A guide to good Friendly AI

Games Other Halo
1

I was doing the daily challenge for reach today when I noticed something absolutely unacceptable that I dont think should be in halo 4: a sniper shot to a grunt by an AI DOES NOT KILL IT. the worst part of it is that it was on NORMAL difficulty.

why am I making this post? to explain some of the ideas I have for the friendly AI in halo 4, having them actually help you and not be meat bags that cant hold up to 3 shots from the PP. here are some characteristics I think the friendly AI should have:

1) The SAME damage as the Player
This should have to go unsaid, it’s natural for the same shot from the same gun to do the same damage. “BUT IT’S A GAME IT DOESNT HAVE TO BE REALISTIC!!” I’m not talking about realism, I’m talking about the ability for the friendly AI to at least stand a chance. for higher difficulties, I can understand why enemies do more damage and take less, but the friendlies should do the same damage as you do so that they can at least help you through the process.

2) Use Appropriate Cover
The AI for the enemies are practically psychic. I dont think the friendlies should be able to dodge a rocket from behind, but I do think they should be able to use cover that works, and not a street light.

3) Use weapons at their effective range
Everyone knows the infamy of the Noble team’s misuse for their weapons (mostly just jun and emile, who would kill team mates and snipe with a shotgun, respectively) I see everywhere an AI soldier using a shotgun from DMR/BR range. they should also be cautious about how they approach with these weapons. example: a marine with a sniper should try to stay at a far range while another with a shotgun will go cover-to-cover while chucking a grenade every now and then to support until he is close enough to nail the opponent.

4) Prioritize the Threat
AI should know what is the largest threat and tell that an enemy tank is more of a priority than an infantry grunt. this problem usually occurs when you allow AI to man the Gun or give them a spartan laser and enter the passenger seat. they should know the difference that they are gonna get killed by a hunter much faster than a crawler, unless the hunter is also attacking the crawlers and the crawlers are overwhelming them both. also, with the watcher, the AI should prioritize on the knight until it is killed and THEN go after the watcher, unless the knight was resurrected, to which they have already killed the knight and will go for the watcher.

5) Have a drivers license
This is almost a necessity. the feature to choose whether to gun, drive, or ride shotgun should come with the privilege of being able to rely on the AI to not drive off of a cliff. not everyone plays Co-op campaign and allow another player to gun, and not everyone has learned not to allow the AI to drive, so this will be a little easier on those people (and the vets).

I’d like to see what you guys would want to see in the friendly AI

2

I agree. It would be nice to see friendly AI who I don’t have to give a rocket launcher to so they can be effective.

3

friendly AI shouldn’t play the game for you though, that’s why they’re so weak.

4

> friendly AI shouldn’t play the game for you though, that’s why they’re so weak.

Yeah this, especially with all the invincible allies we had all through Reach’s campaign

If they had done full damage the player wouldn’t have anything left to do, Jorge’s gun especially is a monster on full damage

5

> > friendly AI shouldn’t play the game for you though, that’s why they’re so weak.
>
> Yeah this, especially with all the invincible allies we had all through Reach’s campaign
>
> If they had done full damage the player wouldn’t have anything left to do, Jorge’s gun especially is a monster on full damage

yes, but in Halo 4, I dont think we’ll be getting any important characters that will have to be invincible along side us, so I dont see the reason not to. besides, what I meant was to have them have the same damage, but I’m not saying they should play the game for you, just be some help.

6

They should do the same amount of damage as you do with guns, as that just makes sense. As long as they aren’t invincible like Noble team was, or damage sponges. Seriously, in Halo 3 and Reach on legendary difficulty, a marine could take more damage than you could, and you’re supposed to be the one with the super expensive armour.

7

> > > friendly AI shouldn’t play the game for you though, that’s why they’re so weak.
> >
> > Yeah this, especially with all the invincible allies we had all through Reach’s campaign
> >
> > If they had done full damage the player wouldn’t have anything left to do, Jorge’s gun especially is a monster on full damage
>
> yes, but in Halo 4, I dont think we’ll be getting any important characters that will have to be invincible along side us, so I dont see the reason not to. besides, what I meant was to have them have the same damage, but I’m not saying they should play the game for you, just be some help.

still makes it easier to play the game, just let them deal as much damage as they can before they die then finnish them off yourself.

i prefer the weak AI, though the driving could be a lot better its generally harder to play through campaign and feels alot more epic while doing so because your that one character that does everything while everyone else fails miserably.

