Allied CPU Players? Yea or Nay?

[Revenantus]

Would you like to see Allied CPU Players in AI War?

Would they be subject to the same constraints as the human players, and required to harvest resources and build ships in the same manner as us? Or would they play by their own unique ruleset? If possible, post ideas for this new ruleset.

How much control do you think the player should have over their allies? Should they be relatively independent, or should their actions be largely dictated by player commands?

Are there any interface tweaks or features you'd like to see implemented specifically in relation to Allied CPUs?

How do you feel that Allied CPUs would enhance the gameplay experience?

[PhilRoi]

i have seen discussions about a possible 3rd party AI.  that does its own things for inexplicable reasons...   Perhaps they can be enlisted as an ally?

[Revenantus]

I like the idea of a third party, such as the Zinth, but I think that idea is distinct from the idea of Allied Humans who are also working to defeat the AI.

[x4000]

I like the idea of a third party, such as the Zinth, but I think that idea is distinct from the idea of Allied Humans who are also working to defeat the AI.

Correct.

Also, the likelihood of the first option (of an AI playing by the same rules as the humans) has about a 0.001% chance of ever happening.  That's just not in line with how I program AI, unfortunately.  I could approximate some aspects of that, but I'd basically shortcut a lot of the economic management with some unique structures to this sort of AI ally.

[PhilRoi]

yeah, i guess it boils down to do you want. a simulated human AI using human economics,  CPU AI adapted to work as an allied player using CPU economics,  or create a hybrid if the two (simulated Mechanics that look human with human type resource buildings strewn around but really aren't),  or something different all together?

I'm guessing for the simplest coding that it would be a CPU AI adapted to look like  a human economy,  the mechanics don't really have to work,  it just has to seem reasonable to the human players right X?

but there will be differences since a true human economy AI would have to be coded from scratch and I think X wants it as easy to do as possible and still be fun.  so creating an "android" race of independently thinking, human sympathetic synthetics lets you argue away those inconsistencies without having to worry about fixing them.  They sorta seem to do things the "human" way but also seem to do things the "AI" way......


Personally i don't care either way, if there is an allied AI or not. It's not that important to me personally.  yes i can see it adding something to the game, especially those playing single player games.   but it definitely sounds like an expansion thing to me.

[x4000]

I'm guessing for the simplest coding that it would be a CPU AI adapted to look like  a human economy,  the mechanics don't really have to work,  it just has to seem reasonable to the human players right X?

but there will be differences since a true human economy AI would have to be coded from scratch and I think X wants it as easy to do as possible and still be fun.  so creating an "android" race of independently thinking, human sympathetic synthetics lets you argue away those inconsistencies without having to worry about fixing them.  They sorta seem to do things the "human" way but also seem to do things the "AI" way.....

Bingo.  Most AI systems take months to code, especially economic simulations like that, and I really don't want to devote that kind of time to such a peripheral feature.  Hence a hybrid approach like what you are describing seems ideal to me, the best of both worlds.

[Revenantus]

I primarily play single player and I'm not especially interested in this feature - it seems like an elaborate way of introducing a large number of ships and map resources that I don't have explicit control of. It doesn't represent the same type of teamwork and coordination that multiplayer does.

[Haagenti]

How about AIs that have simply left the Collective and have a Non-Agression Pact with the Humans. They use the same rules as the normal AIs. The only difference is that they will not attack the humans, but they will attack the Collective AIs. They see the humans as useful tools, but beneath their dignity to talk to, let alone ally with. At some point, they *may* betray the humans and rejoin the collective. Or a Collective AI may split into two factions.

That shouldn't be too hard to code and/or maintain. If it works make it possible for a game to have only AI players: The AI Wars Terrarium.

[x4000]

That shouldn't be too hard to code and/or maintain. If it works make it possible for a game to have only AI players: The AI Wars Terrarium.

Yeah, that would work.  And "The AI War Terrarium" is hilarious.

[Revenantus]

Even the two starting AIs don't necessarily have to be friendly towards each other, there's plenty of scope for designing a diplomacy system in there.

[x4000]

Even the two starting AIs don't necessarily have to be friendly towards each other, there's plenty of scope for designing a diplomacy system in there.

Yeah... but I've never really been impressed with that with any other RTS title I've played.  It always sounded cool, but I don't have a model in mind that would be better than what I've seen done elsewhere.

[Revenantus]

Even the two starting AIs don't necessarily have to be friendly towards each other, there's plenty of scope for designing a diplomacy system in there.

Yeah... but I've never really been impressed with that with any other RTS title I've played.  It always sounded cool, but I don't have a model in mind that would be better than what I've seen done elsewhere.

You have ample time to invent one, just scanning the Future DLC there's probably about 18 months / 3 expansions worth of content I'd rather have before even considering Allied Humans .

[x4000]

Yeah, that's kind of my thought, too.