Proof the AI cheats

[PRJ Master]

I was looking through the XML stuff recently, and I came across this in the Hyper Game Constants XML (DATA%XML%HYPERGAMECONSTANTS in the data .meg)....

 

<AIUsesFogOfWar> false </AIUsesFogOfWar>

 

heh....

 

change that to true, and no more cheating AI....

[TotalBiscuit]

The AI has been cheating at RTS since the dawn of time. It has to, it can't match the human brain. Without cheats is tends to just get horribly owned over and over again and not provide a challenge.

 

TB.

[PRJ Master]

still, it would be interesting to see how the AI does without the fog of war...

[TotalBiscuit]

I think I could accurately describe it as the strategic equivelant of a drunken and blinded duck.

 

TB.

[stingerhs]

not necessarily. Artificial Intelligence in gaming has been steadily improving over the past couple of years to the point that some games can almost accurately portray human reactions to certain situations. so far, i've played two game like this. Empire Earth was a great example of a computer AI's ability to adapt to your gameplay style. aside from attacking your weakest point, the AI would also take the time to probe your defenses and feel around for your weak points. in other words, the AI was indeed utilizing the 'fog of war'. that particular AI was quite impressive, and (fortunately) it was also fairly scalable.

 

another example of a good AI was F.E.A.R. yes, it was a different genre of game, but the AI was very tactically oriented. enemy squads would utilze a variety of methods to kill you which usually involved finding alternate routes to get to you in order to attack your flanks or the rear while several soldiers would keep you busy with cover fire and the occasional grenade. and all of it was based around on if they knew your location. if you attacked from one spot and snuck around to another, they would react realistically to find you either by flushing you out into a trap or forcing you to reveal your location.

 

trust me, computer AI's have come a long way from 'player enters a room. open fire.' type deal.

[Admiral Z]

There are some really unique gaming moments where the AI would surprise me. First really smart AI I came across was in NOLF2.

 

The EAW AI is what I've come to expect from the guys who made the CnC series. It's acceptable but can do a lot better.

[shadowsfm]

i bet with fog of war, the ai would just sit there

[Iamme]

i bet with fog of war, the ai would just sit there

It does. :/

[Tom Servo]

Yeh the AI is pretty weak with fog of war, and its especially funny in space battles, i went in with boba fett and there were 4 pirate squadrons just sitting near the starbase doing nothing.

[Dirk Pitt]

not to mention that the ai can make multiple orders at once , human con only make one at one time

[Cheech Marin]

That's what the pause button is for.

[DarkLord1981]

That's what the pause button is for.

 

Erm, this game is a RTS, which means Real-Time Strategy and if you paused it to make orders, then it turns more into a Turn-Based Game.....to a degree.

 

I was wondering why the AI was using the EXACT counters to mine even before they saw my units.....they could all along.

 

I am gonna make it use the fog of war to make it more fair.

 

Also, The AI is capable of doing ALOT more better then Humans can do it, because they make orders fast then we can, they have better of everything in my opinion, but then again, everything has a weakness.

 

EDIT: I tried it, it makes no difference, the AI still swarms with EXACTLY the counters of what i have which is impossible to do unless they know what you have before they encounter you on the map and that needs to be fixed.

 

If it can't be fixed, then the player needs to be able to know what they have and have the choice of spawning counter units. (it will balance it out)

[shadowsfm]

could be a couencidence (how ever you spell it) just make a well rounded team, and hide the unit that wount be useful for that little attack

[Cheech Marin]

So, which .meg file did you find this in?

[DarkLord1981]

could be a couencidence (how ever you spell it) just make a well rounded team, and hide the unit that wount be useful for that little attack

 

Never helps, they go right to it.

[MistenTH]

While doing my modding, I discovered, for space battles at least, how you can influence the AI's build order in MP / campaign. Open up SPACETARGETPRIORITIES.xml, those are the priorities.

 

Notice how fighters/bombers are the highest priority target for capital ships to attack, even though they have 70 inaccuracy against them.

 

I noticed that when you change for e.g. frigates as the highest priority target for fighters, and the AI sees that you have a lot of fighters in the campaign map, they will mass produce frigates to attack your fighters even if they have no chance of killing them.

 

Notice that corvettes target heroes and fighters only, so that may be why you see endless streams of corvettes.

[Slocket]

Interesting...I was deciphering the AI Perception Equations and you can see the Ai takes into account alot variables in a dynamic way.

 

It will set aside a percentage of total money to buy a large purchase such as a Capital ship....but that is modified by what else is going on...building structures, teching up...etc.

 

It is all very interactive tied together. Quite complex. A small imbalance somewhere can throw the AI building off. There are alot of factors.

 

I have been swarmed by balanced fleets of AI, but I was building and conquering rather slowly. I guess if you are kicking the snot out of the AI, it will build accordingly.

 

Just like a real human would. The saving grace is these equations and variables ('magic number' dev notes refer to them as) appear to be moddable, it is in 'mathematical form' in some degree?

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As MistenTH said above, I notice my TIE Bombers are suidical going after the enemy corvettes as a target on their own. That behaviour gets them kill fast no doubt. Setting the bombers target priority means they will go after something else all things present and equal; but they still go after the corvette anti-fighters if no other targets are in sight in self-preservation.

 

So when I am playing, I removed corvettes as a target for bombers (while I am playing the Empire only...since this will confuse the AI if it plays the Empire -bombers will sit there and not react to a corvette immediate threat). Custom make the AI depending on which side it is playing.

[wedge2211]

Oh...does that mean units can be set to attack enemies they are particularly strong against first, and avoid units they are weak against? That definitely should be the case...

[Slocket]

Yes you can change the behaviour. But it is more like ATTACK not AVOID logic.

 

You have a defined set of valid targets the AI can will consider (which is changeable). Even your units have a 'logic' of their own (notice sometimes they do not obey you after a time after you gave them an explicit order? Just like in real life -not everyone is into a suicide mission).

 

From the defined valid target list, there is a priority order of targets to go after. Now this is further modified by the target's distance from said unit, a modifier on the local area strength of the enemy there, and a few others to determine a final target to attack.

 

Example Y-wing bomber is best against a Capital ship such as a VSD. Top priority, but if is is too far away or heavily defended by anti-fighter Tartan Cruisers...it will decide to go after something second proirity on the list, such as a lone Broadside Cruiser sitting close by and easy pickings -even though the Broadside Cruiser's Boron missiles are good against fighters/bombers..it has a hard time targeting and hitting a bomber up close.

 

I did not see anything explicit about AVOID, it is all ATTACK so to speak.

[wedge2211]

Still, that's something. I keep finding myself wishing that my units were better at picking their targets when I leave them alone. If those behaviors can be changed just by altering some numbers...