Black Mesa Source V5 - "They're still working on Xen?" - Games

[QUOTE=LoLWaT?;47319320]Well they've also probably been spending their time touching up and improving whatever they can where possible, to the best of their abilities. [editline]13th March 2015[/editline] I think they also had to get rid of anything that wasn't made by current team members iirc. Just wish they'd get rid of EVERYTHING borrowed from Half-Life 2. The outdated and [I]way[/I] overused models and textures that you still see here and there--just get rid of it all, it looks like shit when you compare it to the original assets they've made. Also never got why that one artist chose to base his new models off of the original Half-Life 2 counterparts since those props don't even look like they belong in Black Mesa's setting, but that's opinion.[/QUOTE] I think some of the Half-life 2 props do fit. I think that the Black Mesa of HL1 was perhaps a little too clean, and it gave conflicting information since some of the environment told the player that Black Mesa was fairly careless (constantly exploding equipment and radioactive material leaks), while the textures were mostly overly clean (perhaps due to graphical limitations and trying to avoid obviously repeating textures). The dirtier HL2 props could make Black Mesa has a more cohesive vision as over-funded snobs, which was always their original point. Aperture Science has already taken the aesthetically clean vision where they "dress up" in a struggle to appeal to investors, anyways.

I really wish Surface Tension and On a Rail Uncut would be fully polished and added in officially. Playing through Black Mesa again has reminded me of how essential they feel once they've been added.

[QUOTE=austin0331;47317879]Haven't really been that up to date with BMS discussion, so just a few questions - Are the AI soldiers going to be less bullshit now? They have a tendency to spin on a dime and have pinpoint accuracy - What exactly is being remodelled? Literally everything, or just a select group of things that weren't up to snuff?[/QUOTE] The remodels are a combination of things which we don't think are up to scratch, and assets made by former team members who are not on the team anymore. We've also redone the first person hands, and at least 4 or 5 weapons have been remodelled, with others being tweaked and improved. And almost all weapons have been reanimated. The soldier AI was redone from scratch. I'll explain by quoting myself from our forums, so I don't have to write it all out again: [QUOTE=TextFAMGUY1] The brunt of the work has been done in skill.cfg. I spent a long time on a careful balance pass, comparing mod values to HL1 values, and adjusting to bring them closer together where I thought it would be more fun - based on my own thoughts, the team's thoughts, and community feedback. I also worked with the programmers to add in some variables for things we couldn't previously change, such as the Vortiguant charge speed, or the Marines movement speed, etc. The most notable change is probably the Marines. Not only did our lead programmer rewrite their AI entirely, their values and behaviour were adjusted a lot too. They're no longer aimbots, but are instead much more like HL1 in that they run around a lot (and move fast), and are very good at finding angles and applying pressure on you with nades and tactics. Testers and the team seem to think they're way more fun and less frustrating to fight now, and I certainly think that too. In particular some of the tougher set pieces like the QE ambush are really fun now because there's a lot of unpredictable, run and gun action. The LAV is also tough now. The Vorts now behave much more like their HL1 selves - they're tankier, hit much harder, but charge slower so it's much more possible to dodge their shots. They're a bit more of a challenge now. In general, the Xen aliens are tougher than before, with a few exceptions such as the Houndeyes. Weapons wise, they've been normalised a bit - there were too many weapons which were too good and a few which were too weak. The MP5 in particular is the mainstay weapon now, as it should be. Almost everything about it has been changed and it looks, feels, and plays totally badass now. New model, animation, sound, values, particle effects, bullet casings - the works. Other weapons have been tweaked too but the MP5 is definitely the main one. We also have a brand new recoil system which replaces the old spread system. Before, bullets would fire within x degrees inside their cone of accuracy. This was frustrating as it meant at longer ranges you could be aiming perfectly on target, but the gun would not fire straight due to spread and would miss because the game randomly decided it should. (Note: this is how spread works in the majority of shooters, Black Mesa was no exception). But now, rather than random "spread" determining where your bullets randomly land (which hurt the MP5 in particular), the guns actually recoil properly and move your aim around with each shot, forcing you to adjust your aim. This is much more realistic and fun as it means you end up actually missing because your aim goes off the target. We've struck a good balance with the recoil - full auto MP5 for example is tough to keep on target at range but it is possible, making player skill more of a factor. These are all subject to change and we're currently still testing all of these new values and designs - but the tester and team response thus far has been really good. We're excited to get the new balance changes out there and see what the community thinks - and make further adjustments and tweaks post release. Details, details![/quote]

wait, who wanted the aliens to be more challenging? weren't they hard already?

