18 replies to this topic

[thudo]

Yep.. as of this writing we have ~1-3 weeks til DC arrives.

We expect MASSIVE AI code and functionality enhancements from Relic (whom we've been corresponding with for almost a year now). Hopefully, much of what we requested will be included - no promises.. there never are. I recently had a final code request from Larkin to which was immediately sent to Relic. Its perhaps a little late but ya never know.

So the team awaits the news on DC...

Thanks everyone for supporting us since Day1 back in Sept'04 (basically since DoW was out, the AI was being silently worked on). Good things are coming.. stay tuned!

[Quietdeath]

I feel that with DC the AI is going to be warped to another level -> would be awesome if the AI is able to actually target specific units.

What other new improvements >could< be in there?

Edited by Quietdeath, 12 September 2006 - 02:39 PM.

[thudo]

Plenty but, as always, when dealing with paid devs who have their own "hidden agendas" and a "bossy shareholder-centic" publisher we must always have low expectations. I mean.. its nice to dream but in the end these businesses are in it to make cash - not overly please its customers. However, we had "good detailed dialogue" with the DC AI devs so we'll see what a year's worth of correspondance brings us. Hang tight...

[LarkinVB]

I'm curious how long the interest in doing DOW AI will continue. I can clearly state that my best/most active time is long gone. Now it is more than 1 1/2 years coding AI and DOW is loosing its fascination. Slowly but surely. What about you Thudo and Arkhan ? Still motivated 100% ?

[thudo]

I am.. obviously.. DoW2 is still 2years out (if its beyond a myth). Relic is gonna add all new AI functionality to DC so that should make the first 2months afterwards interesting. Its a waiting game.. something not too long now..

[ArkhanTheBlack]

Still motivated 100% ?

Well, I consider the main work of the AI done. DC means mainly adjusting the AI to get compatible and adding a few new features depending on the core changes of Relic. Therefore I think the most stressing times are over and AI coding is a bit more 'relaxed' now. At least for me.
I also hope to get into professional game development when my studies are over (which seems to take forever...), and therefore I consider AI coding for DOW as a valuable experience.

[thudo]

Yes the stressing part is now complete. Its up to Relic to give us that extra bonus now with hardcode which would take Corsix and others a long time to create. Oct 9th is our day!!!

[Zenoth]

I'll be there to support with testing as I've always wanted to, and often did.

Right now I'm more focused on moding for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (I am the author of the Combat Behavior Mod, my nickname out there at the Bethesda forums is Lyrondor, and thankfully it was merged in well known and superb mods already including the great Oscuro's Overhaul and Francesco's Leveled Mod). It's a whole new hobby for me, and I really like it now. I spend more time modifying then actually playing it.

And, I think most of you guys know Relic just released yet another masterpiece, named Company of Heroes. Such a game. I don't know what they've been doing to their A.I department staff for that one, but oh man does it shows some talent. The engine must have taken ages to make, and its A.I parts centuries to test, heh. Yeah CoH was in development sometime back during the Napoleonic Wars, lol. If CoH's A.I is any sign to the "changes" for Dark Crusade's A.I, then all I can say is ... I can't wait.

Nice to see all of you guru coders will keep looking at it in the coming months with Dark Crusade. I'll do my best finding some free time to test it as regularly as I will be able to.

See you in a couple of weeks all

Edited by Zenoth, 14 September 2006 - 07:35 AM.

[LarkinVB]

If CoH's A.I is any sign to the "changes" for Dark Crusade's A.I, then all I can say is ... I can't wait.

At RN COH forum there are already a lot of complaints about the AI. They are even calling for the DOW skirmish AI mod team to improve it.

[ArkhanTheBlack]

At RN COH forum there are already a lot of complaints about the AI. They are even calling for the DOW skirmish AI mod team to improve it.

It depends. I've also seen a lot of post with people saying that the COH AI is pretty hard. According to the descriptions, I'd say it's a very good harasser, but weak against rushing, base defense and end game. As always, the AI is challenging until you find its key weakness to beat it...

