Innovative challenge in monsters

[Rageburst]

When I look at a MMORPG that has someone whacking a dumb snake 20 times, I wonder what the hell the devs/designers were thinking.

My definition of monster challenge is certainly not \"add more hp and damage.\"

My interpretation of fun challenging monsters means that the monster can use tactics such as healing, buffs, invisibility, damaging spells, confusion spells that warps your perception of who is human/monster, and so.

Here\'s something that I would enjoy having:
When I create a new character, I can buy some weapon and start killing groups of organized gnoll-type monsters. These guy mainly attack in groups or retreat if their pack leader dies or if they too little hp.

When my character becomes more proficient in weapons and other offensive skills, he can choose to move to harder areas.

These monsters are harder in the sense that they can be extremely fast like the alien movies. The can use tactics such as swarming in great numbers, temporarily blinding you by spitting poison, turning into stone to heal, and so on. Giant-types should be able to grab you and hurl you.

Now that\'s fun challenge as opposed to cut and paste monsters that just have hp and damage increased!

[Olig]

I hate that trend in MMORPG\'s too. Although some monsters are exusable, such as giant lizards who will have more vitality.

Good idea, lets hope its somehow implemented.

[davo]

yea it is kinda stupid with these full on gnarly snakes aye.  oi snakes are stupid docile cute friendly things.  unless there those poisonus snakes....hehehe.

nah it should be looked at realisticly, if ya catch a snake in real life you just throw it over neighbours fence, no big deal.

but picture fighting somethen slightly larger than you are. a few slices with ya spoon and its over.  but armour would play quite a significant part in this....

\"and also healing, buffs, invisibility, damaging spells, confusion spells that warps your perception of who is human/monster\" i reckon is a cool idea.


and yes i think turn based is stupid and fighting with tun based... i mean think about it. it seams too polite for hacking each other up and waiting turns.

anyways nice ideas it would be good to see your ideas

[Wormtail_]

If I remember correctly, this is very much like implementing RTS AI-type files. That is difficult. RTS gamers frequently complain about the lack of challenges presented by the AI, and the AI (artificial intelligence, if you don\'t know already) can be easily defeated by old-time gamers. I assume that you are asking for monsters using tactics, and that would require an AI, which is rather difficult to make challenging. Also, some may be challenging at first, but can be effectively and easily countered later. An annoying tactic the AI in AoK always used with \"shoot-and-scoot.\"

I myself would find intelligent enemies more challenging (and exciting). It is best if it is not overdone, though, as in another game, \"Wyvern,\" there is a creature known as a... Wyvern. It breathes fire. Sure, it\'s overused, but it is incredibly deadly. So deadly that my rather powerful Dwarf (I think) always ran away when he saw one. And Firedrakes too, for that matter, because both creatures could breathe fire. The majority of my later deaths were caused by fire-breathing creatures.

[SnowWolf]

A good way to make AI more challenging is to update it - this simulates learning. The reason oldtimers can beat AI is because they know exactly what their enemy is going to do - this is an insane advantage in battle.

[jcterminal]

i agree. having to wack first level rats/snakes/moles for the first few levels of a game is very VERY boring.

there\'s really only two ways around it.

1. go with the idea of \"adaptive AI\", which is a tough code to make, good luck with that. but if you do it, you\'ll be well on your way to \'best.game.evar\' status.

2. make so many different kinds of monsters that the chance of running into the same ones over and over again becomes REALLY slim.

option 2 is i think a far easier choice for the dev team. how do we do it? well, i\'d recommend taking the \"random set\" route.

a bunch of random models of small creatures, a bunch of random skins, a bunch of random attributes, and blend until well seasoned.

some days you find a small pack of weak brown path snakes, some days you find a smaller pack of ice-based snakes... maybe once in a while you find a flying snake that shoots bees out of it\'s mouth.

...or something...

[Axsyrus]

1. go with the idea of \"adaptive AI\", which is a tough code to make, good luck with that. but if you do it, you\'ll be well on your way to \'best.game.evar\' status.

I think this is exactly what the devs are trying to do, create the best game ever

I know there already trying to give the NPC\'s(monsters), a good AI, I guess we\'ll see in CB how smart they are

[Hunnuli]

an adaptive AI would prolly be quite fun. Although even being adaptive i would think you couldn\'t program to think of all the possibilities that a human could but it would be better then those silly dumb ai\'s that are out there. those games get boring real fast.... unless you enjoy making the ai look stupid off course, then you have near limitless ways of having fun