Modding & AI? question @ frogboy

from Elemental Forums

Hiho,

this thread is mainly aimed @ Frogboy :-)

As far as I have understood the game is highly moddable :-) Which is good for us. But how about the AI I know that you have fun :X with the A.I. . There are so many different aspects of the game (Warband, Adventure, Magic, Research, etc) how will the AI react on heavy modification from the original game. Is it possible during modding to adapt the AI as a modder as well? Or is it hard-coded and how much support a modder could receive to get adaption to the AI?

To be honest, I really don't have a clue about AI programming, but it's this time that I really have the wish to mod a strategy game. Before, my mods were mainly in the RPG section.. this are quite easy for the AI :)

 

Thx for feedback

Wyl

4,871 views 3 replies
Reply #1 from Elemental Forums Top

I wonder about that, too.

Does the AI, for example, choose spells based on the actual spell name, or based on what the spell does?  If based on what the spell does, then it should use new attack spells just fine.  Same for new items; if it chooses them based on what they do, then it will choose new items as easily as originals.

If we make a completely new effect, say a spell that behaves like a trap on the battlefield, I don't think the AI will know how to react to that at all.  But maybe we can take that into account while designing new effects.  Maybe we could assign some tag to this trap, for example, that makes the AI react to it as they would react to a unit that's much stronger than them--they'd run away from it.  If it's possible to emulate those types of properties, a lot of modding possibilities open up.  You could have a Fear spell, a Bait spell (makes the AI think a sovereign is at the target location, and he's much weaker than them), a Wall, maybe (if you can't make actual terrain appear, you could make a picture of terrain appear and make the AI think that terrain is impassible--same end result).

So a lot of mods might be made that play well with the AI, or even play off of the way AI works.  But, some mods, I think, are going to ruin the AI, making the mods good for multiplayer only.  (I bet at least a few updates will be made based on popular or interesting mods that don't work well with the AI.  They'll implement some of those mods as features and make the AI work well with them.)

Reply #2 from Elemental Forums Top

An additional question related to the unanswered first fews:

As it was stated several times that we can change alot of the game .. is it possible to make hex-fields or even get rid of the whole square-fields and make a free movement for troops? And is it possible to change the details how influence is working?

I think the whole GUI can be changed completly or?

How easily we can add other resources?

I have to admit, this game is one of those that I'm getting excited about the modding abilities and want to learn more :-) Can't what for Beta 4 :-)

Is it possible to get some insight whats possible and what not already now or do I have to wait ? Even a week could be long now :-) Damn, I'm really can't wait for the real release :-)

 

BR

Wyl

Galactic Civilizations IV
Reply #3 from Elemental Forums Top

In the early talks about modding, I believe the intention was to expose the AI in Python so that scripters would be able to mess with it. However, stuff like changing the game into Hex is basically an engine re-write, so don't count on that at all. Resources should just be XML based, so in theory can be added easily.