)
Should have put more high walls around the area. Combine soldiers will, most of the time, only reload behind things that cover them completely. That meant it was kinda hard for them to retreat to reload since they had to run through a tiny area to get behind the wall, causing them to bump into eachother. Also shoutout to the Elite that decided to bumrush Alyx in an attempt to save his one remaining squadmate, that man looks out for his troops. I also just wanna state my appreciation of this AI. If you stand your ground, they keep their distance, so they don't get gunned down while trying to advance. If you duck into cover, they push their advantage and move in closer so they can deal more damage to you. It's really great stuff.
They use grenades in Half-Life more often than Half-Life 2, and they don't communicate anything to the player. In Half-Life 2, more section the soldiers just rush you head on. Not to mention the game will give them information they shouldn't have.
That jumpscare tho Anyway, this was actually a pretty good insight into the behavior of the Combine AI. People always criticize Half-Life 2 for its 'poor AI design' and contrast it against The HECU in the first game, but I don't think that's the problem with the combat in HL2. I think it's more due to the level design, always ensuring that the player has a major advantage over the combine. Whether that be the highground, superior firepower (like the gravity gun) or the fact that the Combine seem to enjoy standing near something explosive a lot of the time. They really don't ever get a chance to utilize any of this behavior before they're already slaughtered.
To be honest, the MMOD really improves their behavior, and makes it actually feel like they are an organised force at times. Like the lighthouse section I used to plough through in the vanilla game, but in MMOD it took me about 5 tries to actually do. Idk if it's unluckiness but there is definitely a noticable contrast.
@@AtomicSpeedFT I'm working on a few maps where the combine soldiers aren't heavily scripted but the majority of the time they have free range to do what they can to take the player down while acting in squads. it's pretty cool how I have it set up, im just trying to figure out how i can better improve the maps to work for the combine's AI so they can shine and be a challenge to take down versus the HL2 campaign where they are fairly easy to defeat.
I believe I saw a video by maybe marphitimus, apparently the ai is a bit broken so they consider something like Gordon running behind a pole to be him taking cover. They have coding to rush during yhr player taking cover so they rush.
A interesting thing I noticed in game is how snipers use the environment like explosive props against you and destroy all breakable cover in order to force you into the LOF (Line of fire) When you consider the 3 combine Ai's working together heres the most dangerous scenario where their ai becomes a threat. Sniper has destroyed all breakable cover forcing you into a easy to flank/grenade position, after a grenade forces you out, both the sniper and SMG/AR2 soldiers will pepper you with bullets while shotgunners try to cut you off from cover.
Gotta remember they are wearing full armor, and they bodies still need the normal resources. Th3 unarmored version shown in hl2 indicates that combine soldiers are small framed too, so the body is not to accommodate speed but durability due to the armor and augmentations added to keep the host alive
@@KrugerTheFox personally I don't think they have chips in their brains...that's far too cheesy, you don't need brain chips if you psychologically augment them enough to view the Combine as the only thing that matters to them, if you make someone forget everything about their life and dehumanize them enough they'll start to see you as an extension of themselves, the Combine soldiers view themselves as the Combine itself, and so anything that threatens threatens them too, the easiest way to make people your mindless slaves is to make them think that there is nothing else for them.
Wow! This was very interesting! I was surprised how efficiently the soldiers defeated the zombies. I imagine antlions would be more difficult, due to the high mobility.
I forgot to list the Antlions! Antlions almost always win against the Combine Squads, due to the fact that the Antlions have a high speed in infiltrating their lines and scattering them. Combine typically target the closest one.
A lot of people talk about how the environment could've been better suited to accomodate this combat AI and, while I kindof agree, I like the idea that the transhuman overwatch's tactics - while effective - are still a bit too strict and inflexible to function as well in such varied environments as the player. Its almost a neat bit of storytelling; these are obviously very well-trained soldiers, but their tactics aren't always enough to win the day. I'll also say that I feel like there are moments in the game where this AI *does* get to shine through, like in the house siege near the middle of episode 2 for example.
rollermines/manhhacks : force the player to keep moving or to focus their (the player's) attencion on them snipers/manhacks : destroy breakable cover and set off nearby explosives to force player to leave cover shotgunners/manhacks : pressure and flank the player, aswell as cut the player off from cover smg-ers : supression ar2-ers : long range suppression elites : longer range suppression, ar2 orb pushes the player (for example, off a cliff)
hl2 ai just doesnt work in reality, the maps arent designed for this AI. You cant even notice this AI in hl2 really, barely in some situations. Hl1 feels so good because the maps are so small and AI fits the small maps.
