Based on my own gaming experience, it seems to be an incredibly difficult thing to make intelligent AI for either turn-based or real time strategy games. Even the highly praised Total War series has some considerable issues with the AI; primarily the fact that the AI gets obvious buffs/cheats that the human player doesn't get.
There's a reason I ignore the single player aspect of RTS games and go straight to online play. I have yet to find a RTS with competent AI that I could not figure out how to abuse quickly.
It's kinda funny--I might have countless hours in pvp online and still have no clue what the lore behind these games is.
Joined: Apr 2001 Posts: 121,383PanzerMeyer
Pro-Consul of Florida
PanzerMeyer
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I finally finished all of the tutorials for Steel Division 2. The best way I can describe this game is that it's a hardcore version of Company of Heroes. To look at it another way, Company of Heroes is like Strike Fighters and Steel Divsion 2 is like Falcon 4.0.
“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
Allen
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A FWIW for folks interested in Assassin's Creed Odyssey.
Still on Assassin's Creed Odyssey. Pushing 30 hours since my 2'd restart (mentioned above). Now I'm level 16. I'm writing because I recommended the game and I want to be accurate.
I originally had over 300hrs into the original game that I bought immediately when it was released. I played to the end of the base game story. Never thought it was "unbalanced".
I originally bought the high-price version that included all "future" updates. So, the game I'm playing now is not the base game I played when it came out. It has differences.
I play on "Normal" difficulty. One thing seems "overdone" and will ruin the game for some folks. The enemies level when the Hero/Heroine levels -- you can't get ahead of them. It makes leveling irrelevant. Some battles are very hard to impossible for normal folks -- and they stay that way even after Hero/Heroine leveling because the Enemy levels with you. Many have complained about that. Some "super twitch gamers" like it that way. RPGs should not depend so strongly on "twitch skills" in my and many other opinions.
To be clear, at the start of the game most of the enemies on the huge map are far more powerful than the Hero/Heroine. You have to "level up" over time to match them. Problem is, if you get ahead of them, they level up to your level -- huh?
FWIW: There is a "cheat" on "Assassin's Creed Odyssey Nexus". It is used with "Cheat Engine". Among other things, you can adjust how quickly enemies level (or, optionally, completely turn off enemy leveling). You use it to eliminate enemies literally leveling with you, makes Hero/Heroine leveling mean something, and makes it a better game.
Titan Quest, been ages since I last played it and since then they added two more DLCs. Started a new character and regretted it when I got to Typhon, they made that fight way harder than either it was, or how I remembered it.
Joined: Apr 2001 Posts: 121,383PanzerMeyer
Pro-Consul of Florida
PanzerMeyer
Pro-Consul of Florida
King Crimson - SimHQ's Top Poster
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 121,383
Miami, FL USA
I've been rotating between Fallout 76, Total War: Troy, Elite Dangerous, DCS, IL-2 and Total War: Rome 2.
“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
A FWIW for folks interested in Assassin's Creed Odyssey.
Still on Assassin's Creed Odyssey. Pushing 30 hours since my 2'd restart (mentioned above). Now I'm level 16. I'm writing because I recommended the game and I want to be accurate.
I originally had over 300hrs into the original game that I bought immediately when it was released. I played to the end of the base game story. Never thought it was "unbalanced".
I originally bought the high-price version that included all "future" updates. So, the game I'm playing now is not the base game I played when it came out. It has differences.
I play on "Normal" difficulty. One thing seems "overdone" and will ruin the game for some folks. The enemies level when the Hero/Heroine levels -- you can't get ahead of them. It makes leveling irrelevant. Some battles are very hard to impossible for normal folks -- and they stay that way even after Hero/Heroine leveling because the Enemy levels with you. Many have complained about that. Some "super twitch gamers" like it that way. RPGs should not depend so strongly on "twitch skills" in my and many other opinions.
To be clear, at the start of the game most of the enemies on the huge map are far more powerful than the Hero/Heroine. You have to "level up" over time to match them. Problem is, if you get ahead of them, they level up to your level -- huh?
