Evolution of Combat IV - Preview 2 - A.I.

[MattFiler]

Welcome to the second preview of Evolution of Combat IV! This week we wanted to give you some details about the new A.I. systems in-game in multiplayer and in single player.

 

The A.I. system has been overhauled in EoCIV, adding not only new features but improving things like common sense and saber combat. New animations have been added to bots along with different saber styles and classes meaning that all bots you see will now be accurate to the films in terms of the weapons they use. Along with having common sense, bots are now able to put up a good fight making the combat longer, harder and more movie-like. The NPCs in single player now have a command system, allowing you to take control of their actions to create well planned attacks. Along with the command system, NPCs are now also movie accurate, with updated classes and saber styles.

 

Watch the video to see some of this in action!

 

 

There's a lot more to tell you, so don't forget to watch our ModDB page to get updates when we post, or alternatively subscribe on YouTube! We'll be posting regular updates like this in the lead up to EoCIV's launch in December.

 

 

[Lancelot]

It is incredible how modifications for Jedi Academy have evolved through the years, especially after the source code's release.

I say better late than never. The opportunity to improve this game even more has been given, now it's time to make this game

a whole lot more enjoyable.

 

Especially the AI needed a lot of improvement. Jedi Academy was developed in a time where enemies in other games

were way more intelligent. And if it would be possible to implement more realistic physics to the game, we could have

a greater Jedi Academy experience.

[Xycaleth]

While I applaud the effort to improve the AI system in JKA, the video doesn't really show much to me. In the first scene, I can count 4 NPCs just jumping up and down. And then the majority of the other scenes show NPCs stationary with a lightsaber while a human player attacks them. I know it's a work in progress, but what specifically has been improved?

[MattFiler]

While I applaud the effort to improve the AI system in JKA, the video doesn't really show much to me. In the first scene, I can count 4 NPCs just jumping up and down. And then the majority of the other scenes show NPCs stationary with a lightsaber while a human player attacks them. I know it's a work in progress, but what specifically has been improved?

There were no human players in this trailer, only in the last two shots where you see the human player commanding the NPCs. All the other players are A.I. controlled.

As stated at the start of the video, the mod is still in development so there are still a few things that are being worked on.

 

In multiplayer, A.I. players now have new animations, film accurate classes, logic processing (like not running off the edge of the map, etc), new saber styles and updated reactions making them a lot harder to fight.

In single player, the NPC characters now have a new function which allows the human player to control them. While controlling the NPCs, the human player can position them how they please and prepare for fights better than before.

NPCs now also act more like real players by actually using some game mechanics like reloading, etc.

 

Hope this answered your question If you follow the videos up to release you'll start to see little things like that you spotted being fixed.

[hleV]

1. At
   Luke slides on the ground while performing a move instead of running.

The video is 1080p60 (this stupid forum font ruins numbers so bad) but the filmed footage seems of lower quality.

For god's sake, force anti-aliasing via GPU control panel.

Better and more-showing video overall than previous ones. Keep it up.

[MattFiler]

 

1. At
   Luke slides on the ground while performing a move instead of running.
2. The video is 1080p60 (this stupid forum font ruins numbers so bad) but the filmed footage seems of lower quality.
3. For god's sake, force anti-aliasing via GPU control panel.
4. Better and more-showing video overall than previous ones. Keep it up.

 

 

As stated above and in the trailer, this video is showing footage of a mod that is still in development so yes there are some problems.

 

The video was recorded at 60fps but some shots were slowed down to 30fps. I edit using FCPX which (I believe) smooths the frames to push the 30fps back up to 60fps on some shots if that's what's being used in the project.

The last two shots were recorded last year, so the quality is decreased but the rest should be fine.

 

Again, the mod is a work in progress so things like anti-aliasing are still being worked on, if you look back at the last preview that was shot in 4:3, so you can see the work that's been going on this week has been graphic related.

 

We're hoping to show more gameplay as we near the release, I'm keeping stuff back at the moment for the exact reason that it is still in development and I don't want to show you a lot of stuff that isn't working to a good enough level yet.

 

Thanks for your feedback!

[therfiles]

Awesome video! I'm really enjoying this type of content. Are you a video editor? It was very well done.

[Noodle]

Was that a bot using a jetpack to fly and shoot a jedi? That did impress me!

[MattFiler]

Was that a bot using a jetpack to fly and shoot a jedi? That did impress me!

Yeah, the bots all choose movie-realistic classes now, that one obviously selected a class with a jetpack. Looks pretty awesome!

Awesome video! I'm really enjoying this type of content. Are you a video editor? It was very well done.

Thanks

Yeah I create promotional videos and websites. My job for EoCIV is promotion (making the videos, keeping ModDB pages and that up to date, etc) and developing the in-game menus. I'm working with "Serenity" the original developer of EoC who's actually making the game content.

[Jeff]

This mod looks very good, will there be model scaling for bots and player?

[MattFiler]

This mod looks very good, will there be model scaling for bots and player?

Yes. Model scaling is something we'll talk about in another preview.

[Jeff]

Sounds good I'm 

 

Yes. Model scaling is something we'll talk about in another preview.

 

Sounds really good, I'm really looking forward to this.

[Tempust85]

That logic system sounds like a god-send for mappers. No more massive amounts of time wasted doing "do not enter" brushwork.

[MattFiler]

That logic system sounds like a god-send for mappers. No more massive amounts of time wasted doing "do not enter" brushwork.

That's what we're hoping!

[MattFiler]

Preview 3 is now out: http://jkhub.org/topic/6330-evolution-of-combat-iv-preview-3-class-system/

[YoYoda]

Reminds me of what OJP did...

[Clan FJA]

Reminds me of what OJP did...

 

They initiated a lot of work : tab bots, coop, new saber system, ...

That was not perfect but without OJP : MBII, EoC and a lot of other mods (Legacy, JKE, ...) would never existed.

If you look, saber system in OJP, MBII and EoC are very similar. There are differences but the base is the same.

Tab bots in OJP are better than in basejka. For example, they are able to complete some objectives on some siege maps. But it's still bugged and not perfect. Sometimes they run into wall.

It seems that Serenity has improved a lot the AI.

 

Here is the malediction of OJP : people prefered to take OJP work and modify it in place of helping the OJP team to complete their mod.

 

I just hope that EoC IV will be opensource to help developping other mods like OJP did.