Hi all, I searched many things about the AI on Google, now I will ask the question directly.
I'll start with an example: in SC1 you just need to set one AI trigger for the difficulty, set on "Insane" and you see the AI build structures, researching upgrades, using transport units, using units abilities (like the Queen's one or the Science Vessel's one) and attack the enemy with all effort: attack in every direction it can (often attacking more than one side), with always powerful and more units if the previous wave wasn't enough.
It was fun and challenging.
Now I want that in SC2 but I can't figure it out how. Start Melee AI, Initialize AI, difficulty Cheater 3 (Insane). I expected something but the AI just build structures, does NOT research upgrades, does NOT use transport units, does NOT use units abilities, and it just create simple waves and send like 20 marines and a couple of siege tanks (or hydralisk and zergling or other basic protoss units, depends on the race) to my base, always being wiped out. It very rarely create powerful units like Thors/Battlecruisers or Protoss Carriers, and when it does it create just one or two and then never again for the whole game.
Why. How I can set a decent AI that keep attacking me with the intent to wipe me out and not just going around in the same spot annoyingly like a mosquito...?
It's a combination of unit placements on the Terrain Editor, some actions in the Trigger Editor and unit waves from the AI Editor.
A/ Terrain Editor :
You need to give simple possibilities to your AI, when you preplace a unit, open properties and see AI tab.
What you essentially need to know is preplaced units are subjected to initialized AI from trigger actions.
The more you place, the more the AI can use.
But this method has limits and was mainly how AI worked in Wings of Liberty.
B/ Trigger Editor :
You have multiple functions / actions in "AI" and "AI Advanced" categories.
To quickly sum up, they are almost all what you can do in the AI Editor.
I won't detail but the main purpose is to modify how an AI react according to events in-game. For example, after an objective is completed, you can remove a wave that orders to create an expansion.
C/ AI Editor :
Look at it, it's not that complex as it may seem to be.
Let me make a bridge with another game, Command & Conquer. C&C used to built general factions and in its extension, you had 3 variations of each faction.
In this StarCraft II, you have 3 races but Blizzard "innovated" with Commanders as variations of each faction.
Now, think of AI Editor as a variation of faction editor.
In this editor, you can create basic waves that imply any unit or building on various preplaced points in the Terrain Editor, configure many options and even make a link to any trigger.
D/ Trigger Editor - The return :
In fact, you will use AI Editor as a base for your waves. And, if you looked carefully, you must specify static elements like points. If you need to change some parameters of a wave, link that wave to a trigger and use actions to move some elements ... like points.
As mentioned before, you have multiple functions / actions that are almost all what you can do in the AI Editor.
Side note :
> The string you can set at "custom data" for a wave is still mysterious to me. I know it will set a label to that wave in the Global scope (a shared memory) and that you can retrieve that label from a specific AI actions.
So I don't recommend you to only create an AI from one or other editor but to mix editors.
Have fun with it, try small waves and build piece after piece your AI of your dream.
Have a nice day.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Hi all, I searched many things about the AI on Google, now I will ask the question directly.
I'll start with an example: in SC1 you just need to set one AI trigger for the difficulty, set on "Insane" and you see the AI build structures, researching upgrades, using transport units, using units abilities (like the Queen's one or the Science Vessel's one) and attack the enemy with all effort: attack in every direction it can (often attacking more than one side), with always powerful and more units if the previous wave wasn't enough.
It was fun and challenging.
Now I want that in SC2 but I can't figure it out how. Start Melee AI, Initialize AI, difficulty Cheater 3 (Insane). I expected something but the AI just build structures, does NOT research upgrades, does NOT use transport units, does NOT use units abilities, and it just create simple waves and send like 20 marines and a couple of siege tanks (or hydralisk and zergling or other basic protoss units, depends on the race) to my base, always being wiped out.
It very rarely create powerful units like Thors/Battlecruisers or Protoss Carriers, and when it does it create just one or two and then never again for the whole game.
Why. How I can set a decent AI that keep attacking me with the intent to wipe me out and not just going around in the same spot annoyingly like a mosquito...?
UP
Hello.
It's a combination of unit placements on the Terrain Editor, some actions in the Trigger Editor and unit waves from the AI Editor.
A/ Terrain Editor :
You need to give simple possibilities to your AI, when you preplace a unit, open properties and see AI tab.
What you essentially need to know is preplaced units are subjected to initialized AI from trigger actions.
The more you place, the more the AI can use.
But this method has limits and was mainly how AI worked in Wings of Liberty.
B/ Trigger Editor :
You have multiple functions / actions in "AI" and "AI Advanced" categories.
To quickly sum up, they are almost all what you can do in the AI Editor.
I won't detail but the main purpose is to modify how an AI react according to events in-game. For example, after an objective is completed, you can remove a wave that orders to create an expansion.
C/ AI Editor :
Look at it, it's not that complex as it may seem to be.
Let me make a bridge with another game, Command & Conquer. C&C used to built general factions and in its extension, you had 3 variations of each faction.
In this StarCraft II, you have 3 races but Blizzard "innovated" with Commanders as variations of each faction.
Now, think of AI Editor as a variation of faction editor.
In this editor, you can create basic waves that imply any unit or building on various preplaced points in the Terrain Editor, configure many options and even make a link to any trigger.
D/ Trigger Editor - The return :
In fact, you will use AI Editor as a base for your waves. And, if you looked carefully, you must specify static elements like points. If you need to change some parameters of a wave, link that wave to a trigger and use actions to move some elements ... like points.
As mentioned before, you have multiple functions / actions that are almost all what you can do in the AI Editor.
Side note :
> The string you can set at "custom data" for a wave is still mysterious to me. I know it will set a label to that wave in the Global scope (a shared memory) and that you can retrieve that label from a specific AI actions.
So I don't recommend you to only create an AI from one or other editor but to mix editors.
Have fun with it, try small waves and build piece after piece your AI of your dream.
Have a nice day.