bugfix(aiupdate): Prevent units from deploying when moving by Caball009 · Pull Request #3016 · TheSuperHackers/GeneralsGameCode

Caball009 · 2026-07-26T19:30:24Z

Closes China Nuke Cannon can creep forward after firing #176

This PR prevents units from deploying when they're still moving. The issue is most notable with the Nuke Cannon, which deploys and fires just ahead reaching its goal position (see issue).

The pathfinding code uses Weapon::isGoalPosWithinAttackRange, while the deployment code uses isWithinAttackRange. The former uses a smaller range than strictly necessary, so that attacks don't fail all the time on moving targets. That's why units deploy just ahead of reaching their goal position.

#176 (comment)

Notes:

This is probably a very minor nerf because the attack range has been reduced a tiny bit.
This change assumes that unit movement and deployment are always mutually exclusive.
This is only an issue for Zero Hour, because of Zero Hour specific changes made to DeployStyleAIUpdate::update. No code is replicated to Generals.

Caball009 · 2026-07-29T12:37:01Z

I tried using isGoalPosWithinAttackRange for deployment as well, but that had mixed results because sometimes the Nuke Cannon wouldn't deploy at all.

Even if fixed, an isMoving check is still necessary because units might get a range bonus after receiving an attack order but before reaching their goal position; without it, units could still deploy too early.

greptile-apps · 2026-07-29T12:40:48Z

Greptile Summary

Prevents deploy-style Zero Hour units from deploying while their AI reports active movement.

Preserves original behavior for retail-compatible CRC builds.
Adds a movement check before range-triggered deployment in non-retail builds.

Confidence Score: 5/5

The PR appears safe to merge, with no concrete changed-code regression identified.

The new condition blocks range-triggered deployment while movement is active, while existing move handling still transitions deployed or deploying units toward undeployment.

Important Files Changed

Filename	Overview
GeneralsMD/Code/GameEngine/Source/GameLogic/Object/Update/AIUpdate/DeployStyleAIUpdate.cpp	Adds a non-retail movement guard to range-triggered deployment without changing guard-idle or retail-compatible behavior.

_{Reviews (1): Last reviewed commit: "bugfix(ai): Prevent units from deploying..." | Re-trigger Greptile}

xezon

Needs to be replicated to Generals?

xezon · 2026-08-01T15:15:06Z

I tested this branch and it does not fix the Nuke Cannon deployment bug. Tested on map https://github.com/TheSuperHackers/GeneralsGamePatch/tree/main/Maps/Any/!TestAllFactionsBuildingsUnitsPromo

Stubbjax · 2026-08-01T15:17:46Z

I tested this branch and it does not fix the Nuke Cannon deployment bug. Tested on map https://github.com/TheSuperHackers/GeneralsGamePatch/tree/main/Maps/Any/!TestAllFactionsBuildingsUnitsPromo

It does appear to fix TheSuperHackers/GeneralsGamePatch#269 though.

xezon · 2026-08-01T15:20:17Z

Accidental fix )

Caball009 · 2026-08-01T15:37:18Z

I tested this branch and it does not fix the Nuke Cannon deployment bug. Tested on map https://github.com/TheSuperHackers/GeneralsGamePatch/tree/main/Maps/Any/!TestAllFactionsBuildingsUnitsPromo

Can you share a VS22 replay of this?

xezon · 2026-08-01T15:42:16Z

Repro: Put Guard Mode behind a blob of units on this test map.

Caball009 · 2026-08-01T15:51:31Z

I suspect you're seeing other yet unfixed issues with the Nuke Cannon. With the fix in place, I cannot reproduce the issue shown in the video here #176 (comment). Would like to see a VS22 replay still.

Stubbjax · 2026-08-01T16:22:09Z

Repro: Put Guard Mode behind a blob of units on this test map.

Try attacking a target outside the Nuke Cannon's range and observe whether it creeps forward after deployment.

Caball009 · 2026-08-01T18:08:27Z

Needs to be replicated to Generals?

