Enemy behavior changed [for the better?]

[strata]

First off - since this is my first post - I just have to say a big THANK YOU to Interkarma and all the other contributors to this project. My memories of this game date back to the agonizing wait for a ~50mb demo to download over 28.8k dial-up, and I've loved it ever since, so finally being able to play a true remaster (with mod support! and interface improvements!) is just an incredible treat. So again, thank you so much.

So just having spun up DFU for the first time in quite a while I can't help but immediately notice that enemy AI / behavior seems A) different and B) better right off the bat. This is most noticable in enemies noticing and killing each other, something I recall maybe very rarely seeing in vanilla DF, but certainly never in Privateer's Hold. But in this build I walked out into the great hall in PH and the skeleton runs down the stairs and slaughters the bat! Followed by the bat and rat upstairs in the exit area teaming up to murder the imp (and then stand ominously around its body). I actually love this - it's immersive and cool and the first time I've been surprised by something in Privateer's Hold in well over a decade - but I wanted to ask whether A) it's intentional and B) if I'm correct and it's a change from stock behavior.

I also noticed that the archer in the room near the entrance is actually at the door waiting for me and ready to fight instead of stuck behind the tables like an idiot, but that might just be a change in collision behavior (which is again an improvement over the original wackiness).

[Interkarma]

Welcome to the forums strata.

Allofich has been hard at work providing enemies more intelligence over the standard classic behaviour. This has made combat less predictable, and I also feel more interesting. There's even a few more upgrades due in next release to prevent enemies from walking off high ledges and to enable some obstacle avoidance.

If anyone doesn't enjoy the upgraded behaviours, these can be disabled from the following two check boxes in Startup > Advanced > Enhanced.

ai-enhancements.jpg (115.73 KiB) Viewed 2424 times

[johnwax]

I fully agree that the enemy infighting is great stuff. Its realistic and interesting. The advanced combat AI is also interesting, but I don't believe it is really effective at present. In melee combat you hit them and they back up. You wait patiently and they walk forward . You hit them again and they back up. Rinse and repeat until they're dead. It your timing is right, they never hit you! For a mage its easier. You hit, they back up and you have time to ready a spell to whack em. If you decide to follow, they keep backing up. I've followed a bat all the way down a cave and finally cornered it. Anyway, great idea but needs work.

[strata]

I agree there's room for improvement, but IMO it's still a huge improvement over stock as-is. To take the archer in the U-shaped-table-room as an example again, in classic you can always just cheese him by running up to smack him in the face, backing away from the table, rinse and repeat. I don't recall stock DF enemy AI ever doing anything but walking directly towards you and trying to slap / cast you to death. So I'm pretty psyched at the change.

It would be amazing to see further increases - tactical spellcasting, more advanced melee tactics, etc. Infinite possibilities in Unity.

(All that said, as an arachnophobe, I'm pretty terrified of smarter spiders.)

[Jay_H]

I do find it somewhat immersion-breaking for a rat to tactically move in and out of reach But I always reserve judgment on works in progress. I'd hate to be judged solely on a half-finished project.

[pango]

I do find it somewhat immersion-breaking for a rat to tactically move in and out of reach

Don't underestimate rats
Much less giant rats...

(All that said, as an arachnophobe, I'm pretty terrified of smarter spiders.)

Hmmm personally I was hoping for spiders walking on ceilings, just to increase enemies behaviors diversity; I guess that if it happens, it will have to be a mod...

[strata]

Hmmm personally I was hoping for spiders walking on ceilings, just to increase enemies behaviors diversity; I guess that if it happens, it will have to be a mod...

Oh man, if that was working in VR, I'd have to rip the headset off. I remember replacing the spider texture file with the bear (I think?) one back in the day. The Skyrim spiders weren't even that bad, but the Daggerfall spider texture is just so perfectly... gross.

[ifkopifko]

I also noticed that the archer in the room near the entrance is actually at the door waiting for me and ready to fight instead of stuck behind the tables like an idiot...

Actually, I believe this is the case only with modded 3D objects (changed tables, which are probably a bit smaller than the original). With the default table models the archer is stuck there as usual.