Ambushing a Convoy

[technobug]

ok i've looked through all of this forum (ok so i searched on 'convoy' and 'ambush') and i could not find anything on ambushing a moving convoy.

I want to have a enemy convoy of 3 UAZ's with a lead of 2 soldiers about 50 metres infront, and a number of troops following the UAZ's in staggered colum formation.


bit like so: * * * * * # # #          **

on the Skye island theres a long bend with a hill on one side and trees on the other, i want my 3 machine gunners to hide in the trees near the road and wait until the convoy is nearly past it (because they tend to flee back the way they came) before cutting them down. theres also some AP mines further up the road to hinder their escape.

sounds easier than it is, at least to me anyway, getting the colum to stay in formation is a git, especially getting the 2 lead soldiers to stay out there until the shooting starts (well, dying anyway).
plus my troops dont like placing themselves anywhere but in the open or somewhere they cant see anything. placing them manually with the move command isnt much fun  :-\

any ideas ? anyone already done this and have a example mission for me ? im not much good at the basic scripting and the 'advanced' stuff is no-chance

hope someone can help!
thanks
technobug

[macguba]

The fundamental problem is mixing walking and wheels in one convoy, which is never going to be easy.    I would suggest that each of the three elements in you convoy (scouts, UAZs and troops) is a single group.    Snychro the waypoints to keep them in the right order.       Set everybody to behaviour safe or careless, that should help too.

An alternative is to give waypoints to the scouts and then use a following script to make the others drop in behind at the right distance.     There is a following script in my mission Regina Proeliorum in the beta forum (though there hasn't been a post for awhile)   Download it and unpbo it, the relevant script is called Shilka1 and you're welcome to nick the relevant bits.   (I'd appreciate a brief mention in your mission's readme if you do).   It looks a bit convoluted but in fact it's very simple.

Another possibility, to help with keeping the vehicles in line, might be to make them under a group leader who is walking just in front of them.   Worth a try anyway.

[General Barron]

I hate to be a blatant self-promoter, but, well..... here I go  ;D

I think macguba was right on with his last suggestion. A group will only move as fast as its leader; therefore if you put a man on foot leading the UAZ's, the cars should only go as fast as the leader. Don't put people in "careless"; they will basically ignore enemy fire if you do that. Use "safe" for the vehicles (they don't like to drive on the roads otherwise), but use "aware" for the men on foot, or else I think they will shoulder their weapons (which will slow the convoy WAY down...).

Okay, now for the self-promotion. Maybe you could try using my Custom Formations Script Pack (r) to make a custom formation for your convoy. It may work pretty well. You can get it through the link in my signature. A readme is included, but you can email me if you have any questions. Secondly, grab my mission platoon commander (also linked in my signature, or you can get it in the missions depot). It is an ambush mission like yours. And I started making the mission not knowing much about scripting at all. I gradually learned more and more as I made it, but all in all it doesn't have a whole lot of scripting in it. Un-PBO it and have a look. Again, email me with any questions, if you wish. Oh, and in case you've never un-pbo'd anything, you can get a program to do it here: http://www.ofpec.com/editors/resource_view.php?id=358 It's self-explainatory how to use it.

Now, a note on realism: unless the enemy thinks it is in COMPLETE safety, he should be weary of attack. Now, I don't see why there would be men running on foot, instead of riding in trucks/cars, if they thought they were in complete safety. Hence, maybe you should give the enemy a chance, instead of lining him up for a picture-perfect ambush. An easy tactic is to have men on the flanks of the convoy. Basically, they would be maybe 50 meters (depending on terrain) away from the road on each side or the convoy, and their job is to basically check for any ambushes. I did this in my mission, and it sure makes an unpleasant surprise for the ambushers. Also you should have your scouts much further in front (as far away as they can be and still see the convoy). If you really want to get into it, you could have the soviets call for artillery support, but now we're getting complicated  

Hope this helps!

[deaddog]

Hey GB,

It's not self promotion if you're helping others out.  :cheers:

[macguba]

That's true ... I did actually think of that script when I was writing my last reply but I've never used - only seen it in the Ed Depot - so I didn't mention it.

I should have made it clear that I meant setbehaviour safe or careless only until they are spottted, when you should use a trigger to put them into aware.