| 1 |
I'm not going to put a hard limit on the number of AI difficulty levels. If you can make 9 difficulty levels which each justify their existence then I'm not going to get in the way. To justify the existence of a difficulty level I would require that it be substantially distinct from its adjacent levels. Here are some factors:
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1 |
I'm not going to put a hard limit on the number of AI difficulty levels. If you can make 9 difficulty levels which each justify their existence then I'm not going to get in the way. To justify the existence of a difficulty level I would require that it be substantially distinct from its adjacent levels. Here are some factors:
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| 2 |
* A player who has advanced just enough to reliably defeat level X should experience a new challenge when they switch to playing level X + 1.
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2 |
* A player who has advanced just enough to reliably defeat level X should experience a new challenge when they switch to playing level X + 1.
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| 3 |
* Level X + 1 should reliably beat level X (possibly, the first factor is more important).
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3 |
* Level X + 1 should reliably beat level X (possibly, the first factor is more important).
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| 4 |
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4 |
\n
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| 5 |
If
we
have
players
that
can
destroy
level
X
but
for
which
level
X
+
1
is
a
bit
beyond
them
then
we
don't
have
enough
difficulty
levels.
The
current
level
spacings
definitely
need
work.
We
may
be
able
to
get
away
with
four
well
spaced
levels
or
more
levels
may
be
required.
I
don't
know,
I
have
barely
looked
at
fixing
the
difficulty
of
Easy
and
Medium.
The
question
of
"how
many
levels"
is
one
of
the
last
questions
that
should
be
asked.
I
think
the
better
approach
is
to
make
some
well
spaced
levels
because
in
doing
this
we
will
discover
how
many
levels
are
required.
|
5 |
If
we
have
players
that
can
destroy
level
X
but
for
which
level
X
+
1
is
a
bit
beyond
them
then
we
don't
have
enough
difficulty
levels.
The
current
level
spacings
definitely
need
work.
We
may
be
able
to
get
away
with
four
well
spaced
levels
or
more
levels
may
be
required.
I
don't
know,
I
have
barely
looked
at
fixing
the
difficulty
of
Easy
and
Medium.
The
question
of
"how
many
levels"
is
one
of
the
last
questions
that
should
be
asked.
I
think
the
better
approach
is
to
make
some
well
spaced
levels
because
in
doing
this
we
will
discover
how
many
levels
are
required.
It
is
not
worthwhile
to
pick
out
issues
with
this
proposal
because
the
correct
approaches
will
be
uncovered
by
whoever
puts
the
work
in.
We
just
need
to
keep
in
mind
the
general
requirements.
|
| 6 |
\n
|
6 |
\n
|
| 7 |
@ShadowWolfTJC you seem keen. Your large list of 9 levels and their parameters is a starting point but you've listed some behaviours that are not all that important and others which aren't supported by the current configurations. It would be better to start messing around with the AIs, just to see what you come up with.
|
7 |
@ShadowWolfTJC you seem keen. Your large list of 9 levels and their parameters is a starting point but you've listed some behaviours that are not all that important and others which aren't supported by the current configurations. It would be better to start messing around with the AIs, just to see what you come up with.
|
| 8 |
\n
|
8 |
\n
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| 9 |
The simple way to edit the AI is to open "Spring/AI/Skirmish/CircuitAIHard32/stable/config/circuit.json" (or "Spring/AI/Skirmish/CircuitAIHard64/stable/config/circuit.json" for 64 bit linux) in a text editor. The Spring directory can be found through Help -> Report a bug -> Local data. Changes to these files will be used by the hard AI on each game launch. I don't know much about the parameters beyond what I have learned experimenting to make Very Easy. Sources on the internet will know about json.
|
9 |
The simple way to edit the AI is to open "Spring/AI/Skirmish/CircuitAIHard32/stable/config/circuit.json" (or "Spring/AI/Skirmish/CircuitAIHard64/stable/config/circuit.json" for 64 bit linux) in a text editor. The Spring directory can be found through Help -> Report a bug -> Local data. Changes to these files will be used by the hard AI on each game launch. I don't know much about the parameters beyond what I have learned experimenting to make Very Easy. Sources on the internet will know about json.
|
| 10 |
\n
|
10 |
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| 11 |
The simple editing suffers from a flaw: if the AIs are updated then your changes will be overridden. To avoid this copy everything from your edited AI into a new folder, such as "Spring/AI/Skirmish/CircuitAICustom32". Then edit "Spring/AI/Skirmish/CircuitAICustom32/stable/AiInfo.lua" in a text editor to update the shortName and name of the AI to not conflict with hard. To see your custom AI look in the lobby settings, under lobby or developer, and find the tickbox that reveals unsupported AIs in the AI selection menu.
|
11 |
The simple editing suffers from a flaw: if the AIs are updated then your changes will be overridden. To avoid this copy everything from your edited AI into a new folder, such as "Spring/AI/Skirmish/CircuitAICustom32". Then edit "Spring/AI/Skirmish/CircuitAICustom32/stable/AiInfo.lua" in a text editor to update the shortName and name of the AI to not conflict with hard. To see your custom AI look in the lobby settings, under lobby or developer, and find the tickbox that reveals unsupported AIs in the AI selection menu.
|
| 12 |
\n
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12 |
\n
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| 13 |
I don't know how to configure most of the behaviour you suggest but I think a lot of it is possible. Try using a diff tool on Very Easy and Hard to see the differences that make Very Easy sandboxy.
|
13 |
I don't know how to configure most of the behaviour you suggest but I think a lot of it is possible. Try using a diff tool on Very Easy and Hard to see the differences that make Very Easy sandboxy.
|
| 14 |
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14 |
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|
| 15 |
Now for some comments on design.
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15 |
Now for some comments on design.
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| 16 |
* I think there should be a clear difficulty level at which the AI ceases to have unit restrictions. AIs beyond this level should offer a full game with all the units. The AIs on the edge of this divide can be easier than the hardest AIs due to poor decision making.
|
16 |
* I think there should be a clear difficulty level at which the AI ceases to have unit restrictions. AIs beyond this level should offer a full game with all the units. The AIs on the edge of this divide can be easier than the hardest AIs due to poor decision making.
|
| 17 |
* Wyvern is really scary and Easy seems to rush Wyverns.
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17 |
* Wyvern is really scary and Easy seems to rush Wyverns.
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| 18 |
* I've watched some new players, and gathered some feedback, and I think that Very Easy is an appropriate AI for the easiest difficulty level. New players do not report having any problems beating it.
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18 |
* I've watched some new players, and gathered some feedback, and I think that Very Easy is an appropriate AI for the easiest difficulty level. New players do not report having any problems beating it.
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| 19 |
* The specification for the hardest difficulty level should simply be "win the game". Nobody is perfect at the game so we can't specify further. I think AI developers tend to be motivated by making AIs that are as strong as possible and the hardest difficulty can be reserved for this purpose. If the AI is substantially improved at some future point then this could warrant an extra difficulty level at the top.
|
19 |
* The specification for the hardest difficulty level should simply be "win the game". Nobody is perfect at the game so we can't specify further. I think AI developers tend to be motivated by making AIs that are as strong as possible and the hardest difficulty can be reserved for this purpose. If the AI is substantially improved at some future point then this could warrant an extra difficulty level at the top.
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Some feedback about how AIs of each difficulty should perform