[QUOTE=Xubs;47331789]I was really bored lately so I made this thing [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lxu60P81d3Y[/media] [sp]for some reason headcrabs die if they impact a prop on this funicular[/sp][/QUOTE] I still don't do that Elevator part properly, I always just fly off the right corner and slide down it. [editline]16th March 2015[/editline] And not die.

[QUOTE=LoLWaT?;47332690] But it'd be so freaking cool if they had actual finite ammo capacity [/QUOTE] They had that at some point pre-release, I remember a picture of a grunt on surface tension using his pistol, I'm certain the caption mentioned something about them running out of ammo and switching to their side arm. I think it was removed because testers would just wait for them to use all their ammo and then attack

[QUOTE=TextFAMGUY1;47332632]The Vorts now behave much more like their HL1 selves - they're tankier, hit much harder, but charge slower so it's much more possible to dodge their shots. They're a bit more of a challenge now. In general, the Xen aliens are tougher than before, with a few exceptions such as the Houndeyes.[/QUOTE] Do they act cowardly like in the original? Frequently turning their backs on you and running away? I think Valve made vorts really "mighty" in the second game, they're wise, they're organized, they're powerful, they got a cool name (much cooler sounding than "alien slave") - as a result they lost that cowardliness they seemed to have in the original. Vorts running away from you while making those EP2 sounds will create a bit of a dissonace, so I guess the development team is going for the "the all-powerful Vorts" feel in the retail?

[QUOTE=Tuskin;47332977]They had that at some point pre-release, I remember a picture of a grunt on surface tension using his pistol, I'm certain the caption mentioned something about them running out of ammo and switching to their side arm. I think it was removed because testers would just wait for them to use all their ammo and then attack[/QUOTE] Yes I was right [url]http://wiki.blackmesasource.com/HECU_Marines#The_Backup_Weapon:_Glock[/url]

[QUOTE=Tuskin;47332993]Yes I was right [url]http://wiki.blackmesasource.com/HECU_Marines#The_Backup_Weapon:_Glock[/url][/QUOTE] Well maybe now's the time to add it back in. I bet the only reason the Grunts used up their ammo so quickly is because their old tactics consisted of standing still and going full auto on the player, and the players abused this by staying really far away from the Grunts and letting them use up their ammo.

Will we get balaclavas back?

If they tossed in ammo crates for them to resupply their ammunition at, things would be good.

[QUOTE=LoLWaT?;47332690]Really looking forward to the new grunt AI. [I]Really[/I]. It's so freaking weird because going from Half-Life 1 to Half-Life 2, between the classic grunts and the Combine soldiers, it seems like the AI in Half-Life 2 was really a bit of a downgrade. Like the HL2 soldiers were able to track the player well and were much better at navigating around obstacles in general, but they were so much dumber in the sense that they didn't have that finesse at all. HL1 grunts were so much better at flushing you out with grenades and ambushing you and they had subtle variances to what actions they had like their melee and they'd change stances. Plus you'd occasionally get that one wounded grunt who'd set a grenade on the ground before running off hoping you'd get caught in the blast. :v: If that's even a current focus still you people should also look at enabling grunts to cook their hand grenades and successful dynamic use of satchels and tripmines. It'd probably be the toughest aspect so having it as an afterthought pretty much means it'll never happen. But it'd be so freaking cool if they had actual finite ammo capacity (start out really high though but it'd lead to scavenging behavior outside of outposts or empty areas without any supplies) and if they could successfully make their own traps by knowing where to place their own satchels or tripmines in doorways or around tight corners and behind crates and barriers where they know you wouldn't be able to see them or even flush you out of vents. Just some real MGS level shit.[/QUOTE] I think it was mostly because of how damn fast the marines moved. They quiet literally sprinted all over the place, so you'd never be sure where they are and they could quickly rush you, so had to constantly move position too. The combine weren't so much dumb, but just reaaaaaally slow.

