Next game speculation

[Baloogan]

But there are alot of dedicated players and i'm sure some of them would voluntairly help you with this.

Yes.

[tonystowe]

Another thought is the possibility of the border region change color as the CB increases in order to visually see your trouble spots. The idea is that the game engine be able to change the color of the border area that is shared with a particular country as the CB increases/decreases. The color changes would come from a prescribed order such as:

0-30% Normal Color of regions
31-50% Region Color blinks on occasion (or whatever)
51-75% Color changes to blinking Yellow/Orange color
76-100% Color changes to blinking Red/Black with additional warning


If this isn't possible, then maybe one my outstanding Ministry employees would alert me to increase changes. Especially if the increase occurs at a faster rate such as a 10 point increase in less than a month.

Tony

[tkobo]

Two things that id be very dissapointed to not see the AI be able to do in a next project would be to 1) move and attack in full stacks , and 2) To form up at a rally point instead of just the head long charges that take place now.

So that when an enemy force takes some land from them, the call would go out for the units to respond to the attack.

The units that respond would respond to a location that was still somewhat off of the advancing enemies front line(instead of charging right to the enemy location),form into a full stacks and into a formation,than advance to meet the enemy in a structured form and at a reasonable pace.

tonystowe's list is great as are many of the things already mentioned in the previous mutliple threads this AI topic has come up.Id love to see them all.I dont think i ever will, but i'd love too none the less.

The 1 and 2 above that i listed are among the top concerns of mine though out of all the things put forth.

[rhjyyz]

I think you all worry too much about minor micro stuff. Tweak this, unit stat this, range circle that, blah, blah. great but........The basic fact that the AI cannot do everything the human can ALMOST makes the game unplayable. In fact I'm trying to mod the game so it a least starts off with full strength industries. I also try to not build anything to keep the game fair. So, you can throw all that small stuff into the next game but if the AI can't do the basics..... what's the point?

[Noble713]

AI's in most games largely lack any sense of long-term goals. The AI needs a fundamental thought process for strategic direction.

Strategic Economic Situation
How good is my economy? What serious deficiencies/shortfalls does my economy have?
Add strategic goal (acquire/improve Shortfall X).
Can I fix these shortfalls through domestic policies?
Can I fix these shortfalls through diplomacy?

If these are positive, economic and diplomatic AIs go to work. If these last two are negative, consider military situation:

Strategic Military Situation
Which countries have economic assets that I need? (Target Countries that possess Shortfall X, identified above as a strategic goal.)
How powerful is my military?
How powerful is the military of Target Country?
Is the balance of power in my favor?

If not, take actions to improve balance of power (military building AI). If yes then move to operational planning.

Operational Military Situation
Do I share a land border with Target Country?
Where are the resources (Shortfall X again) that I need in relation to this border? Deploy armed forces accordingly and attack.

If no land border, but has naval access:

How much of my army will I need to invade?
Do I have the sealift capacity to move such a force?
How far away is the country?
Do I have the supply ships to keep my fleet supplied for that distance?

Once these are determined, load transports, assign escorts, and execute amphib mission.

Conflict Resolution
Have I secured (Shortfall X) ?

If yes, pursue ceasefire/peace treaty. Determine if winning or losing (kill ratio, # casualties, treasury, military approval) and take appropriate stance in diplomacy.

------------------------------------------------------

I think the AI can do the above, as these are mostly questions that can be broken down into comparisons of data to criteria set by the developers. Then it just needs to remember what its goals and stick with them, preferably no more than 1-2 simultaneously. Perhaps only run the Strategic Analysis part on the 1st of every month, and if there are already 2 Strategic Goals, don't add any more. If it successfully accomplishes its missions as laid out above, the economic shortfalls will disappear and it can remove a Strategic Goal.

[tonystowe]

Well thought out and articulated Noble! I agree 100%

[Legend]

These are very good posts...

I like the border change idea, although we would like to see less on the map. Perhaps another way instead of blinking borders would be something to consider.
- Mouse over
- second border colour
- right click information
- cursor when mousing over a region...

there are many options.

[BattleGoat]

The suspense is over... At least for the next scheduled title. http://www.bgforums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=7682

As an fyi, in the speculation for the next title I saw what are likely our plans for the next two titles in the series... but I'm not saying which ones they are

[Feltan]

Well, that bit of suspense is over.

A 12 month development cycle? That is the biggest surprise of all!

Regards,
Feltan

[BattleGoat]

Well it's not really a 12 month development cycle... We've been working on design changes for quite a while already.

[BigStone]

the next two titles in the series...

Holy sh*t... correct me if i'm wrong David...
so you're already working about something after SR2020.... lets say SR1930....

[Balthagor]

We are always thinking ahead! My library of 3D Models already includes Me-109, Me-262 and a few Panzers

Plus a few starships!

[tkobo]

Ive said it before, ill say it again ( and probably yet again in the future),Id really love to see you guys get the rights to Emperor of the Fading Suns

[Feltan]

Well it's not really a 12 month development cycle... We've been working on design changes for quite a while already.

Yes, I suspected as much. I also guess you have several "half-finished" features that are going to get resurected from 2010 for inclusion for 2020. So you won't be starting from scratch in many cases.

The surprise to me is the luxuriousness of having until the latter half of 2007. In my experience, smaller studios are frantic to get the next title to market; finances start driving the company instead of tech side. This announcemnt is either a very healthy thing (i.e., sales are great, a big pot of venture capitol, understaning investors, or a sugar daddy keeping things afloat) -- or (God forbid) it is an unhealthy sign, and you will get pulled up by the short hairs before 2020 goes GA. I hope it is the former!

That is why I was surprised. My expectation was a Q1 or early Q2 2007 release.

Regards,
Feltan

[Legend]

While using the SR2010 engine in all of it's former glory - we have much work ahead of us. So we drew up a scedule/timeline and Q3 is where we ended up.