Open Suggestion: NPC/AI/bot in-game enemies? Hear me out, it will get more people to play.

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It seems like part of the reason so few people are playing at any given time is because nobody wants to play if only two other people are playing. It's sort of a circular dichotomy. There's nobody to play with, so nobody gets on and plays, which leads to there being nobody to play with, so nobody gets on to play.

"Time to play some Pawn Tactics! Oh, only three other people on the lobby who all seem to be AFK, and one guy capping a flag over and over by himself on Layers? Nevermind. I'll go watch YouTube or play my xbox."

This could partially be broken by adding AI enemies to supplement real players. Sort of like how they do in Star Wars Battlefront. That way people don't mind getting on and playing with only two other people, because they know it will still actually be 6v6 instead of 1v2 even though only 3 of those players are real people, instead of just two players spawn camping the team with one player and capping their flag over and over.

More people willing to get on and play regardless of how many other people are online will lead to more people wanting to get online. Like a reverse version of the dichotomy I previously mentioned.

I know writing AI software is really hard, even for an AI doing something as simple as being an opponent in a video game. And it will probably take a long time of tweaking to get it to work right. Sometimes the AI will be too good, or not good enough, or be too predictable, etc etc.

But if the goal is to revive this game and get people playing, we have to break the cycle of nobody wanting to play because nobody else is playing.
 
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I’m sorry but it’s not feasible to add new frameworks into the game until after I complete the partial game recode stated in the second release roadmap. By the time that’s completed we will have started firing our ad campaign to address the low player counts.

https://pawngame.com/index.php?threads/583/
 
I’m sorry but it’s not feasible to add new frameworks into the game until after I complete the partial game recode stated in the second release roadmap. By the time that’s completed we will have started firing our ad campaign to address the low player counts.

https://pawngame.com/index.php?threads/583/

I don't mean to suggest you should get on this right now. I'm just braindumping whatever ideas come to mind since this is the suggestions section. I totally understand managing a website is difficult, let alone managing a website where you host a multiplayer video game that you have to troubleshoot with a crew of only three or four people, and it might be upward of a year or more before you can start considering new game content. Gotta square away the essentials first.
 
Meanwhile, let's turn this into a looter shooter and give free rewards to those that spend time inside games. Gotta create those incentives.
 
1. Add a premium currency for cash grab via paying customers.
2. Make alternate skins for weapons/projectiles/classes/map objects that require said currency.
3. Give free premium currency based on games that you participated in when they end.
4. Watch kids spend countless hours grinding games for pointless rewards.
5. Profit $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

If it sounds like copying every other freemium business model, it pretty much is.
 
Yeah its great ideas. Its up to @Alex when these things are able to be added.

We definitely will do this but it may have to be after the PT recode
 
I suggested this idea a while back not sure if it was to @TheCriminaL or @Alex, takes a lot of coding but I still stand by it and think it's great for the game. Regardless if the advertising campaign takes place and activity spikes or not (let's hope it does, this game feature should be implemented for newer players who cant quite keep up with players who've been playing for years. Also to prevent padding KD here, there should be certain levels of difficulty for certain ranks when it comes to bots :)
 
I suggested this idea a while back not sure if it was to @TheCriminaL or @Alex, takes a lot of coding but I still stand by it and think it's great for the game. Regardless if the advertising campaign takes place and activity spikes or not (let's hope it does, this game feature should be implemented for newer players who cant quite keep up with players who've been playing for years. Also to prevent padding KD here, there should be certain levels of difficulty for certain ranks when it comes to bots :)
or, bots dont effect stats at all. They are just for practice
 
or, bots dont effect stats at all. They are just for practice

If you're the only human player in a game full of bots, sure.

But if you're in a game with a few human players supplemented by a bunch of bots, then you kind of have to get credit for what you do in that match. If the idea is that you join a 4v4 game with only three people, the game adds five bots so you don't just have a 1v2 on a map designed for 4v4. One human and three bots versus two humans and two bots is better than just one human versus two humans.
 
I think it would be pretty easy to code an AI practice range where the bots don't actually move around. The real challenge with moving bots is programming them to analyze many dynamic variables and make complicated decisions based on those variables. And then you have to program them to categorize different variables in order of priority above others, and every rule has exceptions, and every exception has its own exceptions, etc

It can be made a lot easier with a map full of bots that stand still. All you have to do is program them to shoot at players when they come within line of sight, program them to decide target priority based on character class and distance, and maybe program them to switch weapons based on distance.

For example:

AI Assault class.
When enemy player is within line of sight, shoot at them.
Prioritize targets with light armor, then medium, then heavy.
If multiple targets within line of sight are of highest priority armor category, prioritize closest target within that priority armor category.
If any target is within melee range, override all over priority commands and melee target until target is dead. Then resume previous target priority instructions.

Such a training map would be useful for practicing recon knifes while moving, practice moving side to side to avoid fire, etc.
 
I would prefer bots to use movement prediction when shooting and also move erratically when being shot at. Also the bots should prioritize diagonal movement whenever possible. Bonus points if it can sidestep/fake a recon when being knifed. Infinite ammo would be great too so you can just abuse them by making them run out. If the bots can't be Dark Souls level gud, they just won't be good enough to practice on.
 
I would prefer bots to use movement prediction when shooting and also move erratically when being shot at. Also the bots should prioritize diagonal movement whenever possible. Bonus points if it can sidestep/fake a recon when being knifed. Infinite ammo would be great too so you can just abuse them by making them run out. If the bots can't be Dark Souls level gud, they just won't be good enough to practice on.

The problem is that giving them a sophisticated AI would be more complicated and time consuming the the entire process of creating Pawn Tactics as it currently is.

Imagine every single PT content update that you could possibly imagine that you would like to see in the game, not including anything related to AI. All of that put together would be easier, both in terms of code complexity and time invested, than writing a basic worthwhile AI that can actually move around and function as a substitute for a real player.

A practice range full of much more basic AIs that just stand still and shoot at players within their line of sight, and have a simple criteria for prioritizing multiple targets and choosing what weapons to use under what circumstances, would be pretty straightforward. At least compared to writing an AI that can decide how to move in relation to a billions other dynamic variables. It might not be as good as having AI that can maneuver like a player, but it would still be of value, and require a fraction of a percent of the effort required to write an AI that can decide how to move around.
 
Oh yea for sure, I get you. I mean AIs can be for different purposes. If players just wanted some dummies to pad some score, a basic AI is enough. I'm just concerned if it will keep them entertained for replay value you know? I just fear that I might get bored too quickly with a pushover bot. Most players nowadays are veterans from maybe a decade ago and are quite proficient at this game and I think they expect a decent challenge.
 
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