| 1 |
Without specifying how [i]many[/i] levels there should be, I'd like to make an observation about the [i]bottom two[/i] levels.
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1 |
Without specifying how [i]many[/i] levels there should be, I'd like to make an observation about the [i]bottom two[/i] levels.
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| 2 |
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2 |
\n
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| 3 |
The bottom level should never win. It should never try to win. It should let players muck around for as long as they like without any danger that they'll be overrun. I think we're all in agreement here.
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3 |
The bottom level should never win. It should never try to win. It should let players muck around for as long as they like without any danger that they'll be overrun. I think we're all in agreement here.
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| 4 |
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4 |
\n
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| 5 |
The second level should try to win, but should be beatable even by very new players.
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5 |
The second level should try to win, but should be beatable even by very new players.
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| 6 |
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6 |
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| 7 |
What does that mean?
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7 |
What does that mean?
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| 8 |
\n
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8 |
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| 9 |
Take a look at http://zero-k.info/Battles/Detail/463694 . This is a match between two very new players. Observe their gameplay:
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9 |
Take a look at http://zero-k.info/Battles/Detail/463694 . This is a match between two very new players. Observe their gameplay:
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| 10 |
* They barely expand. They leave easy-to-reach mex clusters completely untouched.
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10 |
* They barely expand. They leave easy-to-reach mex clusters completely untouched.
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| 11 |
* They wildly overbuild defenses.
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11 |
* They wildly overbuild defenses.
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| 12 |
* They don't raid.
|
12 |
* They don't raid.
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| 13 |
* They build useless units (Shipyard and Sirens).
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13 |
* They build useless units (Shipyard and Sirens).
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| 14 |
* They don't use the units they build (huge piles of idle Glaives, Wyvern lazily circling).
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14 |
* They don't use the units they build (huge piles of idle Glaives, Wyvern lazily circling).
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| 15 |
* They build midgame and endgame units from the very start (Crabe, Wyvern, Bertha).
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15 |
* They build midgame and endgame units from the very start (Crabe, Wyvern, Bertha).
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| 16 |
* They don't scout. They build no radar. They have no map visibility, no map awareness, no intel.
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16 |
* They don't scout. They build no radar. They have no map visibility, no map awareness, no intel.
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| 17 |
* They suicide units - huge armies of Glaives eaten up by Stardusts like a bag of Cheetos.
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17 |
* They suicide units - huge armies of Glaives eaten up by Stardusts like a bag of Cheetos.
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| 18 |
* They excess metal.
|
18 |
* They excess metal.
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| 19 |
\n
|
19 |
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| 20 |
Needless
to
say,
they
have
no
idea
about
unit
counters
and
unit
composition;
it's
not
even
a
concept
for
them.
Despite
both
sides
building
air,
nobody
builds
any
anti-air
(
until
the
very
end,
when
the
winner
is
trying
hard
to
kill
the
last
three
enemy
units,
which
happen
to
be
airplanes)
.
|
20 |
Needless
to
say,
they
have
no
idea
about
unit
counters
and
unit
composition;
it's
not
even
a
concept
for
them.
And
despite
both
sides
building
air,
nobody
builds
any
anti-air
(
until
the
very
end,
when
the
winner
is
trying
hard
to
kill
the
last
three
enemy
units,
which
happen
to
be
airplanes)
.
|
| 21 |
\n
|
21 |
\n
|
| 22 |
Essentially, these new players aren't playing Zero-K as we know it; they're playing Build-an-army Kill-the-base. And you know what? [b][i]That's just fine.[/i][/b] This was the tenth game for these two players. That means that they're [b]having fun[/b]. If ZK were too hard, or too boring, or too confusing, they would have given up after two or three games. But they've played ten games, so there must be something about ZK they find appealing, even if right now they still have no idea how to play effectively.
|
22 |
Essentially, these new players aren't playing Zero-K as we know it; they're playing Build-an-army Kill-the-base. And you know what? [b][i]That's just fine.[/i][/b] This was the tenth game for these two players. That means that they're [b]having fun[/b]. If ZK were too hard, or too boring, or too confusing, they would have given up after two or three games. But they've played ten games, so there must be something about ZK they find appealing, even if right now they still have no idea how to play effectively.
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| 23 |
\n
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23 |
\n
|
| 24 |
[b][u]This is our target audience.[/u][/b]
|
24 |
[b][u]This is our target audience.[/u][/b]
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| 25 |
\n
|
25 |
\n
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| 26 |
Now, think about what will happen if one of these players goes up against CircuitAI in its current Easy configuration. From the first minute, their defensive towers will be picking off raiders and they'll be feeling very happy with how smart and effective they are ("Look, I'm beating the AI!"). Within six minutes the AI will own the map, but the players won't know it. Within ten minutes their bases will be falling to Jacks and they'll have no idea why.
|
26 |
Now, think about what will happen if one of these players goes up against CircuitAI in its current Easy configuration. From the first minute, their defensive towers will be picking off raiders and they'll be feeling very happy with how smart and effective they are ("Look, I'm beating the AI!"). Within six minutes the AI will own the map, but the players won't know it. Within ten minutes their bases will be falling to Jacks and they'll have no idea why.
|
| 27 |
\n
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27 |
\n
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| 28 |
Our target audience cannot hope to win against the current Easy AI. [b]But they should.[/b] Because they deserve to have fun too, and we should give them a single-player AI opponent that they can have fun playing against. Losing every single game in under fifteen minutes with [i]no idea why[/i] is not fun; it's a recipe for losing players after their fourth game.
|
28 |
Our target audience cannot hope to win against the current Easy AI. [b]But they should.[/b] Because they deserve to have fun too, and we should give them a single-player AI opponent that they can have fun playing against. Losing every single game in under fifteen minutes with [i]no idea why[/i] is not fun; it's a recipe for losing players after their fourth game.
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| 29 |
\n
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29 |
\n
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| 30 |
In short: Easy needs to be really, really, [i]really[/i] easy because new players are really, really, [i]really[/i] bad at this game. We need an opponent they can beat so they'll stick around and get better.
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30 |
In short: Easy needs to be really, really, [i]really[/i] easy because new players are really, really, [i]really[/i] bad at this game. We need an opponent they can beat so they'll stick around and get better.
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Some feedback about how AIs of each difficulty should perform