Pczone info

[Markas]

Dunno if this is new to anyone but the bit about Merchants seemed interesting. http://www.computerandvideogames.com...42571&skip=yes

[The White Knight]

Dunno if this is new to anyone but the bit about Merchants seemed interesting. http://www.computerandvideogames.com...42571&skip=yes

Thank you, it has interesting information, though I don't know if it's new.

"Click on any faction on the map and it'll give you a voiceover that reflects how it feels towards you. If a nation is amenable to you, they'll greet you, while a hostile nation will be far more aggressive. You'll no longer have to use the Diplomacy screen to find out how a nation feels."

I like this concept BUT it will depend on the voice-acting if it works out.


All in all I think this is great!

[Markas]

The monopoly-like sub-game interested me most as it will make a nice distraction from clobbering people around the head with a flanged mace. Also, it'll differeniate factions like Venice if they start with two or three free merchants to represent their trading prowess.

[shenmueguru]

"We're making the campaign map AI far more proactive than before. You'll find that your homeland will be attacked a lot more. Your enemies may stick a large army on a fleet and come and attack you at your main city. That's why all of the city fortifications you've built up for your main cities will become far more important this time around,"

Always good to hear, however much you take it with :hmmm:

[Shaun]

"Click on any faction on the map and it'll give you a voiceover that reflects how it feels towards you. If a nation is amenable to you, they'll greet you, while a hostile nation will be far more aggressive. You'll no longer have to use the Diplomacy screen to find out how a nation feels."

While I do agree that its a good idea, there are far greater things that need to be worked on in the RTW engine like the AI. Its things like this that shows who CAs type of customers are.

[The White Knight]

While I do agree that its a good idea, there are far greater things that need to be worked on in the RTW engine like the AI. Its things like this that shows who CAs type of customers are.

Costumers who like an advanced diplomacy system? I do!

[Lusted]

Well given the fact Ca have said they are focusing on the ai from now til November, i think we can be hopeful that it will be quite improved fromt he RTW ai.

[Ewan]

a nice wee quick read

[Ringeck]

That perked me up re M2:TW and made it pretty apparent that even my year-old PC, that runs EB smoothly, needs a facelift for this game.

I think I'll (have someone) mod the witches right out of the game ASAP, though. Heretics is more medieval; it those darn 17th century protestants that want to fry the goodwomen.

[Tritio]

Death! Doom! Dispair! (a.k.a. I've got a bad feeling about this)

It's a nice article, but what strikes me the hardest is that the AI is hardly mentioned at all. Read the article another time and you'll realise that the majority of it dwells on anything other than AI. Heck, the words 'AI' are only mentioned in the fifth paragraph, and that is only in conjunction with the Diplomatic AI! It then lapses into mumbling about generals, prisoners, the campaign map, the economy aaaand animations before this:

"We're making the campaign map AI far more proactive than before.

This... this... little snippet on how the AI is going to be more proactive than before.
To cap it off, the descriptions of the battles hardly talks about the Tactical AI either, except for a limp "dispatches an attempted foot soldier diversion, leaving the French mounted knights isolated and vulnerable." then proceeds with more mumbling about corpses and the like. The article is not even clear (to me) on whether the author played the battle, or if it's a movie style sit-and-watch (suggested by the words "I sit through three battles", and "cinematic")

In the final paragraphs about battles, the author kindly provides us with a sentence illustrating perfectly where the focus of the article and/or the developers are going:

What strikes me most though isn't the French tactical naivety, but the breathtaking level of detail that these battles contain.

Good heavens, man! What about the AI!? *shakes the author*

[Lusted]

Despite the fact the word Ai isn't mentioned much, the article does give a lot of information about how the ai is being improved, and also how the game will improve over RTW. It mentions they are improving the diplomatic AI, the improved traits system, merchants, heretics and witches, assasination vids, the proactive campaign AI so you won tbe comfortable once you've got a large empire, the fact that once you get big other smaller nations will gang up on you. And as for the sit through thing wit hthe battles, i believe he is being taken through the battles by a member of CA. It also mentions how the ai will look at the terrain and use it to its advantage. Now i'd hardly call all of that cause for doom and despair would you?

[Tritio]

Well, what I'd have looked for was a nice reassuring statement somewhere along the lines of "We recognise that the AI is important and we're working/have worked on it." Instead, what we can see is that there is no clear focus on the AI in the article, just bits and pieces here and there.

As you mentioned, there was diplomatic AI, proactive AI, terrain-recognising AI, and "invade your heartlands" AI. Hardly what I would term "a lot". They are, as I mentioned, just snippets, lacking any detail whatsoever. The "gang-up-as-you-get-big" mechanic isn't very AI-like.

Yes, my first line was just a rather showy dramatic opening, I admit. But I do have bad feelings about it. Anyway, the rest of the features are indeed things to look forward to.

[Fuji]

What strikes me most though isn't the French tactical naivety, but the breathtaking level of detail that these battles contain.

EH this doesn't really sounds so good...

[Lusted]

Trito, your kidding me right, they've said time and time again, from now til Novemeber they are FOCUSING, eg concentrating their efforts on, DUN DUN DUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!! improving the ai. They've said they realise the diplomacy ai in RTW wasn't up to scratch, and they are improving it. They have realised that after you got a certain amount of provinces you were pretty much unstoppable, and they are improving the ai so the game is tough throughout. They're realised the ai didn't use terrain well in RTW and are improving the ai so it does. That sounds like they are improving the ai to me, and in ways to improve the game. And given the statementd they've made about focusing on it from now on, im not surprised the build the author of this article played had relatively poor ai, AS CA ARE STILL WORKING ON IT. Ill base my view of the ai, once ive played the full game, because only then will we know what it really is like.

[Tritio]

Cool down... Relax, sir (edit) Quaestor.

they've said time and time again, from now til Novemeber they are FOCUSING, eg concentrating their efforts on, DUN DUN DUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!! improving the ai

Would you mind telling me where they mentioned that? I haven't seen a statement to such an effect, and I would be most pleased to see it.

Aaaaaand, if you've noticed, my first post (and my ire) was directed entirely at the article, and it's lack of coverage on the AI. This suggests that either the author or the people who briefed him (I'm not sure who) didn't care too much about publicising information about the AI, which would be just the thing I would be interested in. Tsk tsk...

[God-Emperor of Mankind]

Cool down... Relax, sir (edit) Quaestor.
Would you mind telling me where they mentioned that? I haven't seen a statement to such an effect, and I would be most pleased to see it.

http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=51648
For someone who spoke to CA during E3

What CA has done so far are mostly the basics, like the units, modelling and skinning etc. They were now going to work on the AI and that they'll have till winter to work on that. (Because almost all other work on the game is done now, sooner then expected)

[Tritio]

Ahh... that it! Much better... Much better indeed. Well, that's satisfied me. Hope they do a good job.

[Asmodius]

I have a revelation for you! The AI will still suck and we will all be ****** about it! But the graphics will be nice! I bet 5 billion isk on it.

[Markas]

Geez what are people expecting from the A.I? C.A can hardly ship every copy of MTW2 with a Brain in a jar surrounded by flashing lights... Or perhaps HAL from 2001- A space Odyssey.

[Lusted]

Why isk? Most of us don't play EVE online you know.