SUBSIM Radio Room Forums - Development Updates

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- - Development Updates (https://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=226377)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Usurpator (Post 2930618)

Hello everyone!
Axel is now back from sick leave and is back to work on AI behaviours and navigation.
Oscar is working on making the wave simulation and other physics systems work in a global context.

Thanks for info, and good to hear Axel is back.

Hello Everyone!

This week Axel's been working on internal debugging tools for AI/navigation, as well as AI behaviours themselves. Oscar is working on global ocean and weather simulation and Einar is modeling assets.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fidd (Post 2930892)

That's good to hear. Will there be any possible player-controlled AI? What I mean by that is an allied-player able to direct AI escorts within the convoy to go to positions and execute tasks (suitably bounded initially by constraints of movement to prevent exploitation of the known usual positions of u-boats 15-25 minutes into the game? This seems to me to be a really good first step towards players being able to move between escorts, with the AI doing directed tasks in the meantime. In other words, using the AI for the dull repetitive tasks, but positioning them according to a human brain's intelligence, rather than an AI algorithm; and then allowing human players to do the fun/fine judgement stuff such as asdic searches in contact and DCing - until called back to the convoy or replaced with a faster escort as they fall astern of the convoy...?

This approach to mixing human play with AI - and occasionally swapping between them, would also permit a smaller number of allied players to have an effect disproportionate to their numbers, which would be especially useful in the absence of dedicated servers?

See:
https://www.subsim.com/radioroom/sho...&postcount=118

Interesting idea, however, we have no plans for anything like this. Our plan is for the corvette to work just like the u-boat, with a handful of players manning different stations. We plan on accounting for this when we design gameplay. For example, a scenario where a single corvette is guarding 1-3 very important ships, and the u-boat has an hour or so to sink them. This way the corvette does not have to cover a lot of ground, and the u-boat has a limited time to act, so we don't get infinite games of the u-boat just waiting.

Hello everyone!
This week Axel has continued work on AI behaviours, working on some more tricky behaviours in relation to land.
Oscar is working on weather-wind-integration with the water, and integrating this in the world map/physics system.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Usurpator (Post 2932236)

Interesting idea, however, we have no plans for anything like this. Our plan is for the corvette to work just like the uboat, with a handful of players manning different stations. We plan on accounting for this when we design gameplay. For example, a scenario where a single corvette is guarding 1-3 very important ships, and the uboat has an hour or so to sink them. This way the corvette does not have to cover a lot of ground, and the uboat has a limited time to act, so we don't get infinite games of the uboat just waiting.

Many thanks, it's heartening to read how the player operated corvette is going to be implemented initially. The time-limit is interesting, however, I think the time-limit MUST be configurable by the lobby owner. The reason for this is that it would allow for a 1 hour game v a handful of merchants, or, the usual 3 and a half hour games which typify a usual organised game with up to 4 uboats v a large convoy, with set TOI's etc. So the time limit should probably be configurable from the start so that the maximum flexibility can be built into the gameplay experience?

As for the "convoy commander" directing AI escorts, I see this as the next logical step AFTER what you're envisaging for the initial player operated corvette, as this will help vary the gameplay experience, which is much needed.

The final step, as I see it, is to allow players to drop into any escort, be it Bittern, Tribal or Corvette, with the AI (directed by the convoy commander) doing the repetitive "dull" asdic searches, and the players dropping into any escort that picks up a u-boat on asdic (or "sees") a uboat, (or leaves an escort that has fallen astern of the convoy to man a better positioned one.)

In this way it is not necessary to have equal numbers of escort players to uboat ones, and the majority of the dull work is done by AI, but those movements and tasks are directed by a human intelligence, rather than a dumb-as-fence-post AI. I fully appreciate that this is a process, and that simpler iterations will need to be introduced initially. The playable corvette does sound like a great 1st step!

Hello everyone!

Oscar is still working on weather-wind-integration with the water, as well as the world map/physics system. Axel is working on AI behaviours for escorts and general convoy states. Einar is modeling assets.

Hello everyone!

This week Axel has been working on AI group states and some dynamic behaviours such as avoiding torpedoes/bomb attacks/similar. Oscar has been working on water/land interactions. Einar is modeling assets.

Hello everyone!

This week Axel has continued working on escort behaviours and attacks. Oscar has been finishing up the global water system. Einar is modeling assets.

We wish everyone a happy thanksgiving!