Looking for creature AI tutorial

[starwatcher162536]

I get how to generate new AI ability selection pools, more or less how to set up custom tactics for mobs, and how to affect mob stat preferences for the autoscaling. I can do a fair amount with what I have already I suppose, but a better understanding of the mechanics is wanted. For example; If a creature evaluates a tactics table, does that creature stop evaluating the table once it "wins" the roll

and then start to evaluate it from the top again? Or does it start from that ability? Does it evaluate it once, que up a bunch of everything returned true, and then wait X seconds before evaluating again? If the wait command's parameter is set to -1, this means it "waits with cooldown" What cooldown? What does X or Y local creature variable do?

 

If anyone knows of a tutorial that gets into it a lot: A link would be appreciated. All in all, either I am quite inept with google are documentation is surprisingly sparse, at least for everything that isn't a head morph. People really seem to like their head morphs.

[StevoSegalovic]

"People really seem to like their head morphs." Thats true :D

 

Most of the people know how to do simple things in toolset, more exp. people do the texturing, more exp. people make 3d models, animations, vfx and scripting.

 

At the moment you may be one of those few exp. people who dared to try to change creature AI.

I had trouble of getting any tutorials about animations but was lucky to find someone who had exp with it and made some mods with new animations.

 

So my suggestion is that you should either look for what toolset wiki says or try social bioware forums coz there seem to be lots of exp. users or try to contact some author of a mod that changed AI.

 

Nexus had lots of exp users who modified dragon age origins, but that people moved on to other games. There are still active people with lots of knowledge but they are rare.

 

I belive amycus and hsli are only experts on 3d modeling and still active.

Vindkald - expert on animations

mochie - expert on head morphs

Firinneach - expert on cinematic

 

There are few others but you get the point :D

[starwatcher162536]

Unfortunate. I was recently in a motorcycle accident and as my mobility is going to be limited for the next few months and I'm taking the next semester off of school I decided to make an overhaul of DAO which is one of my favorite games. Unfortunately the combat, while seeming to have a lot of potential, never really hit the same level as a properly moded game of BGII (SCSII, Improved Battles, simple mob HP bonuses, etc.). Slink's Ravage helps a lot in the aforementioned area, but I'm hoping I can make a more even challenge curve and tactically interesting experience with a handcrafted approach.

 

RIght now all I have done is create around 25 level packages with their associated tactic tables and plugged in some rudimentary scripting. I'm hoping to create a hard, moderate, & easy version of X , add more differentiation between mob types, & have mobs who more evenly scale with lvl in relation to abilities (No more lvl 12 mobs capping out with full abilities). For example regarding power lvls; A "hard" ranged rogue will "sometimes" stealth when taking melee attack and then get distance before dropping stealth. Maybe he also activates Suppressing fire to keep you off him for abit ... if he is high enough lvl. Meanwhile a "Medium" ranged rogue lacks any stealth for the early lvls and never gets combat stealth, so he instead just switches to a melee weapon and loses access to his ranged abilities. All ranged rogues get some ranged abilities, but the lower the "mob difficulty" the lower powered abilities is the cap at (Medium or easy never get crazy stuff like scattershot) and the less aggressively they empty their stamina bar. Regarding mob differentiation; Continuing with archery ... all ranged wars get melee archery while no ranged rogues ever get it. They are also just tougher with a heavier emphasis on constitution when autoscaling and drinking health potions when low (rly just a self healing spell I added that plays consume pot animation ...easier implementation). Monsters are a little tougher, both because they tend to lack many abilities and if you give them many class skills they might as just as well be a humanoid in a different skin. So far all I have done here is give skeleton fodder a script that activates once they drop below 10% hp. What it does is play their death animation, make them non-interactive, wait 20 seconds, and then rise from the ground at full hp. Once I get it working i'm hoping to add a variable chance of script activating based on how many allies are alive. To balance they won't have many if any abilities. Very much waves of fodder feeling.

 

Some global changes going into everything and working out alright so far is that all mobs at 50% realize what they are doing isn't going to well for them and clear their threat table, may or may not later make it so they add a moderate amount of threat to another target at random. All mobs will also do this randomly, albeit rarely. All mobs with a shield with do this with an increased frequency I have as yet no determined, because ... umm ... they have a shield and aren't as scared of getting run-through as they run past. I'll probably change war talents to make threat management a little more tactically interesting then run into group --> hit taunt -->profit.

 

Down the road but before hand crafting fights im hoping to add in a 5th party member. Would add a lot if grp composition could have more variety.

 

That's it for now, cheers.

Edited July 26, 2012 by starwatcher162536

[StevoSegalovic]

That sounds great and sounds like you know what you are doing :)