The problem with NPC behaviour in encounters.

[ChalkLine]

This isn't a rant, it's just thoughts on things I and other GMs do on occasion.
Something I see a lot in games is that NPCs seem to have no real respect for their lives or their limbs. They attack frontally and with no regard for losses. This is made worse by how easy it is to hit in the game as players will generally kill off all the enemy in just a few rounds of shooting. It ends up with a regular almost shooting gallery feel.

Most people alive at this point are going to be versed to a fair degree in ground combat, even the 'novice' category, yet NPC activity rarely reflects this.

The biggest problem is that many skill rolls are all or nothing. A successful Observe roll often gives the result of "you see a Pact trooper with an AK-74 and wearing a helmet". Now, I understand why this is done; it gives a quick and accurate appraisal so combat is fast and doesn't bog down in minutiae (my besetting sin). However it's unlikely this would be what a soldier saw in combat unless the enemy was totally unaware of the player and this should rarely be the case. Firstly, the enemy's first response to a threat in the area is to lie down at which point unless they're in a desert or on a tennis court they become difficult to see. Really if you just make an observation roll you only see either a flicker of movement or something out of place such as the top of a helmet, but it may not be enough to get a targeting solution. A few points higher and you might make out their position but you might need to soak it with automatic fire to get a hit on them. This is why snipers are so feared; they shoot when you don't know you have to use cover. Even muzzle flashes aren't a good indicator but rather a general location.

Secondly, they don't seem to move unless it's straight at the players. Now, once again because it's so easy to hit they often don't get to take a step before they get ventilated but if they do it's strangely towards the player even if they are in range. Enveloping a position doesn't seem to occur to NPCs. Hiding, calling in artillery while observing never occurs to NPCs.

This has led to some odd habits in players. I've seen many mentions of player groups exiting Poland in just a few days and I can't understand how they can move that fast and not get slaughtered in ambush after ambush, but because NPCs don't post the elementary precaution of observation posts watching the surrounding area they only seem to become aware of players if they appear on their doorsteps. I actually think the game designers didn't want this. As an example I had some scouts once just run off on contact and one player literally didn't know it was possible or how to react. He also didn't seem to understand that those scouts were heading straight back to the enemy to give a warning of the player advance and what that meant. He wasn't dumb, he was quite smart, he'd just never encountered that before.