[QUOTE=LoLWaT?;47337225]Having finite ammo would definitely work if they weren't so stupid to fire blindly, full spray, and not even move around like they do now. If they're using their rifle maybe they could only fire full auto when an enemy is within a certain range or point blank. If the enemy runs back into cover but they still have "sight" of them then they'd switch to grenades, and if they reimplement a squad system then depending on how many squad members were killed or how wounded the leader is, they could decide whether to hunt an enemy down or stay put if they run off. I don't know what the code they pulled from the Combine looks like but I don't think they already did that stuff. Mainly just talking about the grunts too. Some of that could be useful for security guards or the assassins but otherwise grunts would be the main focus of that. They'd basically have unlimited ammo at the surface and near their lower outposts but down in the depths of '50s Black Mesa like the old silo complex and empty warehouses they'd be hurtin' Maybe by the end of Surface Tension too when they've gone through all their supplies with evac underway. Probably some benefits to putting that amount of work into those aspects too. Besides making it funner/actually difficult and raising replayability they'd also be mod proofing it in the process. Gives modders a [I]ton[/I] of material to play around and work with which is important after everything is said and done, especially if they don't release their source. Just remember how prevalent HL1's modding scene was and all the cool and wacky stuff people were able to come up with given all that flexibility.[/QUOTE] Look, I love great AI as much as the next guy - but all this amazing sounding AI stuff you're asking for us is the kind of thing which triple A studios cannot (or will not) achieve. Seriously, no shooter I can think of in recent memory has AI better than FEAR, a 2004 game, even if it was mostly smoke and mirrors. Our immensely huge programming team (all 4 of them, of whom about 2 are active per month) have an absolutely enormous workload, and AI is difficult. Really difficult, and we're working within the confines of Source AI, on a project which we'd rather not spend another 5 years on. We've done the best we can within the framework we've been given - the AI is pretty good and fun now, specifically for the Marines. We're hoping to be able to spend more time looking and improving the AI post release but there are so many moving parts here that it's a very challenging exercise. We don't have time to add loads of features to the AI right now, because it's really, really easy to break stuff, and there's enough broken stuff for us to be working on as it stands :P Don't get me wrong, I think some of these ideas are cool and awesome, but what I'm saying is don't expect them. I'd love for us to take a crack at them when things are a bit freer, and I know that Deniz, our lead programmer has that in mind for a later date. But it's hard to tell. Heck, most people still don't expect good AI from triple A studios, which I think is kind of unacceptable, but it's the way things are. We're heavily understaffed and we have a budget of 0, so it's perhaps a little tougher for us. [QUOTE=Tommyx50;47337710]I think it was mostly because of how damn fast the marines moved. They quiet literally sprinted all over the place, so you'd never be sure where they are and they could quickly rush you, so had to constantly move position too. The combine weren't so much dumb, but just reaaaaaally slow.[/QUOTE] Their move speed has been increased for just that reason. It was one of the balance changes I was less sure about when I did it, but it really adds to the game. [QUOTE=Marden;47332696]wait, who wanted the aliens to be more challenging? weren't they hard already?[/QUOTE] Some aliens were challenging, others, not so much. Vorts? No. Zombies? No. Headcrabs? No. Bullsquids (up close)? No. It's mostly the early game aliens - the difficulty ramp is much more natural now, because the HECU are less difficult and the aliens are a bit tougher. The aliens are still not extremely tough, they've just been given a nudge.

[QUOTE=TextFAMGUY1;47339209]Some aliens were challenging, others, not so much. Vorts? No. Zombies? No. Headcrabs? No. Bullsquids (up close)? No. It's mostly the early game aliens - the difficulty ramp is much more natural now, because the HECU are less difficult and the aliens are a bit tougher. The aliens are still not extremely tough, they've just been given a nudge.[/QUOTE] Were Vorts challenging in HL1? No. Did they have super quick, accurate bolts in BM? Yes. Are headcrabs and zombies supposed to be challenging? NO. Did bullsquids have shotgun spit with splash damage in HL1? No. I'm not saying what you did is bad because I have no option to see it yet but I'm fearing you replaced bullshit HECU with bullshit aliens.

