AI is on top of my list

[ATAG_MajorBorris]

Why pc pilots would prefer artificial intelegence over a real dynamic human is beyond me they will never get better, I take that back, they will get better then the AI (which will probably suck durring our lifetimes)....unless they cant get internet maybe.

[Tavingon]

I wish there was a way to set passive/aggressiveness of enemies in custom missions, I want enemy bombers to fight back!

[buddye]

I agree with nearmiss but ....

Why is it so difficult to make AI planes that follow the same rules of physics and gunnery that human-controlled planes do in flight sims?

I also am very interested in AI. As a volunteer BDG (BOB Development Group) member, I have worked on the BOBII AI over 6 years trying to improve it and make it more human like.

In BOBII the AI and the player use the same FM and code so they are equal with only two exceptions (1) the AI do not black out or white out and (2) the AI can see through clouds (the AI do have blind spots as they can not see through the solid A/C parts [wings, rear, nose, etc] or see into the sun). Customers do sometimes complain that the AI can pull more G's and does not black out but in my opinion the advantage is small against a human pilot.

In BobII the AI can stall, spin, crash, and do stupid things. The AI ability to fly effectively is controlled with "skill level" which the player can select in Instant Action Missions and skill level is assign or user controlled in the Dyamic Campaign. The higher skill level AI are more effective in Air Combat as they have the ability to fly more maneuvers and they fly each maneuver more effectively and efficiently.

Why are the AI not more human like?

In one word the answer is "cost". The AI can not just be designed and implemented. It must be tested, re-worked, and re-tested over and over. The quality of the testers giving feedback must be exceptional and the amount of time and manpower is very large and it can never end as you are never done. The AI is not just designing to a spec. The AI is more of an art. It is cheaper to put you game money into things that can be designed, scheduled, and implemented (Multi-Player, Landscape, cockpits, and more eye candy). Also eye candy sells well but customers seem to always complain about the AI.

[smink1701]

Been reading all the interesting comments and thought I would jump back in.

I don't know if I'm in the minority or majority. I get a little window of time to play and fire up Cliffs for about 15 minutes and then I hear my wife or kids call and I'm gone. Don't think I've got the time to really get in to MP. Maybe I'm wrong. Also seem to rememeber seeing a poll that showed the vast majority of players are SP, not MP. Maybe I'm wrong about that too. I would rathther go back to IL2-1946 than the current Cliffs in terms of AI. Maybe that would be easier for the developers to implement than fixing current AI. I'm for whatever is the quickest / easist fix but would like a fix of some sort. Right now planes just sit there like on auto pilot or go nuts like stunt pilot monkeys on crack.

The Ai as it is is just downright cheating. Tonight I was just messing around and shot the end of a Hurricanes wing off. Instead of losing maneuverability he did a few barrel rolls as quick as a Red Bull air race and lost me before I even had a chance to react.

[jamesdietz]

The last beta seems to have made a small improvement ...but it may be my imagination...When I go back to Il-2 it still looks quite a bit better...
I do remember Wing of Victory II- I must have been one of the first to buy it & it was terrible for quite a while esp the AI...bomber formations that turned as if cables were attached to their wings & fighters that did maneuvers that StarWar fighters would have been green with envy. Slowly it got sorted out,if I remember properly it had alot to do with third party volunteers...?
The initial version of CloD really reminded me of WoVII,in so many ways...but I've been along for the ride & ( even with low 14-25.FPS) I really love it - the eye candy of the cockpits & shadows is just too much & I find going back to Il-2 mildly difficult , inspite of its much higher, better performance.It still has alot of issues to work on before it grows to a bigger sim ,but Il-2 took a while too...

[nearmiss]

The 3rd party devs are doing a work on the AI for IL2 1946 with UP as I understand.

In fact, constant improvements in AI are being mentioned.

If that is true, the fruit may not be falling too far from the tree.

Skouras...

Buddye is main stay on the AI performance package for BOB II WOV. He has posted several times in this thread, and might be persuaded at some point to help improve the COD AI performance.

You can't get better help than the man that made the BOB II WOV the best AI of any WW2 air combat simulator in my experience.

Also, your video is for 2.08 version. There have been an additional 3 patch releases since then.

The AI performance was a prominent feature of those releases.

http://a2asimulations.com/forum/view...p?f=10&t=21865

I recently reinstalled the BOB II WOV. I was always put off by the lack of a competent mission builder and no multiplayer online game.

I think some enthusiasm for the BOB WOV died off a bit with the release of BOB COD, because everyone's expectations are high for the COD.

Luthier is staying with it hot and heavy, so those expectations may not be misplaced.

[nearmiss]

Originally Posted by jamesdietz

The last beta seems to have made a small improvement ...but it may be my imagination...When I go back to Il-2 it still looks quite a bit better...
I do remember Wing of Victory II- I must have been one of the first to buy it & it was terrible for quite a while esp the AI...bomber formations that turned as if cables were attached to their wings & fighters that did maneuvers that StarWar fighters would have been green with envy. Slowly it got sorted out,if I remember properly it had alot to do with third party volunteers...?
The initial version of CloD really reminded me of WoVII,in so many ways...but I've been along for the ride & ( even with low 14-25.FPS) I really love it - the eye candy of the cockpits & shadows is just too much & I find going back to Il-2 mildly difficult , inspite of its much higher, better performance.It still has alot of issues to work on before it grows to a bigger sim ,but Il-2 took a while too...

This whole scene is very excellent graphics. The problem is.. the distortions are just not acceptable (to me).

[SEE]

Originally Posted by David198502

would really love to see improved ai, plus what krupi mentioned.......realistic flight models!!!

Same here now that MP is getting decent numbers!

[buddye]

"What method do testers and players use when testing and refining the BOBII AI maneuvers"? (we have over 80 complex maneuvers for selection [both the aggressive and defensive maneuvers]) for the fighters (Spit,Hurri,109.110) and over 50 simple maneuvers for selection for the JU87 and Defiant).


Sorry, I have just one more boring technical post to try and communicate how the BOBII players and testers worked with a single programmer on the AI for the last 6 years (version 2.03- 2.11). Each and every maneuver was reviewed, tested, evaluated, and refined. This was a committed team approach involving a large amount of work. Is the COD community ready to commit to a large long term task?

We use Move Code Labels in real time as a tool to show which maneuver has been selected.

The best way to learn more about the BOBII AI is to turn on Move Code Labels and watch the AI. A good way to watch the BOBII AI is to use Auto Pilot (control+A) so you can just sit back and watch the move codes change.

BOBII’s label options are the following:

1. Move Code Labels - Used to test BOBII AI maneuvers
2. Short Labels - Short text
3. Full Labels - Full text
4. Single Character Labels - Player selected single character
5. No Labels - For realistic game play

Here is a Pic example and text description for Movecode labels:

1. Move Code --Examples like AUTO_FOLLOWWP (following WP like bombers), AUTO_COMBAT (fighting move code but depends on individual maneuver code), AUTO_LANDING, etc.
2. Maneuver code -- Examples like MANEUVER_DISENGAGE (stop fighting, reasons are many), MANEUVER_TURNINGFIGHT (aggressive maneuver), MANEUVER_BREAKHIGH (defensive maneuver), etc.
3. Range to player (meters)
4.Skill level (Novice, Veteran, Ace, Hero and each subdivided, example Ace1, Ace2, Ace3)
5. Alt (feet)
6. Speed (MPH)