Re: Strategy Game Renaissance


"Michael Vondung" <mvondung@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1e0er2smgd7ah.fcpkz0o0xpvs$.dlg@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> My opinion differs. Multiplayer isn't the answer to everything, especially
> not when it comes to strategy games. I want to play a game, I don't want
> to
> "practice for multiplayer", because I'm not into the competitive aspects
> that dominate online gaming. It isn't like sports to me. Since I do not
> (and cannot) play eight or more hours a day, I'll never be able to compete
> with the pros, so playing strategy games online is bound to be an exercise
> in frustration.
>

>> There is no AI like human AI - I always say ;-).
>
> Well, that depends a bit on your definition of intelligence. Even freeware
> chess engines beat 99% of all human chess players today. Computers are
> great at tactics, they just suck at strategy, since they still can't keep
> track of the "greater picture" as well as a human. This is just a matter
> of
> time and computing power, though, and good gaming AI examples do exist.
> The
> human brain is in essence "just" a biological computer.


I am in the same situation about playing games but because of bad AI (so
far) singleplayer isn't fun to me like multiplayer. And when I said bad I
meant too dumb or too smart AI (or cheating AI). For instance, in Sudden
Strike game AI in singleplayer is to perfect and this is not fun also. I
like to play against humans because you can expect dumb, smart, unexpected
(and so on) moves and this is fun, at least to me.

>
>> But in RTS multiplayer where is no AI fast clicker still
>> is in 99% percent a winner and this is the main problem.
>
> In another words: Playing online doesn't have much to do with strategical
> ability, but with mechanical skill? This seems to contradict your earlier
> statement that you feel that AI is just there to practice for playing
> online, unless you meant that it's just there to learn the interface and
> the efficient click-sequences.
>

I meant exactly that. To learn how to play, to learn what units you have and
unit abilities etc. When I play RTS game for the first time I always playing
on easy difficulty because I want to see everything what I have on disposal
in this game.


>> Game developers should know
>> that until now and try something new. I remember, in Sudden Strike game
>> they
>> had something completely new - no micromanaging at all and you get
>> reinforcements if you are holding certain strategy points on the map.
>
> Game developers do try new things every once in a while, but this isn't
> always what the market wants. Kohan: IS, Kohan: AG, Kohan 2: Kings of War
> ... use an very nifty, modular company-system with supply zones, only one
> real resource, a fantastic AI, but the games still didn't sell well,
> because they didn't follow mainstream. (Reviews were great, and marketing
> was bad.) What sells instead are games like Age of Empires, which, in my
> opinion, are the ultimate horror for a true strategy gamer.
>
> The Kohan games also feature pretty good AI, btw. There is a fan-created
> AI
> set for Kohan 2 that plays incredibly smart, uses typical
> online-strategies, defends well, attacks well, and wipes the floor with
> most players without having to cheat (the AI is called Stormbringer). This
> shows me that it's entirely possible to write a good AI, but it's probably
> time-consuming, difficult and requires effort, but the technology and the
> know-how are there, they just need to be utilized.
>
> M.

I agree with you. This is, unfortunately, situation in many games company
today. As I said there are no many good strategy games but there are some
ones good . I have read somewhere that RTS kind of games does not improved
until Red Alert (except in graphics, of course). This is maybe true with
some exceptions (Total War serial, Kohan etc). There is still a hope ;-)


.

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