Seibertron.com Energon Pub Forums

[MINDVVIPE]

Okay, well, what's your idea? What would you have the AI do to make full use of transforming? If you're going to start criticizing my ideas (Make transforming something actually useful, or don't bother doing it) maybe you should put out some of your own.

Cars:

race to cover, transform to robot, attack.
>Take damage>
Transform and drive away to find better cover/fire at the player from afar while vehicle strafing until heavy damage is taken > transform and take cover behind obstacle, completely out of view unless flanked.

Trucks:

Similar to cars, but added Ram attack in vehicle mode.

Jets:

Fly in while bombing/rocketing player.
Hover from afar and fire while taking evasive actions when fired upon.
Hover over other enemy npcs to provide aid or shield cover.
>Transform>
Take high perches and attack from afar.
Aid enemy nps with medic gun.
Transform when being attacked to fly out of immediate visibility.

Insects:

Similar to jets, but can cling onto player in insect form and require being melee'ed off while damage is gradually being taken (gun arm still free to fire other enemies with decreased accuracy OR melee)
>Transform>
Uses arms to melee/throw multiple objects (explosives?) at the player with the use of additional limbs.
Cling onto flying insect mode bots to fire until shot at, then they can drop and crawl/run/attack the player.

I could probably come up with more. Theres all the little details I left out like, cars are faster than trucks, insects run faster than their bot mode... all the things that could be used with actual better AI to decide when to do what.

[Shadowman]

Okay, well, what's your idea? What would you have the AI do to make full use of transforming? If you're going to start criticizing my ideas (Make transforming something actually useful, or don't bother doing it) maybe you should put out some of your own.

Cars:

race to cover, transform to robot, attack.
>Take damage>
Transform and drive away to find better cover/fire at the player from afar while vehicle strafing until heavy damage is taken > transform and take cover behind obstacle, completely out of view unless flanked.

Why do they need to transform to do that? You can run for cover on foot.

Jets:

Fly in while bombing/rocketing player.
Hover from afar and fire while taking evasive actions when fired upon.
Hover over other enemy npcs to provide aid or shield cover.
>Transform>
Take high perches and attack from afar.
Aid enemy nps with medic gun.
Transform when being attacked to fly out of immediate visibility.

Some of those are only useful is large rooms. Not all enemies hide out in rooms specially designed for them.

[MINDVVIPE]

Why do they need to transform to do that? You can run for cover on foot.

Some of those are only useful is large rooms. Not all enemies hide out in rooms specially designed for them.

Its faster, and as you said, makes them a smaller target with no visible head for a sniper headshot (if you tried and missed, you don't get a second chance).

Theres always been enough areas of a mission/level with open spaces that you won't miss the jets in smaller spaces. If they really wanted to, they could have the jets fly in behind you in a tunnel, and then transform and fly further down the tunnel to take up points further ahead of the tunnel you are traversing (which means if you don't finish them off before they fly off, they accumulate ahead of you as more jets fly in [which means if you're quick, you can take out a few jets as they fly in since they are weaker in this mode and more susceptible to one well timed and locked on rocket]).

It's really more about the timing at which they transform, just like WFC multiplayer with gamers who want to make full use of the transformers potential.

[Sabrblade]

thanks for the clearup, sux I like the "Autobot Titan" character design <sigh> hope theyre saving best for last. I was also hoping they made Perceptor a gentle giant cant wait 4 more char reveals

Here's Perceptor.

[El Duque]

Want to explore the timeline the Cybertronian civil war? gameinformer has posted the timeline mirrored below in their latest Transformers: Fall of Cybertron article, "The Transformers Timeline". Click here to view the full article and see the image in greater detail.

In the interest of offering an official history, we asked High Moon Studios, in cooperation with Hasbro, to prepare a timeline that explains the emerging fiction. If you've been paying attention to the Transformers for many years, you'll notice elements of the story drawn from the original generation of stories, not the least of which is the tracing of a history that takes the Transformers from Cybertron to Earth. Careful readers will also notice some new hints about the direction of the Fall of Cybertron storyline.

