Ai Suggestion

posted on January 4th, 2005, 1:00 pm

Just a quick thought I had about AI's. To stop them from getting predicatable how about having a batch file (or whatever) to rotate buildlists for each race when you load it, possibly randomly for each race. They wouldn't have to be that different but maybe one set is average, another build a big slow fleet and another prefers higher defences.

Any thoughts?

posted on January 4th, 2005, 1:27 pm

we already though about that too. the problem ist that this would make multiplayer impossible. we are working on a better, more advanced AI system but that takes time - if it is even possible

posted on January 4th, 2005, 1:39 pm

yes I read the post about map specific AI loading whilst the game is on, I mean something that changes the AI before the armada game starts loading. or is that whats already been tried?

posted on January 4th, 2005, 2:02 pm

that would cause out-of-sync as soon as a multi player game starts cause the players would have different versions of ais

posted on January 4th, 2005, 2:24 pm

ahh a very good point, I hadn't thought of that one, still a possible activated feature for non netwrok games.

posted on January 4th, 2005, 3:40 pm

yep but if we do something we do it right ;-) therefore we will only include features which can be used in multiplayer, too (after all the current fleet ops versions are all focused on multi player)
but we want to try a special map-based ai which analysis the map first and then decides it's strategy (avatar, vessels to tech on,...) so the ai will be the same for all players cause all play on the same map... but we found some major problems in that technique and therefore it has been delayed and may proof impossible in the future.. it's all just an idea

posted on January 4th, 2005, 3:48 pm

ahh well glad to see it's been thought out so much.

I have no idea how far you guys can alter AI but you could maybe teach it to react better to enemies, for example if it is persistently denied scouting access to an area it will send scouts with protection to check the area. If it sees in that area a mass buildup of large ships the AI could try to beef up it's defences and maybe build a few shockwave ships.

posted on January 16th, 2005, 9:46 am

There are no shockwavs ships in FO


Optec: Are u sure it would do an out of sync in multiplayer games??? Cause doesnt the AI only depend on the host of them game, and he sends the AI movement,build,... data to other players? If thats the case then it wouldnt show the out of sync sign since the AI data would be transfered from the host to other players, so all of the AIs would have the same strategy

posted on January 16th, 2005, 8:20 pm

yah their is the rom sige ship's wepon has a shock wave

posted on January 16th, 2005, 11:08 pm

nope, the ai is calculated on every computer itself. completely nothing is transfered during the network at least as far as we know

posted on January 17th, 2005, 2:38 pm

What about hving the AI go back to a default after every single player game, that way everyones AI will be the same on multiplayer

posted on January 17th, 2005, 4:00 pm

What about hving the AI go back to a default after every single player game, that way everyones AI will be the same on multiplayer

I think you have missunderstand here something;
If every participant in a MP-Session selects a different AI script BEFORE FO starts you get an "Out of Sync" Error;

If the AI would be handled by the Hostm alone then that Script Selecting System could work, probably; I don't now much about the Armada-Enginge;

@Optec: Have you tried using an "Expert System" or splitting the AI into several levels (Ressource management; Fleet-management and Shipmanagement) or something like that; I could also suggest the use of an artifical neural network, but that would certainly raise CPU time up a LOT;

I do have one wish: When AI 1 attackst AI 2 and AI 1 moves his fleet to AI 2 you can position you own fleet somewhere on the way and shoot the fleet of AI 1 down like helpless cattle; Please eliminate that behavior;
THX

posted on January 17th, 2005, 5:51 pm

ehm what is an expert system and how can someone create an artifical neural network with digital technology? ;-)
we can't freely program the ai, we have to follow the strict guidelines of the a2 engine - anda gain: not without the sourcecode

posted on January 17th, 2005, 6:33 pm

sorry, yeh i misuderstood. so unless u can have a standard AI for multiplayer and then different ones for instant action it doesnt look promising at the mo.

posted on January 18th, 2005, 8:46 am

Expert System:
Basically you have a set of rules; These rules trigger certain actions; An algorithm "calculates" wich rule(s) are to apply and then the actions for those rules are executed: it could look like this

Rule1:
(Dilithium<500)
action1:
call findMoreMoons

or the like; I think there are several coding languages/ guidelines in the Web available;
as for ANN's: How do you think that datamining-software works?