So I've noticed a few problems with the attack/move order commands. I don't remember how long these have been the way they are, but I feel like I should mention them anyway. First; when units are given an attack command, they completely break formation. This may be intended, since it means units of different types won't slow down to move together, and that units in different locations won't wait for eachother. But the downside to this is that attack commands should be avoided by most ground armies, as is demonstrated here: Spoiler: tl;dw Equal metal's worth of dox vs. levelers sitting still. With a move command, the dox win by a large margin. With an attack command, the levelers come out on top easily. While this example only shows dox vs levelers, I think it's clear that bunching up and filing in this way will cause a problem for most land units. This can be very misleading for players who don't know exactly how the different move orders work, and even those who know how to avoid it might find it bothersome. The other issue (which I think could be a bug) is that when bots are given attack commands against enemy mobile units, they will move toward them until they hug them. When it comes to attacking mobile units this is not just true of attack commands, but might also happen with the maneuver and roam move order types (not completely certain there, but it seems to be the case more often than not). This seems to be the behaviour for all bots, including the gernadier, sniper and bluehawk. Vehicles do not seem to suffer from this. EDIT: One more thing I noticed, though this is more a pathing issue than anything; because enemy units are weighted by pathfinding like friendly units are, boom bots, flame tanks and other 'melee' range units can have a hard time with area attacks. Sending a large blob of boom bots to attack a unit blob can cause them to hesitate, or even try walking around the group.
Well I guess the best offense is to not attack... or defend... just walk about near enemies. Is there a difference in movement speed between an attack and move order too? I think I've noticed (even with a single unit/unit type) that units move slightly faster with an attack order... haven't tested though.
Attack order, like a control-rmb neutral order (meaning that it defaults to context), makes units move at their top speed rather than at the speed of the lowest common denominator in the group.
The current version of move and attack should be swapped. Current move: wait slow units and go together Current attack: run with max speed When you want to pull back or retreat, you find out that the move and attack are both problematic. I prefer that: New move: run with max speed New attack: wait slow units and go together
As Stuart said, if you want units to run with max speed, you can hold CTRL while giving move commands. When it comes to switching movement behaviour around completely, I disagree. Think of boom bots; you don't want them walking around with your other units when it comes time to attack. In my opinion there should be some space kept between units of a given speed & location after the mixed unit blob disbands. Not sure what the best way to do that is, but the clustering of units is the main problem I have with the default behaviour of attack / attack move right now.
Did you try area attack? I'm not sure, since I use it only for boom bots and rarely encounter Levelers with Dox. So if the solution would be to attack Levelers in a certain way, I would see this on the same level like dox patrolling when it comes to bombers.
This example is not very scientific as there is different wreckage for each run. Levelers of course do better against unit blobs due to them having a show barrel rotation. Different commands are expected to act differently, I don't see the problem.
Wreckage no longer blocks shots. I'm not that careless. Anything with AoE or a slower turning speed will do significantly better against a blob, which is my point. Neither of those things is uncommon (mid-range tanks, short range tanks, artillery tanks and structures, turrets, sparks, grenadiers, booms, bombers, etc.). Having your units in a dense blob is almost always a bad thing. Attack commands completely breaking formation and turning into a dense stream is a problem in my opinion. It's misleading for newer players who suspect 'attack' would be a good choice in most situations, and means there's no way for a formation to chase down a specific unit without turning into a blob first. I have tried area attack, which has the same effect as an attack move. Boom bots also suffer when given an attack move or area attack on a group of levelers, and do better with a formation move command. Although I haven't recorded any other tests, I've had similar results vs. the bolo, and I'm sure it will be the same way against many other unit types.
But it effects pathing? I ran the same test on a clear battle field and got different results (I didn't share numbers as it seems impossible to get consistent results even though I was using the rewind feature). I disagree. A stream however is normally undesired (but still not a issue as I don't give attack commands from distance). You can give attack commands followed by a move command and the attack prioritisation is remembered.
I'm pretty sure it doesn't, but I haven't tested it specifically. I usually get similar results, but it can vary a bit. Main point is that the difference between moving and attacking is significant. I know, but you still need to either babysit units or be content with the blob if the thing you're attacking is mobile.
