Question Regarding AI programming

[Temple]

I have a question regarding the AI. I don't have Battlefront but do have SSG's Complete Carriers At War and I'm experienced with the War Plan/War Card editor and how much depth there is in that game's AI. I read through the tutorials links found elsewhere on the Battlefront forum and read some of the other threads, but I didn't see something I was looking for.

So I see how Battlefront's AI can have multiple operational plans, phases, etc. One thing I didn't find in these discussions (but I might have missed it) is how the AI reacts to enemy presence.

I'll give you a example of what I'm asking about. Say I create a simple scenario where the Japanese are defending a small island. I design the scenario so that the US Marines can land on the east or the west side of the island. I create operational plans for the Marines so that if they are under the control of the AI the AI engine will randomly select to land on one side of the island or the other.

Now comes time to design the AI for the Japanese. I have fixed defenses on each side of the island but I also have a central reserve, and I want the central reserve to react to which ever side of the island is being attacked. Is it possible to set the AI War Card (I believe that's the right terminology in Battlefront, is it not?) to move to counterattack the proper landing beach?

In CCAW the war cards have tests for evaluting enemy forces, including whether the force includes carriers or not. Does Battlefront do something like this as well, so I could program the response I want in my hypothetical scenario?

[Arckon]

Why unanswered after 3 days?

[JSS]

Understanding the new Card system is taking a bit of time... hopefully this will won't take too much longer.

[Arckon]

ORIGINAL: JSS

Understanding the new Card system is taking a bit of time... hopefully this will won't take too much longer.

Thanks JSS, more informative and respectful response compared to one on another forum.

[Temple]

ORIGINAL: Arckon

Why unanswered after 3 days?

I wasn't in a rush to get the question answered, I just was wondering about the flexibility. I probably spent more time playing with the CCAW War Card system than actually playing the game [:D]. The war plan/war card system in CCAW is *very* powerful but it's tricky to build a scenario that can be successfully played from both sides.

[Gregor_SSG]

ORIGINAL: Temple

I have a question regarding the AI. I don't have Battlefront but do have SSG's Complete Carriers At War and I'm experienced with the War Plan/War Card editor and how much depth there is in that game's AI. I read through the tutorials links found elsewhere on the Battlefront forum and read some of the other threads, but I didn't see something I was looking for.

So I see how Battlefront's AI can have multiple operational plans, phases, etc. One thing I didn't find in these discussions (but I might have missed it) is how the AI reacts to enemy presence.

I'll give you a example of what I'm asking about. Say I create a simple scenario where the Japanese are defending a small island. I design the scenario so that the US Marines can land on the east or the west side of the island. I create operational plans for the Marines so that if they are under the control of the AI the AI engine will randomly select to land on one side of the island or the other.

Now comes time to design the AI for the Japanese. I have fixed defenses on each side of the island but I also have a central reserve, and I want the central reserve to react to which ever side of the island is being attacked. Is it possible to set the AI War Card (I believe that's the right terminology in Battlefront, is it not?) to move to counterattack the proper landing beach?

In CCAW the war cards have tests for evaluting enemy forces, including whether the force includes carriers or not. Does Battlefront do something like this as well, so I could program the response I want in my hypothetical scenario?

I'll try to answer this question for you. Please bear in mind that the Battlefront AI system is totally new, so I can't guarantee total accuracy.

There are probably a number of ways that what you're asking could be achieved, but here is one.

The heart of the new system is the interaction of Warcards, formations and regions. Unlike the old DB system, regions are not fixed, but are created for each card (though we make it easy for you to copy existing regions from other cards. So a region is just a collection of hexes that the scenario designer has created.

Formations are assigned to a Warcard, and in general, will only operate within the region of the current card. So your central reserve will have a region that encompasses its start position and both coasts (it helps that it's a small island).

Within a reggion you can designate hexes as belonging to a Main Line of Resistance (these hexes do not have to be contiguous). Various commands in the Warcard tell the formation what to do with its MLR. For instance, you can designate key defensive hexes which the AI will attempt to garrison at all times. Other orders specify what the formation will do in response to enemy units in the region or the MLR.

So your central reserve could have its MLR hexes on the beaches on both sides of the region. As soon as one of these hexes is occupied, the central reserve could be told to mount a vigorous attack (you can specify the level of response). It would leave its start position and head off to restore the position.

If your counter-attack fails, and the enemy get ashore in strength, you can specify the number of MLR hexes, which if enemy controlled, cause the Warcard to fail its conditions, which will lead to the selection of a new card, which might specify a fallback to a last ditch position. This is essentially what the Japanese AI in Saipan does.

I hope this gives you an idea of what can be done, and I'll try to answer any other questions.

Gregor

[Temple]

Thanks for the response Gregor. I see that the Battlefront AI does have the flexibility I was hoping for, so it's off to the DG store for me [:)]