Yeah, i remember they were flanking me from behind in the gate part with the 3 power boxes in highway 17, the shotgunners was the one that charged in the, some of them even tried to do an ambush
Its very hard to appreciate this type of AI outside of very specific areas. I think the only area where I saw this in good use is EP2 in the White Forest Inn ambush, where they are constantly firing at windows they think the player or Alyx is at. At the same time, when looking back using demos, there was also a combine AI covering the entrance into the inn with an AR2, letting a shotgunner and SMG gunner move in while staying out
I don't think I've seen tactics like this in any other game. Does anyone have any software experience to tell me how hard it would be to make an AI like this for other shooters or just a shooter in general? I understand that the AI cheats a little bit to make the experience a certain way for the player (Enemy grenades taking longer than player grenades to explode, dying easily from Antlions etc), but just these tactics in general is very impressive for an early 2000's game. My jaw dropped when I saw the AI learn that the zombies couldn't be suppressed and held their ground far away. Also does anyone know of any other games that have AI like this or on a level similar to this? There has to be other games that just improved AI to make it more real, like Alien isolation making the Alien feel alive.
the reason you dont see this is because you have the durability of an anime character and also literally and metaphorically obliterate everything in your path
I am sorry but I have a some questions pls : 1 : when will the combine soldiers flank their enemies ? and where ? 2 : can the combine elites kill any npc with 1 hit by their dark energy balls just like the player (as the wiki said) or no because if no then what makes them dangerous ? 3 : can the combine soldiers throw more than 1 grenade at the player and any npc ? or they are only allowed to throw 1 grenade ? 4 : Are the combine elites really have a better accuracy than the regular soldiers (as the wiki said) ? If yes then what weapon degrees they have in half life 2 and in the episodes ? Because regular soldiers with AR2 have (9 degrees) in half life 2 and (5 degrees) in the episodes 5 : Are the nova prospekt guards better than the standard soldiers ? 6 : when will the combine elites use their dark energy balls ? 7 : when will the combine soldiers throw their grenades ? 8 : when will the combine soldiers take cover ? 9 : Can the combine soldiers react to the damage they take and will take cover when they are getting hit ? 10 : what damage they will deal in the hardest difficulty with : SMG , SHOTGUN , AR2 , GRENADES and DARK ENERGY BALLS ? THAT'S ALL SRY IF I WASTED YOUR TIME WITH ALL THIS QUESTION THANKS FOR ANSWERING THEM I HOPE YOU HAVE A GOOD DAY AND YOU ARE MORE THAN AWESOME 👍👍👍👍
1. The Flanking tactics of the Combine Soldiers mostly depends on the situation, if they are pressurizing the opponent they will have 1 or 2 Soldiers to Flank left or right while the rest of the squad push forward - The flanking tactics also entails driving the opponent out of cover or an ambush. 2. Fully dependent on the NPC, high hp high regeneration characters like Alyx and Barney are designed to survive multiple Energy Balls at once so they don't get instantly ganked when an Elite is in the area. The Cannon sometimes kills on one hit and sometimes doesn't, which is why the Elite is usually isolated for scripted events or player v npc confrontations. 3. In Garry's Mod they throw infinite (Garry's Mod is of course the game I was testing this AI on.), in Half Life 2 I believe they have one max grenade, from what I have experienced. 4. Yes, this is true - But in Half Life 2 it is merely noticable on the Normal and Hard Modes, for Elites have a higher proficiency rating than standard Combine Soldiers. I'm not sure about the exact degrees that they can fire at since that was not an area I looked into, but it's not 100% accuracy for sure. 5. Nope, they're reskinned standard soldiers. 6. From what I have seen their timing is completely random. 7. Combine Soldiers usually only toss grenades in order to flush the opponent out of cover, since all gun wielding npcs are coded to have a very debilitating retreat animation or sequence to get away from the Grenade, and since Grenades do high amounts of damage, a player will naturally avoid it. 8. Notably only when they are Reloading or have been severely injured. 9. They have voice lines for damage, animations for damage such as flinching in various hit directions such as back, left, right and so on. If the Damage is small - typically Combine Soldiers will not go for cover and will only go for cover when under a consistent or heavy damage output. 10. I think the NPC Damages are determined on a multiplier which is dependent on the difficulty, I think it's about a 2x or 3x increase in damage for each weapon from Normal - Since Damage is variable on distance and such I haven't got any staunch numbers for each of these weapons, but I know for a fact that infamously the Combine Shotgunners are practically 1 hitters on the hardest difficulty if you get too close. Don't take my word for all of these answers, for all of these answers are from only my own experiences and experiments I have done with the AI of the Combine Soldiers. There are many points I could be wrong in, even in the video above I could have some points wrong or gone unnoticed. Thanks for the Comment, this was a fun thing to write out.
@@snjar_6321 thanks so much for answering my questions and for the amazing video I appreciate that oh btw why don't you check this out th-cam.com/video/PR5gjP-Kk3s/w-d-xo.html What do you think lad ?
