Stiler
08-27-2006, 11:04 PM
I'm just wondering, what type of AI can we expect the npc's to have in Kaos War?
In most mmo's the AI seems a bit...stone-age'ish as far as gamin goes today.
Most npc's as far as combat go are stuck in the same old "Stand in spot x, or wander around y, wait for player character to enter sphere."
Then once you enter the sphere that the npc is programmed to notice you in they simply "stick" to you and just stop following you after you reach "x" distance.
I think this is easily one of the main things holding back many mmorpg's from being simply more fun both to play and to simply explore in.
It'd be awesome if the npc's first off weren't all aggressive and straight up make a b-line for the nearest player and just stand around in the same generic spot. Rather have the world actually populated by a sort of whole ecosystem of sorts. If anoyne here is familiar with the rpg Gothic, or the upcoming game Stalker, they have this sort of a thing.
Basically the world is filled with various animals/npc's of such. Some are passive, some are aggressive, some are only defensive aggressive. Some hunt alone, some are pack-based, some are nocturnal, etc. Some are Carnivores, some are omnivores, others eat plants, etc.
Then they have a basic "needs" type of system. Generally:
1. The need to eat/drink
2. The need to seek shelter
3. The need to mate
Which leads to the AI simply doing things that can be quite interesting to the player.
Imagine for example.
1. NPC "deer" is thirsty, the AI therefore leads the npc to the nearby creek to fulfill the need.
2. NPC "wolves" are hungry, the AI therefore leads the wolf pack to scout their area for food. They come across npc "deer" drinking from the creek.
At the same time the player character is also hunting and has his sights set on the same deer. Just as he goes to kill it the wolf packs pounces onto the deer and starts to consume it.
Those sort of unexpected events can really make the game world feel alive and dynamice.
Now onto the other things I was mentioning.
Another fairly big part of the AI is the combat AI. Two main factors seem to be missing in many mmorpgs:
1. Line of sight
2. Hearing area (possibly smelling aswell, depends on the animal I guess :p ).
Imagine throughout the mmo's you've played if the npc's actually had decent enough AI that they could lose you in the dark and you could hide from that. Alllllllll of those trains and such that got stuck to you back in the EQ days and how you could have simply found a place to hide and they would have lost you and had to try to search. Something similar to the Splinter Cell or Metal gear solid AI or such. Same goes for hearing and things.
Imagine you're hiding from some huge beast in a dungeon, tucked in some nook while the beast is searching for you and you accidently move your character back into the wall and your plate armour scrapes it and then the beast hears it and comes running toward your location and you have to run as fast as you can as he gives chase.
These are the types of AI advancements I'd love to see in mmo's. Can we expect any of the sorts of things in Kaos War?
In most mmo's the AI seems a bit...stone-age'ish as far as gamin goes today.
Most npc's as far as combat go are stuck in the same old "Stand in spot x, or wander around y, wait for player character to enter sphere."
Then once you enter the sphere that the npc is programmed to notice you in they simply "stick" to you and just stop following you after you reach "x" distance.
I think this is easily one of the main things holding back many mmorpg's from being simply more fun both to play and to simply explore in.
It'd be awesome if the npc's first off weren't all aggressive and straight up make a b-line for the nearest player and just stand around in the same generic spot. Rather have the world actually populated by a sort of whole ecosystem of sorts. If anoyne here is familiar with the rpg Gothic, or the upcoming game Stalker, they have this sort of a thing.
Basically the world is filled with various animals/npc's of such. Some are passive, some are aggressive, some are only defensive aggressive. Some hunt alone, some are pack-based, some are nocturnal, etc. Some are Carnivores, some are omnivores, others eat plants, etc.
Then they have a basic "needs" type of system. Generally:
1. The need to eat/drink
2. The need to seek shelter
3. The need to mate
Which leads to the AI simply doing things that can be quite interesting to the player.
Imagine for example.
1. NPC "deer" is thirsty, the AI therefore leads the npc to the nearby creek to fulfill the need.
2. NPC "wolves" are hungry, the AI therefore leads the wolf pack to scout their area for food. They come across npc "deer" drinking from the creek.
At the same time the player character is also hunting and has his sights set on the same deer. Just as he goes to kill it the wolf packs pounces onto the deer and starts to consume it.
Those sort of unexpected events can really make the game world feel alive and dynamice.
Now onto the other things I was mentioning.
Another fairly big part of the AI is the combat AI. Two main factors seem to be missing in many mmorpgs:
1. Line of sight
2. Hearing area (possibly smelling aswell, depends on the animal I guess :p ).
Imagine throughout the mmo's you've played if the npc's actually had decent enough AI that they could lose you in the dark and you could hide from that. Alllllllll of those trains and such that got stuck to you back in the EQ days and how you could have simply found a place to hide and they would have lost you and had to try to search. Something similar to the Splinter Cell or Metal gear solid AI or such. Same goes for hearing and things.
Imagine you're hiding from some huge beast in a dungeon, tucked in some nook while the beast is searching for you and you accidently move your character back into the wall and your plate armour scrapes it and then the beast hears it and comes running toward your location and you have to run as fast as you can as he gives chase.
These are the types of AI advancements I'd love to see in mmo's. Can we expect any of the sorts of things in Kaos War?