AI Pilot update

[alexzk]

Trying to fight thargoids alone .... got idea about AI pilot.
Currently AI is classic for any MMO game - attack/assist/stop/follow. Well, it's a bit old already. Many fights require positioning/moving etc.
So, my idea to add "combat plan". Where you can draw basic moves, for example, fly circle around mother ship with radius 8km-10km, use boost on cd.
Something like that.
You can prepare many such complex plans before combat and engage it during fight by selecting "blueprint" of it (same as u send order - "assist", you will have option - "use this plan" additionally). Then AI will try to follow that.

So basically it will be yet another minigame, where you draw combat plan somehow. From programming point of view, that will be "scripted npc" - all the same, except script will do player visually.
I think game has one predefined already "protect" as it do a bit more complex behavior then just fight back.

 

[Sylow]

The problem is the "somehow" in your text. In pure theory this is an awesome idea. But even human pilots are not always able to do what you suggest here. Expecting some AI to be able to do this is quite optimistic.

Would we have a kind of a battle map, you could give then points to fly at and so on. But we are in a 3D environment and things change very quickly in combat, so I unfortunately can't see how that should work. You'd basically need a person solely dedicated to commanding the wing. But as you can only have one NPC out there, it's more effective for a second player to fly another fighter and actually do the maneuvers himself.

 

[alexzk]

For the start, extended command set could be enough. Like "hold distance 3km" or "orbit around with radius 3km". Then ability to combine simples like "orbit 3km + defend" = orbiting and shooting everything in range on the way and so on.
Basically this means next: "invent & implement special programming lang which commands AI pilot (like old Logo Turtle)" and "allow players to use it by writing own programs".

My "somehow" was related to usage. Personally me is ok with typing scripts in notepad. Somebody else will want WISIWYG.

About "human pilot" ...well, I don't have any friends who plays games at all ... so hard to find anybody. Plus it has solo mode any way.
Also about "fast changing" ...well, not really. I have experience in other titles where some boss must be killed by 9 or better 10-11 alive players. I was able to kill it solo with only 1 character moving using 10 running game copies. I was moving main char, other were fast alt-tab and skill clicked on panel. This thing pretty fits in "battle plan".

 

[Hellfire85]

About "human pilot" ...well, I don't have any friends who plays games at all ... so hard to find anybody. Plus it has solo mode any way.

Join a squad that plays in PG. I've met plenty of people in game that became part of my squad and we used to do stuff in game regularly.
Sorry for you not having any IRL friends that play ED, but you can always try to make some within this great community.

 

[alexzk]

Join a squad that plays in PG. I've met plenty of people in game that became part of my squad and we used to do stuff in game regularly.
Sorry for you not having any IRL friends that play ED, but you can always try to make some within this great community.

This topic is not about my friends, it is about how to make AI pilot to look like real human.
....maybe a bit rude, sorry. I don't have any schedule in my life. Literally - any. I sleep when I want and play when I want. So game friends dont last for long. They play 2-3 hours after work before sleep usually.
Well, I lied. There is 1 - I drink beer on Saturday at 3pm. But that is not my wish, just some extern force I cannot change