I've been on a Half-Life series binge recently waiting for the Project Borealis and Boreal Alyph projects to come out, and I am really disappointed that this AI wasn't showcased too much in base HL2. I like mapping and seeing the real functionality of combine soldiers is interesting. Are there any tutorials out there to help implement this behavior into custom maps? Also gfys for that jumpscare XD
Black Spruce I think there is a few tutorials on tying combine soldiers to a specific squad like these ones have been. Nova prospekt was a good enough showcase for their AI
If I remember correctly, the AI relies on certain types of nodes to determine what can and can't be used as cover, as opposed to reacting to the map itself. Is that correct?
That relies on the more updated Navmesh, certain areas of Navmesh can be put down as cover or camping spots. However I did not use the Navmesh in this instance, instead using the Nodes. And with inspection on how they function in combat, they tend to use the larger cover at the back where they spawn than the smaller ones infront, as it is a complete obstruction from the player and utilize that.
Did you put the combine soldiers in a squad or did you use ai entities? Can you give us the map download, I'm struggling with Ai but I wanna get it right.
The AI is more complex than it looks because it works in small quarters and most of the time you see them you’re shooting heavily or you’re in gm construct
Does anyone know a video where someone does an analysis of their tactics while in the actual game? They pause at moments to talk about what the AI is doing, and how it switches up tactics based on how many of the squad is left. For example, at one point they say that one of them disengages to go around the building and flank the player while they're engaged with someone else. I can't seem to find the video any more, and I'm afraid it got deleted or something.
is there a half life mod that makes the combine more understandable, that'd probably make them seem smarter since people would actually notice the "move in" accompanied by the guy moving in
Cool demonstration , i tried to make a map with some combine and citizen like an war, they don't really attack well, but they do walk to the point to attack it, i don't know how to use the battle line or what it does, i can't undertand the official source hammer pages
You likely need the Combine Soldiers in a named squad for the AI to function properly. Also, keep in mind that the accuracy of Combine Soldiers is purposefully bad, while Citizens accuracy is much better, so in most evenly-matched situations, Combine Soldiers will lose against Citizens.
Sure, they have to sacrifice one soldier to figure out that they shouldn't go into melee range of zombies, but sometimes you just have to take one for the team.
It is literally the generic test they use to determine if pressuring is safe, I think they do this for every encounter (if the first pressurer loses range and dies the other shotgunners change behavior) but yeah it is a guaranteed loss otherwise
I think half life 2 inside still the top 5 ai mechanics. I remember on some areas was real pain in the ass to fight against them due to realistic fight. Not like wolfenstein new blood braindead ai. Shame stone age games got better everything apart for graphic
You can't really make a squad via normal vanilla means in Garrys Mod. Some addons like the Combine Improvement Mods assist with Squads and such, but with this example I linked the NPCs through the hammer editor, meaning that these NPCs weren't spawned by me and were in fact spawned by the map instead.
Hey, this was a cool video demonstrating the capabilities of the overwatch troops' AI and tactics. When you created this custom arena map for this video, did you use any specific map nodes to get them to have this behavior or they are relying on the map's design alone?
This was a personal map I made to test multiple things, meaning this map had other things related to my own projects. Now that I am on a different computer I have lost this previous map file.
@@snjar_6321 Dang, I was really hoping I could get a map with some good natural covers, do you have any good map suggestions? (edit) mostly because I want to test out how good the a.i is
The Combine AI is the same in Garry's Mod as it is in Half-Life 2. It's just that Garry's Mod is the easier platform to use. For example, the AI of the Combine only allows two members of a squad to fire upon an enemy both in Half-Life 2 and in Garrys Mod. They only fire simultaneously against Zombies or other melee-based NPCs.
Which is why, in Episode 2, Valve added more available cover for them, and their AI is much more noticable. If you pit combine soldiers and HECU grunts in an hl1 map, the combine soldiers do alot more than the Grunts, and also perform better at tactics.
HECU grunts are actually alot dumber than most people think. they don't even flank or anything like that. their only advantage is their speed and health.
I swear man I've never seen this behaviour before, I don't think the environments in game were well suited to allow this behaviour to emerge
Not to mention that the player is constantly moving through different areas and has one focus, so squabbles with NPCs are short and not prolonged, and many areas of the game are quite flat and open which the Combine don't work well in such as the Nova Prospekt Teleporter area.
@Codered08 limitations of the engine I suppose, since they didn't have a lean function they don't use it. Otherwise I could imagine the combine AI using it to full effectiveness; I mean imagine if they could, a consistent. Ream of fire from SMG and Pistol combine on multiple shotgunners rush in. Since they would be leaning it would be harder to hit them and make them quite a challenge in groups.
