Author Topic: Question Adaptive map  (Read 3085 times)

-=Brigand=-

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Question Adaptive map
« on: February 12, 2019, 01:49:58 PM »
Question related to the settings of a "fictional" adaptive map,  example : 1-4-7 (60-155 IA)

What I understand,
1-3 players in the map, the number of AIs will be reduced to a minimum of 60 out of 155
4-6 a number,
and 7-xx will increase the number of AIs to its maximum 155
that's right ?

Do these same settings also change or not the difficulty level of the AIs too (or this is another setting made by you) and / or the server setting?

I do not know what missions we were playing and we were 4, and strangely the map was empty,
maybe there was a bug on this map

Fishmonger

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Re: Question Adaptive map
« Reply #1 on: February 12, 2019, 11:48:00 PM »
on what would be a 1-4-7 map, with my scripts, the following would be in play:

1-3 players, one third of the AI spawn sectors are active, and depending on random chance, they get activated and AI will appear. The AI is picked from all available groups in most recent maps. Panhard spawns are less likely (40% of the time) than with more players, and there are less of them in most cases. Smackdown spawns are less likely than with more players and if they happen, there is only one of them (on most maps, a smackdown is a quick spawn of 12 additional AI, adding significant enemy forces very quickly. Maps with Smackdowns have 12 such zones for random locations of where these groups do appear should the randomizer pick them)

4-6 players will see the 1-3 player AI spawns active (because we have 1-3 player trigger going off as well), plus a second set of AI spawns, similar likelyhood, also picked randomly from usually 12 groups of different AI. So now we have 144 possibilities of AI, plus the chance of no AI (so actually 13 x 13 possible spawns). Panhards are now usually 60% likely, and a few more will appear on average. The 1-3 player Panhards are not triggered any longer. Smackdowns are more likely, plus there can be two.

7 or more players: The 1-3 and 4-6 player AI spawns are in place, and we're adding another one. So now we have 13 x 13 x 13 possibilities of AI groups to appear (2197). Panhards are usually 80% likely now, and there will be more. Usually there are 4 different spawns per Panhard trigger. Smackdown spawns can happen even more likely and there can be three, I think. This is the hardest version of a map.


Panhard triggers are independent from AI, so they happen in different places on the map. Timing depends on when a human player walks into the trigger zone. Smackdown zones are also separate and in different places from AI and Panhard triggers.


Regarding your empty map: This happens to us when a server sits idle for many hours before anyone joins the game. It will do that for all rounds on the map that was loaded while nobody was playing. The next map will behave normally. If you then go back to the one that had no enemies, the map will usually behave normal. 

It is theoretically possible that some maps will unfold without any AI for quite a while, but that is like winning the lottery. There are very few maps with spawn chances below 60% per trigger and most maps, when you appear with a good number of players will have at least 10 zones that run a randomizer. The one I uploaded today has over 40 such trigger zones and you'd have to be extremely lucky not to see any AI. Plus, Cornholio, a common character at the end of my maps, when present, usually is a 100% likely spawn, so he will always be there, even if no other AI spawns due to pure luck.


Don't eat food off the sidewalk, no matter how good it looks.

-=Brigand=-

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Re: Question Adaptive map
« Reply #2 on: February 13, 2019, 04:40:11 AM »
Woaw this is more complex than I thought at the beginning,

it's a good idea all these scripts when it is well set / orchestrated,
actually it changes many things ingame and allowing to be surprised again,
to avoid missions too linear and a certain repetitiveness.

Thank you for all these explanations  8)

Fishmonger

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Re: Question Adaptive map
« Reply #3 on: February 15, 2019, 11:39:18 PM »
Missions that are not random rarely are fun to play. They either are too hard (RPGHard maps) or they are too easy. There are just a few we keep playing that are just right. You learn where the bad guys are and the game changes from quick reactions and being alert to executing a perfect performance where you know your moves, you just have to make it happen or you still loose the game. One of the best examples of such a map is the old Engpass - what a classic, even though we know every bad guy on the small map like an old friend. It is just a different game at that point. If the map was easy to win, we would have stopped playing it years ago.

When I started making maps and saw you could use a randomizer, it changed everything - it suddenly was worth spending time on such a map, because we'd be playing it for many many hours without getting bored. Then I just made them more and more random, but that led to a lot of extra work, as the random AI has to be put on the map, even if you only get to meet a small percentage. So a few years ago I came up with slightly less random maps that still feel very much like a new game, yet with only a quarter of the AI I need to set up.

Recently I've updated some maps that were made in the early years of my random maps and with just a few tweaks and things I learned over the years, I've been able to give them a new life and far more interesting game play. Now when you walk in with a small team, you don't see the same 2 or 4 groups of enemies, but 6 or 12. Those changes only take me a few hours and it's well worth it compared to making completely new maps where the terrain building alone can take 100 hours if you want to make the place look good. But I will make more new terrains, just because that's a fun project in itself. I have some ideas, but so far haven't decided yet where to go next. There's a game called Unreal Tournament with a map called Two Towers - that's what I'd like to recreate somehow in GRAW. You probably have played it yourself. It would likely be more of a sniper and defensive map (not anything with flags) and you'd eventually have to get from one tower to the other go get to zulu, likely on top. Building it like the original angled walls is impossible, but I just feel a challenge here. Doubt I can make it spin in orbit either

Don't eat food off the sidewalk, no matter how good it looks.

-=Brigand=-

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Re: Question Adaptive map
« Reply #4 on: February 19, 2019, 05:07:40 AM »
Hi,
This is a lot of work you do for us (the players who still like to play GRAW still today), thanks to you the makers of maps,
I would say that there is not much active, and memory I would say, there is You and RpgHard, there may be more ?
But I have a big doubt, creating and editing maps should not be obvious ...

Hehe, yes yes I played at UT a long time ago ... the years went by quickly 
now I remember a little better about this mission with the two rounds,
I also think it's going to be difficult to put it in orbit and then it will change the game,
with adapted equipment, a helmet and a tank of oxygen and energy weapons, ...

but why not, to make a terrestrial adaptation, and curious to see that ;)

good day, cordialy