Ns-bots?

pielemuis

C i live in Belgium and as i expect most servers will be american based, in the beginning that is, once it gets popular there will be uk servers, maybe even belian servers, anywho....
Is there someone who can write well in c++, and is able to code a bot for NS in th mean time, maybe Botman will code one, who knows, but his bots aren't really good as his bot supports different mods. So ne1 willing to code that???PLZ?
Or maybe the NS team will put some sort of bot in it, or hey maybe a tutorial level?

Greedo

We've had talk about NS bots from community developers after release.  But I don't think you'll have to worry.  A number of people on the team are from the UK, so there shouldn't be any problem finding a server there.

liquidscript

I may be interested in messing around with the AI coding, but i'd have to learn how.  That is, if flayra isn't going to work on that any time soon.  

I really do enjoy coding.

CrystalSnake

The problem with bots (in other mods, at least) is that they are incapable of using teamwork or strategy.
In NS, this isn't as much of a problem for the marine side, because the commander (who should most definitely not be a bot) can tell his bots where to go. He would effectively be complemeting the bot AI with real, human intelligence.
I can even imagine battles where all marines, except for the commander, are bots.

pielemuis

squad AI can eb implemented though, look at PODbot they have a fair amount of squad AI, and it will only icnrease in the next release.

Flayra

I'm still undecided on the bot issue.  I've created basic bots for testing (using botman's excellent foundation), but I'm not sure if bots fit into the game very well.  Personally, I'd prefer not to see bots on servers, but I have no choice over the matter.  External parties could put bots into NS if they want.  The bots I've created for testing purposes will NOT be part of the NS release but will be kept internally.  They are really stupid anyways, they don't listen to orders, they get stuck on ladders, they jump off high places to their death, etc.

 Right now my feeling is that bots are counter to the drama of being on the marine team.  At times, the commander has to make choices about who to save and who to let die and if the players are bots, that drama is gone.  The cameraderie of moving and acting as a team will also be lessened or removed if you know that your teammates are bots.

 As far as alien bots go, that idea fits decently, but I think the best games of NS will be games with all humans.



<!--EDIT|Flayra|Jan. 29 2002,12:40-->

pielemuis

I agree, it's just that bots can be a solution for people with lots of lag, or just want to practice a bit, I would like 2 have some sort of tutorial in NS though, even if it's just for getting 2 know the commander mode.

the_stalker

why cant they haave any servers around the world?  :(

Moleculor

Because of the way the internet works. When you connect to a server you have to connect through routers. Think of a router as a processing plant for water. If you want to move water from a specific point to another specific point it has to go through different plants. The more plants it goes through, the more it slows down the delivery of the water. Same with routers and data. If you're in America, and want to conenct to a server in India, you end up going through at -least- 20 routers, if not more, each one can slow down your packet a lot, and with each router there's a chance that it could be held for a full half-second or more. Those hold-ups are what cause those pauses in online gaming where everything seems to jump around. The more routers you go through, the more chance that you'll have a hold up with that packet. With many packets being delievered in a short amount of time, connecting to something -that- far away for realtime gaming is just not feasable.

Short Answer: Connecting over long distances makes your ping go way way up.

executor

but as sayd, i dont think that should be a problem, cause several users are from europe, i for exsample, am from norway <!--emo&:)--><img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'><!--endemo-->.

so i would probably have a good ping at any UK or belgium server.

so, unless you live on some island hundreds of thousands of miles away from humanity, or are using a mobile computer on your second trip to the moon, you shouldnt have anything to worry about <!--emo&;)--><img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=';)'><!--endemo-->

Shuvit_Viper

im still on day 4 of my 21 dayz c++ lessons, but i know java and basic and SQL, so i think i can handle. I think im going to create a tutorial (training) level sequence myself, maybe even an small single player adventure which teaches you all the basics.
It will suck.
But, its just for me to learn, get a little experience, and its something i like to do, create something for NS, so i think i'll release it and when i do i hope you get a little fun from it.
but first i have to wait for the ns release, i don't think you could make a training level without the game itself.

pielemuis

That would be great viper.
C++ is a lot easier than c, not that I know c++ that well, i just followed a course like yours and it only teached you the basic stuff, but i do know java. One of these days i'm gonna have to have a closer look at c++. I think a training map will be released at soem time one way or another, they released one for cs didn't they? And it wasn't needed or something, but NS has some advanced features especially the alien side and the commandermode.