If you try to play the game like an actual IRL soldier: taking cover, advancing slowly, only firing on flanks, etc etc, you'll notice it really REALLY quickly, and the combine will end up just killing you.
If you play the game *like Gordon Freeman,* running around, firing as much suppression as possible, picking them off like fuckin batman, then you don't notice it as much, because you're overwhelming the combine. Which is the whole point.
Idk the trap house near White Forest in Episode 2 really made the squad tactics deadly.
Because Gordon Freeman is a frigging beast!
Love how Alyx keeps T-posing to assert her dominance over the Combine soldiers.
thanks for the jumpscare at the end.
Thrax thanks for the heads up pal
This is really impressive even today. Its just a shame that in the HL2 saga they drop too quick to show off this wonderful AI.
It's pretty easy to fix. Go to C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Half-Life 2\hl2\cfg and open the skill.cfg file. There you can find the "sk_combine_s_health". The default is 50 hp. I find 70-80 hp to be the most ideal amount for making them a bit more interesting to play against.
@@Horny_Fruit_Flies For me the health is kindda ok... The biggest issue that acutually impede you to see this in proper action, is the amount of damage that you can take, if they did like double the original damage, probably you would see that a lot more often
@@olivierrodriguesneto5995 You can change that as well in the cfg file. The player's AR2 does 8 damage per bullet, but the NPC's AR2 does 3 damage per bullet (wtf?). I usually make them do between 5-6 damage for the AR2. Not 8, since they become REALLY deadly, especially in Ep 2 where combines got their accuracy buffed (only for the AR2, with the SMG their accuracy is still insulting, with bullets flying out almost at a 90 degree angle from the barrel)
@@Horny_Fruit_Flies the only threat that an smg soldier presents is from very, very close range, but they were made for doing some kind of supression, but their accuraccy is just so bad, that it doesn't work even for this
@@olivierrodriguesneto5995 Yep. And the only way to improve their accuracy is in the source code since it's hard-coded, so you basically need to make your own mod and play HL2 maps from there.
Or you could also play MMod since it comes with an option to improve their accuracy. Mmod has it's own cfg that I modified to make them even more challenging.
This is the best video of showcasing the combine squad ai! In my first playthrow I noticed that combine soldiers are realy good! I like their voice commands, my favorite one is: 5,4,3,2,1 push-push-push! And then they go rush while I am at low health
They're actually saying "5, 4, 3, 2, 1, flash flash flash", in reference to the grenade ticker. They have a few sentences for it.
that is a voice line when they trow a granade
wait why ima responding a comment 6 years ago?
The Nova Prospekt area really makes them shine imo, had a friend playing HL2 for the first time who had no trouble with the soldiers until he got to that section. (He was also really bad and died to the CPs a few time on easy, but my point is still somewhat valid.)
Should have put more high walls around the area. Combine soldiers will, most of the time, only reload behind things that cover them completely. That meant it was kinda hard for them to retreat to reload since they had to run through a tiny area to get behind the wall, causing them to bump into eachother.
Also shoutout to the Elite that decided to bumrush Alyx in an attempt to save his one remaining squadmate, that man looks out for his troops.
I also just wanna state my appreciation of this AI. If you stand your ground, they keep their distance, so they don't get gunned down while trying to advance. If you duck into cover, they push their advantage and move in closer so they can deal more damage to you. It's really great stuff.
You're definitely right, though I have seen them reload behind low walls, but not often!
@@snjar_6321 They actually can make use of low cover by crouching to hide as long as it's big enough for this.
Dont know why ppl say that combine soldiers are stupid, I saw so many moments where one HECU soldiers killed their squadmates with a granade
They use grenades in Half-Life more often than Half-Life 2, and they don't communicate anything to the player. In Half-Life 2, more section the soldiers just rush you head on. Not to mention the game will give them information they shouldn't have.
Wait, people actually think HECU soldiers are smarter than the combine?
@@zekapten1922 yes they do, hecu are just tougher with their raw stats, their health, damage and speed is higher that's why
The combine call the grenades extractors or bouncers since they extract/bounce enemies out of cover which is probably why they don’t use it much
That jumpscare tho
Anyway, this was actually a pretty good insight into the behavior of the Combine AI. People always criticize Half-Life 2 for its 'poor AI design' and contrast it against The HECU in the first game, but I don't think that's the problem with the combat in HL2. I think it's more due to the level design, always ensuring that the player has a major advantage over the combine. Whether that be the highground, superior firepower (like the gravity gun) or the fact that the Combine seem to enjoy standing near something explosive a lot of the time. They really don't ever get a chance to utilize any of this behavior before they're already slaughtered.
To be honest, the MMOD really improves their behavior, and makes it actually feel like they are an organised force at times. Like the lighthouse section I used to plough through in the vanilla game, but in MMOD it took me about 5 tries to actually do. Idk if it's unluckiness but there is definitely a noticable contrast.