[remnant114]

I hope they find a way of adding a version of beast wars to this timeline.

[NatsumeRyu]

I agree, the AI should be better, but I also think they can add a little bit more for the AI to do (like dashing, ramming, etc.) If the AI were better at dodging, the game would be marginally more difficult. And would make it more like a show/movie where everybody's shooting but no one gets hurt! XD Anyway, assuming they dodge, they can, as someone mentioned, find cover farther back, or be more agressive and run up for a melee as well (kamikaze of sorts, either to help their remaining friends, go out bright, or because they're cornered and no where else to go, etc.). And when only one is left (if the level allows), he might decide to attempt fleeing, and you could then chase after him if you wanted to. <insert epic car chase here> Not killing him might mean more enemies when you next see him. (like the huge hexagonally plated floor map before you approach Soundwave in Kaon in WfC....some enemies there run away or lead you on for a bit - that could be expanded upon for the premise idea here)

But all of this is sort of intricately woven for the AI system as a whole. (IE not everything can be implemented one part at a time, but relies on other factors in the system to function effectively, basically a good chunk is all-or-nothing, effort wise. If you can't debug it before time runs out you lose a good chunk of improvement) So hopefully they have enough time and manpower budgeted to improve it. (and knowledge and engine ability. I have no idea what Kismet or whatever else is actually capable of AI-wise, let alone in the new Unreal3.)

So yes. AI better = I hope it's on the list, regardless of whether generic enemies transform. I just don't see them taking that completely out...Like if you meet a boss, like Starscream, assuming he transforms, then his AI will have to deal with that in addition to everything else, while none of the other AI have to. It doesn't provide a good subject for bug testing anyway, if only one or two enemies use the system...not only would it make it harder to spot bugs, but there becomes a battle with how important they really are. On the one hand, it's only one enemy. On the other, it's a boss, so it's supposed to challenge you, not sit there transforming confusedly and whatnot. Of course, this isn't much of a problem if they script the bosses in stages like WfC.
Example:
Boss fires at you in robot mode until 60% energy remains. Cutscene. Boss alternates shooting and bringing in additional forces , until 20% energy remains. Cutscene. Boss brings in additional forces, and runs. After defeating additional forces, you chase after them, chase scene ensues and you have to take them out in alt. mode due to the speed/chase.

I won't get into my opinion of the flawed boss system in general in games (with uber health) to make up for lack of good AI.
Oh, what a wonderful place the world would be with great AI.

[Baneblade]

I hope they find a way of adding a version of beast wars to this timeline.

if they do then it will be well after the battles on earth and the final wars on Cybertron. Beast Wars starts well in the future and goes back to earth pre G1/volcano eruption, and then it jumps back forwards to post final war where everything went pete-tong (all wrong if you don't get the reference)

so the incusion will have to be very well after the original settings..

remember trukk not monkey lol (sorry... i had to)

[Megatron Wolf]

sounds like they're starting to draw ideas from Beast Wars, nice.

[Wigglez]

I hope they find a way of adding a version of beast wars to this timeline.

if they do then it will be well after the battles on earth and the final wars on Cybertron. Beast Wars starts well in the future and goes back to earth pre G1/volcano eruption, and then it jumps back forwards to post final war where everything went pete-tong (all wrong if you don't get the reference)

so the incusion will have to be very well after the original settings..

remember trukk not monkey lol (sorry... i had to)

I second this. If they wanted to hit BW, then they'd have to fast forward ALOT! Pretty much drop this story and go to where Megatron is about to steal the golden disk. They'd probably use vehicle modes though because they didn't get their animal forms 'till they hit earth. But HMS would probably drop the timelines comic and give them animal forms before they hit earth with what they're doing with the Dinobots. Then I'd kinda be dissapointed. Other than that, they'd have to focus on the future, which I kinda doubt they will.