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Originally Posted by Skybird
Hm. I got the impression it is not that simple, Haplo.
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Well, Arclight seems to have found the same experience as I did. One Walrus following you does fine, make a whole team of them and the last 2 have trouble. As I said - for people wanting to just run around and have the AI cover their backs, this is not its purpose.
In fact, in the campaign, there is a part where they specifically talk about the "limited AI" that the vehicles have. The units are all field adaptations that allow remote control - thus the AI itself is considered a "new" edition to the unit in the field and would be expected to have performance issues.
The examples you cite, Skybird, are excellent points. The problem is, each one is an AI that is supposed to be emulating the smarts of a human. Either a AI squadmate or a human type AI driving a vehicle. I would expect them to be somewhat "intelligent".
However, if a game even tells me they are "limited" (I even think it uses the term "crude") then I have a different expectation. Especially when the entire storyline accomodates that fact.
Having been part of P&C from nearly the outset, I have extensive testing time on all three betas. During that time, Walrus AI was never an issue for me. Mainly because my playstyle doesn't expect 3 other tanks to run around with me, one to protect me from Manta's, one looking for ground threats and one to repair me if I get damaged so that I can just rampage around and feel cool driving what would then be a nearly invulnerable tank around a pretty island.
It is all about how you use the units you have. It is Carrier Command. Back in the day, since you remember the original, there was no AI for your units - you controled each one or it just sat still. They have improved on the original in some ways. Just not to the point where the "player" can select his four "tanks" - tell them to attack the island, and then go heat up a pizza while they do his job for him. Now will the AI allow the player to create a team of AI's that will provide unbeatable support to the player. It does this by making the player make tactical decisions. Will an AA walrus be better - or will a healer walrus do the trick? That makes the players choice of weapons on his own tank critical - laser or plasma? Each decision feeds another - which shows some really great design choices.
I don't have a problem with that. I don't have a problem with an AI that isn't "smart". Its all within the scope of the game.
Let em fix some of the pathfinding issues. It would make the final missions of the game much easier (as you do have multiple walrus's following you to provide support). Great. But the complaints are well out of proportion to the needs of many players.
It really comes down more to play style and preferences. If the player wants to make it a FPS (and there are questions on whether that style of gameplay can be modded in from the campaign), then they want all the support they can get. If they are an old school player who doesn't rely on the computer to play against itself and win - then its pretty much a moot point.
The only time walrus pathfinding has been anything of an issue with me has been the rare niggle where it doesn't recognize an obstacle in the way, or when winding paths make it take a very lengthy, back and forth route. Even in those cases, it simply takes a little longer than a human driven unit would. That to me is reasonable.