@@snjar_6321 oh god, the lighthouse. You can literally just stand in front of the dropships and gun the troops down the moment they exit the vehicle.
@@otter4370 it has been fixed in MMod so standing in front of the dropships would be suicidal
i feel like they should have been coded to just be compatible to their present surrounding, rather than having them rely on map nodes.
CturiX Kemilon For now you’ll have too hope on mappers
@@AtomicSpeedFT I'm working on a few maps where the combine soldiers aren't heavily scripted but the majority of the time they have free range to do what they can to take the player down while acting in squads. it's pretty cool how I have it set up, im just trying to figure out how i can better improve the maps to work for the combine's AI so they can shine and be a challenge to take down versus the HL2 campaign where they are fairly easy to defeat.
@@brandonlyons1119 map?
@@ileryon4019 asking for my maps?
@@brandonlyons1119 yes
I think valve realised this and decided to improve the maps in the episodes I noticed that they behave much better in EP1 and EP2 than the vanilla.
5:02 oh damn, my ears
I think the running up to the player might be a bug in the ai with it not being able to pick a cover spot to suppress from
I believe I saw a video by maybe marphitimus, apparently the ai is a bit broken so they consider something like Gordon running behind a pole to be him taking cover. They have coding to rush during yhr player taking cover so they rush.
why does this video have 6.7k views. fuck this boomed in the past few days
why not
3:03 oof
A interesting thing I noticed in game is how snipers use the environment like explosive props against you and destroy all breakable cover in order to force you into the LOF (Line of fire) When you consider the 3 combine Ai's working together heres the most dangerous scenario where their ai becomes a threat. Sniper has destroyed all breakable cover forcing you into a easy to flank/grenade position, after a grenade forces you out, both the sniper and SMG/AR2 soldiers will pepper you with bullets while shotgunners try to cut you off from cover.
Npcs in hl2 are just too slow compared to hl1 barneys and grunts.
yup
Gotta remember they are wearing full armor, and they bodies still need the normal resources. Th3 unarmored version shown in hl2 indicates that combine soldiers are small framed too, so the body is not to accommodate speed but durability due to the armor and augmentations added to keep the host alive
I also say host because these soldiers have chips in their brain that make them fully loyal and they have augmentations to last in combat longer
@@KrugerTheFox personally I don't think they have chips in their brains...that's far too cheesy, you don't need brain chips if you psychologically augment them enough to view the Combine as the only thing that matters to them, if you make someone forget everything about their life and dehumanize them enough they'll start to see you as an extension of themselves, the Combine soldiers view themselves as the Combine itself, and so anything that threatens threatens them too, the easiest way to make people your mindless slaves is to make them think that there is nothing else for them.
Finally someone showed the Combine AI is actually good!
i scrolled down before the "jumpscare"
Fuck you escaped my grasp
Wow! This was very interesting!
I was surprised how efficiently the soldiers defeated the zombies.
I imagine antlions would be more difficult, due to the high mobility.
I forgot to list the Antlions! Antlions almost always win against the Combine Squads, due to the fact that the Antlions have a high speed in infiltrating their lines and scattering them. Combine typically target the closest one.
On top of all of that, Antlions (at least in my recollection) always one-hit kill Combine Soldiers.
@@Qtoyghs they are scripted to because the nova prospekt raid
A lot of people talk about how the environment could've been better suited to accomodate this combat AI and, while I kindof agree, I like the idea that the transhuman overwatch's tactics - while effective - are still a bit too strict and inflexible to function as well in such varied environments as the player. Its almost a neat bit of storytelling; these are obviously very well-trained soldiers, but their tactics aren't always enough to win the day.
I'll also say that I feel like there are moments in the game where this AI *does* get to shine through, like in the house siege near the middle of episode 2 for example.
I love combine troops. They're awesome.
rollermines/manhhacks : force the player to keep moving or to focus their (the player's) attencion on them
snipers/manhacks : destroy breakable cover and set off nearby explosives to force player to leave cover
shotgunners/manhacks : pressure and flank the player, aswell as cut the player off from cover
smg-ers : supression
ar2-ers : long range suppression
elites : longer range suppression, ar2 orb pushes the player (for example, off a cliff)
It's pretty cool but the killing factor is that only 1 member of a squad is allowed to shoot at a time so they just sometimes stare at you
3:03 rep-AHH Lmfao
Imagine being a rebel soldier, relaxing at some outpost with fellow rebels and hear these gear sounds behind the door.
Maybe test giving the combine some health regeneration when confronting a real person or AI with high regen? ( not AI )
It will require a bit of programming, to make them regenerate some health per second.