I'm probably not that interested in COH since it's a WW2 game and only fields two races. I consider it mainly a single player experience. But it seems to be quiet good for this type of game.

[thudo]

Neither am I re: CoH AI coding.. Yes its what DoW2 will be based on (if DoW2 happens) but why no interest?

Its a WW2 themed - massive strike-out there.. Its pre-determined history, playing with old military technology, and only Axis/Allies sides (boorring).. War40k themes offer a vastly more interesting experience but I've always preferred hi-tech over low-tech anyway. Granted, CoH has a more robust engine and if a possible DoW2 gets ported over then that will be something to look forward to in 2 years. Hopefully, all mods will be able to be migrated over to skirt years of development time. I mean, why remake an entire mod faction when it can just be migrated?

CoH does look cool but DoW/WC/DC is my shear passion. Too much AMAZING stuff is coming in the next 2-3 months its insane! Stuff I will need the best AI guru minds here to ensure works solidly. I hope I can count on you chaps.

[Zenoth]

Well indeed right now CoH is a WW2-based game.

But its superb engine will spawn total converstion mods within futuristic contexts, I'm pretty sure. I can already imagine some sort of 5-story Mechs walking in a ruined city, destroying everything in its path, followed by flying units, and debris pushed around on the ground as the ship flies over.

If Dawn of War II is planned by Relic, and if they intend to make it with CoH's engine, or ever an "upgraded" CoH engine, then I don't think I'll ever be worthy enough to even look at the game.

[Finaldeath]

Certainly, most of the functionality of COH would lead itself to a very cool W40k game, like the squad AI, rear armour attacks on tanks, and garrisoning buildings, building defences, having proper territory capture, leader points, experience, and so on.

It won't be moddable to more then 2 races though, I think that's totally (sadly) hardcoded.

[ArkhanTheBlack]

I'll definitely give Mark of Chaos a try. Actually my 'roots' are WH Fantasy and not 40K. I play WH fantasy for at least 10 years now, and own 4 armies. Therefore trying MOK is almost duty for me.
How MOK works is THE price question. Most people expect something like Total War, but I personally play Total War only in campaign mode with quick fights since I don't like the RTS mode. Therefore I hope that MOK will be different.

[Malkor]

Well guys I can pretty much assure you I won't be wasting any more money on relic's crap. DoW is just so boring, even with the AI mod, so I'm dropping out of the testing reserve. I have no motivation to reinstall the game or bothering trying to locate/fix that crash I was getting. It just isn't worth it.

Good luck with your project!

[thudo]

What was the crashing prob? I just built an all new Conroe system and installed WinXP+SP2 with all updates for it and the game runs beyond amazing. I've even Oc'ed this system to 1ghz faster than stock including memory. At the beginning of tweaking my bios overclock settings, the game would CTD when I played a 6player (All Hard AI) game with max details @ 1600x1200 after 5-10mins. After adjusting bios settings and when iit didn't CTD on the first game but on a second one immediately following the first, I further made adjustments. Now the game works solidly even with all 6 AIs being populated by user-faction mods (which are faaarr more sensitive to overclocking).

Have you updated yer BIOS on yer Mobo? No Overclocking in Bios or Video Card? Something is obviously causing an overheat. Thats why the game CTD'ed for me - I overclocked my video card to high so dropped it and now the game never CTDs.

[Malkor]

Nothing is overheating, my system is configured properly, and DoW runs better than Starcraft. Nothing is overclocked. It was the same crash I had a while ago that the new patch or something introduced and I never bothered trying to fix. I really can't be assed to go through 5 cds reinstalling the game to try to fix it.

iirc it was a consistent crash that always occured around a minute into the game, and I don't even know where my cds are to verify it. (I also stabbed that installation in the face a while ago to free up HD anyway so I'd need to reinstall regardless)

I also verified my bios is updated and all that.

Edited by Malkor, 22 September 2006 - 04:53 AM.

[Slash]

Either way, i just cant wait for your newest mod version for DC....but im going to have to wait until xmas to try it, since my computer was taking away from me D:.....stupid grade 12....