two elements that seem to be undeveloped in modern games

[drivebymessiah]

Dynamic AI behavior & large numbers of active AI in an immediate game environment:

These elements, to my thinking, seem to be elements of game design that have been neglected in favor of a constant obsession with more realistic graphics. And, unfortunately, the apparent stress of a release not looking dated has, perhaps, held back the development of the aforementioned features of more advanced AI and more individual AI units/characters/etc in operation. Every game I've witnessed that boasted a very "intelligent" AI would quickly be realized as predictable and easily manipulated through a few habits. Games like Left 4 Dead, which would try to elicit the feeling of being overwhelmed by a tremendous number of enemies, merely cheat hardware / engine hurdles of capacity by utilizing zombie "spawn closets" in close proximity to the player.

Bethesda games in particular come to mind when considering this issue. I feel as though their "immersive" quality has always come from outstanding graphics & level design. However their titles fall short in the aforementioned ways as well as others I will not cover. No matter how clever the writing up until a certain trigger that flags an NPC as hostile the result was always the same: The NPC attacks the player relentlessly with a melee or ranged behavior until one or the other is dead, no matter how well equipped the PC might be or how many of his comrades just exploded. There are no surrenders, no one flees very far, & no show of strength will alter this all or nothing routine. Furthermore all the towns, as beautiful as they are, eventually begin to look sparse with the same handful of NPCs with their limited dialogue trees eerily executing the same routines ad infinitum. After hearing the same voice in 20 locations telling you about his knee injury the magic is lost somewhat (though maybe a joke gains momentum). Admittedly Skyrim was a great deal more varied with its increased voice acting budget but the problem of things eventually feeling 1 dimensional and scripted will always arise eventually until some kind of auto generation of varied responses is attempted

Perhaps my feeling on this matter isn't that well defined. Still, though, it seems like this isn't an issue of much consideration on the development side. I feel as though some breakthrough engine that is able to field much more dynamic AI or a far greater number of AI characters that can react to each other and the environment independently will be the defining elements of a truly milestone title release.

 

[chuckdm]

While your point is well taken (and mostly accurate) there are exceptions.

The AI in Borderlands 2 suffers neither of these flaws. Sure, Psychos will rush the player, but marauders will utilize cover and fire at range, and Nomads carry their own cover with them sometimes. If you run in too loud you can easily have half the entire level fighting you at once, and even with 40+ hostile NPCs they still maintain above-average use of squad tactics and cover. Boss mechanics are even more unique and tactful. In True Vault Hunter Mode, the Warrior doesn't just breathe fire - his tail gains a slag laser, which in turn greatly increases the fire damage he does to you. Think about that - a boss with a tactic for damage combos. Many games lack damage combos at all, and most that have them limit their use to the player. Not Borderlands 2.

It should also be noted that both of these problems can be fixed via mods in Bethesda games. Both Fallout New Vegas and Skyrim have MANY mods that both increase the number of hostiles AND combat difficulty. War in Skyrim in particular adds several Imperial vs. Stormcloak battles where mages on both sides function mostly as healers and archers make actual use of cover, and these are battles with easily 90 NPCs. Probably 50 of those NPCs are just rushing in with melee weapons, but keep in mind this IS Skyrim we're talking about. In-universe, an Axe is both the easiest weapon to pick up and start killing with, and the easiest to master. Archery requires a LOT of practice to put arrows on target reliably, and even MORE practice to do so while a hostile with a greatsword is charging at you. And I can't imagine summoning forth a storm atronoch - literally materializing living thunder from another dimension - is easy to do. Point is, melee attacking in Skyrim logically SHOULD BE the most dominate thing in warfare because it just makes sense. Skyrim wouldn't be Skyrim if every single NPC was casting fireballs every time they entered combat.

So...yes your problem is valid and does certainly exist. However as someone who doesn't play survival horror games, I can say that many other games HAVE solved these problems. Perhaps you're just looking at the wrong games for solutions? Aside from Skyrim and zombie shooters, is there something else you've played that has this problem?

 

[Hero of Lime]

I do hope that in the next several years with the newer consoles and stronger PCs, that developers put more work on the AI as opposed to better graphics. We've had fun with graphic, but I want everything else to be boosted while graphical fidelity can take a back seat for once. As of right now, the best example of smart AI in a recent game would be Halo: Reach Elites. Those guys are smart, fast, reaction time is great, and genuinely intimidating.

 

[Greg White]

IIRC humanoids will try and run from you in Skyrim if you're beating them too badly.

While I do agree the town are sparsly populated given their size, I think most of that is the limitation of what a console's hardware can support more so than their lack of ability to program it.

As for them having a limited pool of conversation...yeah, that's just one of the downsides of having voice actors. You only have so much disk space to work with.

 

[Saltyk]

I can think of a few games I played that the enemy would run away and even try to set up an ambush on me. I know it happened when playing Halo 3 at a friend's house once. It actually impressed me that an enemy tried to do that.

But even as far back as PS2, I've played games where enemies used tactics. In Zone of the Enders, your enemies would slowly learn and adapt to how you fought. Meaning they would start to evade your attacks more. And Zone of the Enders 2 had plenty of enemy groups that would include a commander unit. When a commander was active, all his units would gain level bonuses, and utilized tactics. 3 Mummy Heads would use their Halberd lasers in sweeping patterns that would effectively make rushing in to bash them impossible. At best you would hit one a few times before being blindsided by the other enemies lasers and knocked around a fair bit.

Generally speaking, though, games tend to have some pretty standard set ups. Enemies act in ways that they are programmed to act. Shotgun carrying ones move in and blast at you, while snipers try to get a good shot in. They won't change up that preprogrammed action.

I doubt we'll ever see enemies using advanced tactics. Or even acting to avoid the guy that just blasted 20 guys away with his mind. It just seems like a very difficult thing to program.

However, who knows where advancements where take us?

 

[Gatx]

That's because graphics are immediately noticeable while how and when the NPCs decided to shoot you not so much. As long as they're not blindly running at you with reckless abandon all the time I don't necessarily think it matters. Well, maybe to make A.I. partners less dumb but if they're too competent they won't leave anything for you to do.

 

[EightGaugeHippo]

I do hope that in the next several years with the newer consoles and stronger PCs, that developers put more work on the AI as opposed to better graphics. We've had fun with graphic, but I want everything else to be boosted while graphical fidelity can take a back seat for once. As of right now, the best example of smart AI in a recent game would be Halo: Reach Elites. Those guys are smart, fast, reaction time is great, and genuinely intimidating.

Agreed, people seem fixated on the idea that better graphics = better game. In a lot of cases current gen, actual gameplay is substituted for "stunning visuals" and such.

Also, Bungie and Halo have always been good with their enemy AI. Rather than overwhelming unlimited hordes of enemies that kill you in two shots (*cough* COD), they put like 5 enemies in an encounter that can out maneuver and out smart players rather than just out gun them.