Love them or not, AI players are an essential part of maintaining the gameplay experience of games where player versus player is a core part of the experience.
AIs players help to ensure that, no matter what time a player is logging in and what server they are using, they will always be able to kind of enjoy the experience. They fill lobbies that might otherwise be less so.
In Super Animal World the AIs do a fairly decent job of passing the five second test – and most interactions won’t really last longer than that when you’re trying to get a one-up on the opposition.
However as you gain more experience as a player, the AI players will become more apparent and even obvious.
It may even be the case that, at first, AI players will seem like relative pushovers. They hesitate. They miss shots. They won’t exert as much pressure as a player would. Not while operating alone, anyway.
But the AI is deliberately pulling its punches so as to ease the experience of newer players trying to come to grips with the game (which, to be clear, is a very good thing – an unprepared player may already face a bit of a shock while playing their first matches with more experienced players).
Over the course of a player’s first 100 levels or so the difficulty level of AI players ramps up to more normal levels. Normal individual AIs pose a little more of a threat, but it is when they are encountered in groups that they are at their most dangerous.
Here I shall drop a few hints to help with handling AIs better (work in progress).
They See You
Unlike human players, who might not notice your SuperAnimal hiding behind an object, AIs will spot you more or less immediately, and react to you as if you were out in the open.
Generally Predictable
AIs are among the most predictable players that you will encounter.
They will generally behave in consistent ways – and the main reason why they might not comes down to one of two things:
- The AI being aware of things that you are not – such as another player being spotted.
- The refresh rate of the AI’s logic – running it too frequently is an excess overhead – and so AIs may take one or more seconds to react to changes.
AIs also have a reaction delay built into their logic, which is why an AI that appears around a corner won’t immediately start shooting. This delay can be longer or shorter depending on other players in the area.
Once an AI spots you, it will try to follow you, and this typically means that they will round the same corners that you disappear behind. Since you know this, you can easily get in a few shots before the AI reacts.
Or, if there are multiple AIs in pursuit… you could drop a timely grenade in their expected path.
Object Permanence Wanting
If you break line of sight with an AI for long enough, then it will treat a new exposure as a new encounter. Which means that you can have multiple “first encounter” delays against the same AI.
However the time that it takes to ‘forget’ about you as an active target is not zero. A break in line of sight too brief can result in taking aggro that you could have avoided had you waited just a tiny bit longer.
It is also to be noted that an AI that forgets about you as a target won’t necessarily stop pursuing you. The pursuit mechanism is more robust, and this means that an AI could potentially follow you around multiple tight corners before giving up the pursuit.
Nearest Target Acquired
AIs will tend to switch targets based on who is closest to them.
There can be a bit of a delay.
Shooting at an AI
This is quite straightforward. Since AI players tend to stop once they are close enough, or otherwise travel in a straight line, they can be shot at without issue.
When an AI is taken to a low enough health, it will try to run away in a direction – and will proceed to drink juice. If you get close enough then the AI will stop doing that, and approach and open fire.
Evading Incoming Fire From An AI
An AI that spots and opens fire on you will not necessarily hit you with the first shot. such opening shots are more likely to but will not always miss.
This can apply to multiple “first encounters”.
If you choose to not hide, then a subsequent shot is a lot more likely to hit, and the AI will keep firing, usually standing in place once within comfortable range.
The tracking of an AI can be very good – but it takes time for it to obtain that tracking. As such, changes in lateral movement around the AI will tend to throw off its aim.
Additionally, since you know that an AI takes an approximate amount of time to react to and open fire on you, you can use this knowledge to your advantage, initiating a big change in direction shortly before you expect the AI to fire.
Due to weapon recoil and inaccuracy this can occasionally backfire – so avoid depending on the AI to miss, if you can.
When AIs Show Up In Groups… Retreat!
One AI is not particularly dangerous.
A squad of four AIs is a lot more dangerous.
Not only is it harder to time your evasion on all AIs in sight (prioritize that which you perceive to be most dangerous), but the collective firepower itself can be harder to dodge.
When encountering a group of AIs, retreat and break line of sight when you can. Force them to pursue – granting you defenders’ advantage.
In Duos and Squads
An AI player that knocks you down will generally continue to aggro you if you are the only enemy player in sight.
In any mode where an AI is in a team, they will revive each other.
‘Next’ we’ll be looking at Emus in a little more depth.