2005 F.E.A.R. AI & physics, nearly a decade without progress

[Linusinium]

I don't know why that dude is hating on a 10 yr old game so much. Post some links where the devs "admit" their AI  is stupid, I posted the opposite in the OP and pretty everyone commenting so far agrees it was better than we keep getting since. There are countless examples of retarded AI in recent games where you can walk right by them or take a step back and they "forget" you. I never said they AI actually talks to each other, the point in OP was there were a lot of lines recorded for AI and half were cut because of limitations, FEAR didn't have the repeating "I took an arrow to the knee" syndrome. The radio chatter was prerecorded of course but in game it was relevant to where the player was and what he was doing.

Every AI is an illusion, at least the FEAR one was good compared to recent ones. AI crouching, going prone, knocking objects over, refusing the order to go after you or running away after you kill the rest of his squad, in game physics... It's all an illusion but a much better one then recent games which is what the OP was about.

[jbr]

I remember once i was camping in the air vent and killed 2 replica soldiers the third yelled "he is in the air vent" and sprayed bullets in the vent not sure how many of them responded but they sure are a lot smart.

 

The AI did not see you and make that call, the radio calls are made from triggers on the level.

 

It has been explained in Developer videos, if you have the complete collection watch them.

 

Smart level design combined with sound complete the illusion.

 

Like I said, they admitted there is nothing special about the AI.

[jbr]

I don't know why that dude is hating on a 10 yr old game so much. Post some links where the devs "admit" their AI  is stupid

 

The developer videos are available in the F.E.A.R collection, watch them.

They don't admit the AI is "stupid", they say they are nothing special, it was level design and sound to complete an illusion

that the AI are smarter then they really are.

 

I don't hate F.E.A.R, I bought it day 1 and completed it several times.

I'm one of those people who watch and read developer videos and blogs very closely.

 

F.E.A.R 2 and 3 has sucky AI because the level design is more open and was not built around making them to appear smarter

they abandoned that. so you get the AI as it really is.

 

The only game in existence that AI actually communicate as they appear to do in F.E.A.R is Arma.

they actually do communicate positions of players, issue orders,  there is a chain of command.

you can break that chain of command killing AI in leadership roles.

 

In Arma, if you shoot the spotters then the AI no longer uses Mortars on you

If you shoot a tank driver or the gunner then they will not use the tank to drive around or shoot

AI that are not tank drivers cannot drive tanks, same with the main gun.

 

 

Videogames are about creating an illusion, using all kinds of tricks, The same for movies.

costumes, lighting, makeup, set design, sound. it all comes together to trick you into believing it.

 

The Hobbit for example was shot in 48 FPS, the people who saw that version complained it

didn't  look "Real", when in fact it actually does look more real because the higher framerate

removes the motion blur of 24 FPS that movies use to sets look less like sets.

 

http://www.vulture.com/2012/12/critics-on-the-hobbits-high-frame-rate.html

 

 

Watch the making of 300, see the movie footage compared to the footage shot with 30-60 FPS camcorders

the sets look terrible. 24 FPS motion blur helps complete the illusion that are are not standing on concrete and plastic sets

and their swords are not made of rubber and plastic, it hides the details of the sets, the fake blood....etc.

[Linusinium]

You act like you haven't played any other games besides FEAR and ARMA?

 

This is what I see in most recent games and this BS doesn't happen in FEAR:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edgQGVXlfrg

[Shaade]

*throws grenade*

Replica Soldier - "FUCK!!" - *BOOM*

 

Never ever got tired of this, love you F.E.A.R <3 (not your sequels though, ewww)

[Vedge]

awesome game. I remember playing alot of multiplayer standalone (FEAR Combat?)

[Linusinium]

Sorry for the necro but I ran into enough new & detailed info to justify necroing the thread:
 

 

http://aigamedev.com/open/review/fear-ai/

[Kevin_Walter]

I was never impressed by the AI in FEAR. It reminded me a lot of the AI in Half Life 2. 

 

I remember listening to all of the developer tracks in Half Life 2... one of them was talking about AI pathing, and how each time you entered a hallway with multiple paths to you, the AI could choose a different path when entering from the other side.

 

So I tested it. The AI chose to go down the same path every single time, which was basically the path of least resistance. Rather than branching off and trying to flank me, they usually ran straight at me. Shooting them would sometimes cause them to seek cover, forcing the flanking behavior, but 9 times out of 10, they just entered the hallway, called out that I'd been spotted, and ran straight toward me while firing.

 

You have to remember, ALL AI is scripted. AI is ultimately just a series of scripts that define actions based on YOUR actions. It's a list of instructions that say "when this happens, do this. When this other thing happens, do this."

 

The more options per action you can give your AI, the better it will be. (in general)

 

Though I will admit games these days have horrible AI. Though I think that can mostly be related to the fact that people keep demanding larger games. In a game like the original FEAR, the levels were extremely compact and linear. Games like Battlefield 4 have large, open levels, where the AI is given a set of possible instructions, and then expected to be able to choose the best action to take at a given time. Which just doesn't happen.

 

I agree with the poster above who mentioned the STALKER series. That series of games contains some of the best AI I've ever seen, as well as some of the dumbest AI I've ever seen. On moment, you'll encounter a group of bandits that appear to be trained like US Navy SEALs. They'll flank you, they'll snipe you, they'll throw grenades to flush you out of cover, they'll camp around corners and behind cover, they'll stay completely silent while flanking you as their comrades constantly shout insults and try to keep you pinned down... if you retreat, they'll chase you, if you advance, they'll suppress you and fall back. It's insanely tense. Then the next encounter, you'll flank a dude and see him strafing back and forth in front of a wall while staring intently at the excellent masonry.

 

The mutants are where the games really shine in the AI department though. Most mutants act exactly as you'd expect them to. Packs of blind dogs and pseudodogs will act like packs of hungry wolves, running around you in circles, individuals striking you from behind while your attention is focused on the others. Bloodsuckers will use their invisibility to their advantage, forcing you to lose track of them after an attack and then re-appearing from another direction to strike again. Burers will use telekinesis to hurl objects at you from another room, deploying a shield to stop your bullets when you finally find them, and retreating to another location when you have to reload.

 

No... I don't consider AI in a game where nearly every single level consists of tight corridors to be all that impressive.

[ShadowCaptain]

Just bought the F.E.A.R. bundle for under 6 quid

 

Never thought about it before because i played S.T.A.L.K.E.R back in the day and i dunno why but it left a bad impression with me and because it's spelled the same with caps and full stop's i just assumed it's the same. guess it's finally time to see what everone is talking about

 

but STALKER is amazing... so is FEAR

[BloodySinner]

Yeah FEAR1 has the best AI i have ever seen in any game i love how they do suppression fire running forward and firing backwards when you tank all of a sudden  also the atmosphere is very immersive. one of the best FPS horror games ever made,played it like 50 times without slow motion  :lol:

 

I was always sweating when I played this game. Haha!

[Bouzoo]

I remember FEAR having a really good AI for that time. The last game that really impressed me (not counting SoM) was Max Payne 3. That was some neat AI there.