The video below shows two NPC fighters (Tiger and Patch) on a mission to take out corporatocracy-backed robot pirates attacking civilian ships. This short video is a good example of how the NPC AI works in Pirate Patrol. [previewyoutube=pHFbcLXiYkc;full][/previewyoutube] The robot fighter group consists of 10 ships, including high-level robots with high firepower. The NPC fighters only have level 3 ships. You can see that the robot pirates have level 4 ships. The commander (you) in The FATHER equips these NPCs with powerful weapons before they go on a mission. One fighter has a rare (pink) weapon with high firepower. The other NPC's weapon has half the firepower. [b][h3]High firepower of the enemy [/h3][/b] The high-level robots in the group of enemies are extremely dangerous because their armour is very durable and their firepower is formidable, and if two of them get together and coordinate their attacks, they can destroy NPC fighters in seconds, their weapons are powerful enough to pierce the armour of NPC fighters like paper. If you look at the fighter panel on the left in the video, you can see that the HP of the NPC fighters (Tiger) is halved after just one or two hits. If they take one or two more hits, they are easily defeated. NPC fighters acting as wingmen are under the control of artificial intelligence. In other words, they select targets and determine the dogfight algorithm without player intervention. The NPCs are aware of the 'two against ten' situation, and in this case they will split up to prevent the crowded enemy group from concentrating their firepower, choose easy targets that they can eliminate quickly, and destroy them quickly. When they realise they cannot escape enemy fire, they will abandon the dogfight and perform evasive manoeuvres, and once out of the line of fire, they will regroup and continue to attack the enemy from different angles. These fully AI controlled NPCs 'raid' the robot fighters that are busy attacking civilian ships, mowing down 10 ships in just 2 minutes without allowing them to take ground and defend, then returning to the mother ship (The FATHER). [h3][b]Analysis of results [/b][/h3] This case study proves that we do not need to fly our huge mother ship and 5 NPC fighters at the same time during missions, attacking enemy groups with all our might. With rational planning, fighters equipped with the right gear and used by the right pilots can easily deal with large groups of enemy robots. Moreover, because we operate with a small and low-profile attack group, our risk of being ambushed by the enemy is reduced. When we move the giant mother ship and a large number of NPC fighters alongside it, the large waves of motion and signals created in space create enough opportunity for the Corporatocracy robots that are looking for us everywhere to notice, detect, and attack us. [h3][b]Tactical control is always in your hands [/b][/h3] On the other hand, if you send your pilots on a mission away from the main ship, the commanders in the command room (you and your officers) have to make sure that they complete the mission successfully. One of the details that will catch your attention in the video is that both NPC fighters (Patch and Tiger) have permission to use turbo weapons... This is understandable, as they went on a raid to fight 10 strong enemies. The faster they fire, the faster they can complete the raid and return without giving the enemy a chance to group up. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43756138/74619c2ec6754740bc76c1706ad82cd7552ac07e.jpg[/img] However, you may notice that the "bullet count" you see on the turbo fire button flows like water from a faucet. Fighters who start the fight with 500 bullets will have their bullet counts reduced to 398 and 250 by the end of the fight. Because of the weapon's lower damage effect on the Tiger's ship, the Tiger uses half of its ammunition to eliminate its enemies. Half the ammunition is used up in just 2 minutes of combat. If the battle had lasted another 2 minutes, and the Tiger had not been able to kill all the enemies with a few inaccurate shots, it would have run out of ammunition in a dangerous group of enemies. This is where your influence and that of your officers comes into play. As a commander, you should sometimes limit the turbo-fire authority of your pilots who have a low hit rate and burn bullets like water, and you should tactically direct your fighters by checking details such as the number of bullets, missiles, and fuel status. On the other hand, the soon-to-be-activated officers will be able to help the fighter pilots with their skills. For example, a talented Engineering Officer will be able to reduce fuel consumption by 10% by making the engines of the fighters work more effectively. Or a talented tactical officer will be able to increase the ammunition capacity of your fighters by 20%, and your fighters will be able to start the battle with 600 bullets instead of 500. We think that this little information will give you an idea of where the game is going. *** We would love to hear your thoughts and suggestions about the game, please share your thoughts with us. Thank you for supporting Early Access.