[QUOTE=Marden;47339370]Were Vorts challenging in HL1? No. Did they have super quick, accurate bolts in BM? Yes. Are headcrabs and zombies supposed to be challenging? NO. Did bullsquids have shotgun spit with splash damage in HL1? No. I'm not saying what you did is bad because I have no option to see it yet but I'm fearing you replaced bullshit HECU with bullshit aliens.[/QUOTE] You pretty much are, actually. The aliens are very far from bullshit. The pass I did was an "HL1 alignment" pass. The Vorts were challenging enough in HL1. We slowed down their bolt charge time and buffed its power, to make it like HL1. And more health. It was done to make them like HL1. The Bullsquids have had their health and melee buffed, again, to make them more like HL1. Their spit is untouched. And the Shotgun spit is awesome in my opinion, because their spit was pathetic in HL1. They're challenging and fun now. They're not much different to the mod, except if you get up close to them, expect a bad time. They live up to the "bull" part of their name now! Headcrabs and Zombies? If you get injured by a Zombie you're doing it wrong in the first place anyway. Now that our Glock has the autofire and higher damage, both Zombies and Headcrabs needed to be buffed, because they were pathetically weak in the early chapters. They couldn't get to you before you emptied the Glock mag into them. And again, their damage is now the same as HL1, whereas in the mod, it was lower. Balance is about more than just the enemy values, there are a lot of things to consider. Your fears are unfounded - trust me - the game plays way better and more like HL1 now. I was very careful about what I did and I did a good job - since my initial passes we haven't changed [B]any[/B] of the values or had any complaints.

[QUOTE=TextFAMGUY1;47339431]You pretty much are, actually. The aliens are very far from bullshit. The pass I did was an "HL1 alignment" pass. The Vorts were challenging enough in HL1. We slowed down their bolt charge time and buffed its power, to make it like HL1. And more health. It was done to make them like HL1. The Bullsquids have had their health and melee buffed, again, to make them more like HL1. Their spit is untouched. And the Shotgun spit is awesome in my opinion, because their spit was pathetic in HL1. They're challenging and fun now. They're not much different to the mod, except if you get up close to them, expect a bad time. They live up to the "bull" part of their name now! Headcrabs and Zombies? If you get injured by a Zombie you're doing it wrong in the first place anyway. Now that our Glock has the autofire and higher damage, both Zombies and Headcrabs needed to be buffed, because they were pathetically weak in the early chapters. They couldn't get to you before you emptied the Glock mag into them. And again, their damage is now the same as HL1, whereas in the mod, it was lower. Balance is about more than just the enemy values, there are a lot of things to consider. Your fears are unfounded - trust me - the game plays way better and more like HL1 now. I was very careful about what I did and I did a good job - since my initial passes we haven't changed [B]any[/B] of the values or had any complaints.[/QUOTE] Has ichthyosaur's HP been buffed as well? I remember how disappointing it was that you could just instantly kill them with like 1 magazine of a glock

[QUOTE=Dr.Cola;47339499]Has ichthyosaur's HP been buffed as well? I remember how disappointing it was that you could just instantly kill them with like 1 magazine of a glock[/QUOTE] I believe its health went from 100 - 350. LAV saw a similar buff.

[QUOTE=TextFAMGUY1;47339536]I believe its health went from 100 - 350. LAV saw a similar buff.[/QUOTE] LAV didn't get a VERY big buff, did it? I already conserve explosive ammo based around that, and I'd rather not spend 9 mp5 grenades I don't have on it like in HL1.

Oh, I forgot, are you doing something about that chopper fight?

[QUOTE=Old Hermit;47339958]LAV didn't get a VERY big buff, did it? I already conserve explosive ammo based around that, and I'd rather not spend 9 mp5 grenades I don't have on it like in HL1.[/QUOTE] Try using the Tau. It 1-shot the tank in the mod release. Takes 3 - 4 explosives now, or 2 Tau charged shots. [QUOTE=Marden;47339989]Oh, I forgot, are you doing something about that chopper fight?[/QUOTE] It was completely bugged in the mod release and was never intended to be the way it was. Yes it is fixed now. 3 - 4 RPGs drop him.

While we're still asking questions, how much has been done in regards to the game's music, in terms of audio levels, timing, and how fitting the tracks are for their respective parts of the game?

