Matrix Games Forums

ORIGINAL: Perturabo

It's amazing that a game with such possibilities of customization is practically unknown.

It was well known in the 90's. But mostly for how disliked it was. As M Evans Brooks called it in his wargame reviews site...

"This simulation was to be the land version of HARPOON. A simulation of the Gulf War, it was bug-ridden and unplayable; as a military task force planner, it had merit and could serve as the Harvard Graphics of Wargaming. Thus, it is recommended for military professionals because there are concepts buried in this "game" that merit serious consideration (e.g., utilization of unit frontages and boundaries, cross-attachment of units), but as an entertainment program or one that teaches valid lessons of warfare, this was the biggest American disaster since Bataan."

AI is perhaps one of the hardest aspects to program. It's very easy to think of ideas but very difficult to implement in practice. Of course, that doesn't mean that it can't be done. It takes some of the best minds to collaborate to push the boundaries of AI in gaming.

I find it interesting that the Operational Art of War series (TOAW) stopped calling it an "AI" and called it what it really is... a "Programmed Opponent" (PO).

Of course, if any game had a real artificial intelligence, you'd hear more screams of "Colussus" or "Skynet!" or "Pre-Borg!" or "Replicators!" or even "Saturn 5!, where's Farrah?!" (...and I would be the first to run screaming into the mountains!)