Damn when the zombies came you’d think the Combine movement was scripted
yeah i hate how people say hl1 ai is better. its really not, its just different
hl2 ai just doesnt work in reality, the maps arent designed for this AI. You cant even notice this AI in hl2 really, barely in some situations. Hl1 feels so good because the maps are so small and AI fits the small maps.
REP-ooaagghh Rip soldier
I think this AI was shown in the game, especially in Highway 17 where the areas are more open
Yeah, i remember they were flanking me from behind in the gate part with the 3 power boxes in highway 17, the shotgunners was the one that charged in the, some of them even tried to do an ambush
How dare you with that last part. Never jumped so fast in my life
At least now you can finally do the Long Jump for the Olympics.
4:27 *Move in* Shotgunner advances to this command... But fails. That had me cracking up lmao
im so disconnected from reality i didnt even fully notice the jumpscare at the end lmfao.
lmfao the barney jumpscare still got me even when I was expecting it
Problem with shotgun class is that only one can assault at a time, one must be in cover. So I would only put one shotgun per group.
lol when that combine gets fucking murked by grigori 4:28
2:23 I would have been less frustrated and more amazed by this clever death
Its very hard to appreciate this type of AI outside of very specific areas. I think the only area where I saw this in good use is EP2 in the White Forest Inn ambush, where they are constantly firing at windows they think the player or Alyx is at.
At the same time, when looking back using demos, there was also a combine AI covering the entrance into the inn with an AR2, letting a shotgunner and SMG gunner move in while staying out
I don't think I've seen tactics like this in any other game. Does anyone have any software experience to tell me how hard it would be to make an AI like this for other shooters or just a shooter in general?
I understand that the AI cheats a little bit to make the experience a certain way for the player (Enemy grenades taking longer than player grenades to explode, dying easily from Antlions etc), but just these tactics in general is very impressive for an early 2000's game. My jaw dropped when I saw the AI learn that the zombies couldn't be suppressed and held their ground far away.
Also does anyone know of any other games that have AI like this or on a level similar to this? There has to be other games that just improved AI to make it more real, like Alien isolation making the Alien feel alive.
Take a look at F.E.A.R.'s AI, it's leagues better than this. Probably the best enemy AI to date even though it's from 2005.
Do you perhaps have a link of this map? I want to try the same in Gmod, with different AI etc.
This was a map I custom made for myself.
Snjár_ Oh. I'll have to keep looking for a while then. Thanks for the answer anyway.
the reason you dont see this is because you have the durability of an anime character and also literally and metaphorically obliterate everything in your path
I had no idea that they made commands to each other, I always thought they just said random things to immerse you!
I am sorry but I have a some questions pls :
1 : when will the combine soldiers flank their enemies ? and where ?
2 : can the combine elites kill any npc with 1 hit by their dark energy balls just like the player (as the wiki said) or no
because if no then what makes them dangerous ?
3 : can the combine soldiers throw more than 1 grenade at the player and any npc ? or they are only allowed to throw 1 grenade ?
4 : Are the combine elites really have a better accuracy than the regular soldiers (as the wiki said) ? If yes then what weapon degrees they have in half life 2 and in the episodes ? Because regular soldiers with AR2 have (9 degrees) in half life 2 and (5 degrees) in the episodes
5 : Are the nova prospekt guards better than the standard soldiers ?
6 : when will the combine elites use their dark energy balls ?
7 : when will the combine soldiers throw their grenades ?
8 : when will the combine soldiers take cover ?
9 : Can the combine soldiers react to the damage they take and will take cover when they are getting hit ?
10 : what damage they will deal in the hardest difficulty with : SMG , SHOTGUN , AR2 , GRENADES and DARK ENERGY BALLS ?
THAT'S ALL SRY IF I WASTED YOUR TIME WITH ALL THIS QUESTION THANKS FOR ANSWERING THEM I HOPE YOU HAVE A GOOD DAY AND YOU ARE MORE THAN AWESOME 👍👍👍👍
1. The Flanking tactics of the Combine Soldiers mostly depends on the situation, if they are pressurizing the opponent they will have 1 or 2 Soldiers to Flank left or right while the rest of the squad push forward - The flanking tactics also entails driving the opponent out of cover or an ambush.
2. Fully dependent on the NPC, high hp high regeneration characters like Alyx and Barney are designed to survive multiple Energy Balls at once so they don't get instantly ganked when an Elite is in the area. The Cannon sometimes kills on one hit and sometimes doesn't, which is why the Elite is usually isolated for scripted events or player v npc confrontations.
3. In Garry's Mod they throw infinite (Garry's Mod is of course the game I was testing this AI on.), in Half Life 2 I believe they have one max grenade, from what I have experienced.
