Why are NPC''s so stupid? IOL/NPCAI is trying to change this, but what do you think would help to make smarter NPC''s? NPC''s should be your enemies as well as your friends. Every creature you meet has an intelligence and should therefore be treated thusly. I would like to see some initiative from my foes, not unlimited mindless masses. What are your thoughts? -Chris Bennett of Dwarfsoft - Site:"The Philosophers' Stone of Programming Alchemy" - IOL The future of RPGs - Thanks to all the goblins over in our little Game Design Corner niche           

In battle, NPCs should flee and look for help when you hurt them badly enough instead of just taking it...like in Thief. Certain NPCs could also be more courageous than others. Some may fight to the death while others flee after only a couple hits.



""You see... I'm not crazy... you see?!? Nazrix believes me!" --Wavinator

Need help? Well, go FAQ yourself.

They should also be able to lead you into traps

-Chris Bennett of Dwarfsoft - Site:"The Philosophers' Stone of Programming Alchemy" - IOL
The future of RPGs - Thanks to all the goblins over in our little Game Design Corner niche
          

Mmmm, I like your ideas guys. A lot. But as long as I dont see anything done, nor a way to start somewhere, I''ll believe this is still just talking. Not bullshit, but talk. I''d like to see some code... jsut a little bit ?
I am starting my Master, at last, in a week. My focus will be on group behaviours in games. So needless to say, I''ll try to somehow insert something about NPCs I really really wanna do that.
Do you have any theory, code, or even detailed design of what we could do for a start ?

youpla :-P

quote: Original post by dwarfsoft

They should also be able to lead you into traps

-Chris Bennett of Dwarfsoft - Site:"The Philosophers'' Stone of Programming Alchemy" - IOL
The future of RPGs - Thanks to all the goblins over in our little Game Design Corner niche
          

Good one, dwarf I never thought of that. That has some tremendous possibilities!




""You see... I'm not crazy... you see?!? Nazrix believes me!" --Wavinator

Need help? Well, go FAQ yourself.

quote: Original post by ahw

Mmmm, I like your ideas guys. A lot. But as long as I dont see anything done, nor a way to start somewhere, I'll believe this is still just talking. Not bullshit, but talk. I'd like to see some code... jsut a little bit ?
I am starting my Master, at last, in a week. My focus will be on group behaviours in games. So needless to say, I'll try to somehow insert something about NPCs I really really wanna do that.
Do you have any theory, code, or even detailed design of what we could do for a start ?

youpla :-P

I could be wrong, but it always seems to me that the code to do AI is not anywhere near as hard as coming up w/ the ideas unless we're talking about neural nets and the like. Plus, AI is usually specific to the particular game....don't ya think?

Like I am currently implementing a linked list that handles what the NPCs do and what priority they are, so it executes the action w/ the highest priority. The code's not that complicated, but it's just deciding what you want the AI to do.



""You see... I'm not crazy... you see?!? Nazrix believes me!" --Wavinator

Need help? Well, go FAQ yourself.


Edited by - Nazrix on October 19, 2000 9:43:46 PM

With AI, there''s not so much a right or wrong way to code an idea, as there is w/ displaying graphics or making sound.



""You see... I'm not crazy... you see?!? Nazrix believes me!" --Wavinator

Need help? Well, go FAQ yourself.

The code isn't quite there, but the plans have been written up. IOL (or Illusion Of Life), formerly NPCAI, is trying to achieve a bit of an advance in the current ways of things. Coding is due to begin soon, so we are not idle .

It is not using NN or anything like that.

Naz - are you on the list at IOL (we have over 70 people there, but only 5 really talk). I never know who is who there, I just know Ingenu as his name and email are the same. We are using an event-priority queue for the NPC's. It is quite an interesting design in all

-Chris Bennett of Dwarfsoft - Site:"The Philosophers' Stone of Programming Alchemy" - IOL
The future of RPGs - Thanks to all the goblins over in our little Game Design Corner niche
          

Edited by - dwarfsoft on October 19, 2000 10:43:40 PM

Hi,

First, you might want to have a look at AI: State of the industry (1999, Gamasutra) or read ''Game Developer'' August 200 which got the major article about Game AI.

As it is, AI is taking a bigger and bigger part in games so it is most likely what we''re talking here already being implemented somewhere. However, notice that AI is still getting only small precentage from the CPU cycles as the game engine suppose to take care of a million other things at that time.

The more advanced AI techniques is actually found in the Academic field, but game developers are not really embracing them cause they are slow and very ''expensive'' from CPU usage point of view. However have a look at http://www.researchindex.com for some very good academic articles.

Also look at http://www.cfxweb.net/pages/Articles/AI/ for more AI articles related to game industry.

Cheers,


---
Ohad Barzilay, aka Civax / CFXweb, http://www.cfxweb.net

I know that AI is getting better in games, but not the games that I want. RPG''s and Isometric games tend to show little of what they are capable of. FPS games have bots which run around and are generally cool on the whole, wehras RPG''s end up with townsfolk that walk backward and forward in a continuous pattern. What the hell is with this? All I want is some intelligence to challenge my intellect in RPGs. Is it really that much to ask for? Enemies act so stupidly that they deserve to get slaughtered, I just want an opponent who wants to live, not die.

I agree that AI is getting better, but hell! It needs to move into RPGs rather than whatever the hell it is currently occupied in instead.

Just my rant

-Chris Bennett of Dwarfsoft - Site:"The Philosophers' Stone of Programming Alchemy" - IOL
The future of RPGs - Thanks to all the goblins over in our little Game Design Corner niche