<!-- MHonArc v2.4.4 --> <!--X-Subject: [MUD-Dev] Re: Stack-Based NPC AI --> <!--X-From-R13: "Tryvk O. Qebrf" <sryvkNqjbexva.ay> --> <!--X-Date: Mon, 7 Dec 1998 11:00:16 -0800 --> <!--X-Message-Id: 199812071543.QAA19064#pattern,dworkin.nl --> <!--X-Content-Type: text/plain --> <!--X-Head-End--> <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN"> <html> <head> <title>MUD-Dev message, [MUD-Dev] Re: Stack-Based NPC AI</title> <!-- meta name="robots" content="noindex,nofollow" --> <link rev="made" href="mailto:felix#dworkin,nl"> </head> <body background="/backgrounds/paperback.gif" bgcolor="#ffffff" text="#000000" link="#0000FF" alink="#FF0000" vlink="#006000"> <font size="+4" color="#804040"> <strong><em>MUD-Dev<br>mailing list archive</em></strong> </font> <br> [ <a href="../">Other Periods</a> | <a href="../../">Other mailing lists</a> | <a href="/search.php3">Search</a> ] <br clear=all><hr> <!--X-Body-Begin--> <!--X-User-Header--> <!--X-User-Header-End--> <!--X-TopPNI--> Date: [ <a href="msg00921.html">Previous</a> | <a href="msg00923.html">Next</a> ] Thread: [ <a href="msg00937.html">Previous</a> | <a href="msg00920.html">Next</a> ] Index: [ <A HREF="author.html#00922">Author</A> | <A HREF="#00922">Date</A> | <A HREF="thread.html#00922">Thread</A> ] <!--X-TopPNI-End--> <!--X-MsgBody--> <!--X-Subject-Header-Begin--> <H1>[MUD-Dev] Re: Stack-Based NPC AI</H1> <HR> <!--X-Subject-Header-End--> <!--X-Head-of-Message--> <UL> <LI><em>To</em>: <A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#kanga,nu">mud-dev#kanga,nu</A></LI> <LI><em>Subject</em>: [MUD-Dev] Re: Stack-Based NPC AI</LI> <LI><em>From</em>: "Felix A. Croes" <<A HREF="mailto:felix#dworkin,nl">felix#dworkin,nl</A>></LI> <LI><em>Date</em>: Mon, 7 Dec 1998 16:43:28 +0100 (CET)</LI> <LI><em>Reply-To</em>: <A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#kanga,nu">mud-dev#kanga,nu</A></LI> </UL> <!--X-Head-of-Message-End--> <!--X-Head-Body-Sep-Begin--> <HR> <!--X-Head-Body-Sep-End--> <!--X-Body-of-Message--> <PRE> The implicit assumption in the above posts on NPC AI is that the player enters a full-blown game world in which NPCs are already fully formed. Gamespot currently has an interesting feature about a game in which the player starts not as a lowly adventurer but as a god, and where the NPCs learn from players: <A HREF="http://www.gamespot.com/features/bandw/index.html">http://www.gamespot.com/features/bandw/index.html</A> I'm including the text of the relevant pages for the archives. --- Page 3 of 5 Clash of the Titans While the above-described scenario already seems to be the basis of a complex game, it is actually only the backdrop for the main element of Black and White - the raising and training of Titans. This is the component that takes the game beyond what Molyneux has done in the past. Imagine a complex artificial life simulator, along the lines of, but more complex than, games such as Mindscape's Creatures or P. F. Magic's Virtual Petz series. There are numerous creatures that roam Eden. You choose one of these and place it in a pen, where you begin raising it. You can choose wild animals such as tigers and lions, domesticated animals like sheep and cows, or even any of the villagers to raise. Lionhead's plan is for the Titan to become a representation of the player in the game. As Molyneux describes it: "We want anybody to be able to take any living thing, to train it and to treat it however they like, and for that thing to be totally and completely unique to them." Molyneux demonstrated this facet of the game by employing a raised lion. It roamed the countryside, towering over the tribesmen, literally one hundred times their height in scale, as they ran around. It was an amazing-looking creature, a towering, half-humanoid feline with impeccable posture and a noble face. This was the example of a lion who had been raised with kindness. The same beast under less desirable circumstances was an altogether different creature. It began to hunch over, its coat took on a darker hue, and its face twisted into a frightening snarl. To further demonstrate the versatility of the Titans, a cow was shown, or more accurately, a cow standing several hundred feet tall, doing a spinning kick. As these two examples illustrated, the Titans should prove an interesting game mechanic indeed. As you grow in power, so will your Titan grow in physical size. As you learn spells, your Titan will watch you and learn as well. Then it will go out and act as an agent of battle on your behalf. "When you do something cool," explains Molyneux, "it will actually turn around and look at you. And his face will actually smile and it will cry and it will laugh." To elaborate, imagine as you continue casting a fire spell in a straight line. Your creature will curiously watch you, then eventually begin casting the spell in the same manner. Molyneux hopes people will become attached to their creatures, as they watch them become more experienced and grow old throughout the course of the game. This emotional attachment is a good possibility: The Titans are incredibly lifelike. For instance, if one cuts itself as a baby, it will retain the scar throughout the game. Adding to this lifelike quality is the fact that the creatures are being animated with an interesting system, a combination of prerendered animations and interpolation that will allow for almost infinite variety. Page 5 of 5 Single and Multiplayer Details on the game specifics are somewhat vague, but Molyneux has grand plans. The single-player game