Just some fast feedback on the changes made. I like the idea of them but I think they need the skill curve to jump up. I started a new char so had low stats, but didn't have too much trouble chopping through everyone, where as previously I did. I think the low level guys look and feel great, they mimic new players really well, over holding swings and trying to spam you and generally slow inputs.
Though I just did a battania tourney and the AI that had around 110ish with 2h weapons was just really bad. It wasn't trying to block and I was able to combo spam them down even though I had 8 in 2h. I think around 110 or so the AI should start at least trying to block a bit every now and then.
It's really hard to judge how to make the AI have a skill curve. Right now the biggest difficulty, esp starting out, is having a 1h weapon or spear and not being able to hit through armor, so you think you hit and it bounces while their swing gets you. I think that's just fine to happen btw and like the idea of the poor vs rich being unfair in the game. Battania has much easier tourney to win because the 2 handers aren't gimped by any armor, so you can just block and retaliate without having too many changes to mess up before you win.
But when you do get to higher level of skill I'd like to see the AI acting a bit more like it did in the last patch, I haven't seen up around 200 so maybe, but that seems more rare than the 130ish level troop, so maybe push their skill level up just an inch.
I thought I might also list some behaviors I notice with new people in multiplayer and wonder if they might help out in adding AI behaviors:
As people get better you start to see them not mess their attack range up unless you do something tricky like shift suddenly at the last minute. They get a little faster, and generally get the attack / block rhythm down pat. At this point generally if you are playing block attack trading with them, it will go on for a bit. Generally you will need to feint to end the fight quicker, otherwise it's down to waiting for errors. I feel like this was the state of combat AI last patch in tourneys and I think it feels pretty good when playing ai. At master levels I'd like to see them feint around a lot, but at the intermediate level, and is that (130ish?) I think it would feel good to have the ai
1. Not mess up range unless the player shifted direction near weapon release.
2. Not feint very often at all.
3. Generally play block, attack, block, attack
4. Not hold a swing long enough for the player to keep combo spamming and land hits, at least if they hold it that long have them come back and block.
5. Have some error rate in the above so the player can land hits (same error rate in the previous ai)
Anyway, all in all fighting the low level guys feels appropriately sloppy and I like it!
Though I just did a battania tourney and the AI that had around 110ish with 2h weapons was just really bad. It wasn't trying to block and I was able to combo spam them down even though I had 8 in 2h. I think around 110 or so the AI should start at least trying to block a bit every now and then.
It's really hard to judge how to make the AI have a skill curve. Right now the biggest difficulty, esp starting out, is having a 1h weapon or spear and not being able to hit through armor, so you think you hit and it bounces while their swing gets you. I think that's just fine to happen btw and like the idea of the poor vs rich being unfair in the game. Battania has much easier tourney to win because the 2 handers aren't gimped by any armor, so you can just block and retaliate without having too many changes to mess up before you win.
But when you do get to higher level of skill I'd like to see the AI acting a bit more like it did in the last patch, I haven't seen up around 200 so maybe, but that seems more rare than the 130ish level troop, so maybe push their skill level up just an inch.
I thought I might also list some behaviors I notice with new people in multiplayer and wonder if they might help out in adding AI behaviors:
- Over pump swings, when they attack left, they turn their char left with the swing. This can actually be sometimes confusing so maybe not a good thing to add.
- Range mistakes - Basically swing early and hit the air in front of you. Sometimes its more noticeable if you just stop short and they whiff in the air. I notice the AI was doing this which is good.
- Slow inputs - Just generally slow to swing again so can get spammed down, they might feel 'stuck' with their shield up while you spam pressure them.
- Overly defensive - Just sit under their shield a lot.
- Spam - Some people just swing for the fences and run around without ever blocking, esp if using a 2 hander. This can actually be pretty deadly in a group so as an AI behavior might be risky to implement.
- Muscle Memory behavior - Basically they are panic fighting and not reacting to you. I like to sometimes just do nothing after I block, and you can see people just sort of shadow fight with the air as if I had been playing normally. They then sort of pause as they realize that I'm doing nothing, and that's a good time to attack and land a hit. It's hard to describe but basically panicked inputs.
- In general overheads are harder to block for people, so are blocked less often. Not sure if you want the AI to do it since to get through armor at lower levels you need to aim for the head and overheads are a bit easier to land that way, so might be disproportional successful.
As people get better you start to see them not mess their attack range up unless you do something tricky like shift suddenly at the last minute. They get a little faster, and generally get the attack / block rhythm down pat. At this point generally if you are playing block attack trading with them, it will go on for a bit. Generally you will need to feint to end the fight quicker, otherwise it's down to waiting for errors. I feel like this was the state of combat AI last patch in tourneys and I think it feels pretty good when playing ai. At master levels I'd like to see them feint around a lot, but at the intermediate level, and is that (130ish?) I think it would feel good to have the ai
1. Not mess up range unless the player shifted direction near weapon release.
2. Not feint very often at all.
3. Generally play block, attack, block, attack
4. Not hold a swing long enough for the player to keep combo spamming and land hits, at least if they hold it that long have them come back and block.
5. Have some error rate in the above so the player can land hits (same error rate in the previous ai)
Anyway, all in all fighting the low level guys feels appropriately sloppy and I like it!
