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I have just started playing AoE2 again. I have some complaints. The units are so stupid and frustrating. They will casually walk into the range of enemy castle
by Houshalter 11y ago
I have just started playing AoE2 again. I have some complaints.
The units are so stupid and frustrating. They will casually walk into the range of enemy castles and towers. They will chase units across the map if you don't put them into defensive mode. If you do put them into defensive mode, they can easily be take out by archers without fighting back. They will open gates and let hordes of enemies into your town. They will stand there and continue cutting wood while an enemy army approaches them and kills their coworkers. The monks won't attack units unless you specifically order them to. Etc, etc. It makes parts of the game very tedious and unenjoyable.
The campaigns are similarly tedious. At first it's really fun and challenging, if you have the difficulty right. It's a challenge to figure out how to repel the big attacks and build up very quickly.
But after building up, it's no longer a challenge. And to win, you just need to spend an hour clicking through the enemies base destroying their structures. Even though you basically won an hour ago.
The multiplayer is terrifying. I tried it once and within like 10 minutes my opponent had surrounded my base with cannon towers and trebuchets. I haven't played it since.
The AI scripting is really cool. It's super simple to learn, very easy to modify other people's scripts, and very powerful. You can do a lot with just a few lines of their domain specific language. And you don't need any programming knowledge at all. And it's very extensive. There are tons of variables and functions available that let you do all kinds of things, and it's well documented.
But it's also extremely restricted. You can't do basic things like store variables, compare numbers, etc. There are arbitrary limits on how many conditions you can have in a conditional, how many lines you can have total, etc. They are workable, but I have no idea why they are even there. The only people modifying AI scripts in the first place are probably willing to accept if the game runs a bit slower because of all the extra code they put in it.
There's also no way to speed up the game. You only get "slow", "normal", or "fast". You need to use Cheat Engine to make the game run a hundred times faster. This is necessary for testing those AI scripts, or getting through those tedious offensive parts I mentioned above. They should have just let it be an option in the game.
Same with other variables like population limit, that's restricted to 200 for no reason. If I want a higher limit, I'll accept that the game runs slower. Just let it be an option, even in a hidden menu with a big warning or something. TBF, the new HD edition does let you go up to 500 IIRC.
- marti 11y agoI've also picked up AOE2:HD again and agree with all the frustrating parts you mentioned. Age of Mythology (and AoE III) seems to have much better unit AI, saner move command chaining (shift+click), nicer chaining of research and training, less micro management of villagers (e.g. farms are infinite), visible UI for idle villagers and control groups, yet most of my friends have only played AoE2 in their teens, so that's what we go with the rare times we get together to play.
- Avalaxy 11y agoRegarding the AI scripting, do you have good resources that provide a gentle introduction to get started with tweaking it? Also, are there any popular modifications that people make to the AI?
- Houshalter 11y agoThere's a tutorial here: http://aok.heavengames.com/university/other/world-of-ai-scripting-chapter-1/ http://aok.heavengames.com/university/other/world-of-ai-scri... After that, just read the documentation. It's included as an old .doc file called CPSB. Google's cache lets me convert this to HTML if you find that better: https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:OxOa-kz8jooJ:cobweb.cs.uga.edu/~potter/aok/CPSB_AOK2.DOC+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:OxOa-k... There are a bunch of player made AI's here: http://aok.heavengames.com/blacksmith/lister.php?category=ai http://aok.heavengames.com/blacksmith/lister.php?category=ai There is also an active community of AI scripters. They hold AI competitions and stuff. There is a forum at http://forums.aiscripters.com/ http://forums.aiscripters.com/ and an IRC channel at #federationofkings on irc.gamesurge.net . I'm sure they'd be happy to help if you have questions.
- BatFastard 11y agoGoing from single player to multiplayer is like going from the pond into the ocean. The real action happens in the ocean, but it is not for the timid. I look at single player as just a tutorial for multiplayer.
- 11y ago