Supercombattant pretenders....what about...

[DominionsFan]

Hey Nagot, can't you stop plz?
IMHO improving the strategic AI. should be the #1. on the priority list. It is very important, and no I won't and can't script.
Scripts wont raise the quality of the AI.

[Alneyan]

Originally posted by DominionsFAN:
Hey Nagot, can't you stop plz?
IMHO improving the strategic AI. should be the #1. on the priority list. It is very important, and no I won't and can't script.
Scripts wont raise the quality of the AI.

Some AIs (at least some of them, I don't know for sure about Dominions) are mostly made of scripts, so they will definitively raise the quality of the AI. (If done right that is) However, you do need to know how to use them, which is another matter altogether. And Nagot can very well say what he thinks, especially as he explains why he things so and even gives ways to improve the situation in the current state. I, for one, won't ask you more Nagot.

Not quite though. I do have a question for you: how would you write a script to make the AI build more heavy troops? I mean, what file would you tweak? I don't ask you to explain how you would write the script though. Or did I miss this part?

[Pocus]

Alas to be fair, you can only script initial starting positions for the AI. Sure, it dont differs from 99% of our so called strategy games, where the AI is given numerical advantages, but thats all.

[DominionsFan]

Originally posted by Alneyan:

quote:

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Originally posted by DominionsFAN:
Hey Nagot, can't you stop plz?
IMHO improving the strategic AI. should be the #1. on the priority list. It is very important, and no I won't and can't script.
Scripts wont raise the quality of the AI.

Some AIs (at least some of them, I don't know for sure about Dominions) are mostly made of scripts, so they will definitively raise the quality of the AI. (If done right that is) However, you do need to know how to use them, which is another matter altogether. And Nagot can very well say what he thinks, especially as he explains why he things so and even gives ways to improve the situation in the current state. I, for one, won't ask you more Nagot.

Not quite though. I do have a question for you: how would you write a script to make the AI build more heavy troops? I mean, what file would you tweak? I don't ask you to explain how you would write the script though. Or did I miss this part?

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This is ridicolous. Let the devs to upgrade the AI plz. Scripting map files won't help. The AI will be the same. Yes it will offer a bigger challange, but the core of the AI won't change.

also WHO CAN SCRIPT LIKE THAT?

[licker]

I dunno about the rest of you, but it seems to me that bugs and balance will be the first things addressed, mostly becasue they are easier to tackle from a codeing standpoint (or in the case of difficult bugs, more important to fix).

Something that is lost in this discussion is that in the process of fixing these bugs, and redoing some balance issues the AI may get a boost from no longer suffereing due to an erronious or poor initial design. That said, improving the AI (*not simply making difficult maps) should always be in the mind of the players and developers, and I'd guess that Illwinter is interested in continuing to improve the entire game, including the AI.

Besides, the fact remains that the majority of game time is going to be SP, I'd estimate it at 80%. And while its nice to say things like 'don't cheese the AI if you don't want to' what I really want is for the AI to be able to 'cheese' me.

[DominionsFan]

Originally posted by licker:
I dunno about the rest of you, but it seems to me that bugs and balance will be the first things addressed, mostly becasue they are easier to tackle from a codeing standpoint (or in the case of difficult bugs, more important to fix).

Something that is lost in this discussion is that in the process of fixing these bugs, and redoing some balance issues the AI may get a boost from no longer suffereing due to an erronious or poor initial design. That said, improving the AI (*not simply making difficult maps) should always be in the mind of the players and developers, and I'd guess that Illwinter is interested in continuing to improve the entire game, including the AI.

Besides, the fact remains that the majority of game time is going to be SP, I'd estimate it at 80%. And while its nice to say things like 'don't cheese the AI if you don't want to' what I really want is for the AI to be able to 'cheese' me.

Yup. Bug fixing is always on the top of the list. Balancing as well. In our case the strat. AI is very important, as you've said most of the games will be SP. That is why upgrading the AI is on the top of the list in Doms II.

[Alneyan]

Where did you read I asked the devs not to care about the AI, or in Nagot post for that matter? There is quite a difference between saying, like Nagot said, "AI should not be the first concern for the devs" (or somethign along these liens), and saying "Don't touch the AI".

There may be another factor as well. Changing balance in drastic ways may very well alter the AI. Say you are tweaking the balance between light and heavy units. The AI will have to be changed accordingly. Say you are making magic more/less expensive, supercombattants less common, or something else. The AI will once again have to be modified, and perhaps even important changes.

I would believe these important balance changes will be settled, along with bug fixes among other problems, before the AI is completely tweaked. Still, some changes are currently going on for the AI, in particular fields. (The AI doesn't like to build castles, and Kristoffer asked for suggestions about this matter) But I would not expect the developer(s?) involved with the AI to make a much improved AI while handling all the other requests/bugs/balance concerns/add as needed in a short amount of time. (Except if Illwinter had managed to master the flow of time)

As for these scripts, I will let Nagot speak about this topic. (Apart from modifying the starting provinces, that is to say, the things lurking in the map file)