Profile: Norem
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| Username | Norem  |
| Real Name | |
| Rank | Novice Member |
| Joined | June 5, 2008 |
| Gender | Male |
| Age | 28 |
| Location | Kansas City, MO, United States |
| Last Visit | November 11, 2008 |
| Post Count | 0 |
| Biography | |
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Latest Blog Entry - AI - Where is it?
From my blog Building a Successful MMO [Norem]
MMO’s are filled with mobs that wander aimlessly just waiting for an adventurer to come and kill them. Animals, plants, humanoids… they all have one thing in common: an IQ of less than 10. Each character of a certain type generally performs the same actions in about the same order over and over. Once you’ve fought one of them, you’ve probably figured out the most efficient way to kill them and they pose no serious challenge to a careful player.
So where is the intelligence? I understand that MMO’s work with limited resources, both technical and man-hours, but an activity that makes up a large chunk of any players time should be a bit more entertaining. I’m proposing two methods to spice up combat and raise the IQ of mobs at least 5 points.
Artificial Intelligence
Let me preface this by saying that I’m not a developer, programmer, or designer. But this is theory plain and simple, without any consideration to resource management or programming limitations.
Step 1 – Add multiple short scripts to each mob. For example, one script that has them check their health and cast a heal if needed, another script would have them use a knockback ability, etc.
Step 2 – Allow the scripts to combine randomly.
Step 3 – A list of successful script combos is generated and each combo has a higher chance of being used depending on its rank on the list. There is always a chance for a “mutation”, which means no combo is used and the mob uses random scripts in an attempt to form a new successful combo.
Here’s an example:
A mob has the following combo list:
1. Melee > Stun > Heal > Melee
2. Melee > Yell for help > Melee
3. Cast fireball > Melee > Stun > Melee
4. Mutation
The combo in the first position has proven the most successful in the past (success meaning the mob survived the encounter) and therefore has a 60% chance of being used. The second combo has a 25% chance of being used, the third has a 10% chance, and the 4th has a 5% chance. Lets say that the mob uses #4 and a random sequence of scripts is used. If this combo is successful it is saved and added to the list at position 3.
This system is not true intelligence but it does add variety and challenge to encounters.
Real Intelligence
I don’t play LoTRO but I imagine that this idea is very similar to monster play. Basically add an option to allow players to take control of a mob. I imagine this as a widespread system with no indication of when a mob is being controlled, thereby adding an element of surprise and danger to questing in those areas.
I know a lot of people will say pvp is the answer to all this, but pvp is a different animal all together. The fact remains that while I don’t think every mob needs to be an epic battle, at least some of them should be.
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