[B]OPINION POST[/B] TBH I never really liked the way the helicopter fight played out in Black Mesa. In Half-Life, I felt that the helicopter was meant to be (if you didn't destroy it that is) the one recurring thing throughout the first few maps of Surface Tension, always hounding you and being an annoyance. So when you get the RPG and the helicopter just shows up unprepared and ready to mess with you, you pretty much go "Surprise motherfucka" and shoot it down with the RPG. I felt it should have been more like in HL2, with the Hunter-Chopper bugging you throughout the canals until you take it down. In Black Mesa, the entire sequence with the water drain hatch and the helicopter was cut out, as well as the dam sequence being changed. In the Half-Life version of the dam, the helicopter was just kinda [I]there[/I]. Sure it was shooting at you, but it was pretty inaccurate, slow, and was pretty much mostly an annoyance that could be dodged whereas in Black Mesa its built up so you have to fight the helicopter, otherwise it'll shoot you to death in a few volleys while you're trying to open up the dam. And then when the helicopter (at least I'm assuming its the same helicopter) comes back during the cliff sequence, you just kinda go "oh there's another helicopter" and not "the helicopter's back again to fuck with me." The fight does give a feeling of accomplishment, but all for the wrong reasons. Like I said, in Half-Life it was a sense of relief that the helicopter was taken care of and wouldn't be a constant pain in the ass. In Black Mesa it was a sense of relief that you[I] finally[/I] took down the helicopter that suddenly appeared out of nowhere, could tank 7+ RPGs and still not give a fuck, and would fire a shitton of rockets and bullets at your immediate position with reckless abandon. [B]END OPINION POST[/B] Anyways, it's nice to hear that stuff is being changed for the better in terms of NPC/AI.

[QUOTE=LoLWaT?;47340189]That really puts things into perspective. I'm not a programmer so I don't know how tough AI actually is beyond knowing that it's simply "tough", and the fact that many many games have poor implementation of it so that probably just underscores it all-- you're absolutely right about staying within limits and keeping with what's realistic. These weren't demands though I was just laying out a bunch of what-ifs really. But I'm not questioning anything; A balance pass to bring everything in line with Half-Life 1 and just basic fixes to how the grunts were acting are welcome. It's interesting that they'd already experimented with limited ammo beforehand.[/QUOTE] Oh, I know they weren't demands. There were lots of cool ideas there which I'm excited by, like I said it's more just a question of what we can and can't do. Most of that, unfortunately, at least for initial release, we can't do. I think you guys will be happy with what we did do. As a former community member, I've certainly addressed all of my personal complaints. [QUOTE=Whatsinaname;47340528]While we're still asking questions, how much has been done in regards to the game's music, in terms of audio levels, timing, and how fitting the tracks are for their respective parts of the game?[/QUOTE] Nothing much, if I remember correctly - the music volume slider is always there though. What was released fits Joel's vision for how the game music should be, and he's our amazing sound guy, we respect his opinion and vision. Many sounds and things got tweaked elsewhere where they had issues, though, but music is relatively untouched, if I remember correctly. [I](I know the volume slider isn't what you meant. I have no power in this department and do not want to get involved either, so please don't pursue this avenue or hound me any further about this particular issue.)[/I]

There's no ETA on the retail release, is there?

[QUOTE=archangel125;47340933]There's no ETA on the retail release, is there?[/QUOTE] Even if there was, I doubt they would tell anyone unless it was 100% certain. They've had bad luck with dates :v:

[QUOTE=archangel125;47340933]There's no ETA on the retail release, is there?[/QUOTE] I estimate that the game will be out this decade.[I] I'm already anticipating the "optimistic" ratings, you numpties...:wink:[/I] We have an internal date but we won't make it public before a big announcement. Our failures in the past have been painful, so we've learned from them.

[QUOTE=TextFAMGUY1;47341165] We have an internal date but we won't make it public before a big announcement. Our failures in the past have been painful, so we've learned from them.[/QUOTE] I think what confuses people (and in HL3's case, pisses people off) is that they misinterpret things as "big announcement incoming". In BM's case, some of the happenings on the ARG websites have set off false alarms about an imminent retail release. In the example of HL3, it's whenever Valve makes a vaguely worded announcement that can easily be manipulated into sounding like HL3.

