Artificial Intelligence

**cupoftea** · March 17, 2009, 03:37 PM

Back in the days of AOE2, when u played on very hard, that meant that you would be attacked by hundreds of soldiers, almost being unable to fight back. Units didn't got a special boost in combat, the AI just acted smarter, more agressive. That game's like 10 years old, why is it that hard for more modern game to match the AI that AOE had? To be fair, you would think that the AI would have gotten a boost by now, but nooo...

Is it really that hard for a company to make a decent AI?

**Thanatos** · March 17, 2009, 03:45 PM

Cheating has, and is now, an easy cop-out for people to supposedly claim they have a good AI.

**God-Emperor of Mankind** · March 17, 2009, 03:57 PM

Well the AI cheated back then as it does now.
The AI in AoE2 was not smarter, it just cheated even more.
To answer the question, yes it is still hard to program a good AI.
Since the games are getting bigger and bigger and usually alot more complex, programming a AI to actually handle all these new features properly takes alot of time.
And time isn't something developers have.
Cheating AI is something that will always be there if players want a challenge since a pre-scripted AI can't beat a human fairly.
Civ 3 I think it was and Galatic civilization 1 was a nice example of a cheating AI where the AI got alot of bonuses even on the most easiest settings and those games are hailed for having a great AI.

**D.B. Cooper** · March 17, 2009, 04:12 PM

Originally Posted by cupoftea

That game's like 10 years old, why is it that hard for more modern game to match the AI that AOE had?

Is it really that hard for a company to make a decent AI?

Games were simpler back then, and a tough AI code was easier to make. It's not so easy now, since modern games are quite complex.

**HMD Temeraire** · March 17, 2009, 04:18 PM

Right now with how complicated games are getting no computer would be able to beat a human without cheating. All the total wars are a good example of this.

**The Good** · March 17, 2009, 04:17 PM

I notice this about modern AI in games as well. The Total War series is unfortunately a good example of this, however beloved it is to the majority of us.

**eddy_purpus** · March 17, 2009, 04:46 PM

Games are so complex today ...
that we need more than 5 programmers in a studio...
they should put at least 10 of them...
im not even kidding..
if TW released a go AI game ... it would sell more copies .. but i dunno what they are thinking ... they release their games buggy as hell ( no game is perfect let me say ) but man... at least remove some bugs when releasing

instead of telling people in made AARs made by the devs..

**C-Rob** · March 17, 2009, 05:21 PM

Same for Civilization. I mean, on SID the AI didn't act smarter, it just had thirty starting units, aggression, and huge cash/food/shield bonuses.

Same for the Total War series. I think even MORE despicable than Civilization's.

I believe you hit the nail on the head. There needs to be smarter AI.

Templar Crusader- You're full of crap. It couldn't be THAT hard.

Hey, did Starcraft give the AI bonus' other than super-human reflexes?

**Thanatos** · March 17, 2009, 05:44 PM

Starcraft let the AI know where you were. It had no fog of war. It also gave the enemy more resources, I believe.

**God-Emperor of Mankind** · March 17, 2009, 05:46 PM

Originally Posted by Thanatos

Starcraft let the AI know where you were. It had no fog of war. It also gave the enemy more resources, I believe.

Same as in AoE.
Infact I think it has unlimited resources in AoE because it's impossible to starve the AI out.

**vizi** · March 18, 2009, 02:53 PM

Originally Posted by Thanatos

Starcraft let the AI know where you were. It had no fog of war. It also gave the enemy more resources, I believe.

You could play the computer in Starcraft?

*shock*

**gambit** · March 17, 2009, 05:46 PM

Some computers just have the advantage of being a computer. In the few seconds it takes me to click on a building and recruit some units (in an RTS) a computers already recruited different units in different buildings, sent builders to build more buildings and is commanding an army all at once.

**Freddie** · March 17, 2009, 06:05 PM