I have to disagree with you on the AI. The AI is much better than any game
that I have played. Yes there are places where you can trap NPC's and kill
them (exploits). Yes trains are a problem, but is that because of poor AI?
No thats from poor players. To me its very realistic to go in a dungeon,
get overwhelmed and have to run for my life, with everything else coming
behind to tear me to pieces. The first time I saw really good AI is when I
took out my bow at level 7 to hit a gnoll to bring it to me. Instead of
charging though, it did the same thing! And continued to until I got into
melee range (where it brought out its long sword and started meleeing).
You don't think healing in battle is smart AI? Healing other NPC's?
Standing back and casting spells until you come in range? I was in Paw
the other night soloing the Captain. Everytime I got it down to half
health it would heal itself (I thought to myself when did the captain start
casting spells?) Well finally I turned around and noticed a gnoll shaman
healing him the whole time! (should pay attention to the text more). It
left me alone until I came after it - it was content to just stand there and
heal the captain because I was more powerful. The AI in EQ is pretty damn
good - the terrain features are what gives the NPCs problems (have to agree
on the quest parser though!)
> ----------
> From: Roop Dirump[SMTP:roop@...]
> Reply To: eqbards@onelist.com
> Sent: Wednesday, August 04, 1999 3:36 PM
> To: eqbards@onelist.com
> Subject: Re: [eqbards] Bard Petition
>
> From: "Roop Dirump" <roop@...>
>
> Personally, I think there's quite a bit of balance in the classes. Well,
> individually. I think magic users are much more powerful than melee
> types,
> if there's any imblalance it is in this manner. It's all design I
> suppose,
> but I always felt the battlefield should be for the warriors, while the
> mages stayed back home in their towers (casting spells fropm there!) or
> perhaps stood on hills overlooking the battles.
>
> In EverQuest the mages are very hardy, and exremely powerful--in this
> world
> the mages are the true masters of the battlefield, and the warriors are
> theoir helpers. For my tastes, a mage should be a little old man or
> woman,
> complete weakling, easily slaughtered with a gigantic axe... That is if
> one
> could get close to them. Of course, how could they ever survive in
> Everquest? So mages can survive battlefields, but they still have all the
> good without the bad (or not enough of it).
>
> Personally, if I could see anything changed in this game.... it would be
> the
> AI! The parser NPCs use for the quests is technologically backward. The
> original Zork games had a more complex parser, and these games are twenty
> years old!! In fact, EQ really doesn't parse for a damn. It is highly
> simplistic for a game so recent.
>
> But that's not the worse of it. You know, one can always tell how poor a
> game's AI is by looking at how the game is designed. In the first
> Civilization, the AI was given a chance against the player by letting the
> computer cheat. In Alpha Centauri, the computer does not cheat at all!
>
> The AI in EverQuest is so poor, the NPCs cheat blatantly. Camping is not
> something people do just for items. People camp everywhere! Groups
> don't
> roam around together, fighting as they go! They camp, and send out scouts
> to pull. The AI is very dumb and can be tricked this way. I have never
> played a game where trains are a way of life, never even played a game
> where
> Train becomes part of the vocabulary, and I think it's a problem. All
> this
> stems from poor MOB AI. If anything needs tweaked, it's not the PCs but
> the
> NPCs!!! It inspired me to write a poem.
>
> I wanna be an npc
> But not some stupid orc
> I wanna be an npc
> And be a piece o work
>
> I wanna backstab with me fists and feet
> Dirk don't need it see
> I'd know and cast and memorize every spell there is
> Mana don't need it see
> I'd cast and fight and kill with ease
> I'd be a magic monk
>
> I wanna know just everything
> But a bard would be too hard
> See those aren't good at everything
> Npcs are never bards!
>
> I wanna chase you to the zone so far
> And laugh at all you cowards
> I wanna chase you if you come to close
> And make you camp in corners
> Hah ha ha Hah ha ha
> I would not be pulled you see
> Npcs are are fools you see
> But I would be too smart
>
> I wanna cheat like the computer
> And get stuck in a corner
> I wanna cheat like the computer
> In a group I'd be a horror
>
> Roop
>
>
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