Player AI Caps And Role Balance

Player AI Caps And Role Balance

This page documents the live player group-size cap used by the buy menu and RHUD, plus a Discord-ready balance table for the default server setting.

Scope: current master source mission, Missions/[55-2hc]warfarev2_073v48co.chernarus.

Source Formula

The default multiplayer lobby value is WFBE_C_PLAYERS_AI_MAX = 15 (Rsc/Parameters.hpp:62-68). If no lobby parameter supplies it, Init_CommonConstants.sqf falls back to 16, so always state which baseline you are using.

The live buy menu and RHUD use the same shape:

Source	Behavior
Client/Module/Skill/Skill_Init.sqf:49	Soldier-slot players multiply local WFBE_C_PLAYERS_AI_MAX by 1.5 with ceil. With the default lobby value, 15 becomes 23.
Client/GUI/GUI_Menu_BuyUnits.sqf:116-128	Barracks upgrade scales the cap as round(max/4), round(max/4)*2, round(max/4)*3, then full max.
Client/GUI/GUI_Menu_BuyUnits.sqf:130-140	If the player's group is the commander team, the cap gets +10; the menu checks queued units plus live group units plus requested crew slots against the final cap.
Client/Client_UpdateRHUD.sqf:312-325	RHUD mirrors the same visible max-units formula.

The cap is checked against live group units plus queued units. A solo player already counts as one live group unit, so the number of AI followers is usually group cap - 1.

Discord Table

Default lobby baseline: GroupSizePlayer = 15. Values below are AI followers for a solo player.

A2 Wasp Warfare - player AI follower caps

Barracks        Normal player   Commander   Soldier slot   Soldier + Commander
Level 0         3 AI            13 AI       5 AI           15 AI
Level 1         7 AI            17 AI       11 AI          21 AI
Level 2         11 AI           21 AI       17 AI          27 AI
Level 3         14 AI           24 AI       22 AI          32 AI

Barracks level	Normal player	Commander	Soldier slot	Soldier + Commander
Level 0	3 AI	13 AI	5 AI	15 AI
Level 1	7 AI	17 AI	11 AI	21 AI
Level 2	11 AI	21 AI	17 AI	27 AI
Level 3	14 AI	24 AI	22 AI	32 AI

Group-slot version, including the player:

Barracks level	Normal group cap	Commander group cap	Soldier group cap	Soldier commander group cap
Level 0	4	14	6	16
Level 1	8	18	12	22
Level 2	12	22	18	28
Level 3	15	25	23	33

Lobby/default note: the lobby parameters default AI teams and AI commander to off, while the fallback constants in Init_CommonConstants.sqf default them on if the parameter layer is absent. Do not use the fallback defaults as proof of live multiplayer settings unless the parameter include failed or was intentionally bypassed.

Balance Suggestions

The current table gives Soldier commanders a very large late-game squad. That is fun for infantry leadership, but it can become expensive for server FPS when many players fill their groups.

Suggested direction:

Role	Suggested cap style	Reason
Normal roles	Keep lower, around 8-10 AI at full barracks.	Engineers, medics, spotters and specops already bring utility; lower AI reduces background simulation load.
Soldier slot	Keep the big squad identity, around 16-20 AI at full barracks.	Soldier should be the role for players who want to lead infantry pushes.
Commander	Add a smaller fixed bonus, such as +5 instead of +10, or only apply the full bonus to Soldier commanders.	Commander already has strategic power; too many personal AI can pull attention away from base/economy work and add server load.
Specialist commander	Consider normal-role cap plus +5, not full Soldier-scale cap.	Keeps commander survivable without making every commander a frontline platoon.

For a public server, the cleanest tuning lever is the lobby WFBE_C_PLAYERS_AI_MAX parameter. Code changes should come later if the project wants role-specific caps rather than the current Soldier multiplier plus commander bonus.

Development Notes

• Do not use the unused WFBE_C_PLAYERS_SKILL_SOLDIER_UNITS_MAX = 6 constant as proof of current behavior. The live Soldier cap path uses ceil (1.5 * WFBE_C_PLAYERS_AI_MAX).
• If Skill_Init.sqf ever runs more than once, Soldier cap inflation can compound. Current source calls Skill_Init.sqf once before WFBE_SK_FNC_Apply; keep Client skill init idempotency in the smoke plan.
• Vehicle crew counts also consume group slots when selected in the buy menu (Client_BuildUnit.sqf:216-235,237-240,364-460); empty vehicles do not consume follower slots, but crewed heavy vehicles can fill a group quickly.

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