Toggleable AI.

[:1]concerning this thread, i am wondering if it's possible to have an AI that runs at the same time as the player, but doesn't much, or can be turned off at will.



see, me and a friend (who doesn't play online) had the idea of having a simple AI that handled squads for the player; so that we could specify something like "attack with waves of 20 tanks" and set up some rally points and have the AI handle the laborious work for us ad infinitum.



i know that's a large step away from what is requested in the link, but i'd like to get some ideas from the brains-trust of the AI department.|||Its interesting because recently I have been thinking if RTS games could ever work on consoles. I think the issue comes down to the mirco of units. A controller just cant select and control individual units that well.



This lead me to start thinking that is mirco management really a requirement to for a good RTS game anyway. Surely RTS should be about the best strategy and tactics, not about the person who can click the fastest? Why do we control the individual units at all?



In answer to your question, I think it should be possible to make an AI that handled the micro of squads. The player would just need to choose factories and unit groupings and then the AI could take over. If I get some spare time I will look at setting up an AI that does that. Im not certain how the player would signal to the groups what it wants... maybe some kind of ping system like Sorian put into his AI for allies.|||my initial thought was also pings, but that would be a little less tricky to keep tabs of.



what i think would work well is the hot wiring the transport beacons;

• they're actual entities that both the AI and the UI can access,
• they're persistant,
• they can be chained together,
• you can call assist on them so engineers and factories can be slaved to them.

i'm sure i've missed something, but i think being able to spawn a magic marker, select it, and queue orders with it would be pretty damn cool.|||There are so many projects crushed by the weight of their own ambition out there. So many unfinished total conversions.



I've always thought that rather than try to put everything you want into one giant pack, a better approach would be a million little mods.



This type of thing is what makes firefox great.



So before you guys go reinventing the entire RTS genre, Could I get my on off switch? :)|||innomen|||In a perfect world I'd like each unit to have an AI autopilot that I could switch on and off.



I'd also like the state of that toggle to be inherited, so if a construction bot built a factory that factory would produce units and those units would be switched on by default.|||Would it be easier to make a separate construction unit that automatically builds power point/air defense and extractors?



That's pretty much all I would want the AI for anyway, support. So I don't have to spend the first 5 minutes of every game clicking all the mass points heheh.



I want to fire and forget and focus on base construction/recon etc.|||Uh....not sure I understand you. So you would like a button to press with a big label on it saying "play the game for me"?



|||I was waiting for it. I knew that would happen eventually. Luddites always love bashing any form of automation as laziness.



Always someone eager to impose his will on the rest of the planet, shaming the rest of us into adopting his personal brand of fun.



No mr strawman, what I want is what I asked for.



As a side note if I did want the game to play itself I can always ally myself with an AI and just stand in the middle of his base.



You may find micromanaging fun, I do not. I prefer the big picture. If I wanted to get my hands dirty I'd play halo or something.



No one is forcing you to use this if/when it gets made. Not all mods are for everyone.



To reiterate what I want is to be able to unleash a unit. "fire at will" so to speak.



Or spawn a friendly AI (Turtle preferably) to go do something productive while I focus on the front.



Do you think Patton concerned himself with manufacturing plant placement back home? Do you think he ordered each individual tank?



Come on man, all I'm trying to do is delegate. If you don't like it, go find something you do like.|||innomen|||



Uh huh. If that's the case maybe you ought to consider being more clear about your intentions, because from where I stand your request for clarification looked snide and derisive and the rolling eyes thing kinda sealed the deal.



Remember tone is lost online so all I have to go on is your words.



Somehow though I think I got it right the first time.



Now can we please drop it? Or do you have something useful to add.||||||lol that's great :p|||Started playing this game again, and found myself wanting a friendly AI again.



Anyone know the state of things well enough to say for sure if something like this has or has not been done, and if not I guess it would be fair to consider this a second request.



I still want my on off switch or friendly AI construction unit.|||Yes what you are asking is possible. I have an AI that controls most things for the player, however its sim only. That means it only works if all players have it installed.|||OMG. i so want to play with that.