8

> > > > friendly AI shouldn’t play the game for you though, that’s why they’re so weak.
> > >
> > > Yeah this, especially with all the invincible allies we had all through Reach’s campaign
> > >
> > > If they had done full damage the player wouldn’t have anything left to do, Jorge’s gun especially is a monster on full damage
> >
> > yes, but in Halo 4, I dont think we’ll be getting any important characters that will have to be invincible along side us, so I dont see the reason not to. besides, what I meant was to have them have the same damage, but I’m not saying they should play the game for you, just be some help.
>
> still makes it easier to play the game, just let them deal as much damage as they can before they die then finnish them off yourself.
>
> i prefer the weak AI, though the driving could be a lot better its generally harder to play through campaign and feels alot more epic while doing so because your that one character that does everything while everyone else fails miserably.

I have stated that I think that marines should do the same gun damage as you, and I stick by that, to a point. Perhaps make them less acrurate than usual, to even it out.

I definitely see your point though. We play as the Master chief. He’s stronger than any marine, he can use weapons better than marines too most likely. By keeping the marines weaker, it gives us that sense of super-strength and awe.

If marines won’t be as strong with guns, then I think that the marines should at least be a tad stronger than they have been, but no where near as strong as Master Chief. After all, like you said, it does feel epic when your doing the stuff that none of the marines could do.

…And yes better driving skills please.

9

> friendly AI shouldn’t play the game for you though, that’s why they’re so weak.

That’s no excuse. They should either make the AI helpful or don’t put them in at all. There are ways to make AI appropriate allies, seems like all we’ve been getting is friendly fodder.

10

> > > friendly AI shouldn’t play the game for you though, that’s why they’re so weak.
> >
> > Yeah this, especially with all the invincible allies we had all through Reach’s campaign
> >
> > If they had done full damage the player wouldn’t have anything left to do, Jorge’s gun especially is a monster on full damage
>
> yes, but in Halo 4, I dont think we’ll be getting any important characters that will have to be invincible along side us, so I dont see the reason not to. besides, what I meant was to have them have the same damage, but I’m not saying they should play the game for you, just be some help.

Friendly AI shouldn’t be stupid. Let’s just sum it up to that.

EMILE: I MISSED THAT ONE!
ME: THAT’S BECAUSE YOU DON’T SNIPE WITH A SHOTGUN!!!
EMILE: COVER ME!
ME: HIDE BEHIND SOMETHING BIGGER!

11

> > friendly AI shouldn’t play the game for you though, that’s why they’re so weak.
>
> That’s no excuse. They should either make the AI helpful or don’t put them in at all. There are ways to make AI appropriate allies, seems like all we’ve been getting is friendly fodder.

This.

> friendly AI shouldn’t play the game for you though, that’s why they’re so weak.

So nerfing their turning speed when I want to swap a weapon with them and nerfing their time to get into vehicles is proper balancing?

Furthermore, when I park the hog so the driver seat was blocked, instead of waiting around the Hog like in Halo 2 and Halo 3, Reach troopers will run off into battle.

Last but not least, neglecting their cqc (their melee still doesn’t do any damage and they don’t have the sense to back up when they’re wielding the rocket launcher. 8 rocket launcher troopers easily get killed by a single enemy. It’s not just shocking. It’s stupid).

All this nerfing is completely detrimental and does not, in any way, contribute to immersion.

Besides, it is not even that hard to get the allies out of the equation. In fact, getting rid of them in Reach actually opens up new stealth opportunities:

Nightfall mission start: block Jun behind 2 supply cases
Nightfall rally point bravo: knock Jun off the ledge, wait for the checkpoint and he won’t teleport back up
LNoS beach: move the crates and shields
LNoS hangar: move the supply cases to where Jorge spawns later

Friendly AI should be more controllable but I’ve only seen this in CE. It’s so horribly inconvenient in newer Halo games, especially Halo 3 and Reach. These setups can take up to 30 minutes on Easy!!

