Dominions 2. AI. Suggestions, that how to fix it.

HJ · #1 November 8th, 2003, 01:54 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by licker:
One small quibble

Why do you assert that 'solo play isn't a major part of the game'?

The devs have said that they made Dom primarilly to be an MP game, but the number of people playing the game are likely to play more SP than MP, whatever it is that they would prefer to play.

So I would assert that 'solo play *is* a major part of the game' just that the devs may not desire to make upgrades to it as much as they desire to make upgrades to MP. Though outside of balance and bugs, there arn't that many upgrades to MP that are seemingly *that* important

Once again I agree, but it would be nice if we could stop this kind of arguments altogether. Either make the game completely MP, or completely SP, or there is no basis to say that one is more important than the other, and that one should receive less attention and suffer on account of the other.

Mortifer · #2 November 8th, 2003, 09:56 AM

Yes SP is a major part of Doms II., that is for sure now.
Still I guess the devs won't be bothered by such coding like multiple AI personalities. I guess that would be countless hours to script and add.
MAYBE in the distant future, they will work on it, but maybe the AI can be upgraded a more simple way. [fix those things on the list.]
Well we shall see.

Gandalf Parker · #3 November 8th, 2003, 01:56 PM

Actually I am 99% a solo player. But the game was built almost entirely around PBEM with some things tossed in for solo play. I dont forsee a major time-consuming rewrite for SP moving to the top of the list over many many MP items. Small tweaks, yes. But once it looked like it would not be simple I stopped considering it likely.

However, there are always major points to be made in that scoring process for personal interest by a dev.

[ November 08, 2003, 13:01: Message edited by: Gandalf Parker ]

DominionsFan · #4 November 8th, 2003, 05:50 PM

Hey! The AI is NOT THAT BAD Gandalf, it need lot of tweaking but that's all. I think the devs can update those things from the list, without too many problems.

Gandalf Parker · #5 November 8th, 2003, 06:46 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by DominionsFAN:
Hey! The AI is NOT THAT BAD Gandalf, it need lot of tweaking but that's all. I think the devs can update those things from the list, without too many problems.

The tweakings is what I mean. That IS what we should pursue. Its the projects such as seperate AI scripting or tactics specific to a nation that we might not see soon.

As for the tweakings I think we will need to get more specific. Just saying "more hvy units" by itself isnt a fix. The AI is no better with a few hvy units than it was with alot of cheap ones. When we put up some specific percentages that helped although that would hurt some races. When we gave specifics on when the AI should consider another castle that was closer.

[ November 08, 2003, 16:47: Message edited by: Gandalf Parker ]

Aristoteles · #6 November 9th, 2003, 10:26 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Gandalf Parker:

quote:
Originally posted by DominionsFAN:
Hey! The AI is NOT THAT BAD Gandalf, it need lot of tweaking but that's all. I think the devs can update those things from the list, without too many problems.

The tweakings is what I mean. That IS what we should pursue. Its the projects such as seperate AI scripting or tactics specific to a nation that we might not see soon.

As for the tweakings I think we will need to get more specific. Just saying "more hvy units" by itself isnt a fix. The AI is no better with a few hvy units than it was with alot of cheap ones. When we put up some specific percentages that helped although that would hurt some races. When we gave specifics on when the AI should consider another castle that was closer.

Well, than what would you suggest? Since the AI won't use too many heavy units in the demo, it is clear that we must make a suggestion about it. I think this is a 'quite simple' example, we cannot post too many details about this one...or can we?

Aristoteles · #7 November 9th, 2003, 10:40 AM

A little update:

THE "AI WEAKNESSES" LIST:
1. The AI is massing weak troops
2. The AI won't protect his pretender/commanders/priests/mages
3. The AI won't build forts, maybe 1-2 max, but that is very rare as well.
4. The AI's battlefield tactics could be better
((Example: You can use a few units and put them to the front, the AI will attack them with full force more than likely. Usually the AI's own missile units will kill some or more of its melee units.))
5. The AI is making very odd things. IE. wandering around with his pretender alone from province to province ((the pretender is surely not doing anything, since it is moving in all turns. - and it is doing this in the border provinces! - the AI pretenders are all dead before turn 20-40 ususally.))
6. The AI won't stay in a province, it is always moving his armies.
7. The AI won't make complex strategic maneuvers. IE. Making a focused attack against a province.
8. The AI won't equip his supercombatants..at least I've never seen that in the demo.
9. The AI is building too many temples ((??????? This is good or bad, I cannot decide.))
10. The AI won't search for magical sites? ((I am not exactly sure, but I have never noticed, that the AI searched for magical sites.))

[ November 09, 2003, 08:44: Message edited by: Aristoteles ]