Looking for games with good AI

[Rodion Romanovich]

Artificial intelligence is nice, human intelligence is a far better opponent than any machine and groups working together are smarter than soloists.

Sooo, the answer is Battlefield2.

Nothing beats a few rounds on a BF2 64 ticket map in a six-member squad with a squad leader who is Medic and has VoiP, no noobs on board and every member knows the map and can fly, drive and use anti-tank or C4. Gets my adrenaline going every time.

You have a good point, and I indeed prefer human opposition in most cases. But there are situations in which human opposition is not a good idea: when I want to be able to play when I feel like it, when I want to play a non-mainstream or old game that has lost/never had any notable mp community, and when I want to play complex long-time campaigns that would be too much fuss to arrange with others, etc.

[Dunhill]

Thank you for bringing the thread back on topic. It is actually quite difficult to find good AI's, particularly with certain kinds of games.

Go is one game where AI research hasn't progressed very far. Most AI's for Go as easily beaten on a smaller board by players of relatively low experience, even if the computer is given a large benefit of handicap against the player. That type of game just doesn't lend itself to programming, due to the nature of game resolution. More pieces are going onto the board, not being taken off.

I'd say that the more simplistic the game, the more likely the AI is to be able to give you a challenge. I think that is why the AGEOD games are quite good in that the economics are abstracted, so the choice are restricted to what kinds and sizes of armies, led by which assortments of leaders moving to take specific areas. Abstracting economics and diplomacy leaves more time for the strategic assessment. These games also permit some choice in AI time for assessment. They say the latest game permits dual cores to think about the move as you are conducting your, but I can't ouch for how that works without a dual core myself.

[TinCow]

I'd say that the more simplistic the game, the more likely the AI is to be able to give you a challenge. I think that is why the AGEOD games are quite good in that the economics are abstracted, so the choice are restricted to what kinds and sizes of armies, led by which assortments of leaders moving to take specific areas. Abstracting economics and diplomacy leaves more time for the strategic assessment. These games also permit some choice in AI time for assessment. They say the latest game permits dual cores to think about the move as you are conducting your, but I can't ouch for how that works without a dual core myself.

Yep, that's true. Most RTS AIs are pretty decent simply because the game itself is simple. The C&C series, Warcraft series, Starcraft, etc. all had AIs that would give you a run for your money in random battles.