FWIW: There is a "cheat" on "Assassin's Creed Odyssey Nexus". It is used with "Cheat Engine". Among other things, you can adjust how quickly enemies level (or, optionally, completely turn off enemy leveling). You use it to eliminate enemies literally leveling with you, makes Hero/Heroine leveling mean something, and makes it a better game.
what ? i disagree, if you played from release like me you would know they changed the level scaling, i honestly never had issues with being locked out, because i leveled too much early on having fun with naval battles, also i took on EVERY single hitman up to 5 levels ahead of me with EASY (mostly) for the challenge alone,im a pc gamer, the only ones hard were the level 3 because they spam grenade, ninjustu and stuff
they never scaled the htiman enemies, so its very doable , hell i even took on 4 of them 3 levels ahead of me at the same time. its not about twich skills, its about minding your surrounding like using one enemy who spam grenades to hit another to chip them more than your attacks could,persistance and also knowing when to disingage to better position yourself. also i never cheesed out on the spartan kick, during the 3 weeks of release you could just lure them to a rooftop and fling them to their death before they gave them resistence to it. i also never upgrade to fantastic habilities so this was pure spartan warrior playthrough and with no health bar on the hud (try that, its HARD but very fun...also frustrating a lot, so maybe not lol)
why would i do this ? llike i said for the challenge....
oirins is way harder then odissey in the regard.......there there is no way you can even try to beat the hitman if they are above your level......also those enemies had homing arrows, so they would always hit you, and that is one and one. i almost managed to beat one, but.....damned arrows.....
#4581922 - 10/05/2108:30 PMRe: What are you currently playing these days?
[Re: Blade_RJ]
Allen
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Ohio USA
Originally Posted by Blade_RJ
why would i do this ? like i said for the challenge....
A better man than I Seriously
But that's me. I play RPGs for the Story line, environment -- to play a role. As a "Normal" player, I expect that if I play on "Normal" difficulty in my role as Assassin, my increasing skills will make all the battles they throw at me manageable (without ever dying).
To repeat my only justifiable complaint: Enemies who do nothing to get better should not level with me. As you note, the "hitmen/hitwomen" do NOT level -- good. Its the normal soldiers (of which there are legion) who level with me. Some of them are very powerful when forced into a Face to Face encounter -- in other RPG I depend on leveling/skill-building past those characters (rather than out fighting them like you do using your own brain and twitch skills ) .
I can and do take the largest Fortresses of equal level soldiers (or two or three levels above me) by carefully using Assassin skills to sneak, trap, and kill one at a time over a long period of "real in-game time". That's okay and very satisfying -- She's an Assassin (I always play my real life wife -- that way she's with me even when I play).
But, I still like to "feel the accomplishment" of grinding the map, doing everything, and thereby leveling above existing characters -- then, mercilessly/easily killing them. Can't feel that accomplishment if they level with me
I still think Assassin's Creed Odyssey is one of the very best RPGs I've ever played. Currently have 471 total in-game hours on all plays, 64 hours game time on the current play, Level 32 on the current play through. I'm not near halfway through the Areas in the base game.
I'm with Allen on this. Hate level scaling. Normal goons shouldn't just magically have more hitpoints just because I've played for awhile or got some new sword or something. Impossible enemies in the beginning should become, maybe not easy, but more manageable by end game. And the Oblivion (and parts of Fallout 3) scaling is the worst where every little enemy mob turns into a ogre or daedra lord.
#4581940 - 10/05/2110:57 PMRe: What are you currently playing these days?
[Re: wormfood]
Joined: May 2005 Posts: 9,703Blade_RJ
Simhq Weather man, dropping rain in your parade
Blade_RJ
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I'm with Allen on this. Hate level scaling. Normal goons shouldn't just magically have more hitpoints just because I've played for awhile or got some new sword or something. Impossible enemies in the beginning should become, maybe not easy, but more manageable by end game. And the Oblivion (and parts of Fallout 3) scaling is the worst where every little enemy mob turns into a ogre or daedra lord.
yeah but odissey you have ridiculous fantastic skills to deal with them, you can cheap out by dealing damage around without explosing yourself, blind them, and even endure death while i think its rage last.....activating rage before a death blow is the easist way to deal with unfair enemies. i may be mistaken but i think allen crossed the wires.....on anything but heroic the normal goons dont scale, heroic was done on request from comunity because later on everyone was brittle to you. the complaint most people had that i remember was lleveled zones blocking exploration......i never had issue even under leveled......but stay the EFFE away from that battlecat island.....you will not survive....you will easily be mobbed by 12 lynx at the same time. even the lion island with the albino pride was easier.
okay allen maybe i am a little twitcher guy but take a look here
btw, do you also move the camera around for best cinematic angle com special combo ?
Last edited by Blade_RJ; 10/05/2111:14 PM.
#4581969 - 10/06/2109:37 AMRe: What are you currently playing these days?
[Re: Blade_RJ]
Allen
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Ohio USA
Originally Posted by Blade_RJ
i may be mistaken but i think allen crossed the wires.....on anything but heroic the normal goons dont scale,
I always "listen" and "think about" other folks points of view. I read this sentence -- and it got me thinking about what could have gone wrong -- if I literally "crossed the wires" in some sense.
The wires were crossed! Short Explanation follows (short for me -- at work I was known for "verbosity" in written explanations ):
There are a few levels of difficulty Easy, Normal ... Nightmare. Easy is too Easy. Nightmare is considered virtually impossible for most players. I always play RPGs on Normal (or slightly higher).
