After finishing up on the animation dilemma we were having last time, I was about to move on to doing textures for objects or creating more models when I noticed something.
The AI for Apotheosis was severely lacking.
I had the framework in place for a smarter decision making system, but I had not yet implemented it or thought about how the AI should determine the best action for it.
I thought for a while on how I believed Apotheosis characters should behave, and I came upon the decision that they should be more advanced than most simple game AI. This is a game set in a few hundred years ahead of our time, so, naturally, the AI should act at least a bit more sophisticated.
With cybernetic implants and robots as commonplace as they are in the setting of Apotheosis, there's no excuse for dumb AI.
Having said that, I've a few ideas on actions the AI should be able to take.
So far, the list contains:
- Item collection
(I've noticed most games don't allow AI to use items on the ground to their advantage. I've always wondered why this was, as it could add an extra layer to beating AI.) - Scouting
(If the AI has any reason to believe that you are in the area, they should come looking. This is a more commonplace feature in games.)
- Chase Enemy
(Self explanatory.)
- Attack Enemy
(Self explanatory.) - Trading
(Another feature I've noticed in games is the inability of an AI to trade with another for a possibly vital item. If an AI is low on health, for example, it should send out a distress signal of some sort to its allies for medical supplies. The other AI would then decide how much the action of trading would benefit them/their team.)
Example: I.imgur.com
All in all, I want the AI of Apotheosis to be one of the more memorable parts of the game if at all possible.
Once I finish the majority of the decision making system programming, I may release a small teaser trailer, showing it off.
I'll try to have an update out in the next few weeks.