Worried that im doing the .hero and M25ai file combination all totally wrong

[kingb33]

Im a little worried that maybe im not understand the AI aspect of creating my characters with the meshes i'm downloading.

This is what im doing and im hoping if someone can tell me if im doing it wrong or maybe a suggest a more optimal way?

1) I downloaded a bunch of meshes i like (100's)

2) I have 2 young children so creating a hero file for every single one at this time is not going to happen. So i downloaded USAgents Hero Files and decide im going to use those.

3) Then i use Alex's EZHero 3.3 utility.  (Because its the only way i know to easily link the hero file to the mesh i want) What i do is open up the hero file that USAGENT created then i point to the mesh i want to associate it with and then rename the file in EZHERO3.3 to what i want it to be....i dont like some of the naming conventions USAGENT used in his hero files.

4) Then i save and all done....

But now im starting to read about these AI files in FFX3.  I ONLY play using FFX3.  What ive noticed is that in EZHERO 3.3 is that if i open up the heroes i create using my method i just described im noticing that the AI is using CGenericHero.  And the EZHERO utility doesnt allow you to browse to a AI file like it does a mesh file.  

So now my question is should i not worry about that? Am i doing this totally wrong?  Im wondering if i play my character in FFX3 AI generator mode and then open up my hero in EZHERO3.3 afterwards that it still shows CGenericHero is that bad or wrong?  I'm really confused with this.  I need to use Alex's EZHERO utility because it allows me to associate a hero file with a mesh really easy and fast.  

Is there a way to check what AI the hero file is using?  Like is it a line item in the file somewhere?  So i can actually look and see?

Any input / advice / help would be greatly appreciated thx

[cherokeesam]

If you're using USAgent's M25 AI files (there's one attached to every single hero file he's made), then you don't really have to use the M25 AI Generator mode in the Rumble Room --- USAgent has already done the work for you.   The characters should be ready to go "out of the box."

The problem with this method is that you have to set up your character *exactly* the way USAgent did --- in other words, if you pick another mesh than the one USAgent assigned, there's a very good chance that the animations aren't going to match up at all and you're going to crash the game as soon as it looks for an animation that isn't there.   Similarly, a LOT of USAgent's older files were made on old Freedom Force, and some of the fx he assigned certain powers do not exist in FFVTTR --- so again, you get the crash-to-desktop.   

In general, as long as you match up USAgent's hero files with *exactly* the mesh he chose (and the same naming formats, etc), then you shouldn't have any problems at all and can just use the AI he created.   But if you choose a *different* mesh, or if you find the hero acting "stupid" (not the way you intended), or if your hero crashes the game a lot, then you'll need to edit your character manually (in-game) to make sure every power has a working animation and fx attached to it.   

[kingb33]

Oh no lol...i dont want to use some of the meshes USAGENT chose...

I guess i have no other alternative than to rebuild them most from scratch i guess?  It's fun if you have a lot of time...but i dont becuz i have kids  

Unless there is some other way to use his files?  Im glad you told me this...thx.  I thought using Alex's EZHERO would just fix the problem by linking USAGENTS hero file with the mesh i like. I didnt think about the missing animation or FX thing.

No wonder i guess the Thor i downloaded always crashed the game everytime i use him.

THanks so much for your responses

[daglob]

The thing about Alex's EZHero, if you make a hero file for, say Superman REN, you can copy it over to Ultraman YL, do a little editing, and you have a "new" hero file. Similar characters like Nighthawk, Blue Beetle, and Batman be whipped up fairly fast. Same with most Green Lanterns.

They still need to be personalized.

EZHero will let you assign an AI to your hero file too. And someplace there is a description of most fo the "canned" AI files and their tactics.

[USAgent]

To echo what cherokeesam said, in order to get someones elses hero files to for you just right, you have to have everything that the hero file creator used. The Thor mesh that I use might use a "melee_7" for a attack and the one you use might not even have a "melee_7", likewise my Thor's Punch may use like a Melee_4 or something which has a "punching" anninmation, and your Thor's melee_4 might be a kicking annimation which wouldn't make sense with the hero file.

Also I use alot of different 'FX" for my attacks which you most likely don't have yet, and if you don't have the FX that I have assigned to a attack, nothing will happen (you won't see any action).  So like for my Cyclops I have one of his optic beams using a FX called "cyclops_optic_beam".  In order for that attack to work for you, you would need a beam FX named exactly that.

And concerning the M25 Ai files, The AI generator generates those files by using hero files. So if you use one of my hero files and change its name, the AI file will no longer recognize what hero file it is associated with and then won't work.  If you change the hero file name you would then have to name the AI file the exact same name and also open up the AI file and change the name as well. Also there is a indept document on how exactly all the terminology works in the AI files but I am not sure where Taskmaster has it available at now.  But those AI files make such a difference in the game I find it worthless to play FF1 and its non existing AI. (except for Mods.)

I see other peoples hero files as a good referance or starting point to create my own, and that is how mine should be looked at too. What I like to do with other peoples hero files is open them up in game and assign what annimations and FX I want to use with it. That way they would have done all the work making it and all I have to do is assign those 2 things. 

