Chopper Tank Flak 1.6.0 AI Update

The new AI update is finally here.

My apologies for it being a few days late, while taking screenshots to make this devlog I thought of a quick improvement that I could add to make the AI more challenging. That turned into several hours experiments and uncertainty that the update was ready. Eventually, I decided that trying to make things perfect was a trap I didn't have time for. To be clear, I do consider the updated AI an improvement over the former version. I just didn't manage to complete everything I wanted to. Ultimately, perfection is the enemy of progress, and it is probably be better to just move on.

With that said, on with the:

Change Log:

• The games AI has seen significant overhauls:
  • The AI now begins by considering what it needs to do to win instead of focusing on the best moves it can make
  • The AI has a more nuanced approach to evaluating risks:
    • The AI takes into account that the player's units can only take one action per turn each and therefore represent a finite threat
    • The AI is more willing to put its units in danger, if it will be able to take one of the player's units in exchange
    • The AI is less likely to start a stalemate it can't resolve on the same turn
  • In practice the above changes have had the following effects on the AI's behaviour:
    • The AI might try to overwhelm defensive positions with superior numbers
    • The AI may distract the player with a variety of options
    • The AI may try to use its units to bait the player into a trap
    • In general the AI is more aggressive without being completely reckless
• A new navigation system
  • The AI now makes its turn much faster with
  • The AI can now handle far more units before it slows down
  • The AI is able to path find around the player's units
• Fix: when the AI moves a unit it will now check if there is a unit it could destroy next to it

Overall, the new AI isn't necessarily a smarter opponent, in extreme examples it can do things that are just flat out dumb. However, the new AI doesn't twiddle its thumbs waiting for the player to present an opportunity anymore, and I think that makes it much more fun to play against. Additionally, the improved performance enables me to make future levels with a much larger number of units, which is a very exciting prospect to me.

The next update will focus on adding an interactive tutorial to spare people from the horror only known as "6̸̨̍͠ ̷͉̐́p̶̥͂â̵͕̳̚g̶̳͒͂ě̶̟̥̐s̵͔̯̄ ̷͈͊o̴̳̪͋͂f̷̳̓͗ ̴͕͑̕i̵̗͆ṉ̵̈́-̶͖͛́g̶͉̩̑͋a̶͔͕̒̑m̶̒ͅe̷̯͉̓ ̴͈̥̅ǐ̶̢̈́ǹ̸͖s̶͉̋̀t̶̩̱̒̉ř̷̞ų̶̊̚c̵̢̟̆t̸̡̩̏ì̷̢̏ŏ̵̧͈͛ǹ̷̯ś̵̳͠".