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  #1  
Old 01-30-2018, 09:32 AM
Scott is offline Scott
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JOBotz - Dynamic AI Bots by Arwill

JOBotz makes AI bots in game Joint Operations behave dynamically. Nothing is pre-scripted, the add-on figures out where to move the bots.

The add-on manages the targets where to send the bots and does its own path-finding. Since there is no extension API for the game Joint Operations, the amount of information that the add-on has access to is minimal. That means that the offered functionality of the add-on is limited, so don't expect some clever behavior from the bots, or perfect path-finding.

Currently the JOBotz addon can make the bots play AAS maps:
° The bots attack the active LFP targets
° The bots respawn at fully captured LFP targets
° The presence of bots affects the takeover of LFP targets
° But currently the bots themselves cant take over LFP target (they can't flip the flag)

Requirements:
° The addon requires around 500MB of memory for its own purposes, depending on map size and complexity.
° Some of the calculation is CPU intensive, if this proves to be a problem for someone using the addon, i will try to implement possibilities to limit CPU usage.

Installation:
° Install Java 8 from www.java.com.
° Make a new folder of your choice. For example C:\Games\JOBotz.
° Extract the ZIP file to the new folder.
° Copy the files from "maps" subforder to where your Joint Operation game is installed.

Using the addon:
° Start the addon by doble-clicking the "jobotz.cmd" batch-file.
° A message will appear repeatedly in the console: "Waiting 3 sec for JO process"
° The addon is ready to interact with the Joint Operations game.
° Start the game, you can start a LAN game or connect to Novaworld.
° You can use both dedicated serving and serve&play.
° If you intend to play alone, host a LAN game in serve&play mode.

Maps included:
° Currently only a modified stock map Karo Highlands (file AS-KaroBOTZ.npj) with 100 bots on each side (200 bots total)
° Further maps can be prepared to work with the add-on, i'll make a tutorial and tools for preparing own or other stock maps for use with JOBotz

DOWNLOAD: http://novahq.net/files.php?ID=727

DOWNLOAD @ NEXUS MODS: https://rd.nexusmods.com/jointoperat...ising/mods/493
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Last edited by Scott; 01-30-2018 at 04:45 PM.
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  #2  
Old 01-30-2018, 09:40 AM
Steve is offline Steve
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awesome stuff
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  #3  
Old 01-30-2018, 12:44 PM
Guest001 is offline Guest001
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A few serious questions regarding Steam...

1. I assume it's (The MOD) Java script, is resident in memory and that it uses real time scanning to detect the game state (markers and collision models etc).

Assumption: If so this might be a problem with the Valve anti cheat system, many similar "innocent solutions" have resulted in people being banned.

Anti-cheat systems actively look for these types of things and can classify them as possible TSR's.

As far as I know any unidentified TSR's are automatically declared malicious and this will trigger the banning process which is automatic and has no appeal process at all.

2. Presumably it's not able to be manually controllable or exploitable once executed.

Assumption: Even discounting the possibility of tampering by the host, this type of app may also pose a risk to players if an attacker uses one the host of various script injection methods to which, historically speaking, Java is notoriously vulnerable.

3. Is the script open to editing?

4. Do I really have to be a member and sign up with NexusMods to try it out or is it available anywhere else?
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  #4  
Old 01-30-2018, 12:50 PM
Guest001 is offline Guest001
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Scott View Post
JOBotz makes AI bots in game Joint Operations behave dynamically. Nothing is pre-scripted, the add-on figures out where to move the bots.

The add-on manages the targets where to send the bots and does its own path-finding. Since there is no extension API for the game Joint Operations, the amount of information that the add-on has access to is minimal. That means that the offered functionality of the add-on is limited, so don't expect some clever behavior from the bots, or perfect path-finding.

Currently the JOBotz addon can make the bots play AAS maps:
° The bots attack the active LFP targets
° The bots respawn at fully captured LFP targets
° The presence of bots affects the takeover of LFP targets
° But currently the bots themselves cant take over LFP target (they can't flip the flag)

Requirements:
° The addon requires around 500MB of memory for its own purposes, depending on map size and complexity.
° Some of the calculation is CPU intensive, if this proves to be a problem for someone using the addon, i will try to implement possibilities to limit CPU usage.

