Just lookin for some suggestions... What would be the best way to implement an AI into a football game similiar to the old Techmo Super Bowl games? I would like somethin a little smarter..from what I can see in the Techmo games is that the players(dback, lineman, ect..) must have been programmed to do the same thing no matter what. Example...the defense picks a prevent play(guard against a deep pass for those of you not familiar with it) but the offense picked a run play....there was no reaction by the defense until the player reaches the line of scrimmage then every player on the defense makes a dead straight line for the player at the speed of light but the offense(if you had barry sanders, emmit smith, ect) would always pick up a huge gain....now this is probably the easiest way to go about it but i would like to throw in a few more possibilities...make it a little more intelligent AI. anyway thanks for any suggestions.

You will want to use a FSM (finite state machine) design.
For the defensive AI, I would start with the line of scrimage and the spot at which the ball is spiked. The line cood be represented as y and the place where the ball is snapped is x,y. Based on the formation that is chosen, each player moves to a spot relative to (x,y)
Now there are 2 basic types of defence, man and zone.
These are the two basic states.
On a zone defence, have the defensive players run out to predefined spots that are relative to (x,y) and if anyone is in the players "zone", the defensive player will move in.
For man coverage, the player will use an alteration of the chase algorithm to stay on the player, leaving space, if that is desired by the play.
Now if the offence decides to run, the line backers and at least one of the safeties will immediately attack the ball. Corners only attack when the runner is passed the line, to pervent flee flickers and HB options.

That''s about it. I''m a strong AI programmer and a 3D graphics guy, so if you need help e-mail me.

I am a football junkie, an know a lot about offensive and defensive strategy.

dominque@wam.umd.edu

Domini