Zeusthor

It's definately possible to do... whether it'd be in by default or not is another issue . Of course, you could always code it yourself once the game is capable of running ai scripts and WFG releases it. I don't want to go into detail with my ai plans because it's not even in a predraft stage. I haven't worked on it in months, but I don't want people to think I'm not coming back . I do enjoy everyone's ideas and I would eventually consider them important once I get back to the groove of things. For example, I probably will not support your type of diplomacy... but I can make sure the AI functionality is flexible and capable enough to do it.

I totally agree and I'm hoping to incorporate good diplomacy between 2 ai players and simple diplomacy between human and ai. The 0ad team probably hates me for being inactive, but I'll be back to work sooner or later :x.

Mabuse, the way I imagine it would work is that the scripter codes in how the AI should act and react to a situation just like you would in AOK/AOM. Learning would be an optional goodie in a scripter's arsenal where he can tell the AI to figure out how to handle this situation because there is no one simple way to define it in code. Maybe there were too many variables in the situation. It wouldn't be something automatic that your AI starts ignoring your coded instructions. It would be something you willingly applied to your AI script. Of course, this is just things I throw around. I haven't defined any implementation details. I haven't even finished any type of clarification and solution definition for AI. I just know I want it to be capable to support a scripter's imagination while maintaining simplicity.

I think both types of learning are possible. I just can't say if there will be both or even one of them implemented at this early stage. Learning is a very optional feature for the game's completion.

I understand where Stephen is coming from, and since he is mainly just uninformed and frustrated, I don't think anyone should/would take his comments offensively. If you think about it... the actual development started not long before you signed up. Before then, 0AD was somewhere along the lines of where TLA currently is. The big guys take an average of about 3-4 years to create their RTS. 0AD's been at it for 2.5 years. Why would you expect this game to be finished faster than how fast paid programmers, designers, artists, etc can do it? To be honest, 0AD makes pretty good progress considering it is volunteer work from inexperienced developers. I think WFG has gone farther than most people expected, and it's accomplished alot when compared to other indie/volunteer work. On top of that, 0AD isn't a bad looking game. Sure, new games will come out and advance the genre. It doesn't mean we can't follow behind or even catch up. The focus on extensibility almost assures me that we'd be capable of catching up. We aren't purposely holding out on a grand product because we are selfish gamers. I'm one of those guys who can't seem to find the time to do my job for the game. I won't explain my reasons, but it's a little hard to devote time to a project when you have other priorities and responsibilities. Instead of trying to find a fault, what you can do is figure out how you can help . My motivation to joining the project was simply a self-need to improve how scripting can be used to create the game environment. I kept complaining about how AOM did it, so I thought, why not be the one who defined how 0AD does it. Maybe you have a certain skill set we could use or maybe you know how to help us acquire volunteers . Inconstructive criticism doesn't help you nor us, so keep it productive.

I haven't really been working on this stuff for a good 2-3 months, but I do plan to incorporate some learning into the AI if I'm smart enough to figure out how it should be done . I need to finish up some personal projects before I dive back in though. And as Matei said, we don't really know how it'll look like until it's almost done because things change over time. If I have anything to do with it, it'll be easy to work with though .

He's talking about paul, not the whole staff ... and Yes, you guys will have a tough time beating me at least... If I end up sucking, I'll use my inside knowledge to cheat somehow. lol . j/k

I was a big troublemaker in my teen years... not so long ago as I'm a few days from 21. I used to regularly visit some stores to shoplift with a few friends, but it wasn't really for the sake of stealing... We liked when the store owners chased us a few blocks, lol. It got to a point where we didn't even steal anymore, we just walked in the store, teased the owners, and have fun with a chase. I remember this one guy kept a stick to beat us with when we came around, we felt so special that he'd go through that kind of trouble. He never did catch us with that stick although he threw it at one of us one day in frustration. Another store owner kept 911 on speed dial and when he saw me and my cousin, he called them right away. That day we weren't even trying anything, but cops happened to be in the area and chased us, so we ran into the projects which makes it hard for them to come after us in their patrol car . Let's see... stories... hmm... I used to rob kids for their money and pokemon cards long ago too :x, but I soon realized I didn't like doing that very much as I felt guilty about it. I've been caught twice by cops... once when I was like 13, I was trying to steal those stupid finger skateboards from toys r us. The funny thing is... the store detective convinced me to do it... Aren't they supposed to just watch people? Anyway, I was 13... what could they do? Second time, I was with a few people in K-Mart and they were trying to steal computer games. I didn't participate at all seeing as they had cameras in every corner of the store. They said I was an accomplice of some sort, but they let me go cuz I obviously didn't do anything. But wait... there's more... I remember trespassing on the roof of a clothing store that was robbed a few days before (not by me or anyone I know ) which was really stupid. After we left, like 10 cops on bikes were chasing us. We were pretty good at running away though so after some climbing and running, we got away clean. I spent 24 hours in jail, but I was completely innocent. I was in my friend's car so he can take me somewhere and I fell asleep. Sometime during that, he felt the need to make a quick stop to pick up some marijuana for himself on a spot that was being watched. Cops eventually swarmed the car when he drove away and took us in... I was still sleeping the whole time until the point the cop knocked on the window. Supposedly, I was so high I fell asleep or so they say... I was pissed off that day... I haven't been doing drugs and they take me in for nothing just so the judge can dismiss any charges afterwards. I would continue on, but It would turn into a mini-series .

Yes, this would be possible. Tim, could you get on MSN? I need someone who likes AI and doesn't mind boring details .

no evolution algorithms and no unsupervised learning. It won't invent tactics . About the ability to create tactics, it's possible, but I won't make promises on that.

That's already in plans . We're giving the AI the ability to remember past events and use it's success rate as a deciding factor for whether to repeat it. It won't be used throughout, but it's a good optional addition for scripters.

Our scripting language is more like AOM than AOK, but it's simpler than AOM. It might be possible to creating scripts in-game, but there are no plans to do so. We'll definately offer a good debugger and error handler to help find incorrect commands and logic in scripts though.

I'm hoping to push what's expected from AI in an RTS game with 0ad so you can expect a bunch of cool things from it. I read somewhere in this thread where someone suggested to turn micromanagement on and off where the AI takes over some things if you don't care about handling it which is exactly one of those cool things I hope to present. I'm also making it possible for the AI to communicate with another AI and play like a team such as helping a teammate when it's being attacked, building in an area under constant pressure, allying with others if it's beneficial to the AI, etc. I'm hoping to even make it possible for AI to human and vice-versa type communication although it'd be much more subtle. AI to AI battles are definately interesting and I'm expecting it to be even more important in 0ad since scripters would be allowed to do much more. We haven't really delved deep into details yet, but you can see we are pushing the limits in everything we put our hands on .

I'm looking for a PHP slave programmer to do my bidding for a month.

unfortunately, cheezy is right. scripting languages calculate differently and although work similarly, make different assumptions.