Installation:
° Install Java 8 from www.java.com.
° Make a new folder of your choice. For example C:\Games\JOBotz.
° Extract the ZIP file to the new folder.
° Copy the files from "maps" subforder to where your Joint Operation game is installed.

Using the addon:
° Start the addon by doble-clicking the "jobotz.cmd" batch-file.
° A message will appear repeatedly in the console: "Waiting 3 sec for JO process"
° The addon is ready to interact with the Joint Operations game.
° Start the game, you can start a LAN game or connect to Novaworld.
° You can use both dedicated serving and serve&play.
° If you intend to play alone, host a LAN game in serve&play mode.

Maps included:
° Currently only a modified stock map Karo Highlands (file AS-KaroBOTZ.npj) with 100 bots on each side (200 bots total)
° Further maps can be prepared to work with the add-on, i'll make a tutorial and tools for preparing own or other stock maps for use with JOBotz

DOWNLOAD: http://novahq.net/files.php?ID=727

DOWNLOAD @ NEXUS MODS: https://rd.nexusmods.com/jointoperat...ising/mods/493
BTW
I think it's a great idea and has what I'd call open ended possibilities - so I really hope it's successful and keeps evolving...

BTW2
I do have an unpublished JOTR AAS map made in NILE and also the MEd for Novalogic - just before they folded up.
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  #5  
Old 01-30-2018, 03:58 PM
Scott is offline Scott
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stompem View Post
A few serious questions regarding Steam...

1. I assume it's (The MOD) Java script, is resident in memory and that it uses real time scanning to detect the game state (markers and collision models etc).

Assumption: If so this might be a problem with the Valve anti cheat system, many similar "innocent solutions" have resulted in people being banned.

Anti-cheat systems actively look for these types of things and can classify them as possible TSR's.

As far as I know any unidentified TSR's are automatically declared malicious and this will trigger the banning process which is automatic and has no appeal process at all.

2. Presumably it's not able to be manually controllable or exploitable once executed.

Assumption: Even discounting the possibility of tampering by the host, this type of app may also pose a risk to players if an attacker uses one the host of various script injection methods to which, historically speaking, Java is notoriously vulnerable.

3. Is the script open to editing?

4. Do I really have to be a member and sign up with NexusMods to try it out or is it available anywhere else?
You can download the mod from here or you can manually download it from Nexus Mods. All the stuff is included in the zip file. Hosts will not get VAC banned because #1, JO does not use a VAC system even with STEAM and #2, it's the host that needs to run this, not the clients.
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  #6  
Old 01-30-2018, 04:33 PM
--BulletMagnet-- is offline --BulletMagnet--
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Java, my worst nightmare. You've used C#, what made you switch to that monstrosity?

Well done, though!
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  #7  
Old 01-30-2018, 04:43 PM
Scott is offline Scott
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I didn't make this, sorry if the post made it seem like that. It was made by a guy named Arwill.
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  #8  
Old 01-30-2018, 05:02 PM
--BulletMagnet-- is offline --BulletMagnet--
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Nah, that was my fault. It's in the title.

Also, no one should take my post as a negative view of the mod or the fact it needs Java. Just a grumpy corporate programmer.
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  #9  
Old 01-31-2018, 03:25 AM
Guest001 is offline Guest001
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I have major concerns with having Java script executed by cmdlet.

Isn't it possible that a .cmd launch of .jar Java script (IE not launching an exe) could get past the anti-virus system?


Quote:
The files contain the basic information about game objects, like unique SSN numbers, position, state. These files can be used for offline analysis of gameplay, of players and bots.
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  #10  
Old 01-31-2018, 08:08 AM
Scott is offline Scott
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stompem View Post
Isn't it possible that a .cmd launch of .jar Java script (IE not launching an exe) could get past the anti-virus system?
No. If it were that easy all virus writers would use it. Most Java (not java script) files need to be executed from the command prompt. It is generally safe if you trust the source, just like any other exe or program.
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  #11  
Old 01-31-2018, 08:10 AM
Scott is offline Scott
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Quote:
Originally Posted by --BulletMagnet-- View Post
Nah, that was my fault. It's in the title.

