So I'm trying to test a new mode for Murder Mansion (exact details will not be given at this time), and the darn bots keep killing me (which hinders my testing, as death in this mode removes your progress towards a goal)
I guess that makes an aspect of the testing a success (the results of being murdered are working correctly) and I'm glad to see that my little bots are becoming somewhat of a threat, but it's getting to be a pain...lol
Of course, in this case, it's my fault that they're getting in my way...
Game Modes are handled by the offspring of a GameMode object that has a set of procs that handle game mode-specific functions (like Setup(), DeathHandling(), PhoneUse(), etc) The parent object has all of these functions defined to control the "Classic" mode, and then for each of the other modes, the necessary functions are overwritten...
Well, in this particular game mode, the players shouldn't be focusing on attacking each other, so the bots shouldn't be coming after me... However, the one game mode function I didn't re-define for this mode's handler happens to be the one that checks the mob's view, and picks a target to attack...
It actually kind of surprised me the first time it happened... I was wandering around, doing the things I wanted to test, when I wandered into the attic, and was soon shot by a bot who had apparently just picked up the revolver... I didn't even see him there until after the hit (know how the light in the attic flickers? well, he was in the dark when he fired the first shot)
That's a good thing, too, though... It proved that the bots will attack from the proper range of the weapon they're holding (I hadn't stumbled on anyone that was carrying a ranged weapon before now, so all attacks had come from right next to me)
Then, on a subsequent session, a bot had singled me out, and had chased me all around the mansion trying to get me with his knife... He actually eventually got me in a corner and ended it...
All in all, though I still haven't even gotten to test out the mode system that I wanted to (namely, the mode-winning condition), I'm very pleased (if even a little bit surprised!) at how well the AI is doing now...
They're still not up to what I want them to be (they currently lack any sort of strategy outside of picking targets to kill when passing them on the map and chasing them down to attack until they're dead, or socialization skills outside of saying a few things like greetings at the beginning of a round, or when passing each other), but they seem to be a giant leap ahead of the previous bots (you know, the ones who would drop what they're doing to exclaim "I'm hungry", even when being attacked...lol)
In overall progress, I actually think a release is coming very soon!
Mar 16 2009, 8:04 am
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Maggeh
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Can't wait!
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HURRAH! :D
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I'm interested to see whether or not the bots will be given their own little quirks, like weapon preference or style of murder (modus operandi, anyone?).
It'd be neat to see the old, polite lady do ambush attacks when alone in a room, sitting on a couch or "sleeping" on the bed. Keep up the good work. | |
I have vague plans to give the bots a few different forms of personality and/or style...
This goes through everything from the types of things they say/emote (formal speech, slang use, "accents", are they friendly/silent, intelligent/backwoods, etc.) to how they approach the game from either side of the law... For instance, as murderer, do they spend a lot of time covering their tracks and cleaning up, or do they just leave a messy trail everywhere? Do they form complex schemes/ambushes to do their killing, or do they just wander around aimlessly, hacking at anyone they see? Do they enjoy toying with their prey, or do they just get right to the point? And as victims, do they become paranoid and avoid everyone, or do they try to remain polite and social? Do they retaliate when attacked, or do they just run for it? Do they jump the gun and make early accusations based on a single piece of evidence (for instance, they simply see someone carrying a weapon), or do they act like they're in forensics, and collect every shred they can get to make sure? Do they even bother to accuse once they know the murderer, or do they play vigilante? So yeah, I do plan to spice them up... However, I think that will wait for a future update (the next release won't have nearly everything I have planned to add to the game, so there will be more releases down the road), because it'll add too much time on to this version's development, and I'm dying (heh) to get out this update... So for now, they're going to remain bland yet (hopefully) efficient... And back to news of the testing I'm trying to do, I finally managed to set up the new mode's winning conditions without getting killed (or getting myself killed by accidentally running through windows, or slipping and falling outside), but when I went to the round-ending goal, I discovered to my dismay that I had completely forgotten to program it to do its job...lol | |