Single player question/

[Gandalf Parker]

I gratly love moddable AIs. But the "hooks" for each action that the AI might "see" and then the variables for its reactions are extensive and usually have to be written into the game concept from the beginning.

But mentioning SEIV was a good reference. That level of AI wouldnt be too hard to program in and it would extend the game alot.

[NTJedi]

NTJedi said:
How I wish I could mod the AI into not sending its pretenders into the death match arena!

Heck I would be happy even turning off the death match arena event since the current prize is not worth the life of a good commander.
It's sad watching AI pretenders killing each other in the death match. The SP gamer will always benefit from a death match event as the AIs will send strong commanders, prophets and pretenders to their death.

[Dragonlord]

Oooh I loved Space Empires 4...

[Saxon]

And you get to see what the enemy gods are like in combat, without getting an underpowered army killed for the intelligence.

Do you ever pick up dropped magic items when you kill in the dath match? If you have a strong SC, you might be able to pick up a slew of items. I do not normally take part, so I don't know.

[HoneyBadger]

I am all for scriptable AIs, even though I am crap at designing them. I really hope and think it would be reasonable to expect that we get them by Dom4, but-ironically enough-you can make the AI in the game better, providing you're smarter than the AI Lots of things can be done to improve it indirectly, through map editing and nation editing-it would be great if some experienced person would take it upon themselves to redo a set of the current nations specifically for use by the AI, and that future modders then followed suit with new nations, creating 1 mod for the basic MP nation and 1 for the AI SP version. I would also love-and again it's pretty reasonable-if Arena Deathmatches could be toggled on and off at the beginning of games, either whole cow or on a per nation basis.

[Shovah32]

What i want to know is who calls the deathmatches?

[NTJedi]

Saxon said:
Do you ever pick up dropped magic items when you kill in the dath match? If you have a strong SC, you might be able to pick up a slew of items.

It's never good to send any commanders or mages into the death match unless the game only has 2 or 3 opponents. In a SP game with multiple nations most AI opponents can be expected to send its prophet or pretender where the final battle usually has two large AI pretenders fighting to the death. Currently the death match prize is just not worth sending anyone.
The death match should have a gem and/or gold prize increasing in value based on the number of nations attending and a cumulative increase based on the current game turn. This would make it worthwhile for human opponents to desire to win the death match challenge.

[Gandalf Parker]

Interesting idea. And it makes sense. Thats how such things usually go that there is a prize consistent to participants. However, that usually goes hand in hand with each contestant having to put into the pot.

Maybe it could be that each contestant has to put in one of..
A) 10 gems
B) 10 slaves
C) 100 gold

[NTJedi]

Gandalf Parker said:
Interesting idea. And it makes sense. Thats how such things usually go that there is a prize consistent to participants. However, that usually goes hand in hand with each contestant having to put into the pot.

Maybe it could be that each contestant has to put in one of..
A) 10 gems
B) 10 slaves
C) 100 gold

A fee for entering would make it less likely for weak and struggling nations to attend especially in MP games. I'm sure the independent party running the arena will easily make a gold profit from the death match from all the typical citizens paying to watch the death match.
Improving the prize would definitely encourage human players to attend whether SP or MP... and this would make the AIs sending their pretenders not a stupid decision.

[PvK]

The enigmatic Arenji...