AI in instant and multiplayer query:

[onlooker]

Hey all. What I'm about to ask will come off as noobish I have no doubt. So play nice.

First off. I've played this game (both 1 and 2) on and off over the years since they first came out, and I'm amazed at the progress you guys and Ken miller have made on this title. So impressed in fact that it has prompted me to attempt to sell the idea to some friends.

Which brings me to my question.

I remember (or I'm insane and imagining things) an option where you could play instant action missions as both a commander, or as a grunt pilot (In such a mode the AI would handle most or all of the base building). I'm running the latest 1.3 patch at the moment and can't for the life of me find the option. Does it exist?

I've searched the web somewhat and found no real information other than most of the archives of info seem to have disappeared.
Has anyone ever implemented a method (either in game patches or mod format) of having the AI handle most of the building in multiplayer?

I ask because I know it would be an order of magnitude easier to get people hooked on the game if I can have an AI control their base for them. Even if the AI does an average to poor job, it would at least let them stand a fighting chance and learn the game initially as a tank shooter. To which they can progress into resource management when they feel comfortable.

Finally as a side note (now I'm rambling). I read about a mod named G66 which is supposed to be a popular 'player vs ai' mod? All the versions I can get access to are out of date. A google search assures me there is a version 3.0 for the current patch but every site that hosts it seems to be out of action.

Thanks for any replies I may or may not get. Keep up the good work extending and improving the life of this great game!!

[Zax]

AI builds base? The first 4-5 missions of single player allow that, but it really sounds like you're talking about Rise of the Black Dogs for N64.

G66 is not for the faint of heart. It will twist you, bend you, then break you. RD can provide a link, since the link was on BZU.

[S.cavA.rmyG.en]

well I know what your talking about but it first of all is only in instant and has ben removed becouse of bugs in 3.5 you can get it back in 3.5 by copying over the missions folder form a older install but it will still have some bugs one of wich is your teams AI will still build units for you but out side of your command so they just sit and wate for death.
this is one of the things I would like to see fixed my self.
see if you can get some more moders behind this and it mite be made in to a new mode for MP games.

[OvermindDL1]

Actually he is talking about patch 1.2 and earlier, IA had a mode where the AI would build the base for you. But the AI generally got hung up and stopped building and it was just in general broken, it was not added back in 1.3, although somebody could make a new IA DLL that could do that if someone fixed all the AI issues with it getting hung up with the units vanishing....

[Zax]

We all know that in everyone's game at any given time the AI is controlled by OM. Because computers cannot make decisions >:-{

[S.cavA.rmyG.en]

G66 is not for the faint of heart.

the up to date links kind of went down with BzU but I hear that alot of things got moved to http//:bzscrap.org

[S.cavA.rmyG.en]

Actually he is talking about patch 1.2 and earlier, IA had a mode where the AI would build the base for you. But the AI generally got hung up and stopped building and it was just in general broken, it was not added back in 1.3, although somebody could make a new IA DLL that could do that if someone fixed all the AI issues with it getting hung up with the units vanishing....

still to get it back with bugs you copy over the missons folder form a 1.2 pach install then it will try to use the old DLLs on some of the stock maps.

[onlooker]

AI builds base? The first 4-5 missions of single player allow that, but it really sounds like you're talking about Rise of the Black Dogs for N64.

G66 is not for the faint of heart. It will twist you, bend you, then break you. RD can provide a link, since the link was on BZU.

Oh wow, they made it on N64? Hah. Thats pretty cool.
Hmm G66 not for the faint of heart eh. I'm up for a challenge, but so long as it's a fun one. Last I remember playing some MPI matches, they were little more than slogging past large turret placements. Essentially promoting turtling till you could artillery them down.
I'm surprised to get so many replies so fast!

[onlooker]

well I know what your talking about but it first of all is only in instant and has ben removed becouse of bugs in 3.5 you can get it back in 3.5 by copying over the missions folder form a older install but it will still have some bugs one of wich is your teams AI will still build units for you but out side of your command so they just sit and wate for death.
this is one of the things I would like to see fixed my self.
see if you can get some more moders behind this and it mite be made in to a new mode for MP games.

still to get it back with bugs you copy over the missons folder form a 1.2 pach install then it will try to use the old DLLs on some of the stock maps.

This would involve reinstalling and patching to 1.2. Then taking mission folder and placing it in the current addons folder of 1.3, yes?

Would be awesome to get some people modding it. I take it there is nothing similar to this. I figured it was a long shot, but you never know.
How difficult is it to learn to mod an AI into a map (I assume they're tied to a map?). Plenty of documentation?
Or I suppose more accurately, how difficult is it to copy paste from one DLL to another and tweak settings?

[Nielk1]

This would involve reinstalling and patching to 1.2. Then taking mission folder and placing it in the current addons folder of 1.3, yes?

It would actually involve reprogramming the DLL in C++ to add the functionality back, but not broken. DLL work is programming but quite powerful. There is of course the scriptor to make simple DLLs for SP, but for MP you need to know C++ and be willing to dig in code.

[S.cavA.rmyG.en]

This would involve reinstalling and patching to 1.2. Then taking mission folder and placing it in the current addons folder of 1.3, yes?

it works by over wrighting the stock maps in 1.3 with the older set that use the old DLLs but there will still be some problems with the AI becose the DLLs from 1.2 don't work all toghter right in 1.3.

[Ded10c]

This would involve reinstalling and patching to 1.2. Then taking mission folder and placing it in the current addons folder of 1.3, yes?

it works by over wrighting the stock maps in 1.3 with the older set that use the old DLLs but there will still be some problems with the AI becose the DLLs from 1.2 don't work all toghter right in 1.3.

So overall it is a very bad idea. What you can do is install an old user-made IA map and play in that. I tried it with that Venus one once. It didn't work.

[GSH]

Pilot mode for 1.3 IA games was yanked when IA maps were made race-agnostic. In 1.0-1.2, IA maps restricted the human and CPU races to whatever the mapmaker set. 1.3 allows any installed race to be selected for IA and CPU. There are AIPs for the 4 combinations of default races from the CPU's perspective. But, there's not the 4 combinations of races for a human pilot vs CPU perspective, and those human-thug AIPs haven't been updated the way the CPU-team AIPs have been made tougher. Maybe if someone was willing to do all that work, it's not as hard to enable that in the 1.3 extra options screen.

-- GSH