Also, no one should take my post as a negative view of the mod or the fact it needs Java. Just a grumpy corporate programmer.
I changed the title after you mentioned it btw. You won't find any love for Java from my end . To each their own...
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  #12  
Old 01-31-2018, 10:46 AM
Guest001 is offline Guest001
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Scott View Post
No. If it were that easy all virus writers would use it. Most Java (not java script) files need to be executed from the command prompt. It is generally safe if you trust the source, just like any other exe or program.
Phew!

Thanks Scott, finding reliable info about it (Java vs AVs) is difficult.
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  #13  
Old 03-12-2018, 08:23 PM
random48423843 is offline random48423843
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Thank you, I will be watching this project closely. One thing I noticed was that the bots wouldn't work if you hosted a server with the "Serve Only" option, it requires you to use it with "Serve and Play". For a server without a dedicated graphics card, this would really eat up the CPU if you're looking to use it for a dedicated server.

I understand that it's still in alpha but I'm just noting my experience. Aside, from that I'm looking forward to the progression of this! Pretty incredible considering JO is a proprietary game without so much as an API to efficiently allow for more projects like this.
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  #14  
Old 03-14-2018, 03:54 PM
FrankyTheTank is offline FrankyTheTank
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how many are lerned programmers here ?
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  #15  
Old 03-21-2018, 09:42 AM
Arwill is offline Arwill
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SentientTR View Post
Thank you, I will be watching this project closely. One thing I noticed was that the bots wouldn't work if you hosted a server with the "Serve Only" option, it requires you to use it with "Serve and Play". For a server without a dedicated graphics card, this would really eat up the CPU if you're looking to use it for a dedicated server.

I understand that it's still in alpha but I'm just noting my experience. Aside, from that I'm looking forward to the progression of this! Pretty incredible considering JO is a proprietary game without so much as an API to efficiently allow for more projects like this.
Hi, i'm the developer of this MOD. I'm glad someone is using it.

It should be working in "Serve Only" mode too, i have tested it. Are you trying to run a dedicated server and a client on the same machine? That is uncertain to function properly. Can you try running the dedicated server with attaching a "/w" option, meaning in windowed mode. Is the MOD not recognising the started game, meaning its repeating the "waiting 3 sec..." message over and over?
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  #16  
Old 04-13-2018, 01:17 AM
flamerboy67664 is offline flamerboy67664
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Mod compatibility

I've found that this mod doesn't work in any mods I have, specifically AW2, JO:IC, and the TIC mod. Any way around that?
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  #17  
Old 05-06-2018, 08:40 AM
Arwill is offline Arwill
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Quote:
Originally Posted by flamerboy67664 View Post
I've found that this mod doesn't work in any mods I have, specifically AW2, JO:IC, and the TIC mod. Any way around that?
Hi.

I installed AW2, and it apparently installs JO versions 1.719 and 1.692 on its own, and you can play the MOD with one of those versions. The JOBotz 2 works with JO version 1.757, either standalone or Steam version. I didn't know the AW2 MOD does this, i assumed the MOD works like the Escalation MOD, and is installed to Joint Operations "expansion" folder. I didn't yet try the other mods, i'm assuming those also install some older version of the Game?

I copied the newer jointops.exe to the AW2 folder, and was able to start a single player map in AW2. So this could be the way to play the JOBotz addon with the AW2 mod. Install the newest JO 1.757 version, install the AW2 mod, then copy the jointops.exe from 1.757 version to AW2's folder. Then start AW2 from jointops.exe directly.
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  #18  
Old 05-14-2018, 03:09 PM
--BulletMagnet-- is offline --BulletMagnet--
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FrankyTheTank View Post
how many are lerned programmers here ?
Late, but me.
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  #19  
Old 08-21-2018, 06:47 PM
Oscarmike247 is offline Oscarmike247
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This is very interesting indeed. I have a question tho. upon playing the addon, the bots only seem to walk in one path. eventually they bunch up in one location trying to shoot each other through a hill. Are they supposed to spread out more and take more random paths? If not, would there be a way to have them take other paths?

Also, I have a suggestion to keep them from endlessly trying to shoot each other through the terrain. If you increase the bot's "Fire Timer" to something like 15 or more, it should help them to keep following their path and advancing even if they are being shot at.
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