XAI 4.0 released!

[xeryx]

Thanks sellmax, all of your suggestions are either in XAI, or we are unable to control that particular aspect of the AI. Great Ideas though!

Testing is going well, and we are tallying up any issues to get worked on. it is a slow process, but we want a minimal amount of issues when released. The great news though, is XAI has NEVER crashed a game!

Had tie to incorporate many new improvements to the sieges.

Lets just put it this way. I can now watch the AI defend and attack in a siege all by itself and do it smartly!. I use 2 attacking armies, one mine and an allies, then I just let them attack, and watch the AI repel the invaders. All without any scripting of the armies! It is pure AI behavior!

I will get you guys some screen shots this weekend!

[xeryx]

Hello guys, We are much closer to release. It's on it's way..very soon.

[Tyre]

Im really looking forward to it!! thanks mate

[thursgun]

Awesome I really really want to try this out. I think vanilla is a very good game if it wasn't for the AI. I'm tired of getting new factions from other mods just to get a good AI.

[g4m3m4st3r]

January 24, 2010 - April 5, 2010 well i think "soon" means a week or so but not 2 whole months. Anyway looking forward to the release, its still burning in me to try the new AI. Many thanks to the team.

[xeryx]

Yeah I know 2 months is a long time.
Unfortunately, real life for both me and testers has been delaying the progress.

I am currently waiting for more testing results from the last revision. It is close to final, but I have to make sure there are no major issues. Testing the XBAI takes time.

Don't worry, you will not be disappointed. But also realize we do have limitations within the game engine. There are still issues with it, we wish we could resolve. Maybe in time, we will. For now though you will just have to deal with equal force losses. And having to pause the game to keep up with the XBAI

Xeryx

[Glabro]

It's finally coming...and no worries that it took a bit longer than anticipated - modders need to have thicker skins anyway (and not get upset over fan clamor of missed "release dates").

Pausing...while I can certainly see that the AI should have the advantage of instantaneous decision-making, I'm not sure if the player should be required to rush his execution of commands (it takes quite a bit of time to select a unit and make it move to a location with the right facing and formation, and executing a plan with multiple units simultaneously in real time is impossible). I'm used to pausing...which is why I haven't gotten into multiplayer. If I could pause only to execute commands and not buy myself thinking time, that would be ideal, I guess.


All the main pieces of the game are in place now that the AI can do sieges. In my eyes, you have "completed" this game and I sincerely hope that you could somehow find a way to participate in the creation of future AI titles, though it might be impossible logistically (CA being based in the UK and Australia).

About the sieges, how large units can the sieges accommodate? I prefer extra-huge (modded to 1.66 times the size of Huge) units, and going from 200 per unit to 60 sounds depressing, but if in your opinion it's the only way to make the game work, I might consider it.

[xeryx]

Hello Glabro, good to see your input.

large units always work the best..for sieges..which we do feel your frustration..Hopefully that will get fixed with some other mod projects. I like the Huge units for epic feel of battles in the open though.

Pausing has never really been a necessity for me in most battles. However, since 3.4 to now, I find that I "must" pause in order to win many battles. If a player, wants to have a realistic challenge, then they should implement a "no pause" rule for their game play. Then they WILL lose in MANY situations, because the XBAI is Proactive, not Reactive.

[Glabro]

If a player, wants to have a realistic challenge, then they should implement a "no pause" rule for their game play. Then they WILL lose in MANY situations, because the XBAI is Proactive, not Reactive.

It is definitely realistic that that command & control in a medieval battlefield is not instantaneous. However, isn't it instantaneous for the AI? Ie. if it decides to advance all units to point X in formation Y facing Z, it happens with all units instantaneously, while the player will have to do half a minute of frantic clicking and dragging. Perhaps RTS speed masters are faster, but I'm not. This is to say nothing of the AI's reaction speed compared to my speed in case of a surprise.If, on the other hand, you say that such a "handicap" is factored in the AI, then no problem...I guess I will try to learn to be fast...but it should be speed with my brain that I train, not my mouse hand speed.

((That is to say, that the AI has the advantage of instantaneous C&C and lighting reactions, while the human player has long-term planning and lateral thinking.

[hick09]

will the xai 4.0 include only battle ai or the campaign ai too?

[Engel]

Really looking forward to this. Even Very hard is way too easy, especially on the battlefield. If been attacking with ai lead forces on the battlefield to make it more fair.

[xeryx]

@ Hick, it will be both, just read the first post for details.

@engel It will be more fair in battle, but more importantly within the campaign.

@thursgan, can you expand on what you said? because how does "getting new factions" make a mod any better if they all use the same AI??

@Tyre, Thanks Mate

We are working as quickly as possible, but want to maintain the quality. We have some "paperwork" to do for the release, once that is done..then we will release this version to the public! for fun and feedback!

[thursgun]

@thursgan, can you expand on what you said? because how does "getting new factions" make a mod any better if they all use the same AI??

getting new factions makes a mod better? when did I say that?

What I meant is the following: Take SS for instance. Great mod, but the main reason I installed it was the improved AI, not the new factions which slows down the turn waiting.

I'm waiting for this 4.0 to come out (which is why I have not installed any previous XAI versions). I'm interested only on the AI.

Anyway, I hope everything goes fine with the final development.

[Queen Annes Revenge]

Highly anticipating the release! I'll plug it into Retrofit right away.

[xeryx]

Yes development, is done for now. I need tons of feedback, and the biggest issues, I believe have been resolved. So once I finish the new instructions, and integration rules..I will be releasing both the BAI and CAI.

[xeryx]

It's ok you can still pause Glabro..I do just so I can keep up. That's what makes this a great RTS combat! The ability to pause, should not be abused though to give the human an unfair advantage.

Ladies and Gentleman, we are very close to release. I have rewritten the installation and integration instructions. Please take a look at them, and give me your opinion and vote. Release is imminent!! This weekend!!

I will be closing my filefront for downloads as I am switching to rapid share. The download link will be attached to my Signature logo, as always.

[BURNY26]

Good to hear that 4.0 is coming out this weekend . Im very curious . But might i enquiere why you dont make an easy install file like EXE or simple unpacking ? It is not that im too lazy ,it is just the very first time i need to do such a thing to try a mod out . +rep to you

[xeryx]

@ Burney26 It will be in a zip format and quite honestly the files are so small and there are only a few files. In general, an installer is a waste of time until you get into a much larger mod!

[Achilla]

Making separate installer is pretty useless, especially as people tend to screw up their installation by not installing the files where they belong (choosing wrong directory). We don't create a separate 'mod', but release AI enhancing files in different packages, which require personal touch to make them fully functional, on per-mod case.

[Wintermist]

Man, I'm excited. I figured out how to install the AI to the vanilla campaigns, so I'm like... release it.... release it...