[QUOTE=BoxBuilder999;47340577][B]OPINION POST[/B] TBH I never really liked the way the helicopter fight played out in Black Mesa. In Half-Life, I felt that the helicopter was meant to be (if you didn't destroy it that is) the one recurring thing throughout the first few maps of Surface Tension, always hounding you and being an annoyance. So when you get the RPG and the helicopter just shows up unprepared and ready to mess with you, you pretty much go "Surprise motherfucka" and shoot it down with the RPG. I felt it should have been more like in HL2, with the Hunter-Chopper bugging you throughout the canals until you take it down. In Black Mesa, the entire sequence with the water drain hatch and the helicopter was cut out, as well as the dam sequence being changed. In the Half-Life version of the dam, the helicopter was just kinda [I]there[/I]. Sure it was shooting at you, but it was pretty inaccurate, slow, and was pretty much mostly an annoyance that could be dodged whereas in Black Mesa its built up so you have to fight the helicopter, otherwise it'll shoot you to death in a few volleys while you're trying to open up the dam. And then when the helicopter (at least I'm assuming its the same helicopter) comes back during the cliff sequence, you just kinda go "oh there's another helicopter" and not "the helicopter's back again to fuck with me." The fight does give a feeling of accomplishment, but all for the wrong reasons. Like I said, in Half-Life it was a sense of relief that the helicopter was taken care of and wouldn't be a constant pain in the ass. In Black Mesa it was a sense of relief that you[I] finally[/I] took down the helicopter that suddenly appeared out of nowhere, could tank 7+ RPGs and still not give a fuck, and would fire a shitton of rockets and bullets at your immediate position with reckless abandon. [B]END OPINION POST[/B] Anyways, it's nice to hear that stuff is being changed for the better in terms of NPC/AI.[/QUOTE] I was under the impression that there were multiple choppers. I always shoot down the one at the dam in HL, just a few solid tau shots takes it down.

I always shot the choppers down as a kid so it took me a long time to realize that it's supposed to be the same chopper in HL1. I guess technically it could be either way, like scenario A where you don't shoot it down is the same chopper stalking you but scenario B where you shoot all of them down as you come across them just means each one is a new heli.

[QUOTE=Xubs;47339220]Thank god you said it. I was going to post the same thing to the people in here, but I was afraid if I said it everyone would just go "you don't know what you're talking about," and shun me. AI is the hardest thing to program in a game, period. Hell, just for a comparison, pathfinding is honestly one of the hardest things you can code. NASA shells out [B][I]millions[/I][/B] of dollars to programming competitions just to try and solve pathfinding problems over arbitrary surfaces, namely the Martian surface. Everyone goes on and on and on and oooooon about how AI in games is shit and we need to fix it right this instant, without knowing just how difficult it is to code in nearly any context. It's why AI in video games still rely, to this day, on stuff like the node system, since it vastly simplifies an as-of-2015 still very complex problem. I don't know why people are always so insane about it, when it's really just expecting too much. I immensely sympathize with AI in games that isn't perfect, knowing first-hand that it's one of the hardest things you can make.[/QUOTE] I don't know if AI is the [I]hardest[/I] thing (and that's definitely putting disservice towards other areas of programming) but it is definitely tough. I'm speaking as a programmer who's pretty happy right now after just really improving on a tough AI issue on a little hobby project I've been making, so I'm not speaking out of my ass! The pathfinding you mentioned is pretty much a solved problem, to be fair. Pathing isn't the issue with AI any longer, really, in most modern games which only have a couple dozen pathing agents at most at any one time. The trouble with NASA is that they are trying to convert the output from a camera into something a pathfinder can make sense of, and that's definitely a tougher problem. The thing that most people don't understand about AI is that the goal isn't to make super clever NPCs. The goal isn't even to make things intelligent - it's to make things [I]look[/I] intelligent. AI in "closed" situations (so, they don't need to be capable of learning at runtime and can have the entire game's ruleset in their mind already) is already really a solved problem. We've got an [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_Blue_%28chess_computer%29"]unbeatable chess AI[/URL], some really [URL="http://webdocs.cs.ualberta.ca/~cdavid/starcraftaicomp/"]fantastically clever RTS AI [/URL], and we've definitely got things like aimbots in game which can easily out-perform the best players. The tough part is that clever AI, in games, isn't the goal. Game's require AI which is just as clever as the game design allows (so not unbeatably hard), and even moreso, AI that doesn't do anything that looks stupid. This actually ties heavily into many other aspects of a game which may seem unrelated. For example - we don't want AI to constantly be shooting, because even although they have infinite ammo, it doesn't look intelligent, even if it's the best possible thing they could do to win in an engagement. If you have some stealth game AI, and an NPC is looking for the player, the tricky part isn't making them look around - the tricky part is making all the animations and sounds which make them cautiously move and look around (instead of looking as if they are just idly walking around) and call out for the player to reveal themselves. A fighting AI could easily win every fight, but the trick is to make them dumb and sometimes make mistakes, so the player has a chance. You want them to predict the player's patterns, to reward player's variety. Making clever AI can definitely be difficult, but in the majority of games, clever AI is never the goal. The tough part isn't making artifical intelligence. It's making artificial stupidity, or more accurately, artificial imperfection. That's not just coding the AIs behaviour - it's everything from their animation, sound, strategy and skill.