AI Modding 101?

[hicksz]

This is my first post.

I have been following your Posts Litcube and I can feel your pain. I'm also having trouble modding the AI, especially the (Computer Opponent)_AI_DesignCreation.txt. More on that later.

I can't find any documenation on AI Modding. I have look everywhere but only find some notes or a passing sentence or a topic on the message board. Let see, I looked at the "Frequently Asked Questions for Newbies" post but found only a small section on Modding. This topic is more geared for players and is excellent for newbies. I learned a lot about the game but no AI modding help. I then looked at http://galileo.spaceports.com/~kazharii/modding101/ and read through Imperator Fyron (Nolan Kelly) excellent SEIV Modding 101 tutorial. I learn a lot from his tutorial but again no AI Modding help. Next I went to http://invirtuo.cc/phpwiki/index.php/AI
The encyclopedia Malfadorica Wiki for Space Empire IV Gold. All I got where definitions of the AI files. No help here. I then look through the AI Campaign and TDM-MODPACK for help but only read that they tweaked the AI. So I re-read what is written in the Default_AI_DesignCreation.txt for anymore clues I might have missed. Am I just not noticing where the AI modding document is? The only document I could find that actually talk a little about the AI files is the "Modifying the Universe In a Day" by Chris Traber and that is found on the SEIV Gold CD. But it doesn't go in to the text file details like the SEIV Modding Tutorial 101. The SE4 Modder by David Gunstensen does help with AI research and facility construction but it doesn't help with design creation and it doesn't help you understand the AI files. So I did a search for AI help on the forum and that led me to Litcube who is asking a lot of questions about AI modding. I just can't imagine that with all of the excellent MOD tutorials out there for SEIV Gold that we can't find one for AI modding that goes into some kind of detail. If there is one, I just not seeing it but I have try to stress in my post that I have looked for one.

You start to look at the AI mods and the original files and you think you start to understand something and something will just throw you like in the AI_Research.txt. What is Not Connected? I can probably guess but it nice to have stuff spell out for you sometimes.

In reference to the post here:
http://www.shrapnelgames.com/cgi-bin...;f=23;t=010966

and I'm still confused with

Num Misc Abilities := 7
Misc Ability 1 Name := Point-Defense
Misc Ability 1 Spaces Per One := 400

Okay, Rollo said that

that means that for each 400kt of hull space one component that has Point-Defense ability will be added. Note that this is always rounded down, but a minimum of one component will be added. So that results in:
1 component for hulls from 1 to 799
2 components for hulls from 800 to 1199
3 components for hulls from 1200 to 1599
and so on...

Okay, that makes sense but when you look at this:

Misc Ability 1 Name := Point-Defense
Misc Ability 1 Spaces Per One := 400
Misc Ability 2 Name := Cloak Level
Misc Ability 2 Spaces Per One := 10000
Misc Ability 3 Name := Quantum Reactor
Misc Ability 3 Spaces Per One := 10000
Misc Ability 4 Name := Combat To Hit Defense Plus
Misc Ability 4 Spaces Per One := 10000
Misc Ability 5 Name := Combat To Hit Offense Plus
Misc Ability 5 Spaces Per One := 10000
Misc Ability 6 Name := Multiplex Tracking
Misc Ability 6 Spaces Per One := 10000
Misc Ability 7 Name := Shield Regeneration
Misc Ability 7 Spaces Per One := 800
Misc Ability 8 Name := Emergency Resupply
Misc Ability 8 Spaces Per One := 800
Misc Ability 9 Name := Self-Destruct
Misc Ability 9 Spaces Per One := 10000
Misc Ability 10 Name := Scanner Jammer
Misc Ability 10 Spaces Per One := 10000
Misc Ability 11 Name := Supply Storage
Misc Ability 11 Spaces Per One := 500

you can start to get confused again. Okay if 400 is supposed to be "each 400kt of hull space one component that has Point-Defense ability will be added" then why are we seeing values of 10000? An unmodded base ship has a value of 1500 tonnage.
BTW these values come from the TDM-Modpack. Also in the AI_DesignCreation.txt header, it says under Vehicle size user requirements "Does not have any Min Percent requirements for a comp type different than the Majority Comp Type. Does not have any Max Percent requirements for the Majority Comp Type." How does percentage play it to this? I thought we were talking about tonnage?

And what about this?

Majority Comp Spaces Per One := 1200
Majority Comp Ability := Weapon
Secondary Comp Spaces Per One := 500
Secondary Comp Ability := Weapon

Are we saying here that the majority comp ability was always be first look at and then secondary comp ability if there is enough tonnage? Or does the AI design have to be able to use a majority and secondary comp space if listed in the txt file?

It took 2 hours just to discover that I was looking at the wrong weapons family when looking at the Majority Weapon Family Pick 1. I kept looking at the Family value instead of the weapon family for a weapon in the components.txt.

My point is that we need a document on modding AI in the spirit of the SEIV Modding 101 if there isn't one already. I already started working on one just for my sanity but it wont be good as what Rollo or Mephisto can come up with. I'm sorry to vent but I just can't understand why it so hard to find documentation on Modding AI txt files.