Let's Talk about the Bitters A.I

[ETM654]

I'm not sure if it's just me, but they seem like they have the ability to learn from how the player plays the game.
like I only get attacked by spitters and they stand just out of range of my turrets and spit at them then move in when there destroyed or like I destroy bases with the tank and at first I would just run them all over but after a while they all started to pile at the front of the Tank so I cant move as the spitters and worms break the tank. I like this though it keeps the gameplay fresh and feels like your on a planet with life not just an obstacle,
of course though this could all just be happy coincidence and there really stupid.

[quinor]

That is a coincidence, their ai is quite basic Still, even basic behaviors may seem complex and be fun.

[RoddyVR]

The two "leaning" behaviours you describe are both in your head.

Basic bitter rule is something like "in range of target, start shooting" and since the spitters shoot just a bit farther then your turrents (get lasers, they outrange spitters), they win that fight. The ones that come too close (when the ones that reached range get in their way) are killed, but the rest survive to kill turret and then move a bit to kill the next.

In the beggining the biters are small and there's not hordes of them your tank mows them down without slowing down. As the evolution factor goes up, they become bigger (more mediums and larges) and your tank slows down when mowing them down. as the numbers increase you encounter situations when your speed drops to critical levels (cant crush a medium bitter) and you get stuck. The spitters are (i think) a little slower then the biters so they are "behind" the front lines when you get stuck.

But even though i see the simple behaviours, i still quite enjoy the way the bitters play in the game, and even though i dislike killing games (i play for the building aspect of the game) i would never turn on peacefull mode.

I remember reading a long time ago a suggestion about implementing some sort of insect AI to the bitters (mark dangerous territory by bitter death, increasing an area's pathfinding cost for bitters.), which i thought would be a great addition to the bitter behaviour, as would cause something akin to bitters "testing" your wall's defences in different places. Not sure if something like that ever got added, but i dont think so, as i always get death piles in the same place once the wall is up and handles what the bitters send.

[credomane]

I remember reading a long time ago a suggestion about implementing some sort of insect AI to the bitters (mark dangerous territory by bitter death, increasing an area's pathfinding cost for bitters.), which i thought would be a great addition to the bitter behaviour, as would cause something akin to bitters "testing" your wall's defences in different places. Not sure if something like that ever got added, but i dont think so, as i always get death piles in the same place once the wall is up and handles what the bitters send.

There's a mod for that. [Rampant]. Not for the faint of heart though as it can be quite the battle for survival. Highly suggested (read: practically required) to have the starting base size set to medium or larger. I mostly mention that because death world preset sets starting base to small. Otherwise you will certainly wind up dead to a swarm of biters in the first 2-3 minutes of the game or less.

[Deadly-Bagel]

By definition they need to be pretty stupid. At any one time there can be thousands of them on the map and hundreds on an assault path, so to keep processing to a minimum they have very basic AI.

Lots of people want them smarter but they aren't the main attraction of the game, to me they're just a resource sink for military science and a deterrent for over-expansion, both of which they handle nicely.

[mrvn]

I remember reading a long time ago a suggestion about implementing some sort of insect AI to the bitters (mark dangerous territory by bitter death, increasing an area's pathfinding cost for bitters.), which i thought would be a great addition to the bitter behaviour, as would cause something akin to bitters "testing" your wall's defences in different places. Not sure if something like that ever got added, but i dont think so, as i always get death piles in the same place once the wall is up and handles what the bitters send.

If you have gun turrets (not lasers) then attacking the same turret again can be beneficial, drain it of ammo so they can break through. Or weaken the stone wall so they can get at the lasers. So choosing different places isn't always the best idea.

I like the idea of marking dangerous territory by bitter death. But I would mark them in 2 stages. A few bitters die then more will go there to investigate or take revenge. But if too many die then it tips over and aliens avoid that place.

Time should also be a factor. Otherwise you shoot a few aliens around your base and then they never come again. The stink of death should wash away over time.