AI Director spawning Specailists (They know when your watching)

Warhammer 40,000: Darktide Gameplay Feedback
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The AI Director overall seems at a good place. Except specialists’ forsight ability to try and keep themselves alive. What do I mean by this?

Specialists seem to have an abnormal way of knowing where you are looking.

Let me give an example;

The team during a mission is on their A game. Hordes don’t make it out of doorways. Specials are deleted before being able to fire and elites are targeted first. Things are going well.

The issue I see, specifically with the Veteran and their Ability to highlight enemies, is they somehow know where we are watching.

This has most likely happened to you, a poxburster is approaching from behind and the team hears the sound cue, backs up and allows the corner (or doorway space) for specialist to come through.

Except they don’t. They wait and stand there waiting for you to turn around. Waiting! Or they just respawn, and immediately appear somewhere else, hopefully not the door next to you. (but of course they do) Or they randomly explode, which is fine, I guess?

pox burster

Some specials will not advance until I turn around, Trappers do this, pox bursters especially, the dog even, the specialists shouldn’t be aware (or care) which direction I’m facing.

Multiple Specialists fall victim to this “awareness” let’s call it.

Look I get it, the director wants an advantage, and something is always behind you. But if the specail spawns behind it should approach and try to engage, or interact, with the players. Specials hiding in their spawn seems silly, and you can clearly see this when the Veteran Highlights them through walls. Apologies for not having screenshots.

It reminds me of playing multiplayer in L4D. When I spawned as a zombie big boy waiting to spew vomit, his walking caused him to gurgle and spit, creating sound for players to hear. So I would stand still and wait in sneaky silence. I’m curious why the AI Director is allowing specialists to act this way. It seems counter to their design as they should be hyper aggressive, no?

Does the community notice this issue or any other problems with the way certain Specialists are directed/spawned?

Thanks!

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Yeah, the specials that spawn in are cheating. It is extremely blatant when you watch them with the wallhack from veteran. Reminds me of CSGO hack v hack tbh lmao.

You end up having to turn away on purpose and then turning back around to lure them out aka cheat the A.I.

Please change this Fatshark.

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Totally agree. And also want to keep beating the drum of them spawning 2ft behind you, or sometimes right in front. poof enemies appear.

I hate that.

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Also specials still seem to base their entire game plan around those enemy-only doors. I see bombers enter a room from one door only to exit it through one on the other side of the room constantly. Or a hound will miss its jump and instantly left turn into a magic door and be gone. Flames and nets coming out of closed doors is another fun one, or the Mutant Kool Aid Man impression where he charges out the door.

Makes me wish we had the fair and decent special spawning system we had in VT2.

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Actually just recently catched this yesterday which I wanted to post as an audio bug or similar they need to fix.

Mark a burster who runs to a door then he teleports to the new door (to us) but he just stands there waiting. What you describe is very similar to this. I think they are waiting because it gives the illusion of time to get there.

The reason why I think this is because I watched the door the entire time. So no looking away or similar. Reason I did this was to highlight the audio issues which is that the burster is silent. WHich makes sense if it’s supposed to give illusion of time. Problem is the audio doesn’t start until they are out of the door, but they can start their attacks when behind the door. Seemingly making instant attacks out of nowhere because you have no audio cue.

I planned on making a thread about it but I was watching a video and haven’t bothered setting up audio channels so you can hear a youtube video which is kind of annoying. So planned on getting another shot of this. I will clip that thing to show what I mean in this thread.

I think it’s more of it seeming to “cheat” in the way you describe and I’m sure the director is cheating because it probably has to, but it shouldn’t be obvious.

I noticed I was looking away for just a moment, but as you can see 2 of my teammates are still looking at the door so there is still someone watching it. As you can see he jumps out of it, but the sound starts when he is past the door mid jump but it should be present while they are behind the door (and the illusion of time has passed).

TL;DR I think it’s an audio issue first and foremost.

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the one we had at the end of v2 at least, recall there being quite a few issues with spawn there to begin with.

but its a very different game we cant just use that here. and i think we need the surrounding spawns they need to be handled better. if you go back into V2 and listen the soundscape is a lot more alive with aggro barks, movemenbt chatter , spawn announces , in DT these hordes appear from seemingly no where (sometimes literally and that needs work) and the first you know is the backstab squeak turning you see mass of silent pox walkers coming up the back passage silent as a pack of mimes.

there should be a spawn warning, door opening servos clicking etc, an aggro announce bark based on enemy type , then we need to ehar them moving , and there should be time if only a handful of seconds, right now it just feels like the AI is dropping things out of thin AI directly behind you its jarring and fustrating.

edit - also think the vet skill might have to be cut down to just highlight those enemies visible

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Pox bursters actually had that behavior added in one of the beta updates. They didn’t actually mention it, possibly because it would admit that their designers actually included pox bursters spawning behind a door mid-dive intentionally. One of Core’s videos showcases this well, they get bounced by 3 bursters on Damnation the first of which literally just jumps out of OOB ready to die (Notorious BIG).

But now pox bursters idle before hopping out of doors, which still doesn’t change the awful special design of enemies annoying you with sound bytes long before they’re even in the combat zone. Now its almost as irritating as the yodeling mutants that spawn 15 floors below you but still sound like they’re closing in.

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I agree. Thats what this post boils down to IMO. The player interaction.

In Vermintide 2 if a hook rat spawned at the top of a mountain, and players were at the bottom, the rat would zig-zag its fuzzy tail towards you in an attempt to interact. This would give watchful players the chance to interact (Take shots at them). The rat was commited.

Specials in Darktide do not seem 100% committed to their actions. Why would the AI Director spawn them there for them not to act? Thats Heresy!

A pox burster with bombs strapped to itself shouldn’t be very concerned about staying alive.

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deep inhale
RRRRRRAUUUUUUUUH
ROOOOOOOUAAAAGGHHHhH
OOOOWRRRAAAAAUUUUUHHHH

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You’ve earned the heart for “yodeling mutants” alone. That’s hilarious.

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It’ll be like if skaven disablers could pop out of the ratholes in the ground and walls already attacking you. Also if you spook a patrol near a door half of them will run into the door and come out the closest door behind you.