AI as a pluggin?

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All Forums >> [Current Games From Matrix.] >> [World War II] >> Steel Panthers World At War & Mega Campaigns >> AI as a pluggin?

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AI as a pluggin? - 7/1/2001 3:53:00 PM

Monte

Posts: 21
Joined: 7/1/2001
From: Ottawa, Canada
Status: offline

Hi everybody First of all, thanks to Matrix and everybody else who did such a wonderful thin to SP. I had such a great time with SP series. And SPWaW is definitely a leap forward. I recently stumbled upon Matrix web site, downloaded and played 5.3 for last couple of days. This is completely different beast. While SSI tried to create more of a "fun" game and to increase playability, SPWaW goes for realistic modeling. All nice and fine, what I've seen so far is very pleasing. And challenging, with 5.3 superhero crews :rolleyes:. Except for AI on defense. I don't do PBEM, so I am stuck with it. Computer is way better opponent now, with all improvements Matrix folks did to the OOBs and to the AI itself. The fact that tanks don't stand staticaly on defence is very welcome. But... AI tends to use them quite aggressively, even when odds are against them. I've seen tank rushes without the support of the infantry in meeting engagements. One waits for the tank rush, deals with them, and then goes after the grunts... predictable. So, I wondered how can loyal userbase help Matrix improve on AI. I know that you guys can not publish source of the engine because of the copyright issues. But how about opening doors just enough that you everybody can benefit from the open source concept? The idea would be to publish an interface for AI (it can be a separate process, or dll), maybe publish source for current AI as a template, and allow third-party develpers to come with improvements. Or come with a country-tailored AIs, for instance. Maybe it is impossible with Pinto engine, maybe it is just to much work, maybe it's feature for new engine that Matrix is developing... Maybe I am asking for something that was asked for long time ago... Sorry if that is the case. I've read the forum messages, and energy and dedication from the user base is simply astonishing. I have no doubt that there would be no problems finding testers for tweaked AI's... Please consider.

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Post #: 1

- 7/1/2001 4:20:00 PM

Don

Posts: 810
Joined: 7/12/2000
From: Elk Grove, CA (near Sacramento)
Status: offline

Someone brought up the "open-source" issue a while back, and while I can't remmeber why I do remember Paul saying that would not be done. They are working on a new game though, Combat Leader, which hopefully will have a better AI and all the other things we want in SPWAW.

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Don "Sapper" Llewellyn

(in reply to Monte)

Post #: 2

- 7/1/2001 10:12:00 PM

Monte

Posts: 21
Joined: 7/1/2001
From: Ottawa, Canada
Status: offline

Don, Once something is "open source", nobody can make any money out of it. And I do understand that. Matrix lives with the legacy of the SSI engine, and these guys need to develop their own engine if they want to sell the full game. But let me clarify a couple of points: - I wasn't asking Matrix to fully open their code. I was asking them to allow other designers to interface with their engine (mind you, you still need to buy that engine for third-party pluggin to work). - The concept of pluggins is nothing new, other guys have done it long time ago. Outside of the gaming industry, that is. Even Microsoft allows you to write extensions for their products, Office suite being the nice example. And Microsoft is the most profitable software development company in the history. - Matrix should still develop and test the official AI, as far as I'm concerned. If they do some clever software structuring, they can hope that somebody else can write good alternate AI in the future. Improved alternate AI can not harm Matrix interests, users still need to buy the original game. - I see AI as the single most boring, work-intensive and tedious job when writing such a game. And you can't please everybody. The idea here is that customized AI for different tasks/countries can easily be made better than generic AI which tries to deal with everything in every situation. Matrix does not have resources to cope with multiple AI's. Fans might. I still think that Matrix should consider "opening" their new engine in the future. To expect them to do code restructuring now for SPWaW might be to much, but it is not to late for the new engine. And that is the main reason why I raising this question now.

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(in reply to Monte)

Post #: 3