felicity
Scholar
- Joined
- Dec 16, 2008
- Messages
- 339
Is there any? I know many games are difficult, but they are difficult not because the AI is clever, but either because i) it’s scripted, like a lot of wargames; ii) AI has numerical advantage, i.e. most games. What I’m looking for is an AI that can beat a player who is already familiar with the basic game mechanics, one on one, no cheating, bias, scripts or places artificial restrictions on player. In most tactical and strategy games, the AI simply throws suicide squads at player. The AI isn't capable of foreseeing and predicting situations. No concept of keeping reserves, bad moves and wasted moves all the time. Even in JA2 and UFO, the AI's have the absolute numerical advantage over player yet it can't produce a coherent attack plan.
Only a few games I know have AI come close to being 'competent'. One of my favorite, the Japanese tactical game Vantage Master (VM) has an AI that is pretty good at predicting moves and conducting cooperative moves. VM's AI beat me fair and square. Granted I was inexperience, still it’s impressive since in many other games if I have the basics down, it's rare for the AI to beat me one on one without cheat or numerical advantage. In VM’s expert mode where AI gets some terrain advantage, but otherwise receives no benefits exclusive to player, the game gets really challenging. VM’s AI is unique in this aspect that I have never found in other games. I’m going to use my VM experience to explain what I consider a good AI.
These are the characteristics of what I call a good AI. Do you know any games with an AI that is capable of similar pattern of behaviors? (Chess don’t count)
Only a few games I know have AI come close to being 'competent'. One of my favorite, the Japanese tactical game Vantage Master (VM) has an AI that is pretty good at predicting moves and conducting cooperative moves. VM's AI beat me fair and square. Granted I was inexperience, still it’s impressive since in many other games if I have the basics down, it's rare for the AI to beat me one on one without cheat or numerical advantage. In VM’s expert mode where AI gets some terrain advantage, but otherwise receives no benefits exclusive to player, the game gets really challenging. VM’s AI is unique in this aspect that I have never found in other games. I’m going to use my VM experience to explain what I consider a good AI.
- Prediction: able to 'think' ahead of the current events. Example, I used my griffin to attack the rear of an AI unit, AI responded by summoning a new unit. I was not bothered by this move because I knew my griffin is not going to be killed by one hit, but to my surprised, that summoned unit moved two times before my griffin could act again due to the long cool down of my griffin's previous action. The AI predicted correctly - his newly summon unit could move two times before my griffin could act.
- Adaptive: able to response to map features, player's moves, able to produce counter strategy. Example, VM's AI focus on summoning flying unit when it plans to assault a high ground, and when it's controlling the high ground, it summons more archery units. Summon fast units if it's a big map. Always try to summon units that counter player’s units. There is one map where I sieved the high ground, where AI controlled the more ‘fertile’ low ground. I had many archers but AI was able to hide behind some pillar objects to avoid being targeted most of the time.
- Analytic: able to determine the best move; recognize threats priority, concept of time and battle line, exploits player's weakness. VM's AI is pretty good in this regard, it doesn't attack relentlessly, always try to keep its master out of harm’s way. It only attacks if the odd is favorable or at least fair else it would order its units to stay put or retreat, when it attacks, you can see that the AI takes calculated risk rather than beating around the bush and hope it has killed something in the process.
- Organize: capable of treating units as an organic group, conducting cooperative moves, maintaining battle line, able to access situations strategically. VM’s AI knows how to use other units to block line of sight to prevent range attack, using zone of control to protect vulnerable units; using unit as bait to lure powerful foe and then isolate it. It keeps reserve forces and always try to keep units within support range of each other.
- Inventive: capable of utilizing its arsenals to their full capacity. A good indicator of this characteristic is being able to utilize different means to achieve objective other than direct assault. VM’s AI utilizes ZoC(zone of control) to block movement, not just defensively, but also aggressively (block the path so enemies cannot reinforce or retreat). It can use crowd control magic with some efficiency. In some rare occasions, it is capable of surprising player by using subtle magic like uptide/downtide, i.e. spells that radically changes the waterlevel, thus the landscape of the battlefield. I have had my fire unit trapped in water and drowned to death, or water unit dried on land by AI casting this spell. In VMJ, a sequel to VM, the AI utilizes the Charm spell very efficiently (Charm is a spell that causes an enemy unit to turn over temporary). It also knows how to counter player’s Charm spell. It’s interesting that I have found instead of using my Charm spell aggressively, it’s better to keep it in reserve. The reason is similar to nuclear bomb. If I haven’t used it up, the AI has to worry about the spell and be more cautious, it keeps the AI on guard.
These are the characteristics of what I call a good AI. Do you know any games with an AI that is capable of similar pattern of behaviors? (Chess don’t count)
