AI Testing and Retreating

After a morning of squaring away AI and battle bugs, I managed to get a bit of testing done. The available moves are still pretty basic, but I'm able to tweak the AI based on behavior in battle. Here's a shot of a battle with a looter today:

Oh no you didn't!

In this case, a looter decided to get brave and came at me. So I whacked him with a crowbar, injuring him, and he decided to run. The big difference in AI here is that looters always ran in the past, but this one thought he might have a chance. And when he got injured, the scales tipped way in favor of running.

I still need to work out some randomness, but it's getting better.

You can also see one of the new moves that went in today: "desperate retreat." It's the blue icon of the dude running with his hands wildly in the air. Normally, a retreat requires the combatant be out of attack range, and it automatically leaves the battle. However, it's not always available.

The "desperate retreat" comes up more often, and can be used at almost any range. The down side is that it has a higher chance of falling (especially in battlegrounds with worse than "level" ratings), and making the combatant vulnerable. It also has a chance of failing, meaning the player could really be in trouble if they don't get away, and instead trip, losing a turn and becoming vulnerable. However, the "desperate retreat" also moves the player 1-2 range bands away, so not all is lost.

We're still working out the retreat logic, but this gives you an idea of some of the levers we have to play with.

Tomorrow, I may start adding alternate attack types, just to see if they add more color to combat. Once the AI can choose from more than advance/retreat/attack/search, it'll be easier to tell what areas need the most work.

Have a good one, all, and see you tomorrow!