4. Yes, this is true - But in Half Life 2 it is merely noticable on the Normal and Hard Modes, for Elites have a higher proficiency rating than standard Combine Soldiers. I'm not sure about the exact degrees that they can fire at since that was not an area I looked into, but it's not 100% accuracy for sure.
5. Nope, they're reskinned standard soldiers.
6. From what I have seen their timing is completely random.
7. Combine Soldiers usually only toss grenades in order to flush the opponent out of cover, since all gun wielding npcs are coded to have a very debilitating retreat animation or sequence to get away from the Grenade, and since Grenades do high amounts of damage, a player will naturally avoid it.
8. Notably only when they are Reloading or have been severely injured.
9. They have voice lines for damage, animations for damage such as flinching in various hit directions such as back, left, right and so on. If the Damage is small - typically Combine Soldiers will not go for cover and will only go for cover when under a consistent or heavy damage output.
10. I think the NPC Damages are determined on a multiplier which is dependent on the difficulty, I think it's about a 2x or 3x increase in damage for each weapon from Normal - Since Damage is variable on distance and such I haven't got any staunch numbers for each of these weapons, but I know for a fact that infamously the Combine Shotgunners are practically 1 hitters on the hardest difficulty if you get too close.
Don't take my word for all of these answers, for all of these answers are from only my own experiences and experiments I have done with the AI of the Combine Soldiers. There are many points I could be wrong in, even in the video above I could have some points wrong or gone unnoticed. Thanks for the Comment, this was a fun thing to write out.
@@snjar_6321 thanks so much for answering my questions and for the amazing video I appreciate that oh btw why don't you check this out th-cam.com/video/PR5gjP-Kk3s/w-d-xo.html What do you think lad ?
I wonder if the rebels have a similar AI to the combine soldiers
I've been on a Half-Life series binge recently waiting for the Project Borealis and Boreal Alyph projects to come out, and I am really disappointed that this AI wasn't showcased too much in base HL2. I like mapping and seeing the real functionality of combine soldiers is interesting. Are there any tutorials out there to help implement this behavior into custom maps?
Also gfys for that jumpscare XD
Black Spruce I think there is a few tutorials on tying combine soldiers to a specific squad like these ones have been. Nova prospekt was a good enough showcase for their AI
If I remember correctly, the AI relies on certain types of nodes to determine what can and can't be used as cover, as opposed to reacting to the map itself. Is that correct?
That relies on the more updated Navmesh, certain areas of Navmesh can be put down as cover or camping spots. However I did not use the Navmesh in this instance, instead using the Nodes. And with inspection on how they function in combat, they tend to use the larger cover at the back where they spawn than the smaller ones infront, as it is a complete obstruction from the player and utilize that.
Did you put the combine soldiers in a squad or did you use ai entities? Can you give us the map download, I'm struggling with Ai but I wanna get it right.
RIP Barney and my ears.
The AI is more complex than it looks because it works in small quarters and most of the time you see them you’re shooting heavily or you’re in gm construct
Does anyone know a video where someone does an analysis of their tactics while in the actual game? They pause at moments to talk about what the AI is doing, and how it switches up tactics based on how many of the squad is left. For example, at one point they say that one of them disengages to go around the building and flank the player while they're engaged with someone else.
I can't seem to find the video any more, and I'm afraid it got deleted or something.
Have you found it by any chance? Been looking for it
@@dietart9235 I haven't, unfortunately.
@@Eidlones damn
is there a half life mod that makes the combine more understandable, that'd probably make them seem smarter since people would actually notice the "move in" accompanied by the guy moving in
this just goes to show, without that HEV suit, Gordon was fuuuuuucked
Cool demonstration , i tried to make a map with some combine and citizen like an war, they don't really attack well, but they do walk to the point to attack it, i don't know how to use the battle line or what it does, i can't undertand the official source hammer pages
You likely need the Combine Soldiers in a named squad for the AI to function properly. Also, keep in mind that the accuracy of Combine Soldiers is purposefully bad, while Citizens accuracy is much better, so in most evenly-matched situations, Combine Soldiers will lose against Citizens.
Great video, what blood mod are you using?
One more thing: they are more talkative.
I actually don’t kill combine if they are shooting zombies I just bypassed them in half life 2
To be honest, they've been through a lot so they need to be put down.
This is pretty cool, too bad their tactics are kind of suicidal.
Deadass trying to spin a soldier running into the middle of a bunch of zombies alone as intelligent I'm heated.
Sure, they have to sacrifice one soldier to figure out that they shouldn't go into melee range of zombies, but sometimes you just have to take one for the team.
Bradley, I don't think you thought this comment through very well.
It is literally the generic test they use to determine if pressuring is safe, I think they do this for every encounter (if the first pressurer loses range and dies the other shotgunners change behavior) but yeah it is a guaranteed loss otherwise
I think half life 2 inside still the top 5 ai mechanics. I remember on some areas was real pain in the ass to fight against them due to realistic fight. Not like wolfenstein new blood braindead ai. Shame stone age games got better everything apart for graphic
What about their accuracy ?
