Did they dial the AI back ?

[HeavyGroovez]

Been in a RES for a couple of hours and ive been slaughtering Deadly Pythons with no pips in shields, no chaff, no cells, nothing.


Its like they arent shooting since the patch this morning.


Anybody else experiencing similar ?

 

[Rubbernuke]

Try a Violent Protest zone and test your theory.

PZs are absolutely brutal and will show any AI changes.

 

[HeavyGroovez]

Try a Violent Protest zone and test your theory.

PZs are absolutely brutal and will show any AI changes.

Yeah im gonna check out military grade ships in conflict zones as a matter of testing but the RES ships are simply not shooting back at the moment.

It doesnt feel right at all.

EDIT : Im convinced its broken. I just killed a Deadly Derpship and it didnt shoot me once :[

 

[idiou menos]

I think I remember there used to be a bug some months ago where AI wouldn't engage you if you didn't have Vsync enabled or something of that sort; I wonder if it, or a cousin of its, is back.

 

[Privata]

Elite is the savior of gaming but its AI is not a challange , not by a long shot , they spend more time in a line going away from you than you know ; shooting

 

[HeavyGroovez]

I think I remember there used to be a bug some months ago where AI wouldn't engage you if you didn't have Vsync enabled or something of that sort; I wonder if it, or a cousin of its, is back.

Its like they are all Harmless regardless of their rating.

 

[Rauminen]

SJA said there's currently a bug where they forget to put pips on weapons sometimes -> unable to shoot after a while. Will get fixed when she get's around to do it.
Maybe a different instance will reset this. Enjoy your luck in the meantime! I haven't seen Deadly Pythons in RES since 1.2

 

[Mr_Blastman]

I killed a Elite Courier that interdicted me last night and it was a piece of cake. I was... surprised. I was even more surprised at the miserable 48k bounty.

 

[Lance Corrimal]

where are you? sounds like fun

 

[Sarah Jane Avory]

SJA said there's currently a bug where they forget to put pips on weapons sometimes -> unable to shoot after a while. Will get fixed when she get's around to do it.
Maybe a different instance will reset this. Enjoy your luck in the meantime! I haven't seen Deadly Pythons in RES since 1.2

Correct. I found it by accident as it doesn't always happen, but when it does it leaves AI ships with no pips to WEP so they soon run out of weapon power. There's also an orientation problem that I've fixed in my code which knackers their aiming a bit. So you'll see a big difference in the next AI update. I'm spending time now adding a whole load of new tactics for the higher ranks, handling things like players flying in reverse, adding a bit more AI self-preservation, tweaking pip management for better ENG usage... Might even be a bit of sub-system targeting going in...

 

[who?]

Thanks for the update! Cool job, ensmartifying* dumb AI pilots.

​* a perfectly cromulent word.

 

[HeavyGroovez]

Correct. I found it by accident as it doesn't always happen, but when it does it leaves AI ships with no pips to WEP so they soon run out of weapon power. There's also an orientation problem that I've fixed in my code which knackers their aiming a bit. So you'll see a big difference in the next AI update. I'm spending time now adding a whole load of new tactics for the higher ranks, handling things like players flying in reverse, adding a bit more AI self-preservation, tweaking pip management for better ENG usage... Might even be a bit of sub-system targeting going in...

Thanks for the confirmation Overlord.

Strange though because its the first time its happened to me since the first 1.3 release.

They also dont seem to be flying the same aggressive strafes and performing those cunning boosts.

Will continue to play and report back.

 

[Privata]

Correct. I found it by accident as it doesn't always happen, but when it does it leaves AI ships with no pips to WEP so they soon run out of weapon power. There's also an orientation problem that I've fixed in my code which knackers their aiming a bit. So you'll see a big difference in the next AI update. I'm spending time now adding a whole load of new tactics for the higher ranks, handling things like players flying in reverse, adding a bit more AI self-preservation, tweaking pip management for better ENG usage... Might even be a bit of sub-system targeting going in...

Thank you , have un unlimited supplie of internet cookies and , you NEED to be knighted

 

[Monk]

Oh gosh...when those AI Pythons and Anacondas start flying in reverse....we're all doomed





or just need to learn new tricks

 

[tetra]

... Might even be a bit of sub-system targeting going in...

If they are going to do that would you please remind the rest of the team currently hulls are made of thin air and sub-systems can be targeted from ANY direction through tens of meters of metal. https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=159894 would be nice to get that fixed if now AI are also going to be able to hit subsystems. Either way thanks for all your hard work on the AI

 

[Mazhurg]

One of the great things with Sarah's improvement on the AI is that it is revealing / enhancing the weaknesses in the overall combat game. I suspect that this will bring about design changes and improvements on all aspects of combat tactics and mechanics that will benefit both the PVE and PVP game as a hole.

Thanks much for your hard work Sarah, may your minions even the balance.

 

[SentineI]

sub-systems can be targeted from ANY direction through tens of meters of metal. https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=159894 would be nice to get that fixed if now AI are also going to be able to hit subsystems.

If you "fix" that (I personally like it) then PLEASE make it obvious whether or not a targetted sub-system is behind the ship or not. I suggest a solid/hollow marker (solid when can be hit, hollow when cannot be hit due to being behind the ship).

 

[Cmdr Eagleboy]

Yeah, NPC should be able to target subsystems at Elite, however hull and subsystem targeting needs fixed first, and powerplant needs to be put in thicker protection layer.

Other than that, it would be fun.

 

[Dave1235]

Correct. I found it by accident as it doesn't always happen, but when it does it leaves AI ships with no pips to WEP so they soon run out of weapon power. There's also an orientation problem that I've fixed in my code which knackers their aiming a bit. So you'll see a big difference in the next AI update. I'm spending time now adding a whole load of new tactics for the higher ranks, handling things like players flying in reverse, adding a bit more AI self-preservation, tweaking pip management for better ENG usage... Might even be a bit of sub-system targeting going in...

Thanks for the information, its always great when a Dev reply's.

Been trading for a few weeks, back to Res's tonight for a break, but thanks to this thread I will be warned you made them a bit nastier, if they seem a little easier tonight I will be watching for the patch .

Mmm flying in reverse whilst targeting subsystems, I can see me having to actually put some real thought into my vulture setup to get decent cells, at the moment its an unresearched but ok fun ship that works fine, and I see a lot more running away in my future, whether to recharge shields or to save my sorry butt , looking forward to it (with a little apprehension )

 

[Jack Schitt]

I'm spending time now adding a whole load of new tactics for the higher ranks, handling things like players flying in reverse...

Oh God, sometimes that's all I have left. I've lost count of the number of Eagle battles where I'm throwing the stick and throttle all over the place and the NPC somehow remains fixed just above my cockpit, peppering me with weapons fire and no doubt flipping me the bird like Maverick does to that MiG pilot in Top Gun. Time to start picking on some lowlier ranks of minions I think.

Just in case anyone thinks this is a complaint it isn't. Keep training those AIs. To me ED won't be complete until gang after gang of NPC pirates have made Riedquat a complete no-fly zone for all but the most skilled or suicidal of players, just as it was in Elite in '84. Just as it's meant to be.