Creating buildtrees with NTAI XE7.5

[Guessmyname]

How's it done? (Is hoping to make a rudimentary AI for low-fatt FF - at the mo AI comms just sit there)

[Lindir The Green]

Well, the in-detail stuff at darkstars isn't there anymore, and I'm at a school computer, so I'll just have to remember all that I can.

You make a folder in program files\ta spring\ntai called "low fat FF.sdz" or whatever. Then in it you put a mod.tdf file with this in it:

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[AI]
{
      dynamic_selection=1; \\ set to 0 if you want to manually define scouts
      scout_speed=60; \\ if dynamic_selection=1, anything higher than this will be used as a scout
      abstract=0; \\ set to 1 if you don't want to define the buildtrees
      use_mod_default=0;  \\ I think this is pretty much the same as absract
      use_mod_default_if_absent=0;  \\ If this isn't 0, I think NTAI will crash
      cheap_multiplyer=1.3; \\ a higher value will make it build more factories and expensive stuff, but will make it more likely to nanostall
      \\ there is a bunch of spacing stuff that I don't remember but you probably don't need to worry about
      scouters=CORFAST, ARMFAST;  \\ if dynamic_selection=0, you have to manually define the scouters
      attackers=CORTHUD. ARMROCK; \\ ditto
      kamikaze=ARMVADER, CORROACH;  \\ put things that you want to manually self destruct when they are close to an enemy in here, but be warned that if this is defined NTAI will crash
}

You can put manual targetting stuff in the .tdf also, but I forgot how

If you are manually defining the buildtrees, then you need a .txt file for everything that can build stuff. The .txt file's name MUST BE LOWERCASE. In the .txt file you put what you want it to build in order that you want it to build it. Keep in mind that if it doesn't think it has enough resources, it will refuse to build expensive stuff.

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CORSOLAR, CORLAB, CORMEX, CORMEX, CORRADAR

you can also put keywords in the .txt file, I'll list all the ones I can remmember.

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repeat  \\ repeats the buildlist from the beginning
B_ASSAULT  \\ builds the most efficient assault unit
B_RAND_ASSAULT  \\ builds a random assault unit
B_RADAR  \\ builds radar
B_POWER  \\ builds something that produced energy
B_MEX  \\ builds a mex
B_DEFENCE  \\ builds the most efficient defense
B_GEO  \\ this has never worked for me, but it is supposed to build a geothermal generator
B_SCOUT  \\ builds a scout

And that is all that I can remember. Look at the XTA buildtrees and try to make something like them. gl + hf!

[AF]

There's 2 of the 3 spacing tags used in the nanoblobz buildtree aswell as a few other tags and a good example of the targetting weights....

The mod.tdf definitions.txt is still in the NTAI/documentation/ folder along with an old buildtree document. I have the documentation that was at darkstars on my usb hardrive but at the moment it isnt working properly...

also

in mod_info.tdf

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[MOD]
{

[NTAI]
{
tdf_path=lowfatFF;
}
}

will make NTAI load from NTAI/lowfatFF/ instead of say NTAI/lowfatFF1.0.sdz/

If you have an existing FF 1.1 buildtree which i think I bundled with earlier versions of NTAI XE, try copying that adn using it as a starter.

Also make sure the command cruisers ahve the commander tag in their unit fbi else they'll be detected as builders and treated as such.

There's also

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B_RANDOM //builds random stuff
B_MINE // mines, not reccomended
B_FORTIFICATION
B_FACTORY
B_ESTORE
B_MSTORE
B_BUILDER

and you'll need the spacemod=1; tag in your mod.tdf else it'll filter out a lot of the build menu.....



And for Argh there's 2 new keywords for buildtrees to control the gaia function without making the entire mdo behave as a gaia AI. is_gaia and is_notgaia I think they are I'll chekc up on them tomorrow......

[Nemo]

A standard FF buildtree might work, it depends on the player it was based on.

If you built a buildtree that reflects how most FF players play (sit and porc up to really big ships), it will be about as strong as an XTA or AA player who does the same. Defenses are much, much weaker in Low Fat FF, and raiding is much more effective.

I'd make one, but I'm not at my Spring computer till Saturday. If there's still any interest (heh, considering the massive activity that the Low Fat thread has seen...perhaps 25 downloads total <_<) I'll try to put something together for AAI and NTAI 7.5.