Gangs (new system)

Gangs (the new system, not the old) are small groups of peds working together. There are basically two types of gang:

  1. Gangs in which the player is a member
  2. Gangs in which the player isn't a member

Player gangs

In a player gang, the player will always be the leader. The other peds in the gang will attempt to follow his lead - either under the guidance of a mission script specifying goals, or autonomously. The peds will often do their best to protect the player from harm, to shoot what he shoots, or to follow where he leads.

Non-player gangs

Non-player gangs have no defined leader. They are simply groups of peds that share the same goals, as specified by the mission script. Perhaps the correct term is 'mob', because they will make no real attempt to stay together in one group (unless the mission script is coded in such a way).

Code required

For non-player gangs, very little or no code is required to support them. All that's needed is for the mission script to be able to assign goals to groups of peds, and be notified whenever a ped in that group completes the goal, in order for the next goal to be assigned. Some code, however, may be needed to help the peds follow each other - in particular if the use of vehicles is required.

For player gangs, new code will likely be required. Although the current design has the scope to make a ped follow a player (by making the player the AI target of the ped), there is little scope for more complex actions, such as shooting what the player shoots, or shooting who is shooting the player. Support for this could be implemented within the mission script itself (i.e. an event that fires when the player takes damage will result in any unallocated gang members to attack the attacker), but it is questionable whether this is a viable long-term solution. The fact that it needs specific code support from the mission script will make it harder to have a generic gang system ala GTA: San Andreas, where the player can recruit members of the public to join his gang. Recruitment of gang members in this sense (or some other system whereby peds automatically follow the player, i.e. respect system inspired by STALKER dream) isn't accounted for in the current game design, but is a feature that could potentially add significant depth to the game.

TODO:
MUST-DOCS: UNKNOWN: Decide on whether/how much code support is needed/wanted for gangs
???
Profit!