Artificial Intelligence in Turn-Based RPGs
03-01-2014, 12:11 AM
I don't like the idea of picking tactics randomly. Imagine if you were playing chess and half the time your opponent made master-level moves, half the time he made a nonsensical one. No one would mistake that opponent for a novice level player. Random choices just do not encourage good play.
Instead, what I think I'll do is add discoverablity to my AI. After all, it is exactly what RPG players do when they start a battle with an unfamiliar enemy. They try to assess the enemy based on clues the game have given them (Is this a boss or a random encounter? That monster has a flaming mane, could it be weak to water spells?)
Weaker AI can then start off making less assumptions about the players team, and stronger ones can make more (which can lead to an interesting case of the enemy mispredicting the player and giving them an edge).
The best AI can start with all actor stats, resistances, and probable skills predicted. It would not know about stat modifications due to items, or any auto-states applied to the actors. The worst AI would start with the actor's base health predicted (or even nothing!) and would have to discover the rest during battle.
Discovery is pretty simple; just compare the expected result of an attack to the real result. The comparison tells the AI whether a skill was more or less effective than expected, and can be used to modify the 'score' of the skill in the AI's selection routine. This allows a monster to use a Poison skill, notice the entire party was immune, and not try it again the rest of the battle.
Instead, what I think I'll do is add discoverablity to my AI. After all, it is exactly what RPG players do when they start a battle with an unfamiliar enemy. They try to assess the enemy based on clues the game have given them (Is this a boss or a random encounter? That monster has a flaming mane, could it be weak to water spells?)
Weaker AI can then start off making less assumptions about the players team, and stronger ones can make more (which can lead to an interesting case of the enemy mispredicting the player and giving them an edge).
The best AI can start with all actor stats, resistances, and probable skills predicted. It would not know about stat modifications due to items, or any auto-states applied to the actors. The worst AI would start with the actor's base health predicted (or even nothing!) and would have to discover the rest during battle.
Discovery is pretty simple; just compare the expected result of an attack to the real result. The comparison tells the AI whether a skill was more or less effective than expected, and can be used to modify the 'score' of the skill in the AI's selection routine. This allows a monster to use a Poison skill, notice the entire party was immune, and not try it again the rest of the battle.