AI/Bots and Ideas

[Unit2209]

Well why not use AI. They can be used to make something for offline play and will make a fun online co-op mode. But please don’t make this the only thing in the game, we still want some good PVP shootem up. Don't tell me it will be 2 hard to code custom maps, because it’s not.

Some type of punch, with the bunt of the weapon or with fists. Nothing feels better than sneaking up and punching a guy’s spine. A simple type of death animation that is different from being shot when you are killed this way.

The editor should be similar to the older editors because if it’s not broken don’t fix it. Your editors always seem easy to use and fun for everyone.

No leveling, but a stats system that can track your kills, deaths and even silly things like how far you have flown after getting hit with a rocket.

Don’t forget to use humor.
Unit2209.

[Trackmaniack]

We can tell you it will be too difficult to code for this gametype because it is...not to be rude, but you sound like you're giving an ultimatum. "Put bots in! It's not too hard to code, and don't you DARE tell me otherwise..." You do know the core of the Nadeo staff is like, what, 4 guys, maybe? Not several hundred like the staff at Ubisoft or EA that produce games like Halo and Counterstrike.

[Unit2209]

I have used forums and I get tired of people saying "What about this?" I just didnt want to be a Q&A guy.

@Trackmaniack
If I sound that way in my posts then I am sorry. But the problems that are presented to me have a easy fix and I dont understand how anyone can see the bugs in a AI that isnt even coded. And if you think AI will break the game tell me how it would and I will see if there is a solution.

[Trackmaniack]

Two questions:
Are you non-American? Your English grammar sounds a little choppy, just out of curiosity.
Are you some sort of tech person? You act like you have a grand repository of knowledge on how AI is supposed to work and that we should take your opinion at face value.

[Unit2209]

Yes I know about how AI code works but I do not think of my self as some super coder.

What about you? You do know what you are talking about right?

[Trackmaniack]

*nodnods* I do. Coding AI mods for such games as the aforementioned Halo, working on SW:Galactic Battlegrounds (yes it's old but it had an AI editor much like ManiaScript) Sure I'm not perfect, but I know what works and what doesn't. And to me, not only do my points still stand, but it just feels better to have Nadeo focusing on making this an epic multiplayer experience, rather than using resources towards some sort of singleplayer mode that may or may not work.

[tcq]

Finally someone who prefers RI over AI!
I totally agree with that one.
There are hundreds of games with stupid bots in it, real people are so much more interesting.
Let Nadeo plz make a game that is not like those other games, and where the human interaction is in the center.

Still, bots can be coded very nice, if i remember UT2003, which i only played in the single player. But to get back to SM. I really think, due to the mentioned factors,it would be pretty hard to create an AI for this game. Maybe you can do simple AIs, if you code a simple game mode with mania script (e.g. run from a to b and see which person gets first the flag or so).

[Unit2209]

@tcq
Yes that’s it! Smart AI will suck for a game like this. If they are 2 complex then they will come up with all sorts of errors from the custom maps.
If there is AI it needs to be simple and flexible.

[Trackmaniack]

@tcq
Yes that’s it! Smart AI will suck for a game like this. If they are 2 complex then they will come up with all sorts of errors from the custom maps.
If there is AI it needs to be simple and flexible.

Simple AI, by nature, isn't going to be contortionally flexible...and if it's simplistic enough to be functional in all situations, it's not going to be functional as a full-on replacement for human warriors, it simply won't have the level of behaviors--it'll be more as moving dummies for testing purposes until you get your map onto the online battlezone.

[Naimisrepus]

So your only argument against it is "humans are better".

I'm sorry, that's a non-argument that doesn't even begin to address the question. You're dodging the core issue and acting as if you're some kind of expert on the inner workings of a game when you and I both have zero idea how it even works.

AI and bots don't have to be a replacement for players. I don't get why you are thinking this. There are plenty of perfectly good examples of standard co-op that functions perfectly well as a multiplayer experience. There are even plenty of examples of bots and humans working together. Why can't this game be both? Why must this game be divided up along absolutes just because you don't like something that other people like? Shouldn't it ultimately be up to the mapmaker what kind of gamemode he wants to design?

It just seems like you want another yet another Halo or COD knockoff where two players in a closed-off map throw standard hitscan bullets at each other. In which case I can pretty much direct you to any arena game ever made.