I've Been Drinking...

Blind Owl

Hallucinogenic Owl
Donor
Nov 27, 2015
20,862
73,607
3,160
RSI Handle
BlindOwl
I agree that MOST people may spend the game like that. Not, I. My gameplay will most likely be 50% or more in the big ships since I LOVE to mess with AI.

I don't think that we're seen enough of the AI to really determine if it will be hard or now. Heck, we've hardly seen any AI to start. I think that Tony is really pushing the AI for this game. I wouldn't think of it like the AI from your average MMO. Think of it more like the next generation of AI. Like trying to explain Halo: Combat Evolved is to one of your friends when it first came out. It's not an FPS as you knew it then, it was to usher in a whole new way of doing FPS.

CIG has plans to make the AI do everything that you do simply because if they are to be 90% of the universe they kind of have to. The expensive ones will be good and the cheap ones will be terrible. They are meant to compete against players, so they will probably have ways of cheating their skill. The only skill that they have issues with competing against players are in combat. If CIG gives the best NPCs perfect aim, then they essentially become an aim bot. The only thing that limits their ability is their logic sequence. Good players can beat this but a good NPC can still kill players.

AI will always be at a disadvantage in combat, but everything else will make things easy. The best place for a good AI in combat is a turret and if you have a big ship, chances are that you will have a few. The only logic for a turret is to shoot the target. The choice of target they pick is the only downfall but their accuracy is normally on par or better than a player's accuracy. Mining will be easy, farming will be easy, fuel refining will be easy, delivery will be easy, drink mixing will be easy, navigation will be easy, and so on. The only 2 roles that will be challenging for the AI are dogfighting and on foot combat. I don't feel that this will be so bad.

As for expenses, hiring an NPC will cost credits, but so will hiring a player. Unless the player is your friend or roommate, they will be cahging you as well. Some might do it for cheaper and some might ask for more. "I'm better than an NPC, therefore you should pay me more.", "Help a TESTie out and hire me instead of the AI." Players aren't free and everyone in our org needs credits. Doing things for free doesn't help them out, so unless you know some charity workers, you'll be paying as well.

With the job system that CIG has talked about, it will be just as easy to get NPCs as players. You put up a job beacon and someone will respond or you go to the job market and post a job. NPCs and players will fill up your positions and then off you'll go on your merry way.

Sure, hiring NPCs isn't optimal, but it's still not baring anyone from doing it. People don't have to be stuck in their little ships when they LOVE to mine and no one is on (kinda hard to not have people on with 12,000 members). Mining enthusiasts can just grab a crew of NPCs and go. It's not that hard to organize something like that. You could even be the one in the turret and have the NPCs do all of the hard work as you stare off into space while searching for Eclipses, Prowlers, and Sabres.

(I took up computer science to write AI for games and ended up in IT as a living. I miss my AI.)
Look at you, thinking and stuff. :nerd:
I do concur with your logic. For me, I think there will certainly be a healthy mix of TESTie to AI when the game launches. Situation dependent.
 

Mich Angel

Space Marshal
Donor
Sep 19, 2016
3,625
13,726
2,910
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ARCHANGEL_666
Here is the refill A Caterpillar with beer...

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