Animal Fleeing AI Rework

[DYEUZ]

My opinions , my thoughts :
- We did not need the render distance changes at all and we got it ! Results , it screwed up the game .
- We do not need any kind of transport vehicle whatsoever ! Expected results , it will screw it up even more .

Facts :
- Many major issues are still affecting the gameplay big time .
- Seems EW has many free hours on their hands lately . It should be used for fixing them .
- A vehicle will completely change the personality and original purposes of THclassic .

I don't like where this game is going , but , in the end ,doesn't matter what i think , all good thing must come to an end eventually .
This game was good at one time !

[TheSheWolf]

My own opinion is that the render distance change was ENORMOUSLY overdue and I'm glad for it. I think we're also very overdue for a vehicle and AI changes. We really need rutting behavior, drives, and so on. The animals right now are what holds TheHunter back, and what would immediately set a new competitor ahead of it. Instead of "just wandering, and sleeping/eating on schedule" imagine if they actually sought out different areas for different reasons, circled downwind of calls, defended/established/fled territories, used game trails, and so on? I genuinely hope this is where the game is headed.

That being said, absolutely bug fixes should be a huge priority. But in fairness, they do work on them. My dog works for the first time in about a year. They should be prioritized a great deal more, I think; I'd like to be able to use that dog in multiplayer some day... But I'm willing to see where it goes before I get too doom-and-gloom about it, myself.

[Dilaj]

- We did not need the render distance changes at all and we got it ! Results , it screwed up the game .

The render distance change wasnt a bad idea but it almost changed nothing they write at maximum you can see 320 im play at maximum but the animals appaers at 270-290 but you still only can lure them from 220m and most of the map you cant see them from 150-200m+ because of the forests it would be make sense if you could lure them from 300 320m

[Djehmli]

As a Disclaimer, I am an IT Product Manager in Real Life. So discussion of programming Roadmaps, Enhancements and Bug smacking are a living breathing reality for me.
I wince when I see discussions regarding changes to this game.

I've been playing for little over a year now.
There does not seem to be any type of Developmental Roadmap. New introductions do not seem to build or enhance previous.

As many have reported, there are several outstanding bugs which have yet to be addressed. Even I as a 'newbie' noticed a trend of 'the old code is fragile, do not touch the code or something evil will occur'. I do not see bugs being addressed (or refuted) in any particular order. I also do not see many replies (if any) in the bug forum asking for clarification, more examples of instances etc. That forum is an echo chamber.

EW just made what I consider a worthless change to the interface by separating the Equipment from the Weapons, causing extra keys strokes (a no no in programing) for the end user. Leaving a lot of 'blank real estate), with a notation that in the 'future' this will be used... but AI is next on the road map?

You have thread after thread in the Kennel forum regarding the scent hounds.
You have thread after thread regarding tracks disappearing
Killing a critter in the river in PB and not being able to claim... sorry the carcasses DO NOT consistently float to claiming range, yet DOC can send a message.
Collision is already a problem on many reserves for the animal AI, any AI changes have to include an over haul of collision points
Render Range change - enough has been stated regarding things which have been affected
Other bugs the users earlier in the thread which are still outstanding

So long and short of it. I see no need at THIS time for AI changes. There are items currently in the game which already impact the AI which would need to be addressed FIRST.

Please understand, I love this game. But if it isn't broken don't fix it until you are absolutely confident the foundational code is as solid as you can make it.

[caledonianblues]

Why dont you open the beta? and then maybe we could see what the game will looks after the vechile and the new fleeing AI and then everyone could see it and decide they want it or no.

Open beta is a good idea for such a significant feature, especially one with potentially huge gameplay implications, but unanimously deciding "no, we don't want it" is probably not going to make any difference to what we actually get. Based on past experience, once any amount of effort has gone into something such as a new feature or enhancement, it's a safe bet that we're getting it. Whether we want it or not.

Open beta is a good idea for finding problems and bugs, and gathering feedback and suggestions, but there's no point in doing it if you either don't have the time or resources to fix the problems before release, or you don't want to hear suggestions.

One thing is certain. Whatever the vehicle is, there will be plenty of people that love it, and plenty that hate it and think it ruined the game. It's just a matter of waiting to see which camp you fall into.

[VonStratos]

I think that there will be a plenty of people that are is or will be indifferent to the vehicle, just like to the dogs, but they will love or hate the thing based in how the vehicle may cause new bugs that affect those people an their normal game experience or if it doesn't cause new bugs at all. By example, a not working scent hound doesn't affect to somebody that don't use a scent hound, but a vehicle that break the ai of the every animal... I think is not the vehicle what we fear, but the collateral damage it can cause for those who doesn't want, or need one.

[HooCairs]

EW just made what I consider a worthless change to the interface by separating the Equipment from the Weapons, causing extra keys strokes (a no no in programing) for the end user.

Good post, and since you mention this. I very much dislike the splitting of the equipment also. They needed to add one more slot for the drilling's second ammo type and this was enough to divide the inventory even further. The fix inventory size requires everything to fit on that small panel. The inventory should use the full screen instead and scale up and down based on screen settings. Also I wonder why they never considered letting us remove items with the right mouse key that is currently unused.

[GunnyMac22]

If you can make the bugs flee, then most here would be vary impressed

[gas56]

Hey all,

We are starting to look into changing the animal fleeing AI, but were wondering if it is going to be something you actually want? Currently it is a little unrealistic and predictable.

So the question I want to ask is "Would you like to see the animal fleeing AI more randomised, or would this change be too drastic and infuriating?"

Please do not reply with other examples of AI that needs to be changed, this is potentially a first step into getting some changes in other areas as well.

Looking forward to reading your thoughts.

TK

can you tell us in what ways you want to randomize animals fleeing? you really didn't explain much in that question to fully understand the whole aspect of it.

[MudBug]

You know what I think?

I think they took the new ATV out on the Beta server and found that the current fleeing AI doesn't hold up to being chased by a vehicle. So now they have to 'cover their tracks' by pretending to fix, or improve, or develop new fleeing AI to protect their recent investment in the quad. I think they're already working on this right now, because to release the quad first, without improving it, would only be the storm hitting the fan, so they're getting out in front of it, and are buffing the AI first. They're just making us think it was a choice we had in the first place, but we didn't.

That's what I think.

Bingo! We have a winner.

You wonder why this comes up now, on the impending release of "some form of rapid transport" in the game? Not sure where I heard this, but when they introduced ATVs into COTW people in multiplayer were herding large groups of animals with them. I don't understand why, since all you have to do in COTW is find a herd and shoot them one at a time to kill them all. The AI in that game is pathetic. Anyway, I'd bet that specific player action of herding animals with the ATV is exactly what they are trying to avoid in Classic. However, they've apparently put time into development of transport for Classic and forgot about the fiasco of the ATV herding players in COTW. So, you get this announcement.

I appreciate them asking our opinion. I'm pretty sure it is irrelevant because they've already put in the time developing the transport. Stand by for another ground breaking bug!