The first attached image shows what the "Gameplay" screen should look like in game (got it online). There are sliders to change the difficulty settings while "in game" -- if its turning out to be too difficult. Note its set to "Normal" in the online picture.
The next image shows the same "Gameplay" screen with gameplay level settings (got it online).
The third image is my actual " Gameplay" screen. Notice there are no difficulty or leveling settings on my actual in-game Gameplay screen.
As it says at the bottom of the second image:
Please note that Level Scaling is not available on Nightmare difficulty to preserve the intended player experience.
Thus, I've been playing on Nightmare difficulty -- and didn't realize it. Don't know how it got set that way (must have crossed some wires). But, the Enemies do behave like online says they do in "Nightmare". And, the levels scaled with my level -- as online says. And, my "Gameplay" Scaling settings are properly blank.
I tried restarting the game (from the Beginning) on "Normal" difficulty. Got the correct "Gameplay" screen with the "setting sliders".
So, maybe I'm not such a bad twitch player. Maybe, I've been playing at the virtually impossible "Nightmare" level on this play through
Edit: A realistic possibility: I may NOT have been playing on Nightmare -- it may have only "seemed that way".
Thanks for the help! I learned something.
Last edited by Allen; 10/06/2105:49 PM. Reason: A reaistic possibility
Allen
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I tried starting a new game on Normal. Saving it. Logging off. Taking saved games from my current play through and putting them in the folder. Now, my Gameplay screen has the settings showing. They show Normal and the other expected settings.
Don't know if I really did anything. Not everything I'm seeing makes sense. I'm leaving it on Normal.
Edit: A realistic possibility: I may NOT have been playing on Nightmare -- it may have only "seemed that way".
Ideally, I'd start over from the beginning. But, I don't want to throw away the time I've put in.
We'll see if it plays differently.
Last edited by Allen; 10/06/2105:50 PM. Reason: A realistic possibility
Allen
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Originally Posted by Mr_Blastman
I am going to play Odyssey soon--without reading through mountains of information, which difficulty setting should I pick to prevent level scaling?
I want to power trip after I level up.
If you start on Normal difficulty, you will have constant access to the Gameplay screen (during the game) with Difficulty and Level scaling options (something odd happened in my adventure above and I did NOT have this).
While you are playing, you can move the Difficulty from Easy all the way up to Nightmare. You can move the level scaling from "the enemy matches your scale" down to "you may rise 4 levels above the enemy before the enemy starts to rise". All of that is part of the "legitimate" Assassin's Creed Odyssey game. Of course, as the Game progresses, many Enemies will be MUCH stronger than you are -- you must level to reach them. A normal RPG. In the game, it all makes sense.
If you want to inhibit Enemy level scaling to any number that makes sense to you, you can use "Cheat Engine" with a modification from "Assassin's Creed Odyssey Nexus" called "Assassin’s Creed® Odyssey - InventoryEditor v1.5.4.1". This easily drag and drops into Cheat Engine and allows you to change Enemy level scaling and other values as well.
I tried starting a new game on Normal. Saving it. Logging off. Taking saved games from my current play through and putting them in the folder. Now, my Gameplay screen has the settings showing. They show Normal and the other expected settings.
Don't know if I really did anything. Not everything I'm seeing makes sense. I'm leaving it on Normal.
Edit: A realistic possibility: I may NOT have been playing on Nightmare -- it may have only "seemed that way".
Ideally, I'd start over from the beginning. But, I don't want to throw away the time I've put in.
We'll see if it plays differently.
allen, i think a later patch when they released the assassin expansion gave a separate level scale for enemies. i wish they had brough back the animus hack from origins, that was so much fun to mess around.
Allen
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To hopefully conclude my current ongoing Assasin's Creed Odyssey fiasco, I HAVE CLEAN RESTARTED a new game at the VERY BEGINNING. I totally cleared the savegame folder. So, I lose the 60hrs plus already spent on this playthrough.
That's "normal gaming procedure" for me. If I screw up too badly or die too often (another form of screwing up), I normally start over.
I still like the game. Hopefully, I won't need yet another restart
To hopefully conclude my current ongoing Assasin's Creed Odyssey fiasco, I HAVE CLEAN RESTARTED a new game at the VERY BEGINNING. I totally cleared the savegame folder. So, I lose the 60hrs plus already spent on this playthrough.
That's "normal gaming procedure" for me. If I screw up too badly or die too often (another form of screwing up), I normally start over.
I still like the game. Hopefully, I won't need yet another restart
i hope you still have your save at hand, because the loot in odissey is randomic....i found a merc gear with high stat very early on, in the first island, but i remember people complaining a lot about gear on the first week.