Add a button or hotkey to assign selected units to an AI sub-commander.

[open pond]

Regarding AI and the RTS mode, considering the scale of the battlefield, an “attack-move” command would be a great addition, along with some level of automation. For example, when we play as a unit, the AI could take on the commander role and allied units.

I also think that when we’re playing as the commander, it would be very useful to delegate the management of units and troops to the AI. That way, we could focus on where and how to build the base for maximum efficiency, decide what types of troops to produce, and jump into the fight by directly controlling certain units — without leaving the rest without orders. This would ensure that troops remain constantly active on the battlefield.

The idea would be more along these lines:

It would be great to have the option to select the units on the first battlefield and press a hotkey to hand them over to the AI. That way, we could focus entirely on the second front without risking losses due to inattention or unit inactivity while we’re personally engaged elsewhere.

It also depends on the map size and how large the armies are on the field. For example, when I play the Aliens, I usually go for a numbers-heavy playstyle and try to overwhelm and harass the opponent.

The issue is that units don’t engage in melee unless I manually give each one a direct attack order — there’s no proper attack-move behavior. So in a situation like that, being able to mass-produce units, send them to the front line, and hand them over to the AI would be really useful. It could take over and react to what’s happening while I focus on managing another squad on a different front or flank.

[azure venture]

100000% dram please add this

it wud make playing com cater to a much broader audience and also be nice for micro reasons

if AI can already play commander then it only makes sense that you shud be able to toggle it for selected units or commander role itself while a player can fight on the ground ect

[wraith bone]

Yeah I'd like something like this. Just not sure we'll make it before 1.0 🙏

[open pond]

In theory, it might seem like it’s just a matter of adding an option to let the unit be controlled by AI — similar to how an AI commander already exists. But in reality, I imagine it’s a lot more complicated than that.

[wraith bone]

Yeah it is. The AI commander is entirely disabled when a player is commander. It can be switched on but due to the nature of what it must handle, it would then try to assign units to explore, attack, defend etc. I can make it of course not touch anything unless explicitly allowed, but it means the AI would try to cover exploration, mining etc.
If the goal was to simply have the Ai commander in this regime only cover attacking or defense, it would be simpler (thinking aloud here) as I would just disable those other aspects of it. So, when you assign units to the AI commander you would indicate what the units are meant to be used for (attack/defense), which would make it easier for me to implement. In any case though, the next thing is actually having an interface for this, knowing wtf is assigned to what etc. It isn't a massive amount of work but our plate is already full, so post 1.0 is just being realistic

[open pond]

Wouldn’t it be possible, at least as a first step, to let players select specific units and click a button (or use a hotkey) to hand them over to the AI, letting it handle them however it sees fit? That way, the AI would only control the units the player actually chooses.

At the beginning, it wouldn’t even need to be highly optimized — just taking control would already help. Later on, the system could be improved with assigned roles like “exploration,” “attack,” “defense,” or “patrol.”

Even a basic implementation would make the RTS experience feel smoother and more manageable. For example, when I’m focused on a difficult front and personally take control of a unit there, I often end up losing ground elsewhere simply because I can’t micromanage everything at once. Being able to delegate a group of units to the AI — even if it’s not perfectly efficient — would still be far better than leaving them idle and getting wiped out. What do you think?

[wraith bone]

I honestly do not think the result, at present, is worth it. Imagine you assign the units and it sends them off somewhere where you do not think it is a good idea. It would ruin it for you. The AI commander with all variables works well enough, but only with a few it is not ready for it yet. And having it half-baked for 1.0 release could mean negative points for the game. So I respectfully do not want to divert resources to this just yet

[open pond]

I understand. If it’s just an optional feature you can toggle on or off, then it’s actually a bonus — if someone doesn’t like it, they can simply leave it disabled.

The real question is whether most players would see it as a positive addition, or if they’d end up viewing it negatively.

It will probably depend on the state of the game at 1.0 — especially the RTS mode and the AI. Maybe it’ll make more sense, and feel better implemented, once the new AI is fully in place.