News NPC AI Update - 2.1.03 and beyond

YES YES YES AND YES !!!!
I did not try because I get hardly work but what I read already seems to me very well.
We'll see after the test.

THX
 
As they indicated numerous times the game is in constant development so no change is final. Please be patient as you are paying for a game that is planned to be completed in 10 years. They are trying to find out the balance in things for your experience and every time they are rebalancing stuff by tons of coding...Just be patient, I am sure at some point there will be a perfect balance that will make everyone happy. At least they listen to community rants and do smtg about it.
 
Hi everyone,

Just wanted to share a quick update with you as we go live with the 2.1.03 update. You can see the full list of changes on the forum post here, but we wanted to point out a few tweaks and updates that we made in order to further improve your experience with the NPC AI. We also wanted to share a few AI changes that we have planned for a future update, too.


For 2.1.03 we fixed a bug where AI were using too tight a turning circle at low levels, we reduced ranks of Powerplay interdictors, lowering the chance of powerplay ships choosing to interdict you by 25%. The interdiction rank range has been reduced by one both above and below the player. It is also now based on your combat rating. We’ve made a change that ensures there will be a pause before AI attacks you after you’ve been interdicted… previously some Commanders would be immediately bombarded as soon as they’re pulled from supercruise.

We have a lot of AI changes planned for upcoming updates too, such as stopping the bottom three levels of AI from boosting (which was an unintended bug), we are looking at stopping AI from targeting sub-modules and we’re considering further reductions on the interdiction rank ranges detailed above.

In a previous update we fixed the AI bug that would create super modules, we stopped the bug that allowed AI aligned powers from attacking you, we reduced the ranks of AI spawning based on accepted missions, and we reduced the ranks of AI in ambient traffic.

The development team are dedicated to making the NPC AI experience as fun as possible, and the right level of challenging, and will continue to work hard on finding the correct balance.

This is great! That was my only real complaint with the AI. T9 out maneuvering me was crazy, and did make it intense but so glad it's fixed... Well I'll see later when I log. But great news thank you.
 
Great - thanks all around for those improvements.

This should be good because the more combat oriented people will have a higher combat rank and they will get the challenges they want based on their profession.
Except for, you know, when you just don't WANT to be challenged.

Some of us have jobs y'a know, and it's nice to relax, sometimes.
 
I understand that the devs may want to make it easier for newer lower level players, but bowing to pressure from a vocal minority that have been playing since launch dreadful, and only tying contact difficulty to combat rank an awful idea. What of high level traders, and explorers flying conda and cutters, should they not face risk too, or do you really want to grant them a free pass?

The previous distribution of ships was perfectly fine, the highest level content was gated behind extraction site, combat zone, and USS levels, and clear to all. However, we all fly around in the same open galaxy and the risk of interdiction form higher levels, no mater ones own rank should exist for all, there are no free passes when you chose to fly in open.

At the very least have the balls to tie contact difficulty to the highest rank a player holds, be that combat, trading, or exploration; and stop balancing for the lowest common denominator. If you needed to make a change, all you need do was simply reduce the chance of interdictions to players who do not have a single sphere higher than rank 4 or so.
 
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lol at the vocal minority comment.

I'm pretty sure the silent majority is pretty meh about those abrupt AI changes. They'll adapt or leave, but I'm fairly certain most of 'em don't think "yay, an IA that can fight back, I'm so happy to get my ass kicked from time to time". Doesn't mean the AI changes are necessarily a bad thing. Just the vocal minority may not be where you think it is.
 
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I respect the fact that many of the casual players were having trouble fighting against the AI, but I personally enjoyed the improvement a lot. I haven't logged in yet to test the difference, but I'm going to assume that because I'm Elite in combat, I'll still face the more difficult AI more often.
 
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lol at the vocal minority comment.

