Dominions 2. AI. Suggestions, that how to fix it.

[Mortifer]

Originally posted by johan osterman:
Eh, chances that the AI will ever have different personalities are slim, chances for the AI to change personalities during the game are even slimmer.

Any AI improvements are likely to be solutions to specific problems, not improvements on the scale an adapting multi personality AI is.

This was predicatble, and I agree with johan. I guess this would be hella lot of work to add. I think we can live without this in Doms II.
Maybe if the Users/players would be allowed to script AIs......they could try.
Otherwise, just upgrade those weak points in the mentioned list, step by step.
If all of those will be enchanced, the AI will rock some you know what.

[Gandalf Parker]

All I have to say

Dont worry. Im sure that the efforts to keep an un-pinned thread locked near the top of the board by the same maybe-different people saying the same things or reposting the whole list has SURELY accomplished its mission. It makes it seem almost as key a discussion as the pinned polls and neutral master lists. Good job.

[ November 07, 2003, 14:54: Message edited by: Gandalf Parker ]

[Mortifer]

Originally posted by Gandalf Parker:

quote:

---

All I have to say

Dont worry. Im sure that the efforts to keep an un-pinned thread locked near the top of the board by the same maybe-different people saying the same things or reposting the whole list has SURELY accomplished its mission. It makes it seem almost as key a discussion as the pinned polls and neutral master lists. Good job.

---

I think, that the "AI problems" 'was?' a very important discussion on the board. I am happy that it turned out to something good. In the beginning most players were just bashing the AI without any constructive opinion. Day by day we had better and better suggestions/ideas, and now we are here...near the end of the road.

I guess it is up to the devs to do what they can.
I am sure that they will try their best.

[ November 07, 2003, 15:01: Message edited by: Mortifer ]

[ywl]

Originally posted by NTJedi:
Example=
Destroyer(Pillages lands which have been owned by opponents for long periods of time)
Architect(focuses on improving lands)
Arch-Mage(focuses on magic)
Barbarian(mainly uses brute force)
Insanity(unpredictable actions= randomly flips between all personalities every 10 turns)
Cutthroat(one out of three armies will be sneaking during movement)

I don't know the code but such rough Category of personalities doesn't seem to be too impossible.
1) Destroyer: give the AI an option to pillage a province unless it's around the capital. Adjust the probability of how often this happened and you'd get it. This particular AI is not likely to win unless he is using dead Ermor or Carrion Wood of Pangaea. But he could be around to be a spoiler for everybody.

2) Architect: hmm... there isn't much to improve on the land other than building castles.

3) Mage or Barbarian: if there were a matrix of the AI's preference over different units, the difference would be a simple tweaking of numbers. Though such a matrix itself may not be easy to implement, because of the large number of possible units in the game.

4) Cutthroat: the AI doesn't use stealth troops particularly well. It might be hard to implement.

[Gandalf Parker]

Originally posted by ywl:
4) Cutthroat: the AI doesn't use stealth troops particularly well. It might be hard to implement. [/QB]

Its beginning to look as though the AI is too linear in its programming to make seperate personalities likely. Its probably one line line of instructions with some IF comments allowing for the different nations. Splitting all of that out into sperate AI files would be on the level of being a good reason for Dominions 3. The devs seem to be back to asking for specific fixes. When should an AI build a castle. When should they build a temple. When should they buy hvy troops.

However..... the seperate AIs we are talking about might be created by themes? Does a computer player use themes? I have to fall back on Dom1 experience but if Pangaea is told to build hvy units then they will lose their sneak ability with that army. Building an IF PANGAEA into the AI code might help but there is a line of play for Pangaea which does use those units.

What if a theme removed those hvy units? And maybe added an assassin? If the AI used that theme then would you have a computer player that would use those things halfway effectively?

[-Storm-]

I think some games separated AI personalities, but I dunno what games. Civ3? Frankly I don't remember.

[Gandalf Parker]

Originally posted by -Storm-:
I think some games separated AI personalities, but I dunno what games. Civ3? Frankly I don't remember.

Of course it can be done. And its generally agreed that it would have some benefits. But if the AI was straight coded instead of seperate for each AI then breaking it out would be a major product upgrade. Since solo-play isnt a major part of the game it would be an unlikely project.

That means that lesser fixes should be discussed so that something can be done.

-- The word "impossible" is a term used by technicians which translates as "I COULD do it but it would take more time and effort than its worth."

[ November 07, 2003, 21:55: Message edited by: Gandalf Parker ]

[licker]

One small quibble

Why do you assert that 'solo play isn't a major part of the game'?

The devs have said that they made Dom primarilly to be an MP game, but the number of people playing the game are likely to play more SP than MP, whatever it is that they would prefer to play.

So I would assert that 'solo play *is* a major part of the game' just that the devs may not desire to make upgrades to it as much as they desire to make upgrades to MP. Though outside of balance and bugs, there arn't that many upgrades to MP that are seemingly *that* important

[HJ]

Originally posted by licker:
One small quibble

Why do you assert that 'solo play isn't a major part of the game'?

The devs have said that they made Dom primarilly to be an MP game, but the number of people playing the game are likely to play more SP than MP, whatever it is that they would prefer to play.

So I would assert that 'solo play *is* a major part of the game' just that the devs may not desire to make upgrades to it as much as they desire to make upgrades to MP. Though outside of balance and bugs, there arn't that many upgrades to MP that are seemingly *that* important

Once again I agree, but it would be nice if we could stop this kind of arguments altogether. Either make the game completely MP, or completely SP, or there is no basis to say that one is more important than the other, and that one should receive less attention and suffer on account of the other.

[Mortifer]

Yes SP is a major part of Doms II., that is for sure now.
Still I guess the devs won't be bothered by such coding like multiple AI personalities. I guess that would be countless hours to script and add.
MAYBE in the distant future, they will work on it, but maybe the AI can be upgraded a more simple way. [fix those things on the list.]
Well we shall see.