Can the AI handle the "Infinite build range" trigger?

[Verdun]

The thread is from 2011 so I cannot really ask there, but essentially, @ap0calypse suggested a trigger so the undead build ability can be used at a range.

Post in thread 'Infinite Building Range?'

Jul 12, 2011

• Build Range
  • Events
    • Unit - A unit Is issued an order targeting a point
  • Conditions
    • Or - Any (Conditions) are true
      • Conditions
        • (String((Issued order))) Equal to farm
        • (String((Issued order))) Equal to humanbarracks
        • (String((Issued order))) Equal to townhall
  • Actions
    • Trigger - Turn off (This trigger)
    • Set tempLoc = (Target point of issued order)
    • Unit - Create 1 Acolyte Dummy for (Owner of (Triggering unit)) at tempLoc facing 0.00 degrees
    • Unit - Add a 1.00 second...

• ap0calypse

• 

Here's my issue - I want to use this for a builder unit that cannot move or turn, but I also want AI to roll with it.

So my question is, has this already been tested for computer players? Can the AI handle this, or is it completely lost?

My understanding is if you tell the Ai it is supposed to make things at a certain order, it will use any means at its disposal, like if you say "Footman", it will produce a footman either by training or by upgrading a structure or by building it like a structure, depending on what is available.
What are the limits of that?

 

[the.Axolotl]

The reason your original plan with the dummy builders is causing the AI to freak out is because of a couple of core engine limitations.

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First, pathfinding. The AI uses hardcoded commands for building, and if it tells a unit with zero movement speed to build something far away, the engine immediately sees that as impossible. This throws the AI into a loop or just freezes it.

Second, the AI's "brain" doesn't recognize your triggers. It's expecting the unit it commanded to build to actually start building. When you use a trigger to swap in a dummy unit, the AI thinks its original build order failed.
That's why I suggested avoiding zero-speed builders earlier; To make the AI work without rewriting a huge custom AI, we need to use mechanics it already understands.

-->That leads us back to the "Upgrades To" (Construction Plot) method we talked about for BFME-style bases. The AI knows how to upgrade units. If the AI wants a Barracks, and it sees a Construction Plot that can upgrade to a Barracks, it will simply click "upgrade." No pathfinding issues, no dummy unit triggers needed, and it works with the territory capture stuff.

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