[freeciv-ai] Re: [Freeciv-Dev] (PR#10694) AI Builds Doomed Ferries and Passengers]

["Benedict Adamson" <badamson@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

<URL: http://rt.freeciv.org/Ticket/Display.html?id=10694 >

Per I. Mathisen wrote:
...
> Proper bodyguarding of attack transports would be a good idea. However,
> this needs better bodyguard code, since the bodyguard must meet its charge
> _at the pick up point_ rather than en route if it is to have any chance of
> catching up, I think.
...

It's worse than you think (or remember). The ai_military_bodyguard
function has the following code:

if (is_sailing_unit(aunit)) {
   ptile = aunit->goto_tile;
} else {
   ptile = aunit->tile;
}
...
ai_unit_goto(punit, ptile);

so sea bodyguards will try to meet their charges at the beachhead rather
than escort them as they travel!

But I have a suspicion that 'bodyguards' are not what is needed. Am I
right in thinking that, once a bodyguard has met its charge, the
bodyguard is expected to accompany the charge so they form a stack of
units? And that the advantage of that is that the charge has the benefit
of the defensive strength of the bodyguard? In the normal rules set,
Transports are actually quite good defensively (defence 3 & 30 HPs,
compared with defence 4 & 30 HPs for a Destroyer). It might be better
for our Destroyers to attack their Destroyers and Cruisers, even
suicidally, if it weakens the enemy fleet enough for the Transports to
get through. That is, I think the proposed defensive attacks code might
help here:
    http://www.freeciv.org/index.php/AI_Plans
What is the current state of that work? I looked in RT but did not find
any PRs that seemed to be for it.