Challenges in Implementing AI: Managing Unit Behavior and Team Coordination

 

Challenges in Implementing AI: Managing Unit Behavior and Team Coordination

Author: Miguel Martinez Olivares

Posted on: August 11th, 2023

The Problem

I faced a significant challenge in implementing AI for our game this week. The problem revolved around creating new tasks, decorators and ensuring proper information replication among all clients. Specifically, the challenge lay in managing unit behaviour and team coordination so that all units would know to which group they belong. An additional layer of complexity is involved:

• Setting up a behaviour tree to guide the units in aggressive mode.
• Targeting priorities.
• Ensuring proper attacks on both enemy units and buildings.

For end users, these issues would result in a lack of coordinated action among AI units, affecting the overall gameplay experience. The lack of clarity in unit behaviour and team dynamics would create friendly fire scenarios which reduce the immersive experience we aimed to create, making it a high-priority problem to resolve.
Friendly fire clip of Valkyria Chronicles

The Solution

The solution to this issue required several steps, starting with careful debugging and analysis. I added a text renderer to the unit, displaying its team number, to better understand unit behaviour and coordination.

Next, I focused on building and fine-tuning various AI components. I created new tasks and decorators, ensuring that the correct information was replicated among all clients. This involved adding a delay to replication to guarantee that every unit had the correct information about its team affiliation.

I then worked on the behaviour tree, configuring it to guide the units to target and prioritize enemies in aggressive mode. By setting priority targeting with units over buildings, I created a more dynamic and engaging experience.

Lastly, constant testing and feedback were vital in refining the solution, ensuring the units behaved as expected and the gameplay felt smooth and responsive.

This comprehensive approach addressed the core problem and significantly enhanced the end-user experience. The coordination and behaviour of AI units now align with our game's vision, offering a more immersive and satisfying gameplay experience.