I haven't verified this, but the posts in the issue suggest this is not an issue for Generals. Function DeployStyleAIUpdate::update is quite different there.

xezon · 2026-08-01T20:11:33Z

Here is replay with this branch in RTS_DEBUG vs22 build.

nuke_cannon_bug.zip

Caball009 · 2026-08-01T20:20:12Z

The fix is non-retail. It seems like you're testing without removing the retail compatibility guard.

xezon · 2026-08-01T21:31:39Z

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh silly me......

time to go to sleep

xezon

I can confirm this fixes the creeping.

Needs to be replicated to Generals.

Caball009 · 2026-08-05T05:28:49Z

Needs to be replicated to Generals.

Would you mind verifying this is an issue for Generals? The posts in the issue suggest it's not. Function DeployStyleAIUpdate::update is also quite different there.

xezon · 2026-08-05T05:30:15Z

Would you mind verifying this is an issue for Generals?

I just assumed so, because Generals does have a Nuke Cannon. If the code is different, then up to you.

Caball009 · 2026-08-05T06:07:02Z

Stubbjax confirmed it's not an issue for Generals, so there's no need to replicate any code, I think. I'll make a note of it in the first post, though.

This PR is ready to be merged as far as I'm concerned.

Caball009 added AI Is AI related Bug Something is not working right, typically is user facing Minor Severity: Minor < Major < Critical < Blocker ZH Relates to Zero Hour NoRetail This fix or change is not applicable with Retail game compatibility labels Jul 26, 2026

Caball009 force-pushed the fix_object_deployment branch 2 times, most recently from e3a6993 to 7a918c9 Compare July 27, 2026 11:15

Caball009 marked this pull request as ready for review July 29, 2026 12:38

xezon reviewed Aug 1, 2026

View reviewed changes

Comment thread GeneralsMD/Code/GameEngine/Source/GameLogic/Object/Update/AIUpdate/DeployStyleAIUpdate.cpp Outdated

bugfix(ai): Prevent units from deploying when moving.

9b29c05

Caball009 force-pushed the fix_object_deployment branch from 7a918c9 to 9b29c05 Compare August 1, 2026 18:04

xezon approved these changes Aug 4, 2026

View reviewed changes

xezon changed the title ~~bugfix(ai): Prevent units from deploying when moving~~ bugfix(aiupdate): Prevent units from deploying when moving Aug 5, 2026

xezon merged commit d3b3846 into TheSuperHackers:main Aug 5, 2026
11 checks passed

Caball009 deleted the fix_object_deployment branch August 5, 2026 11:59

Uh oh!

Conversation

Caball009 commented Jul 26, 2026 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Caball009 commented Jul 29, 2026 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

greptile-apps Bot commented Jul 29, 2026

Greptile Summary

Confidence Score: 5/5

Important Files Changed

Uh oh!

xezon left a comment

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

xezon commented Aug 1, 2026

Uh oh!

Stubbjax commented Aug 1, 2026

Uh oh!

xezon commented Aug 1, 2026

Uh oh!

Caball009 commented Aug 1, 2026 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

xezon commented Aug 1, 2026

Uh oh!

Caball009 commented Aug 1, 2026 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Stubbjax commented Aug 1, 2026

Uh oh!

Caball009 commented Aug 1, 2026

Uh oh!

xezon commented Aug 1, 2026 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Caball009 commented Aug 1, 2026

Uh oh!

xezon commented Aug 1, 2026

Uh oh!

xezon left a comment

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Caball009 commented Aug 5, 2026

Uh oh!

xezon commented Aug 5, 2026

Uh oh!

Caball009 commented Aug 5, 2026

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Reviewers

Assignees

Labels

Projects

Milestone

Development

Uh oh!

3 participants

Caball009 commented Jul 26, 2026 •

edited

Loading

Caball009 commented Jul 29, 2026 •

edited

Loading

Caball009 commented Aug 1, 2026 •

edited

Loading

Caball009 commented Aug 1, 2026 •

edited

Loading

xezon commented Aug 1, 2026 •

edited

Loading