[kingb33]

The thing about Alex's EZHero, if you make a hero file for, say Superman REN, you can copy it over to Ultraman YL, do a little editing, and you have a "new" hero file. Similar characters like Nighthawk, Blue Beetle, and Batman be whipped up fairly fast. Same with most Green Lanterns.

They still need to be personalized.

EZHero will let you assign an AI to your hero file too. And someplace there is a description of most fo the "canned" AI files and their tactics.

I don't see how EZ Hero 3.3 lets you assign an AI?  It only has a drop down list of predefined AI files...it looks it's the ones just from the core  

How are you getting it to be able to assign an AI? There is no browse function to point to an AI file. And im not sure where EZ Hero is pulling from to generate that predefined drop down list.

Thanks

[GogglesPizanno]

Yeah, as a lot of other posts indicated, if you are going to use other peoples hero files, you pretty much should need to use them as is, as the names, animations etc... really need to sync up or else things don't work properly.

If you are going to to edit an existing hero file (especially the changing the mesh), you more than likely will need to go into the in-game character editor and assign animations and FX to make sure the powers are assigned to an existing animation/fx combination that your new mesh uses, and then run it through the AI generator to get a correct accurate working AI (if you want the custom M25 AI).

[daglob]

The thing about Alex's EZHero, if you make a hero file for, say Superman REN, you can copy it over to Ultraman YL, do a little editing, and you have a "new" hero file. Similar characters like Nighthawk, Blue Beetle, and Batman be whipped up fairly fast. Same with most Green Lanterns.

They still need to be personalized.

EZHero will let you assign an AI to your hero file too. And someplace there is a description of most fo the "canned" AI files and their tactics.

I don't see how EZ Hero 3.3 lets you assign an AI?  It only has a drop down list of predefined AI files...it looks it's the ones just from the core  

How are you getting it to be able to assign an AI? There is no browse function to point to an AI file. And im not sure where EZ Hero is pulling from to generate that predefined drop down list.

Thanks

That drop-down list is what I was talking about. Until recently, I haven't been able to pause Freedom Force and use another program (when I went back everything locked up), so I haven't tried the M25 AI generator (it's one of the things I intend to do, along with learning how to mesh). I apologize for not making myself clearer.

[Xenolith]

Ignore the drop down list in the EZHero.  That is only the AIs that come with  .  Leave it blank.  If you name a hero JLA: Plastimc Man, fFX3 will look for a JLA: Plastic Man.ai.  You don't need to select anything.  I hope I understnad you problem.

[kingb33]

I'm wondering if anyone could provide me so insight on improving the AI for characters a bit.  I ran my characters through the FFX AI tool and it works fine.  But their are still some odd behavior problems that I would like to tweak.  Hopefully it's not just a limitation of the   game engine.

Some things id like to adjust if possible:

1) Using certain powers way to often
2) Not using certain assigned powers at all
3) Fliers who just fly up and never really land until the end of the battle until they get attacked
4) Stopping characters from healing themselves (is that heroic revival?)  I believe i took out any powers they have that cause them to heal

Thanks

[GogglesPizanno]

The AI generator basically creates a universal, fairly straightforward AI based on a characters powers and certain rules -- but it can do it automatically and in batch and is much better than stock AI.

However, it can can be hand manipulated to be really complex and do all the stuff you want, but it requires opening up the AI file and manually tweaking it. Check out the M25AI section in the FFX documentation to see how. Its not always a simple thing, and requires a lot of trial and error, but it can be hand crafted to an incredibly high degree.

[Podmark]

If you use someone else's hero file you can change it to another mesh, you'll just need to go in-game to the hero editor and check all the animations and fx to ensure they have something selected. Actually if you open the hero file in the in-game editor I think that it will default everything anyway. That should make it run properly now, but it's been a while since I played so I could be wrong. Should be much faster than building your own file.

Not sure how to handle the custom AI, but creating the default M25 files doesn't take long I think.

[TrajkLogik]

I'm wondering if anyone could provide me so insight on improving the AI for characters a bit.  I ran my characters through the FFX AI tool and it works fine.  But their are still some odd behavior problems that I would like to tweak.  Hopefully it's not just a limitation of the   game engine.

Some things id like to adjust if possible:

1) Using certain powers way to often
2) Not using certain assigned powers at all
3) Fliers who just fly up and never really land until the end of the battle until they get attacked
4) Stopping characters from healing themselves (is that heroic revival?)  I believe i took out any powers they have that cause them to heal

Thanks

Tweaking the AI is time consuming and doesn't always work as you expect. M25's Optimization update will try to use the best tactic at the best time, but I've seen it interfere with what you really want the character to do in a specific situation. But once you do get the character behaving the way you like it's really cool.
1) Lower the pct parameter of the tactic and/or move the tactic line lower down in the list.
2) Increase the pct parameter of the tactic and/or move the tactic higher up on the list. You can also try increasing the priority parameter.
3) Make sure there is a TLand() tactic in their AI file. If there is, increase the pct and/or move the tactic higherup on the list.
4) You don't need to remove the powers from the hero file. If you just remove the tactic, then they won't use that power.

Check out the M25AI documentation (http://ffx.freedomforceforever.com/manual/ai/ai.htm) for a lot more tips. It's very well written