Operating System (Vista, XP, OS X version): XP
User Client (Mac, PC, Linux):Windows
Server:All
Zone:Any MA zone
Character name:5 diff chars over 4 servers
Time:
Location:
Archetype:
Level:
Power:
Badge:
Mission:MA architect
Mission Contact:
Mission ID #:all applicable
Bug Description:
There is a particular behavior I noticed when you select Edit -> Mission Details -> Settings -> Ally Behavior.
If you have an ally following you and you rescue other allies whose Ally Behavior is set to Nothing, those "Nothing" allies may begin to follow you. I thought this may be linked to the same enemy group, but when I tried it in other missions, I found that "Nothing" allies will begin to follow regardless of the enemy group. Even custom allies will follow this behavior.
If you have no allies following, the "Nothing" allies you rescue stay still and exhibit no behavior if their Combat Abilities are set to "Non Combat." However, when a player approaches a rescued "Nothing" ally with another ally currently following him/her, the "Nothing" ally will begin following also.
This may not seem like a big deal, but when stationary and following allies occupy the same mission, you may eventually have a crowd of npcs following the player(s) and getting in their way, or worse, if their Combat Abilities are set to some type of attack mode, they will begin attacking other objects at will. Only a fast moving or invisible player can evade the following "Nothing" allies which now hinder the mission of the character unless they are outrun.
If you are having a hard time understanding, let me give you an example. In the first part of the mission, I rescue a longbow npc who set to follow and actively defend. In our mission, one of our objectives is to free police officers who are set to Ally Behavior "Nothing." After destroying the mobs surrounding the ally, I must go within a certain range to acknowledge it rescued to meet the mission parameters. However, if my following longbow ally is too close, the police officer may also begin following me along with the Longbow ally. I have see as many as 5 "Nothing" allies following at once. I am not sure if there is a limit to the amount which can follow, but this clearly does not seem like the correct behavior.
Maybe the solution is to have another behavior like Immobilized so that regardless of what Combat Behavior the ally is set to, it won't move or follow. There are numerous mission scenarios where this kind of behavior would make sense, like freeing up captured police to hold the perimeter around a city block where the storyline includes enemies inside the buildings. You don't want the allies moving around to spoil the storyline, but you also don't want them following you to muck up the challenge or space required for fighting the set enemies of the mission.
I am guessing the reason "Nothing" exhibits some kind of group follow behavior has to do with the dynamics of npc group AI. That is why I am suggesting another category rather than changing an unintended behavior of "Nothing" which may impact the behavior of npcs in normal missions.
Thanks.
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