Upsmarting the AI

[eagleton]

I was just thinking about easy ways that don't involve too much coding to upgrade the AI.

Those two I think should be relativily easy to do for Malfador:

1 Securing that every attack ship has ECM AND COMBAT SENSORS. Many AI-dreadnoughts I've encountered suffer from not being able to hit me because they have no combat sensors. The Abbidon only built one type of dreadnought for years that had no combat sensors and they had no chance (a 60% hit modifier is quite a lot)

2 AI attack ships should have a varying number of PDC's, varying on the enemy. One PDC against an enemy with missiles, fighters and lots of satellites is not enough, but still appropriate for one with beam weapons. Maybe the AI could create different types of ships in different regions of space.

I am very happy with the game and think that some changes in the way I suggested could make a big difference in competition.

[Jubala]

Another thing that might not be quite so easy is to give it a memory. As it is now it doesn't seem to make any longterm goals or plans. And it definetly doesn't remember where minefields are or respond to them with sweepers. And it doesn't seem to remember I just glassed all it's planet in a system because it just sends new colonyships in there to recolonise. Someone else described this alot better in another thread. When I read that post I finally realised what had been nagging me about AI behaviour. It doesn't remember anything.

Edit: That someone else I mentioned was Baron Munchausen in the topic AI weakness.

[This message has been edited by Jubala (edited 28 November 2000).]

[Jochen Schmidt]

Hi Jubala,

seems to me, that we are the AI-freaks here. I´m very impressed by the game, but with a better AI it would be still the best "space-game".

Minesweepers, more agressive behaviour in defense and atack, no scattered forces, recognizing Minefields, Black Holes (in my game at the moment the enemy sends plenty of fleets again and agian into a Black Hole in front of my system....) and much more.

´Hope that MM will do as they said - and tweak it with the time, or better as soon as possible.

Greetings from Germany

Jochen

P.S. Ehhhhrm, Jubala, are you the Jubala of the CM-Forum???

[Richard]

Guys,

You may want to drop Aaron a line with your suggestions since I have no idea how often he reads this forum...

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Sarge is coming...

Richard Arnesen
Director of Covert Ops
Shrapnel Games
http://www.shrapnelgames.com

[Noble713]

quote:

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Originally posted by eagleton:

1 Securing that every attack ship has ECM AND COMBAT SENSORS. Many AI-dreadnoughts I've encountered suffer from not being able to hit me because they have no combat sensors. The Abbidon only built one type of dreadnought for years that had no combat sensors and they had no chance (a 60% hit modifier is quite a lot)

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This is easy to do. Go into the AI_Design file (I think) and move the Combat To Hit Dec and Combat To Hit Add up the list of Misc. Abilities. This will give ECM/Sensors a higher priority in ship design. Also go into the research file and make sure that the relevant technologies are in the research queue.

[Islandir]

Yes and Yes.
I do think that the AI requires memory when it seems to have a lack of it.
The use of datafiles works fine for science, components, vehicle sizes, ...... but I think that to allow AI tweaking, this should have been based on some kind of language and called methods by the game. This would have allowed us to create AI reacting to events and so build up even more memory where the AI is having lacks of ..... A mechanism like dll registration/fixed entry points and load on call of them or a mechanism using reflection like in java or based on COM ... I know this would mean that you would have to know the Languages/mechanisms but at least it would allow us to add a lot in term of game.
Does it make sense to u ?
What do u all think ?

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Islandir