Its a shame you can't escape with me...

Hi again
I was playing Jailbreak recenty, not on the server, but with bots only becuase its officially a good thing to play Jailbreak. Anyway, I had a long play, and to my annoyance bots wont assist in anyway to help you or another bot escape.

It has led me to think about whether it is possible to code bots to escape jail. I am only an amatuer mapper, so if this wont work, then ok nevermind, but this is what i think could be done to make you or bots escape:

In maps like JB-Cavern where you only have to impact jump thru the hole, surely a Scripted Sequence could be placed with the orders:
-stand under the hole
-impact jump to maximum height
-move forward at top of jump
-move out of jail
-play on.
A similar map would be JB-Dreary, where there is simply an extra line of "press the button" before "impact jump".

In maps like JB-SkullDrudgery where people in both sections of the jail have to shoot the switch and then go thru the door, it could be a sequence like this:
-shoot the switch in jail one
-shoot the switch in jail two
-move thru the door
-if you dont die, move out of the room which you fall into
-play on.

In maps like JB-Coret where you need outside help and positioning inside the jail, there could be a scripted sequence by the escpae switch like:
-if bot is near switch, press it.
That would be simple. In the jail, it would need summin like:
-stand on pad
-when escape switch is pressed, move forward
-play on.
Similar maps would be JB-Nifam, where players go to the grate which would be opened by someone outside, swim thru the tunnel, and then wait and hope for the second grate to open, and play on.

In maps like JB-SprinTitan where you simply need to follow a path to escape jail (though obviously the Titans make it a little harder), this could be even simpler to code:
-get onto the ledge
-jump out of window onto an upright
-jump to the other side (while avoiding Titan)
-play on.

In maps like JB-Deck16 where you need a human tower and someone to stand on the pad, it could be summin like this to code:
-first player crouch near button
-second player jump on first player
-when third player is on X, shoot target
-third player plays on (obviously depends whether they spawn free or in the tank of aliens).

I'm almost certain though that coding those wouldn't be as easy as I'm making them out to be, and obviously there would be no exact setup with each map, so it would be up to the author to code such a sequence if they want and if they can.

Yes, I have noticed potential flaws with bots escaping. With the first example of JB-Cavern, it would be easy for bots to spawn in jail and almost immediately hop up and escape. Maybe there could be an "accuracy" value which would randomly generate a decision as to whether the bot will make it out of the jail.
In maps where you require support from others, this may distract them from the actual purpose of the game, so here a "priority" value could be associated with the switch, for instance in JB-Coret.
Where it could be good though is when the player depends on something physical within the map for their escape success. JB-SkullDrudgery has the rotating thing where if you miss it you die and the whole sequence has to be started again, and the switches are delayed from being able to be used again. Similarly in JB-SprinTitan, you depend on your ability to jump and the attacking ability of the Titans rather than a mechanism that will definitely take you out of jail.

So if it is possible to code bots to release themselves, others, or you, then there would need to be an element of risk (which could result in death and having to start all over again), or an element of outside support that didnt distract that player from the focus of the game, or an element where you will need the cooperation of bots to escape. If it were as simple as impact jumping out, then it would be very difficult to capture the enemy team. Maybe in escape routes like this there could be an auto turret or physical trap that would need negotiating.

I'm only commenting on this because currently it just doesnt feel right that bots dont even attempt to escape jail. If you had the opportunity, you would almost certainly take it. Of course, the alternative is not to have escape routes, which could mean jail for a while. Not every map must have an escape route of course, but maybe if there is a route it should be able to be used by everyone, including bots.

Oh yeah, I forgot that in UT2003 you bounce of bots & players (pawns). From my next-to-no understanding of UT2003 code, to me it could be something like a kicker that sticks on every pawn's head and obviously only kicks if someone lands on em. How bout that eh, kicking with your head .

The human ladder ability in Jailbreak is, to me, almost essential. Of course it is a very popular feature of escape routes (Deck16, Cavern, Dreary, Gauntlet, Mafia, and even SprinTitan requires this if you cant use your impact hammer properly or want to save you health), all of these involve the human ladder. Also, the human ladder is just funny to look at. If you're watching an execution, it is usually funny to see this human ladder being executed, i find, because its different to seeing a group of people standing around waiting to start the next round. It also gives jailed pawns summin to do instead of being bored and waiting.........

If the kicker thing i suggested causes the bounce is true, then it could probably be possible in a mutator within jailbreak to disable this. I dont know, I'm not a coder, but its just a suggestion. Also, I just remembered that a crouch point wouldnt need to be made in JB2003, because pawns can double jump onto another pawn's head.

If it is possible to do and doesnt take too much time, it would be nice to have in JB2003. Of course, this isnt something that should go top of the priority pile, but if theres time, maybe it could be done.