Buddy/Ignore List
Alamaze Solo Game
Need your help developing the new Alamaze Solo game that will allow 1 person to play against a computer controlled opponent. Ry Vor is giving me some leeway to create this since he's about to undergo a medical procedure and will be gone for the next two weeks (hope it goes well). So I need to get this done by then so he can play a few solo games while he's recovering but need your help with the A.I. (artificial intelligence) on what the computer controlled position should do during the game.
The solo game will only last 6 turns and the first version will be in Oakendell so the player may choose either the Elves or Druid to play (the computer will play the other kingdom). The dispersed kingdoms (PI,RD,TY,UN) won't be offered since they're spread out over the map and the chances of meeting up with the solo player are slim. So I'm planning on providing a fully functional game that is concentrated in one region (for the most part) that lasts up to 6 turns.
Ry Vor mentioned that he would like to have a limited game on a smaller map but that will take additional development to modify the code and doing so will also delay 3rd Cycle's Beta testing since any code changes that I make for this solo game will require the normal game to be retested over again.
So with that in mind, I was planning on making a few configuration-only changes to make the solo game worthwhile without doing any major code changes. Something like the following:
(1) Each kingdom's initial treasury is 80,000 food and 80,000 gold
(2) Each kingdom starts off with larger militaries to be able to conquer a pc from the beginning of the game. I feel this is necessary because if a beginner player moves a current turn-0-sized group to a pc, they'll be wiped out when they attack and end up saying that this game sucks and leave. So I'm planning on making the 1st group have about 8-10 brigades of troops with 4 kingdom brigades and an assortment of companion brigades (which will look nice in the group section too). The 2nd group will be smaller in size about 5-6 brigades, the 3rd group a patrol, and the 4th group inactive (to move stuff around).
Everything else for a 3rd Cycle kingdom stays the same as the regular game. I can do the above with only configuration file changes so that works out best for me.
So the only piece left to do design-wise is what the computer played position should do in the game. I'm not looking for anything extensive since I only have two weeks to get this done but will need something that would make the solo game worthwhile and not suck. I looked at Fall of Rome's Centurion document and it's practically useless since it pretty much only says that a computer group will issue TAC 3 if beyond pc defense or TAC 1 if smaller in size. That document is a joke so I need your help with this effort on what the computer position should do.
For moving computer controlled groups, I was going to select a random map position (out of the 8 adjacent map areas) and move the group in a random manner one map area at a time. I'll skip entering water areas for now which shouldn't be that much of a problem since Oakendell doesn't have that much water anyway. Computer groups will always use 725 so they'll stop at any pc found then issue a special TAC based upon kingdom abilities (like Barrage if they have Siege Engineering) or a general TAC that is based on group strength vs pc defense. If the computer group meets up with a player group, they'll always attack with random battle spells if a wizard is present in the group.
But I need help with the remaining stuff. Again, I'm not looking for anything complex because I only have two weeks to get all of this done and there really won't be that many people who will play the solo game either (maybe a dozen or so new players in 2016). So I'm not really looking to do a ton of work for such a low number of people who will only end up playing a few sample turns anyway.
Ry Vor mentioned that he would like to have a tutorial version of the game but You Tube videos are better for that purpose and Primeval games that have a mentor (which is the best way of learning the game). So I was planning on the solo game to be a quick version of the normal game to get a person's feet wet before heading into a Primeval game.
So if any of you have any ideas of what the Elf or Druid should do for the first 6 turns in a game, post here and I'll adopt the procedure the best that I can as well as incorporate a similar procedure for the remaining kingdoms when they become available.
Need your help developing the new Alamaze Solo game that will allow 1 person to play against a computer controlled opponent. Ry Vor is giving me some leeway to create this since he's about to undergo a medical procedure and will be gone for the next two weeks (hope it goes well). So I need to get this done by then so he can play a few solo games while he's recovering but need your help with the A.I. (artificial intelligence) on what the computer controlled position should do during the game.
The solo game will only last 6 turns and the first version will be in Oakendell so the player may choose either the Elves or Druid to play (the computer will play the other kingdom). The dispersed kingdoms (PI,RD,TY,UN) won't be offered since they're spread out over the map and the chances of meeting up with the solo player are slim. So I'm planning on providing a fully functional game that is concentrated in one region (for the most part) that lasts up to 6 turns.
Ry Vor mentioned that he would like to have a limited game on a smaller map but that will take additional development to modify the code and doing so will also delay 3rd Cycle's Beta testing since any code changes that I make for this solo game will require the normal game to be retested over again.
So with that in mind, I was planning on making a few configuration-only changes to make the solo game worthwhile without doing any major code changes. Something like the following:
(1) Each kingdom's initial treasury is 80,000 food and 80,000 gold
(2) Each kingdom starts off with larger militaries to be able to conquer a pc from the beginning of the game. I feel this is necessary because if a beginner player moves a current turn-0-sized group to a pc, they'll be wiped out when they attack and end up saying that this game sucks and leave. So I'm planning on making the 1st group have about 8-10 brigades of troops with 4 kingdom brigades and an assortment of companion brigades (which will look nice in the group section too). The 2nd group will be smaller in size about 5-6 brigades, the 3rd group a patrol, and the 4th group inactive (to move stuff around).
Everything else for a 3rd Cycle kingdom stays the same as the regular game. I can do the above with only configuration file changes so that works out best for me.
So the only piece left to do design-wise is what the computer played position should do in the game. I'm not looking for anything extensive since I only have two weeks to get this done but will need something that would make the solo game worthwhile and not suck. I looked at Fall of Rome's Centurion document and it's practically useless since it pretty much only says that a computer group will issue TAC 3 if beyond pc defense or TAC 1 if smaller in size. That document is a joke so I need your help with this effort on what the computer position should do.
For moving computer controlled groups, I was going to select a random map position (out of the 8 adjacent map areas) and move the group in a random manner one map area at a time. I'll skip entering water areas for now which shouldn't be that much of a problem since Oakendell doesn't have that much water anyway. Computer groups will always use 725 so they'll stop at any pc found then issue a special TAC based upon kingdom abilities (like Barrage if they have Siege Engineering) or a general TAC that is based on group strength vs pc defense. If the computer group meets up with a player group, they'll always attack with random battle spells if a wizard is present in the group.
But I need help with the remaining stuff. Again, I'm not looking for anything complex because I only have two weeks to get all of this done and there really won't be that many people who will play the solo game either (maybe a dozen or so new players in 2016). So I'm not really looking to do a ton of work for such a low number of people who will only end up playing a few sample turns anyway.
Ry Vor mentioned that he would like to have a tutorial version of the game but You Tube videos are better for that purpose and Primeval games that have a mentor (which is the best way of learning the game). So I was planning on the solo game to be a quick version of the normal game to get a person's feet wet before heading into a Primeval game.
So if any of you have any ideas of what the Elf or Druid should do for the first 6 turns in a game, post here and I'll adopt the procedure the best that I can as well as incorporate a similar procedure for the remaining kingdoms when they become available.
