Spring RTS Engine

sorry, three releases within two days created some confusion...

yes, aai 0.52 is the newest version. i wanted to fix these crashbugs as soon as possible so ppl get a working version

i edited dowload links...
http://www.fileuniverse.com/?p=showitem&ID=2445

Well then that might be explained by the fact I ran it on altored divide, I guess I should try a bigger map such as comet catcher remake and see what happens when AAI has the time to get past the initial hurdles.

(i've had problems with like every other ai)

I havent recieved any logs from you or any reports at all? Usually a simple description of what happened and when with a logfile is enough for me to fix the problem and get it working for you, as I guess it would with OTAI.

AF wrote:Well then that might be explained by the fact I ran it on altored divide, I guess I should try a bigger map such as comet catcher remake and see what happens when AAI has the time to get past the initial hurdles.

(i've had problems with like every other ai)

I havent recieved any logs from you or any reports at all? Usually a simple description of what happened and when with a logfile is enough for me to fix the problem and get it working for you, as I guess it would with OTAI.

I dono, all I know is when I have the NTAI in a game ill get a globalai error halfway through the game. When I have the OTAI I get occasional crash, and for some reason some really laggy points in the game for no reason. AAI has been the most stable so far, though all 3 of them and the JCAI have had the "build a few buildings or none at all then do nothing" bug. *shrug*

Edit- Where do you want me to post this log?

Ah I see now, no need for the log, that'll be an error that is fixed in XE 4 which I'm releasing tonight along with a few surprises that shouldfix all of those problems.

I did try to retest on comet catcher remake but I had downlaoded the AAI 0.52 with emptyAI.dll. You should do an installer like I did, saves having people ask howto install the AI.

I've been training up my version of AAI and it can play quite well now. But as a few others have pointed out it does does build its first factory fast enough in XTA. It will often never recover from this set back.

1) Build order.

To fix this in a mod independant way I suggest, randomising the early build order to see what works best. Alternatively you could compare the cost of a factory and determine the fastest way to build one, that still leaves enough spare resources to build the first few mex's and solars.

2) Too much walking.

I've that you place solars at the back of a base to protect them and factories at the front for better access. This only happens if you start in the NW corner of a map as this is not reversed in the SE corner.

However some players use solars as giant DTs so putting them near the front is ideal for that. Factories should be close behind the front lines, but that should be near the back of your start point near the begging.

The the longest walk you do at the start should be to your first mex. Evertyhing else could be built within nanolathe distance.

If you contructors have to mave very far, you need more of them.

3) Why so many solars so early? Do you try to maintain a metal/energy income ratio or do you use another method?

4) It should claim more mex spots. Apart from the extra metal, mex attack can be your first warning of a rush. The extra metal and early warning will make a big difference to survival.

Don't take the critism badly AAI is a joy to watch, it so many things well, it builds a nice range of static defenses, it responds quickly to incursion with available units, it is capable of beating any other AI. With a few tweaks it could be much stronger.

Weaver wrote:I've been training up my version of AAI and it can play quite well now. But as a few others have pointed out it does does build its first factory fast enough in XTA. It will often never recover from this set back.

1) Build order.

To fix this in a mod independant way I suggest, randomising the early build order to see what works best. Alternatively you could compare the cost of a factory and determine the fastest way to build one, that still leaves enough spare resources to build the first few mex's and solars.

2) Too much walking.

I've that you place solars at the back of a base to protect them and factories at the front for better access. This only happens if you start in the NW corner of a map as this is not reversed in the SE corner.

However some players use solars as giant DTs so putting them near the front is ideal for that. Factories should be close behind the front lines, but that should be near the back of your start point near the begging.

The the longest walk you do at the start should be to your first mex. Evertyhing else could be built within nanolathe distance.

If you contructors have to mave very far, you need more of them.

3) Why so many solars so early? Do you try to maintain a metal/energy income ratio or do you use another method?

4) It should claim more mex spots. Apart from the extra metal, mex attack can be your first warning of a rush. The extra metal and early warning will make a big difference to survival.

Don't take the critism badly AAI is a joy to watch, it so many things well, it builds a nice range of static defenses, it responds quickly to incursion with available units, it is capable of beating any other AI. With a few tweaks it could be much stronger.

Thats what i've been trying to say, you just said it much better

AF i saw that after, im about to dl the new version, im curious to pit aai and NTAI against eachother (yeah i know im weird)

Weaver wrote:But as a few others have pointed out it does does build its first factory fast enough in XTA. It will often never recover from this set back.

sorry i think you want to say "it does not"... hmm actually aai tries to build maintain a balance between energy and metal income. however i hardoced a maximum of 2 or 3 mexes (cant remember) before aai tries to build its first factory.

since i never play xta: how fast should the first factory be built?

About first, or after the first mex, tops. Then it should only build solar while e stalling, or close to... in the beginning, atleast

hmm, You'd have to train up NTAI first, and XE 5 is due later today aswell.

As for distance, I think that if you score possible locations to choose where, then simply adding somethign along the lines of:

score = score / destination.distance2D(builder_pos);

would solve the problem...

submarine wrote:since i never play xta: how fast should the first factory be built?

I usually build 2 solars, 1 mex, and a kbot or vehicle factory, in that order. This gets you up and running more or less immediately with no nanostall. (The "extra-windy spring maps" phenomenon makes wind power a better deal in general, but I still tend to build solars at the beginning because they are so durable compared to windmills.)

what about the spring update, is this version working at all anymore???

no all ais need to be recompiled. however i'm having some problems to get aai working again

yeah got my whole comp crashing out loud when trying the old dlls

Edit: but thinking of what zaphod said it wouldn't require MUCH to convert the DLLs :;p

submarine wrote:no all ais need to be recompiled. however i'm having some problems to get aai working again

I'm not getting the new version until AAI works with it. AAI for me is much better than playing against anyone online, if you give it a good 10000 handicap it sometimes wins :D

yuritch is currently testing aai 0.55, if he doesnt report any crashes i'll release it tonight or tomorrow...

submarine wrote:yuritch is currently testing aai 0.55, if he doesnt report any crashes i'll release it tonight or tomorrow...

Tonight, Please.

Edit: Now. Please. Or I'm going to send a Pee Wee to get it from you.

I mainly released this version to give ppl an ai to play with for the new spring version. there might be some balance issues since it's a very quick release this time

Changelog:

AAI v0.55:
- AAI is now compatible with the modified ai interface of spring 0.70

- Extended map learning files/every mod now creates own map learing files

- AAI tries not to send builders in setors which turned out to be too dangerous

- Fixed a rounding related crashbug


Edit:
AAI 0.52 (compatible with 0.67b3):
http://www.fileuniverse.com/?p=showitem&ID=2445

AAI 0.55 (compatible with 0.70bx):
http://misc.twam.info/alex/AAI_0_55.zip

Could you release the source please? I really want to tinker with AAI.

I mainly released this version to give ppl an ai to play with for the new spring version.

You make ti sound as if my short lived monopoly on 0.7 compatible AI's never existed ^^

sorry but i couldnt get ntai xe6 working with spring 0.7