Howdy guys, this thread will serve as a home base for my Marvel Adventures helpers to talk about AI choices and the like. If you've got ideas about what we should do to tweak characters' AI or how to do so, please feel free to chime in.
I'm thinking that some of these things will be obvious, but here are some general outlines and some specific notes:
-Flying bricks like Thor should land to engage and not fly away from foes.
-The Sentinels should fly to reach enemies, but should fight on the ground. I gave them Limited Flight, so they already do this to an extent.
-Unus the Untouchable isn't much of a danger on his own, but he gets bonuses for wielding objects, so his AI should focus on that.
-Characters need appropriate subtypes, like Mutant, etc.
-Giant Man should take advantage of his size changing abilities more, becoming Ant-Man when appropriate and growing to his towering height when threatened by heavy hitters.
-Vision is very ineffective under AI control. I'm not sure quite what the trouble is, though it probably has to do with the AI keeping him flying around using his solar beams.
-Iron Man doesn't seem to want to use his ranged attacks very much, and he should be laying down a lot of firepower.
I'm going to update Captain America and Thor with customized FFActive Defenses, so their AIs will eventually need tweaking to reflect that. I just discovered that you can cause these defenses to lock an animation and last short amounts of time. I can actually have Cap raise his shield, freeze in place, and weather an attack, then get moving again right after!
Here's a design question that is not specifically connected to AI. This is one I've really been wrestling with. Should Wolverine have Berzerker? What does the community think?
Quote from: BentonGrey on June 08, 2014, 06:41:55 PM
Here's a design question that is not specifically connected to AI. This is one I've really been wrestling with. Should Wolverine have Berzerker? What does the community think?
After playing a few dozen matches with the X-Men fighting a variety of enemies (from Hellfire to Kree to Trolls), the Berzerker attribute was a really big handicap. Just when I needed Wolverine the most, he'd go berserk and maul my poor ranged, squishier, teammates. The berserker attribute made him really unpredictable in large hordes of enemies, and made my micromanagement a bit easier, though :P
Overall, it became more of a hindrance to the group than a blessing. At times, it was fun to see him go all Primal Fury on everybody, though and it did make for interesting combat situations. I had Colossus, Cyclops, Wolverine, and Cap fighting a Kree Sentry, and the Sentry would effortlessly knock Wolverine away. After Wolverine landed, more often than not, he'd go berserk and in all of his fury, he'd run after Cyclops and start swiping at him. I had Cyclops use his beams to send Wolverine flying (it was pretty funny), and with Wolverine's healing factor, I knew that he could survive it with little to no health loss.
I'm thinking that if I can find a way to make Wolverine prioritize targets that are hitting him the most, then berserker might not be needed for him. We'll see where it goes, though.
Spyder, that post made me smile. I'm glad folks do the same type of stuff I do with the things I create. Taking an X-Team with Cap up against a Kree Sentinel, just because...that's EXACTLY why I started making mods. :D
Anyway, thanks, that is a very interesting answer. You confirmed what I've been thinking for a long time now...the penalty imposed by Berzeker is just too harsh. It makes Wolverine too much of a threat to his own team. I did some testing of my own, and in every match, I think he did as much damage to his own team as to the enemy. I think you're right. The answer here may be AI rather than Attribute. I've edited him accordingly.
On a different note, is there anyone out there who can show me how to edit the Vulnerability attribute to where it removes Physical Resistance as well?
I've added some AI notes to the first post.
Quote from: BentonGrey on June 09, 2014, 05:49:17 PMOn a different note, is there anyone out there who can show me how to edit the Vulnerability attribute to where it removes Physical Resistance as well?
I have the code modified and in my personal mod. I'll scrounge it up and post it here.
It always bothered me that Invulnerability would go away, but not Physical Resistance :P
Here you go:
def theWorks(char,targets,array,flip=0):
power=getVDPower(targets,flip)
if power>0:
playSynergyFX(char,array)
FFX_ObjectSetAttr(char,'invPoints',0) #Ep. 2007-03-31: Added missing line
FFX_ObjectSetAttr(char,'tg2Fraction',0) #Removes Physical Resistance
FFX_SetStrength(char,-2)
Object_SetGenericState(char,OBJSTATE_DENSITY_CHANGE,5,0)
Object_SetSecondaryState(char,SCSTATE_POWER_NULLIFICATION,5,0)
Trigger_Damage(char,5)
#Trigger_Damage(char,power)
else:
bip=FFX_ObjectGetAttr(char,'baseInvPoints')
FFX_ObjectSetAttr(char,'invPoints',bip)
FFX_SetStrength(char,0)
playSynergyFXonTargets(char,targets,array)
Just search for "theWorks" in "ffx.py" and replace the entry with the code above, and it should work. :cool:
EDIT: Something that I should mention is that Toxic will take 5 damage per second on the afflicted characters rather than just one damage. I did this because one damage per second didn't feel intense enough to simulate the crippling pain that the character is experiencing. To set it back to normal, just remove "Trigger_Damage(char,5)" and remove the "#" in front of "#Trigger_Damage(char,power)"
Thanks Spyder, that's awesome!
Another question: Does Storm need an active defense against ranged attacks?
Quote from: BentonGrey on June 09, 2014, 11:16:32 PM
Thanks Spyder, that's awesome!
Another question: Does Storm need an active defense against ranged attacks?
hmm... I don't know. Perhaps a small tornado to deflect projectiles?
That's sort of what I was thinking, but I am uncertain if she really needs it. I'd have to take away one of her other powers to provide it.
Quote from: BentonGrey on June 09, 2014, 11:47:33 PM
That's sort of what I was thinking, but I am uncertain if she really needs it. I'd have to take away one of her other powers to provide it.
I'll toy around with Storm in the danger room and see if there are any powers that I don't really use. If all her powers end up being useful, then I guess that she won't need a shield :P
I use PD for those types of things. She can deflect/redirect piercing and blunt ranged and area weapons at will I figger.
Lately I've also gone to Limited Flight for all my characters that fly. It is more satisfying to see them land from time to time.
Quote from: BentonGrey on June 09, 2014, 11:47:33 PM
That's sort of what I was thinking, but I am uncertain if she really needs it. I'd have to take away one of her other powers to provide it.
If she has the Weather Control attribute, it grants Hailstorm and Lightning Storm. I would imagine that one, if not two, of the powers you have for her involves one of these functions. If this is the case, could you replace that power with the Active Defense?