Most Impressive Game AI?

togelius asks: "I have the feeling that when developers make the effort to put really sophisticated AI into a game, gamers frequently just don't notice (see e.g. Forza). Conversely, games that are lauded for their fantastic AI are sometimes based on very simple algorithms (e.g. Halo 1). For someone who wants to apply AI to games, it is very interesting to know what AI is really appreciated. What is the most impressive game AI you have come across? Have you ever encountered a situation where it really felt like the computer-controlled opponents were really thinking?"

Comments

Re:Fact or fable?

[EGSonikku]

And they aren't...at least not until Ms. Pacman. In the original Pac Man the Ghosts followed very predictable patterns which they never changed, and it is quite common to simply memorize these patterns and play the game with your eyes closed.

http://www.mameworld.net/pacman/patterns.html

F.E.A.R

[alphaseven]

Here's a short article on the A.I. in the game F.E.A.R., "F.E.A.R.'s AI Demystified", (in more detail here). Having played through F.E.A.R., what impressed me so much was that a lot of what is called A.I. is actually audio and animation. You can make enemies seem way more intelligent than they really are by doing stuff like have detailed animations for stuff like hopping over barriers or diving through windows that's triggered when they are in certain spots. They would also have the enemies shout stuff, if you had your flashlight on they would scream "Flashlight" and dive for cover.

Re:ummm, Galactic Civilizations II?

[PresidentEnder]

Galciv 2 certainly gets a huge vote from me, because the AI did beat the crap out of me, repeatedly. However, the AI does have the advantage of being able to accurately micromanage every planet every turn to produce the best combination of production, research, and cashflow.

I'm also very impressed with the AI in the original galactic civilizations. It does cheat at the higher levels, but up until that point (I think normal mode doesn't cheat either way) it's very impressive and it really does feel like the AI is thinking. More impressive is the fact that each major race has its own AI: not customized by arguments in the race, but specific, independent C++ code telling them what to do, written from scratch.

Re:Fact or fable?

[lawpoop]

This post seems to contradict your information:

"AI : We wanted to integrate in our game the original AI behavior of the ghosts (those that were in the original Pacman game). Without AI, the game was not interesting to play, since a random behavior is too simple to play. Each ghost has its own personality: Shadow is the red ghost and it chases Pacman all the time, using a straight forward tracking algorithm. Speedy is the pink ghost. It is very fast but moves in a random manner. Bashful is the blue ghost: it is shy at the beginning and escapes from pacman all the time, but if Pacman approaches him to much, then it is not shy anymore and begins to chase him (Pacman is then chased by two ghosts at the same time...). Pokey is the orange ghost and is slow and moves in a random manner. "

Not as complex as the story that I read, but apparently they don't follow a pre-planned course.

Re:ummm, Galactic Civilizations II?

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't know where you're getting that bullshit from, but it's completely untrue. You don't even have to enter the CD key unless you want to download updates.