is planned as an open-ended set of events based in a persistent world. There will be no "levels," just an expanding playing area for you to try to dominate. And the single-player and multiplayer games will be interchangeable, allowing you to take your creature back and forth between the two. There are also vague plans for an online persistent universe, but discussions of such structural elements are both theoretical and premature at this point, considering the basic system is still being tested and tweaked. But that's the nature of Molyneux's design philosophy, and one that has permeated Lionhead. Jonty Barnes says it best: "The only way to really make a game good is to play it to death." But what Black and White promises is more than just another strategy game with a new take on an old idea. It is a new idea altogether. The fact that the game will allow you to play how you want, as a vile tyrant or the paragon of good, and that the game will actually change to represent that, is exciting. And the implications for the gameplay are many. You can spend all of your time raising the ultimate good Titan, but Molyneux describes how your creature is affected by exterior circumstances, such as kidnapping: "It goes through this horribly torturous experience, which affects its personality. It is going to be horribly psychologically scarred by this experience." Nurturing your Titan is a pivotal part of the game, but a dynamic environment will continually test your abilities to guide your Titan and your worshippers. As of yet, Lionhead hasn't even hinted at a release date. Educated guesses put the game in late 1999, but it could be as late as the year 2000 before Black and White is available to consumers. Until then, GameSpot will keep you updated on this ambitious project. --- Felix Croes </PRE> <!--X-Body-of-Message-End--> <!--X-MsgBody-End--> <!--X-Follow-Ups--> <HR> <!--X-Follow-Ups-End--> <!--X-References--> <!--X-References-End--> <!--X-BotPNI--> <UL> <LI>Prev by Date: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00921.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: mud client development systems</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Next by Date: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00923.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: mud client development systems</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Prev by thread: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00937.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Netscape's "Gecko" Browsing Engine (fwd)</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Next by thread: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00920.html">[MUD-Dev] Thought Treasure</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Index(es): <UL> <LI><A HREF="index.html#00922"><STRONG>Date</STRONG></A></LI> <LI><A HREF="thread.html#00922"><STRONG>Thread</STRONG></A></LI> </UL> </LI> </UL> <!--X-BotPNI-End--> <!--X-User-Footer--> <!--X-User-Footer-End--> <ul><li>Thread context: <BLOCKQUOTE><UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00933" HREF="msg00933.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Netscape's "Gecko" Browsing Engine (fwd)</A></strong>, Bruce Mitchener, Jr. <a href="mailto:bruce#puremagic,com">bruce#puremagic,com</a>, Mon 07 Dec 1998, 23:57 GMT <LI><strong><A NAME="00927" HREF="msg00927.html">[MUD-Dev] Netscape's "Gecko" Browsing Engine (fwd)</A></strong>, Nathan F Yospe <a href="mailto:yospe#hawaii,edu">yospe#hawaii,edu</a>, Mon 07 Dec 1998, 20:29 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00932" HREF="msg00932.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Netscape's "Gecko" Browsing Engine (fwd)</A></strong>, Adam Wiggins <a href="mailto:adam#angel,com">adam#angel,com</a>, Mon 07 Dec 1998, 23:18 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00937" HREF="msg00937.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Netscape's "Gecko" Browsing Engine (fwd)</A></strong>, greear <a href="mailto:greear#cyberhighway,net">greear#cyberhighway,net</a>, Tue 08 Dec 1998, 02:04 GMT </LI> </UL> </LI> </UL> </LI> <LI><strong><A NAME="00922" HREF="msg00922.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Stack-Based NPC AI</A></strong>, Felix A. Croes <a href="mailto:felix#dworkin,nl">felix#dworkin,nl</a>, Mon 07 Dec 1998, 19:00 GMT <LI><strong><A NAME="00920" HREF="msg00920.html">[MUD-Dev] Thought Treasure</A></strong>, Adam Wiggins <a href="mailto:adam#angel,com">adam#angel,com</a>, Mon 07 Dec 1998, 18:27 GMT <LI><strong><A NAME="00916" HREF="msg00916.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: mud client development systems</A></strong>, Chris Gray <a href="mailto:cg#ami-cg,GraySage.Edmonton.AB.CA">cg#ami-cg,GraySage.Edmonton.AB.CA</a>, Mon 07 Dec 1998, 04:52 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00917" HREF="msg00917.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: mud client development systems</A></strong>, Sunny Gulati <a href="mailto:sunnywiz#radiks,net">sunnywiz#radiks,net</a>, Mon 07 Dec 1998, 05:50 GMT </LI> <LI><strong><A NAME="00918" HREF="msg00918.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: mud client development systems</A></strong>, greear <a href="mailto:greear#cyberhighway,net">greear#cyberhighway,net</a>, Mon 07 Dec 1998, 06:04 GMT </LI> </UL> </LI> </UL></BLOCKQUOTE> </ul> <hr> <center> [ <a href="../">Other Periods</a> | <a href="../../">Other mailing lists</a> | <a href="/search.php3">Search</a> ] </center> <hr> </body> </html>