But I’m willing to compromise to satisfy the demented players who don’t appreciate having company: in exchange for giving allies better performance, take away the ability to give them power weapons. Ever since Halo 2, the marines have only been useful when they had power weapons or when operating vehicles. This should not be the case. They would only have power weapons when they spawned with it.

12

i STILL think you should be able to CHOOSE the difficulty level for your ALLIES;

Easy- Reach style, crap troopers, cant shoot someone to save themsleves, and they don’t have a driver’s licence

Normal- H2/3 style, useful, and well rounded, but still not good by themselves

Heroic- realistic to how Marines SHOULD BE TRAINED AS 500 friggen years in the future, in small numbers, they can take down things as strong as knights or elites

Legendary- Spartans without shields, basically

None- self explanatory,
ever wanted to go through a ninja level without the AI slowing you down? now you can :smiley:

13

Agreed on all points OP.

Friendly AI needs to be dramatically improved upon, they were nerfed to the point of becoming an active threat to the player in Reach (rocket in the back, driven off cliffs, sniped by Jun, etc).

> i STILL think you should be able to CHOOSE the difficulty level for your ALLIES;
>
> Easy- Reach style, crap troopers, cant shoot someone to save themsleves, and they dpon’t have a driver’s licence
>
> Normal- H2/3 style, useful, and well rounded, but still not good by themselves
>
> Heroic- realistic to how Marines SHOULD BE TRAINED AS 500 friggen years in the future, in small numbers, they can take down things as strong as knights or elites
>
> Legendary- Spartans without shields, basically
>
> None- self explanatory,
> ever wanted to go through a ninja level without the AI slowing you down? now you can :smiley:

This sounds like a pretty decent idea imo.

14

> > > > friendly AI shouldn’t play the game for you though, that’s why they’re so weak.
> > >
> > > Yeah this, especially with all the invincible allies we had all through Reach’s campaign
> > >
> > > If they had done full damage the player wouldn’t have anything left to do, Jorge’s gun especially is a monster on full damage
> >
> > yes, but in Halo 4, I dont think we’ll be getting any important characters that will have to be invincible along side us, so I dont see the reason not to. besides, what I meant was to have them have the same damage, but I’m not saying they should play the game for you, just be some help.
>
> Friendly AI shouldn’t be stupid. Let’s just sum it up to that.
>
>
> EMILE: I MISSED THAT ONE!
> ME: THAT’S BECAUSE YOU DON’T SNIPE WITH A SHOTGUN!!!
> EMILE: COVER ME!
> ME: HIDE BEHIND SOMETHING BIGGER!

Or the level with Jun where you get camo and a sniper you you’re like sweet, you find a spot and before you get a shot off they’re shooting at you and you’re like WTF and you turn around and THERE’S JUN STANDING RIGHT NEXT TO YOU. So you move to another spot and set up again and they’re shooting at you again because THERE’S JUN STANDING RIGHT NEXT TO YOU and you’re going why did I even bother to pick up camo if Jun is just going to be a waypoint for the enemy?

Also always liked it when marines jump in front of you right when you let loose a round intended for that Brute Chieftan.

15

> > > > > friendly AI shouldn’t play the game for you though, that’s why they’re so weak.
> > > >
> > > > Yeah this, especially with all the invincible allies we had all through Reach’s campaign
> > > >
> > > > If they had done full damage the player wouldn’t have anything left to do, Jorge’s gun especially is a monster on full damage
> > >
> > > yes, but in Halo 4, I dont think we’ll be getting any important characters that will have to be invincible along side us, so I dont see the reason not to. besides, what I meant was to have them have the same damage, but I’m not saying they should play the game for you, just be some help.
> >
> > Friendly AI shouldn’t be stupid. Let’s just sum it up to that.
> >
> >
> > EMILE: I MISSED THAT ONE!
> > ME: THAT’S BECAUSE YOU DON’T SNIPE WITH A SHOTGUN!!!
> > EMILE: COVER ME!
> > ME: HIDE BEHIND SOMETHING BIGGER!
>
> Or the level with Jun where you get camo and a sniper you you’re like sweet, you find a spot and before you get a shot off they’re shooting at you and you’re like WTF and you turn around and THERE’S JUN STANDING RIGHT NEXT TO YOU. So you move to another spot and set up again and they’re shooting at you again because THERE’S JUN STANDING RIGHT NEXT TO YOU and you’re going why did I even bother to pick up camo if Jun is just going to be a waypoint for the enemy?
>
> Also always liked it when marines jump in front of you right when you let loose a round intended for that Brute Chieftan.