I was playing gmod and just spawning in shit and they randomly started flanking me and covering off my retreat paths n shit
How much work would it be to set up a small match between 6 - 7 Combine against 6 - 7 Grunts from Black Mesa ? ? ?
Amazing job you an expert
i mean i'm flattered but i wouldn't call myself an expert
How do you makes a squad in gmod?
You can't really make a squad via normal vanilla means in Garrys Mod. Some addons like the Combine Improvement Mods assist with Squads and such, but with this example I linked the NPCs through the hammer editor, meaning that these NPCs weren't spawned by me and were in fact spawned by the map instead.
Hey, this was a cool video demonstrating the capabilities of the overwatch troops' AI and tactics. When you created this custom arena map for this video, did you use any specific map nodes to get them to have this behavior or they are relying on the map's design alone?
Just info_nodes placed through the hammer editor. The Combine Soldiers were then linked into a squad through the forms when you double click on them.
3:04 Sweet.
lol barney zoom in at the end 5:02
What's the map used here?
What program is this and how do I set this up with hl2?
its probably gmod
it da gmod
It is Garry's Mod. Half-Life assets are automatically included.
When you say "validity" during the zombie section, could you clarify what you mean by that?
To observe if their rushing tactic is viable.
still better than AI today
Amazing
What do you think we are? Speedsters to read a text at this speed?
pause you lazy bum
@@snjar_6321 too bad, when u pause YT shows 3 video recommendations on the bottom which u have to close each time >_
@@kurisuchiinathecrocodile333 I've never had this.
@@snjar_6321 perhaps thats mostly when you view video embedded (e.g. into forum post, personal message dialogue, dicord chat or blog entry)
@@kurisuchiinathecrocodile333 no I'm like, actually viewing it on the website
Can someone tell me what map this is or link it?
This was a personal map I made to test multiple things, meaning this map had other things related to my own projects. Now that I am on a different computer I have lost this previous map file.
@@snjar_6321 Dang, I was really hoping I could get a map with some good natural covers, do you have any good map suggestions? (edit) mostly because I want to test out how good the a.i is
Hw did you make this and is it on the workshop? Also how did you make a battle I have always wanted to do it!
I made it all in the hammer editor except for the npcs attacking the combine. The combine were tied to a squad through the editor
Ah Ok. I don't remember them being this smart xD.
Also did you use areanodes or a nav mesh?
HOLY CRAP I AM CLOSE TO DIE
What mod is it where there is blood on your face?
It's a tfa gore mod. Try searching for it cause I don't have this mod no longer
what is this map I want to do it myself
it was a map I made myself for this video ages back, I dont have the file anymore
yeah ok
3:04 xD
what map is this?
It's a custom map I made specifically for this video.
I was wondering if you can give me your discord username so we can discuss somethings together
"Characters with high regeneration"
Out of curiosity, do you know how much health Grigori and Alyx have and how fast they regenerate?
I'm not sure myself, they are only - listed - as having high health and high regeneration to my knowledge.
Darn. Everybody repeats that but nobody seems to know the actual values
I think 5 health per second + huge resist to high dmg (granades, sniper rounds)
You can modify in skill cfg file how fast will regenerate 1 hp. By defold it set to 0.2 second, but Idecided to set it to 1.0
5 HP per second you say? Thanks, I've been wondering that for a while now
these guys are nonhuman so they have good tactics THE LORE NOT THE AI
and nearly 16 years later you lucky to find a game with AI that doesn't blatantly cheat as a result of lazy coding.
this is gmod
Which uses the Source Engine and the same AI for the Combine. GMod is an easier platform to use.
Says he'll demonstrate combine AI.
Also is using Garry's Mod.
:(
The Combine AI is the same in Garry's Mod as it is in Half-Life 2. It's just that Garry's Mod is the easier platform to use. For example, the AI of the Combine only allows two members of a squad to fire upon an enemy both in Half-Life 2 and in Garrys Mod. They only fire simultaneously against Zombies or other melee-based NPCs.
wow, HL bots play better than silver players in csgo
Combines ai is not bad.
Just hecu's ai is much better.
Not really, it's just that the maps in HL2 weren't designed for Combine AI, note the lack of cover and so on.
Which is why, in Episode 2, Valve added more available cover for them, and their AI is much more noticable.
If you pit combine soldiers and HECU grunts in an hl1 map, the combine soldiers do alot more than the Grunts, and also perform better at tactics.
HECU grunts are actually alot dumber than most people think.
they don't even flank or anything like that. their only advantage is their speed and health.
Because they are stronger and faster...