I'm pretty sure the silent majority is pretty meh about those abrupt AI changes. They'll adapt or leave but I'm fairly certain most of 'em don't think "yay, an IA that can fight back, I'm so happy to get my ass kicked from time to time". Doesn't mean the AI changes are necessarily a bad thing. Just the vocal minority may not be where you think it is.

The majority are happy and off playing the game and have no reason to come and post in the forums in their free time. A great many people that come to forums only do so when they want to complain about something, the rest of the time they steer clear, the noise in these forums was not representative of the community as a whole.
 
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Most people don't post on the forums period. They may complain however when talking to their friends and relatives, either IRL or using various forms of voice chat (phone, Mumble, Xbox party chat, etc)

I know many, many players, who complain a lot when I talk to them but don't even know these forums exist.
 
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Most people don't post on the forums period. They may complain however when talking to their friends and relatives, either IRL or using various forms of voice chat (phone, Mumble, Xbox party chat, etc)

I know many, many players, who complain a lot when I talk to them but don't even know these forums exist.

Complete rubbish.
 
As the guy above said, you can always downgrade your own ship to make your combat more challenging.

oh thanks for tip ; so to enjoy the game i need to play stupidly? how it work?
stop using flight assist, energy distribution system,yaw too maybe?
 
oh thanks for tip ; so to enjoy the game i need to play stupidly? how it work?
stop using flight assist, energy distribution system,yaw too maybe?

If you want to ;)

Or you could relish in the knowledge that you are better than the rest & can fight off baddies in RES with cargo on board :)
 
Going to try out the latest patch soon. The NPC notes read well. However I would definitively prefer a completely random NPC spawning and base the interdiction rate mainly on the security level of the system (and goverment type) and maybe even security level of the connected systems.
 
For 2.1.03 we fixed a bug where AI were using too tight a turning circle at low levels, we reduced ranks of Powerplay interdictors, lowering the chance of powerplay ships choosing to interdict you by 25%. The interdiction rank range has been reduced by one both above and below the player. It is also now based on your combat rating. We’ve made a change that ensures there will be a pause before AI attacks you after you’ve been interdicted…

Sounds good!
 
For 2.1.03 we fixed a bug where AI were using too tight a turning circle at low levels, we reduced ranks of Powerplay interdictors, lowering the chance of powerplay ships choosing to interdict you by 25%. The interdiction rank range has been reduced by one both above and below the player. It is also now based on your combat rating. We’ve made a change that ensures there will be a pause before AI attacks you after you’ve been interdicted… previously some Commanders would be immediately bombarded as soon as they’re pulled from supercruise. We have a lot of AI changes planned for upcoming updates too, such as stopping the bottom three levels of AI from boosting (which was an unintended bug), we are looking at stopping AI from targeting sub-modules and we’re considering further reductions on the interdiction rank ranges detailed above.
Brett, can you clarify a point for me? The AI turning circle you refer to; do you mean that AI were simply being too efficient with turning (blue zone throttle, maximum pitch, vertical thruster use) and so making a tighter circle than intended, or were they somehow turning a circle tighter than their ships flight model would allow? The reason I wonder about the distinction is that I found myself unable to out turn several of the AI, even when in a more maneuverable ship on paper, and I want to determine if it was a matter of a bug in the NPC flight model or just an area I can continue working on for my own efficiency.

Secondly, please carefully consider any sub-targeting changes before they're made. Sub-targeting of modules is widely used by players even at early stages of their piloting careers, and I would expect that NPCs would do the same (Maybe only limit sub-targeting to Competent and above?).
 
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Great. Back to the mindless turkey shoot.

It was good there for a while.

Not for everyone. Did you test it already or read only? The NPCs were tied to the highest rank before, that's sensless if you are combat harmless and explorer elite. Now its tied to your combat rank. What's wrong with that? And they stated that the AI will be developed in the future.

I don't see a problem to take a step back and see how it works. Elite combat ranks should encouter elite NPC, but not harmless players. Where is the problem? Why should harmless players always encounter elite? Doesn't make sense to me, it would make it unoplayable for beginners.
 
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