I've noticed a few quirks with the NPC combat settings in Fallout 2, and I'm wondering if it's possible to change their effect on AI behavior.
The "Whomever is attacking me" setting actually makes the NPC only attack the last enemy that you attacked. If that enemy is dead for any reason or you haven't attacked anyone, the NPC will not do anything in combat. Not recommended unless you are fighting a battle where getting certain targets down quickly is more important than overall damage output (such as that one mutant with the rocket launcher, or the fire gecko among the goldens). It is also a useful setting for keeping Goris from storming out to attack the Navarro turrets - you can "tag" targets for him to attack. This is only good if you are the one to initiate combat however, as otherwise his crazy high Sequence will actually make him attack last - if an enemy initiates combat he gets his turn before you, but whiffs it because you haven't attacked anyone yet.
The "Snipe the enemy" setting is garbage. It seems to make the NPC try to stay at a "sweet spot" of about 20 hexes away from the enemy. The trouble is that if they are even one hex away from this spot they will spend their entire turn moving towards it, and this happens all the time with enemies that move around, or when the NPC targets someone else. Avoid like the plague.
The "Stay close to me" combat setting will make an NPC prioritize staying close to you over attacking enemies. If you move further than about 7 hexes away from them they will spend their entire next turn catching up to you. Can be useful for making sure your boys stay put in the bottleneck you've decided for them, as long as you don't move around too much (but "Stay where you are" is better for that if you have the opportunity to move them around before combat begins).
"Charge!" means the NPC will not attack anyone unless they are exactly 1 hex away from them, again prioritizing movement over damage. It also means they are very unlikely to burstfire against multiple opponents, since they always run up to whomever they are targeting and burst only them.
The "Target the weakest" setting seemingly makes the NPC go after the enemy with the least hitpoints (I'm not sure if their armor or crippled limbs are also factored in) in the vicinity. If they are unable to target this enemy (for example if their movement settings forbid them to go close enough) they will not do anything, even if they're surrounded by multiple other opponents.
"Target the strongest" functions like the one above, NPCs will refuse to attack anyone else than the tankiest enemy in the room. An example is when Kaga runs away after taking enough damage. If your NPCs with this setting don't have him in range, they will sidestep around his dangerous buddies in order to follow him. They also look at an enemy's current hitpoints, so with this setting they will alternate between attacking two similar targets rather than focusing on one of them as they would with "Target the weakest".
So, the most damaging movement option for slow but skilled burst weapon users (Cassidy, Skynet, Vic at high levels) should be "On your own", and attacking "Whomever you want". This will let them burst at enemies across the room damaging others inbetween, without spending more AP than they have to on moving. A safer option for the ones with a lot of AP (Sulik, Marcus) would be "Charge!" and attacking "The closest", to avoid them spraying party members. Pure snipers (Low level Vic, Marcus with an energy rifle or Lenny with a .223 pistol) could be set to attacking "The closest" and either "Stay where you are" or "On your own".
So, how do I change any of this behavior? Is it at all possible?
The "Whomever is attacking me" setting actually makes the NPC only attack the last enemy that you attacked. If that enemy is dead for any reason or you haven't attacked anyone, the NPC will not do anything in combat. Not recommended unless you are fighting a battle where getting certain targets down quickly is more important than overall damage output (such as that one mutant with the rocket launcher, or the fire gecko among the goldens). It is also a useful setting for keeping Goris from storming out to attack the Navarro turrets - you can "tag" targets for him to attack. This is only good if you are the one to initiate combat however, as otherwise his crazy high Sequence will actually make him attack last - if an enemy initiates combat he gets his turn before you, but whiffs it because you haven't attacked anyone yet.
The "Snipe the enemy" setting is garbage. It seems to make the NPC try to stay at a "sweet spot" of about 20 hexes away from the enemy. The trouble is that if they are even one hex away from this spot they will spend their entire turn moving towards it, and this happens all the time with enemies that move around, or when the NPC targets someone else. Avoid like the plague.
The "Stay close to me" combat setting will make an NPC prioritize staying close to you over attacking enemies. If you move further than about 7 hexes away from them they will spend their entire next turn catching up to you. Can be useful for making sure your boys stay put in the bottleneck you've decided for them, as long as you don't move around too much (but "Stay where you are" is better for that if you have the opportunity to move them around before combat begins).
"Charge!" means the NPC will not attack anyone unless they are exactly 1 hex away from them, again prioritizing movement over damage. It also means they are very unlikely to burstfire against multiple opponents, since they always run up to whomever they are targeting and burst only them.
The "Target the weakest" setting seemingly makes the NPC go after the enemy with the least hitpoints (I'm not sure if their armor or crippled limbs are also factored in) in the vicinity. If they are unable to target this enemy (for example if their movement settings forbid them to go close enough) they will not do anything, even if they're surrounded by multiple other opponents.
"Target the strongest" functions like the one above, NPCs will refuse to attack anyone else than the tankiest enemy in the room. An example is when Kaga runs away after taking enough damage. If your NPCs with this setting don't have him in range, they will sidestep around his dangerous buddies in order to follow him. They also look at an enemy's current hitpoints, so with this setting they will alternate between attacking two similar targets rather than focusing on one of them as they would with "Target the weakest".
So, the most damaging movement option for slow but skilled burst weapon users (Cassidy, Skynet, Vic at high levels) should be "On your own", and attacking "Whomever you want". This will let them burst at enemies across the room damaging others inbetween, without spending more AP than they have to on moving. A safer option for the ones with a lot of AP (Sulik, Marcus) would be "Charge!" and attacking "The closest", to avoid them spraying party members. Pure snipers (Low level Vic, Marcus with an energy rifle or Lenny with a .223 pistol) could be set to attacking "The closest" and either "Stay where you are" or "On your own".
So, how do I change any of this behavior? Is it at all possible?
