Though, it might be fun to have a few enemies that have abnormal aggro habits, such as going after clothies first or higher aggro from healing.
Aye, which is what I said before Sentient aliens might have weirder AI mechanics, again, looking to one who might locate the weak links and go after them, but if struck by any other opponent enough, will turn and attack that person instead. The big thing with aggro is battles aren't going to be like traditional MMORPG battles in this game. You're not going to be fighting a slime for 10 minutes. There's no threat build up time, really, and while the combat IS slowed down a touch for more strategic gameplay, giving the creatures more dynamic AI adds more variety to the game, as well as moving away from a mechanic that won't necessarily work in here.. Now.. a boss fight? Well, that's a different story.
You wont be ignored by any means, its just they will try to reach otehrs before attacking you. however as they ARE enemies, unless they have some sort of movement specialty, ranged gear or special attacks, if you are between them and thier target they will try to go through you to get to said target, it is a side-scroller so this is obvious that being ignored is impossible. i understand your concern. however from experience there always seems to be a class system, even if unintentional, because some people just want to play mage and or archer and some just want to play thief (my personal preference) and even other don't really care bout the game-play they just wanna hack-n-slash away, and if the equipment allows for it then the player will equip themselves according to preference and yet still someone will be more support while the others are frontrunners into the fray.
i agree the more intelligent the being the weirder the AI should be. however other stimuli that aren't exactly battle related could com into play, such as diplomacy, intertribe rivalry's for instance, if you were to get into a bigger battle involving multiple races some might just hate each other more than they hate any of their other enemies at the time and so they attack each other. this kind of dynamic aggro could add more strategy to the game because you could attract one group to attack another while you walk away or if too weak to fight them just hide and wait while they kill each other then clean up scraps. this could be useful at all levels of the game as well. also if you wanted to put a touch of ME into the game, you could be forced to choose a side in a tribal war on a planet, and your decision could lead to one tribe's genocide causing you to lose any possible unique benefits of that tribe. With a game as expansive as starbound is hoping to be, the AI needs to be just as dynamic as the gameplay, and your decisions in-game should be reflected in those dynamics.
The trinity mechanic exists because in Dungeons & Dragons (before any videogames!) people found out that having at least one Healer was crucial and having a Warrior or a Paladin hold back enemies for others was great! Then at some point some game developers making videogames decided to take it up a notch and base their entire combat mechanics around that system. They made it so that one guy in a tin can is able to tank Dragons, Gods, Demons and whatever infinitely. Games devolved into one guy standing still with a few spamming heals and the rest firing arrows or bullets or whatever. I've never understood why people enjoy games that work like that. I think it gets really boring after a while. The real reason to wear heavy armor is that it allows you to get close to really nasty opponents and survive. In terms of Starbound the guy wearing the heaviest armor and a Shield should be the one to jump down a dark pit first, because he's the most likely to survive if there's something nasty down there. Also since Starbound is a 2D sidescroller blocking projectiles doesn't need any aggro. It doesn't really matter who the projectiles are aimed at (or if at anybody at all), you can still jump in front of them or try to dodge them. It's not just 2D games either, though. In Guild Wars monsters often run past warriors and go straight for whoever has the lowest armor and max health. I think it's great fun. To counter that some Warriors try to cripple or knock down opponents. In the same way you could probably use some sort of ice weapon in Starbound to slow down opponents.
Aye, and that's the point I was trying to get across - there aren't going to be clothies and the like here... there are going to be people in battle armor with shields, people in battle armor with healing scanners and the like. Sort of like a Cleric with heavy/plate armor proficiency (Depending on what version you're playing).. they'll be able to do some hurting and take some beatings, but they'll primarily be in the back throwing their heals and taking pot shots while the guy up front has a shield and is blocking the others. But if the creature can just run past the guy with the shield, and targets specifically the healer, or other things, without question? Well, there's no point to specializing in being a tanky type to hold others back - at least for that creature. That said, the hybridization system would work greatly, AND there will be collision mechanics for players vs monsters, so they can't run through anyway. So even if there was an AI that targetted healers, it's gonna get blocked by the guy in front of it.
So there is body blocking?! I assumed that all melee enemies could walk through the tanky people in an attempt to hit the squishier ones if they are standing too close... That certainly makes the combat system very different from what I had imagined. Let's just hope that you are right in that they aren't huge stat differences between the roles. Games always turn lame when tank+healer = Godmode for tanky guy.
They're looking at making combat a little more slow, fluid, and strategic. So you gotta know when to shield, when to take a hit, when to attack, who to attack, etc. I imagine it will be rather interesting. Plus I could see a mob spawning behind the group and the tank having to swap to that one to protect against IT, or the like.
I just hope they';ll see it and use it. I'm not a programmer, but game mechanics are something I'm really into.
I'll superficially say that I like the different aggro-mechanics and being able to hold enemies back - However, i'd also like that most animal-like monsters would be sort of selfpreservative in their ways. Mutants, horrors and enraged sentient beings could fight to death, but I'd like the simpler animals to run away when they are beaten bad enough. Perhaps at a low speed so you dont have to chase them all around?
That behavior type would be separate from the Aggro/threat portion of the AI, and part of the larger combat AI. Some creatures have self-preservation mechanisms, and so it makes sense for some to retreat. Most humanoid creatures, if they have higher sentience, will value their life and GTFO. Some animals will when injured but most of them prefer fight over flight. Alien species? Well we'll just have to wait and see.
This is kinda what I want to see. Enemies might be completely calm, but turn hostile if damaged, or maybe attack you aggressively if you're wearing a certain armor (metal eaters, perhaps?) Or in reverse, aggro dropping because of something on/in your armor they don't like. Interesting ideas and plenty of ways to do this.
I'd have lots of fun confusing the hell out of enemies' AIs... especially if the crafting system has any level of depth/item improvement to it. For instance, my absolute FAVORITE combat 'role' is the heavily armored Frontline Medic. Nothing says "Trust me, I'm a Doctor" like showing up to the party in a full suit of mechanized armor with a rocket launcher over one shoulder and a field trauma kit over the other. What does the AI do then? Who's the bigger target, me or that jerkoff with the Jetpack? It'll be fun to find out!
Some sort of advanced AI is definately needed. Aggro is just one of the many sides of the issue, and worth considering. Pretty much everything was stated here and so far I'd like to see this in the game, it would give combat a better feeling. However, the problem is that as far as I know, coding AIs is no easy job, and aggro mechanics could be easily exploited once a player knows the behaviour of the creature in question. Of course, having procedurally generated creatures is an advantage, as you will never know what to expect in a new planet and will need to experience to find it out. This brings to mind the feature of the log-book in which you register the creatures you've encountered. It would be great if within their entries you could also see their type of behaviour (in a specific way, their aggro mechanic, not just "hostile", "calm"...). This would make it easier to exploit the AI on planets you've already visited, but in a way that also makes it more realistic. In dealing with a branch of creatures you end up knowing what teases them, what they're afraid of, etc...
Hm, I read an interview/Q&A with Tiy, and he said at one point that a similar creature might use melee in one planet and not in the next. Maybe the AI could be constructed of some kind of crazy variables, like "Hates people using heals" and "Runs away at low health" or "calls for help"?
