Fix to TacAI Decoys

[Emelio Lizardo]

"Incorrect. We're calling it an exploit because in smaller scale games clever use of decoys results in benefit that so far outweigh their cost as to be considered exploitative."

Hummm, I'll somewhat disagree. It's like saying that it is an exploit of war that is so easy to shoot someone instead of fighting them by hand. A ten dollar archer can kill a infinately more valuable mage any day. A fully buffed knight swarmmed by a few no cost kobolds dies. Some cheap tinfoil chaff on some even cheaper Korean balistic missile can decoy the expensively stupid American ABDS any day. A seriously perverse exploit which I'm sure they will be happy to use. Exploit/abuse or tactic, it seems very subjective.

There will ALWAYS be something that can be "abused". As long as everyone can abuse it, I don't see it as being a big ethical problem. As opposed to, say, someone who hacked the game. But when it isn't believable this detracts from the game experience, and/or generates humor.

I think we can agree that the AI needs a serious retune as it often fails to make use of the possibilities available to it. It would be more fun play against a smarter AI, when the is one.

It's not that the AI should avoid small units, it just needs more than ALL or NOTHING programming. Closer squads of any size can begin to have a higher targeting value than more distant squads, but it shouldn't be absolute.

Be nice to have the option to direct fire based on TARGET VALUE, using priorities that i can set, including a deliniated tolerance for friendly fire.

Saber Cherry, you're going to get a reputation as the big "O". Nice informative explanation. ooh, felt a neuron grow a new psudopod.

Maybe add to your algorithm a case for "too close to own troops" or "in melee" that drops the target from the list or significantly lowers priority, observable scarry features (higher priority), someone else is targeting it (lower priority or delete), etc. What orher squads are doing should be considered to affect targeting so that there is some semblenc of coordination in execution as presumably there was in planning.

How would you fragment squad targeting when the enemy is "skirmished", so that the WHOLE squad/army doesn't unload on our kobold while ignoring other dangers? While something big, scarry and close should draw a lot more fire, as should some brightly colored hand waver in the back row (ie, consider multiple factors on critter priority targeting).

As you may observe, I'm rather unhappy with the algorithm for where the projectile ordinance (mundane & magical effect) drops (usually on friendlies.) Any thoughts about projectile endpoint?

One special case I'd like to see, banish should be divinely directed and hit only occupied squares. If there aren't enough occupied squares it can hit some multiple times. Priests are pretty wimpy to begin with and the sheer volume of the undead hordes justifies this. Talk about exploits, the undead have the biggest one built right into the game.