[PS:] i assume you'll be jumping over to Sup2 to hokey about with making custom AI types?|||That is fantastic news!



Of course I never wanted it to be something that only one player could have, that would represent an enormous advantage. I honestly didn't even think of that else I would have said so.



I plan to use it vs the computer. I don't play well with others hehe.



What form would it most gracefully take? A toggle for units, or a new unit that in effect spawns a friendly AI?



I think I would prefer a toggle so that I have the option of taking skynet offline when it starts to act foolishly, or at the very least the ability to send orders, which once carried out the units then fall back under AI control.



I am more than willing to do any grunt work to make this happen, but having effectively 0 experience I'd be asking a lot of questions.|||Here you go:



http://members.iinet.net.au/~dionysus/m ... IHuman.scd



Download the scd and put it in your game data. FA only of course. Make sure you DONT have my AI fixes installed (dont worry they are in the human scd anyway). It should be fine with Sorians AI installed (I think?)



Basically it adds AI to the human players. I have made it so it never takes control of your ACU, but it will take control of any other units or facs. You can issue orders to any of your units at anytime to override the AI control. If you leave idle units the AI will take control of them. Its shouldnt issue build orders if you dont have the econ for it.



As I said its sim only so if you are going to play with others you will all need it installed.



I never really tested it fully so let me know of any issues and I may or may not take a look



As for Supcom2 AI.... yes I will be taking a look at it just out of interest. I expect it to be a combination of the builders FA AI and the goal based Demigod AI for the research tree as I understand its still the same dev who did them both (Dru Staltman?).



The AI for Supcom2 should be better that the AI for FA. Firstly the dev has had time to improve the AI like he did between vanilla and FA. Secondly the pay upfront should make it WAY easier to manage the AI priorities. So Im not expecting any issues.. of course there will be bugs, but I will be looking at fixing them if I like Supcom2's new eco and find it fun to play |||THANK



YOU



!!



That is SO awesome. It's like an ant farm with guns.



Couple "problems": (SO not complaining, I can't believe the whole thing is a single file, amazing.)



1. It does grab the commander if you leave him alone long enough.



2. It overrides my overrides, so when I send an order to an AI controlled unit it effectively is ignored because a new order is sent to it by the AI instantly, the only thing I can really do is make construction units build if I tell it to build on top of them, that seems to work.



Might I suggest, or can I ask how to, adjust (or insert an) idle delay so that a unit has to be left unattended for X seconds before the AI will send it orders, and that once a human order is sent that idle timer is restarted?



Thank you, I've wanted something like this for years, even as it is right now its really entertaining.



Edit: It's not leaving the commander alone that does it, it's just pretty much once enemies start showing up.



Orders given do not stick, units will halt construction, the commander will stop upgrading, patrol routes are not kept, etc.



Can someone direct me to the proper tutorial that will teach me how to edit the file so graciously posted above?|||Just an update.



It dont work at all with Sorians AI in. and it seems to give same options at set focus army?|||fluffa|||Well if you plan on abandoning it in favor of the latest and greatest that's fine, but before you go care to tell me what files I'll need to edit the file you posted?



Google is not being very cooperative. I'm not interested in all the ins and outs of making a mod, I don't care about graphics or modeling.



Can you point me to the relevant tutorials or give me a break down as brief or as long winded as you are comfortable with, on how I and others can continue the work?



I hope you enjoy the flavor of the month :)|||Guess not.|||This kind of thing interests me too, as I'd kind of (at the least) like to have something that automates the SCUs... seems they are supposed to have "real, live" people in them anyway.
Duncane, were there any intentions on your part on bug fixing/improving this AI of yours?|||I'm also interested, btw great idea there.
I think the code needs some extra checks for players, don't know enough of AI code to do that though.
From my limited understanding this mod removes the stopping of AI initialization for human players, not quite certain that limiting it to single unit types is feasible.