[previewyoutube=5LZxYu3t6uo;full][/previewyoutube] Initially, we built Companion Combat without too much focus on the combat AI, knowing full well that it would be a massive task to code and having most of the combat features locked before we do so would make it overall a more efficient undertaking. Thus, vanilla Companion Combat AI was 'equipped' with nothing more but brute force, running thousands of random choices without any direction that were then evaluated in the back end by a not-too-sophisticated point system spiced up with a dash of random generation aiming to make the AI choose sub-optimal scenarios too from time to time. Otherwise it would have been much too strong. That unfortunately had its share of drawbacks. It was either extremely slow (too many iterations) or dumb (not enough iterations). After some tuning, we went for the middle ground with a rather slow and occasionally irrational setting. Truth be told, it felt awkward every time we saw someone stream the game like that and initially planned to return to it earlier but our players felt more concerned about other areas of the game, so we moved it behind other open-world features on our priority list. Now that the first open-world region is in the hands of our backers and patron testers, we finally got around to improve AI, too. First Objective: Increase Speed We introduced a number of new attributes for all characters to drive their behavior, such as:
- Row preference: Melee or range preference, or being versatile in both. That allowed to eliminate all simulations from non-preferred positions on the battlefield.
- Tactical level (TL): Only characters with higher tactical awareness look for high certainty of their available options, while the ones with lower TL could drop the iteration numbers in the simulation drastically.
- Expected damage: It is calculated based on the characters' average damage. Characters finding a 'good-enough' option stop the simulation and look no further. The higher the TL of a character is, the higher that imaginary bar of expected damage is set.
- Row preference: It was already mentioned above but beside helping with efficiency it also increased the effectiveness of the AI as enemies naturally priorities moving into their preferred rows allowing them to use their most impactful Skills.
- Use cover: It is much harder to hit characters in cover with ranged attacks, so it only would make sense for the enemy units to use that advantage (even if only on higher TL).
- Use swap: Why spend two actions on shuffling around each other when you can swap? The players can do it, and so can the enemies now.
Third Objective: Colorful Skill Usage Balancing a tactical game is very difficult and can barely ever be perfect - we knew that from the beginning. We are also aware that for a single-player game, variety and challenge is more important than being perfectly balanced, so when we design enemies, we do not mind them having a mix of stronger and weaker skills. On the other hand, we would like the AI to use all of them, even if not with the same frequency, so now the AI takes into account:
- Effect prop points: Our old AI gathered 'points' during its simulation for instant and overtime damage as well as heal, also for getting targets stunned, killed, or downed. In the new version, we plugged in buffs, debuffs, and impediments too, so those skills would be assessed on their true merit.
- Cleansing matters: We also take into consideration cleansing (meaning removing) effects, since those can be equally helpful or painful, depending on the situation.
- Choice pooling: To ensure that weaker skills are used occasionally, we pool all viable options, sort them based on their scoring, then pick from the top number of actions on the list, where the number is determined based on the character's TL. The higher their TL, the narrower the pool, resulting in better choices.
[ 2020-04-29 15:51:54 CET ] [ Original post ]
- Vagrus - The Riven Realms Linux [1.29 G]
A vast continent is yours to explore, filled with unique locations, strange factions, lurking dangers, and a lot of characters you can interact with. In order to punish the Empire for their sins a thousand years ago, the Elder Gods manifested themselves in the world, letting loose powers that ended up devastating it. Following this Calamity, the Empire was slow to rebuild and became a dark caricature of its former image. The continent is now a wasteland, riddled with arcane anomalies, twisted monsters, and undead.
A large selection of longer and shorter stories make up the game’s narrative in the form of events and quests. The choices you make in these often affect the companions and the world around you. Pick your background from trader, mercenary, or explorer; work for factions, follow rumors and trading opportunities; acquire wealth, gain fame, and discover hidden knowledge. The world is sandbox, yet it is filled with hand-crafted content.
Engage in turn-based, tactical combat that involves your companions and a large variety of enemies, both humanoid and monstrous. Use a wide range of character skills to succeed, as well as your own leadership-related abilities. Positioning and support skills are of paramount importance when your companions struggle against powerful foes.
Most journeys have to be planned and prepared for carefully, lest they end in disaster. Manage your supplies, morale, and the freshness of your people effectively to survive. Haul cargo and valuables across the wasteland or take it from others. Your crew of workers, fighters, scouts, and slaves have to be managed to optimize their effectiveness. Equip your caravan with upgrades and your companions with magical gear.
The player can recruit a wide variety of companions into the caravan to serve in versatile roles, such as scoutmaster, guard captain, quartermaster, or navigator. Each of them comes with their own combat skills, background stories, and personal quest lines that, when completed, can upgrade them in unforeseen ways. They can progress through experience levels to become more potent crew members as well as in combat.
Get instant access to the Alpha build by backing Vagrus at https://fig.co/vagrus
- OS: Ubuntu 12.04+. SteamOS+
- Processor: Intel Pentium 2Ghz or AMD equivalentMemory: 4 GB RAM
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Graphics: 1280x768 minimum resolution. DirectX 9.0c compatible graphics card
- Storage: 6 GB available space
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