Gaming Artificial Intelligence (yeah, right)

[Zephyr]

Has anyone here ever played a game for PSone/PS2 that really makes you question whether A.I. really deserves to use the word "Intelligence"?


Today I picked up my Armored Core 2: Another Age and started to play. For the sake of humor I decided to play one of the levels that just keeps tossing enemies at you. Since I had the Gameshark codes on I just kept blasting away with no end in sight. Finally I got bored of shooting the tanks and drove my AC over the side of a cliff and into a small river. This allowed me to fight the hover drones instead. Shortly thereafter I noticed something else fall from the cliff, so I decided to wait an see what it was. Not long after that a tank drove over the cliff and sank into the water. I was laughing like crazy at just how stupid the A.I. was.


Anyone else ever experience something like this? (please explain too)

[AzureWolf]

Just to clarify things so no one mentions difficult games just because they are difficult. An intelligent A.I. is one that is both unpredictable and formidable. Now, by formidable, I don't mean it has to be as good as you, but it can't be like what Black Phoenix just gave: "Not long after that a tank drove over the cliff and sank into the water." Yeah, that's unpredictable, but not in a good way.

Anyway, I have to say one of the dumbest A.I.'s I've ever seen is in Starcraft. Talk about predictable... That just makes it no fun unless you are fighting at uneven odds. Even then, you know what's going to work and what's not going to work. For example, you can have a large team setup at the front of the computer's base, and then have one or two forces attack from behind (then run). Immediately, they will have all their forces at the back, chasing those two units, and you can make an assault in peace.

Good A.I., good A.I.... Well, the only good one I could remember is from the Virtua Fighter series. In part 2, especially, there was this "expert mode," where the computer would take everything it's learned from all your fights, and just take you on. It was almost impossible to beat! Blocked when necessary, and used the weirdest moves. Unfortunately, the A.I. became extemely beatable when my little brother and his friends played the game for just a few day. A few days later, learned that, in that short time, they destroyed the "perfect" A.I. All it would do was jump in the air and do ridiculous and useless things, so open for attacks. Here and there it would act like it's old self, but mostly, it would just jump like an idiot.

My second pick is also from Virtua Fighter. Part 4 has this cool feature where you "raise"/train an A.I. Granted, I could only raise a retard (I named him Beta :D), but I've faced very sophisticated A.I.'s other people made. Haha, I just couldn't figure out how to teach him to block! He was great on the offensive (made it to 3rd Dan, I believe), but other, thinking, players would just own him because he wouldn't block. Haha, teaching yourself and teaching others are two [I]completely[/I] different things!

[Shinmaru]

To tell the truth, there are way too many games in which the A.I. in which the term "artificial intelligence" would be taken quite literally. I simply can't stand games with stupid A.I. - that's one of my major gaming pet peeves.

Of course, it goes the other way as well. I hate games with A.I. that's far too good, though not as much as games with idiots for enemies. I love Super Smash Bros., but on the higher levels the A.I. goes from good to maddeningly cheap. It's like fighting Neo from The Matrix - the enemies are way too fast and good.

Some of the best A.I. I've ever found would be from Perfect Dark. The enemies are very good in that game and present a great challenge (enough to make me really enjoy a first person shooter, even). They react almost like a real human would - it's that good.

[Zephyr]

[quote]
Just to clarify things so no one mentions difficult games just because they are difficult. An intelligent A.I. is one that is both unpredictable and formidable. Now, by formidable, I don't mean it has to be as good as you, but it can't be like what Black Phoenix just gave: "Not long after that a tank drove over the cliff and sank into the water." Yeah, that's unpredictable, but not in a good way.
[/quote]


I think the problem with the AI for the tanks was it had been given a secondary priority. The tanks generally move toward you and fire, and can occasionally move in a way that is unusual. In reality it looks like the AC's got the better AI (since they are meant to be hard) and the MT's varied based on the type.

As for the game's predictablity, that is a matter of opinion. The limited movement in the game scales down how unpredictablity of the AI's movements, but it can still throw you for a loop since it performs the movements better then a human would.

There is nothing wrong with the tanks going over the cliff, IMO, since I got payments for each without having to waste ammo. :D

[Akki Koroshiya]

some games ill walk right up to a guard with a bazooka with its a spy mission,and the guy doesnmt care he just walks by and BOOM!other times some one shoots his fellow guard and they get into a gun fight and i walk right past them into the next room and try to repeat the process,somtimes i get enemy vehicles to run into stuff.and when playing unreal for my MAC,i run at the comp. players to get them to run off of somthing.and when my partner is messing up the thesecurity they dont even make an effort to shoot her.