Does Game AI really suck?

shiz3

I just read this article that talks about how crappy game Ai is..even in the "next-gen" era. I, for one, see no problem with it at all. The article talks about how crappy the Ai in Assassin's Creed is, but I recently played through the game and absolutely loved it. I thought the AI in that game was definitely revolutionary. Sometimes it seemed as though enemies were able to predict my movements. Am I crazy or is this author completely mad???



Here is the source article:



www.gamealmighty.com/l/story-individual/story/Why_are_Next_gen_Games_So_Stupid/



What do you guys think?

ViolentY

It's definitely just you.

The AI in Assassin's Creed was horrible. Just search Youtube for Assassin's Creed AI, or watch some reviews (specifically Gametrailers.com review, it gives a really fair evaluation of the AI).

The fact is, graphics, physics, and other hardware-intensive visuals have just EXPLODED in the recent years of video games. But when you look at the AI, nothing has really changed since the early FPS games. Yeah, AI has more things to interact with (sometimes they flank, take cover, interact with environment, etc.), but overall it's still very clunky and artificial.

Developers like Peter Molyneux really hit on AI quite a bit. Hopefully Fable II will deliver.

BushMonkey

Never played AC but yeah most AI suck, now a Night Sister Elder with a stun baton  that was scary once upon a time.

CleffyII

Thats because developers have to dub down AI.  Anyone can create the perfect AI that will always headshot, and react perfectly.  But where is the fun if you turn a corner only to be immediately headshot by a guy using the default pistol?

daeandor

That is the problem with AI isn't it?  In a virtual world, the player characters do not act as real humans would in deadly situations but yet expect AI to be human-like (or animal, alien, or whatever -like).  Player characters are extremely reckless.  Just look at what you do in a FPS.  Fast movement and accurate "firing" pretty much rule the FFA FPS, but in real life nobody would be running around in the open.  Just look at the strafe, for example.  In a FPS, people strafe all over the place, and jump, etc but in real life?  No such thing, all you do is strafe around door openings and a few other situations, normally toward cover.  And the headshot, another example of something in games that is not a part of real combat except for snipers.  Picture the guy in HL2 running around with the .357 revolver because it is the hardest hitting, tightest shooting weapon for headshots.  IRL?  Not a chance, that tard would be dead after 3 steps out of his bunker and he would have missed every shot.  But humans do stupid things in real life, just like AI.  Not every adversary in a FPS should be a complete tard who misses their first 10 shots, but they don't need to be Carlos Hathcock either.  They need to have variety.  You charge in on what is supposed to be a lame gate guard, he should miss, or run away all-together.  You charge in on an opposition special ops guy without some element of surprise, a flashbang, or a diversion, he should have a high chance of hitting you on the first shot.

 

Here's where AI truly sucks.  Friendly NPC's.  Man do those guys suck in games.  CoD4 they at least stayed mostly under cover and out of your way, but just about every other game out there, forget it.  Especially the games that say they use advanced squad tactics.  What a crock, they inevitably run right in front of you when you are zoomed in down your sights.  Always the guy you are supposed to keep alive too.

 

Oh, and don't even get me started on mmorpg AI.  I mean, it's like the only AI available is:  wander aimlessly in the same circle for eternity unless, a) attacked, then defend self, b)  PC gets withing aggro range of XX game units, then attack, c)  friendly mob within xx game units is attacked then /assist friendly mob.  Oh, and then there is the advanced features for priority of aggro:  a) attack whoever hurts you most, b) attack whoever heals the most.  And the techniques used by devs to make mobs harder:  1)  increase hps by 1000%, 2)  increase damage per hit by 300%, 3) increase number of attacks per round by 200-300%, 4) add in near un-resistible aoe and pbaoe spells, 5)  give mob spells special properties that PCs do not have and / or cannot cure, 6) if all else fails, add in zerg spawn of unmezzable creatures to overwhelm players.

daeandor

The perfect AI, to me, would be one that varies from mob to mob even among the same mob / npc type.  As it is right now, in a FPS you know almost exactly what to expect based on your chosen difficulty level.  In mmorpgs, once you have attacked a certain type / level of mob once, you know exactly what is going to happen every other time you attack a similar mob.

Publish6246

Yup AI is stupid and that's why i stick to online games for the most part.

abbaba

Originally posted by CleffyII


Thats because developers have to dub down AI.  Anyone can create the perfect AI that will always headshot, and react perfectly.  But where is the fun if you turn a corner only to be immediately headshot by a guy using the default pistol?

There is a difference between an AI that reacts based on the circumstances , i.e. a "good" a.i., and a godly overpowered AI with a million HP that never misses. Or at least there should be.

Godliest

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Originally posted by Publish6246
Yup AI is stupid and that's why i stick to online games for the most part.

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I fail to see the logic... Anyone can confirm that 99% of the community online is about ninety times as stupid as the AI in Assassin's Creed, and that's saying a lot!