-or the time when one of your Marines gets stuck by a plasma nade, and barrel rolls into you
-or when a marine that isn’t looking at the front of his ghost slams into you while you are strolling along
-or when that nubby marine throws a grenade at a wall and blows himself, and you up
-or that time you’re waiting for the moron with the rocket launcher to get in your hog, but he feels like taking his sweet time, and you die via perty plasma esplosion

i can go on…

16

> > -or the time when one of your Marines gets stuck by a plasma nade, and barrel rolls into you
> > -or when a marine that isn’t looking at the front of his ghost slams into you while you are strolling along
> > -or when that nubby marine throws a grenade at a wall and blows himself, and you up
> > -or that time you’re waiting for the moron with the rocket launcher to get in your hog, but he feels like taking his sweet time, and you die via perty plasma esplosion
> >
> > i can go on…
>
> -or that time the marine wanted to drive the warthog to you so you could get in the gunner position only to splatter you
> -or that time that other marine threw a grenade that bounced off a wall and killed you while you were in cover waiting for your shields to recharge
> -or when Jorge came out of armor lock that caused an EMP blast and launched a crate into your face

17

I would love better AI. Reach really felt like a downgraded AI, since I like my marines I try to keep as many alive as possible, in Halo 3 that meant 4 marines on the flood mission, my warthog crew on some of the others, and those two on the ark (they were actually pretty useful, helped me out some). However in Reach I couldn’t keep a single elite ODST alive on the mission with the jetpacks and the jumping, the only time they were useful was in falcons.

I really hope Halo 4 upgrades marine AI and damage, especially because there are no invincible allies. I don’t think they should be quite chief without shields, but they should be close, with ODST’s even closer, and Spartan IV’s almost or at the chief’s level if they aren’t above. If they use cover, have decent weapons, and use squad tactics they should be able to hold their own against most enemies…with promethean knights starting stronger than elites and only getting tougher I think it’s necessary for humanities 3th, 2rd and 1st most elite fighting forces to get a boost as well.

18

-or that time you got outside the level and Carter in the Wraith deliberately targeted you
-or that time when you were rampaging through Crow’s Nest barracks, found a good spot to shoot at the enemies only to have a couple of marines take cover right in front of you, ending up headshotting both of them
-or that time in Halo 3/ODST/Reach when you unintentionally killed some allies and get instantly punished by the invincible friendly AI’s magical 1 hit kill while having no way to retaliate since they’re invincible
-or that time when you got in a vehicle in Halo 3/ODST/Reach and had a marine following you for miles and hogging the seat when you wanted someone else to get on

> I would love better AI. <mark>Reach really felt like a downgraded AI</mark>, since I like my marines I <mark>try to keep as many alive as possible</mark>, in Halo 3 that meant 4 marines on the flood mission, my warthog crew on some of the others, and <mark>those two on the ark</mark> (they were actually pretty useful, helped me out some). However in Reach I couldn’t keep a single elite ODST alive on the mission with the jetpacks and the jumping, the only time they were useful was in falcons.
>
> I really hope Halo 4 upgrades marine AI and damage, especially because there are <mark>no invincible allies</mark>. I don’t think they should be quite chief without shields, but they should be close, with ODST’s even closer, and Spartan IV’s almost or at the chief’s level if they aren’t above. <mark>If they use cover, have decent weapons, and use squad tactics they should be able to hold their own against most enemies…with promethean knights starting stronger than elites and only getting tougher I think it’s necessary for humanities 3th, 2rd and 1st most elite fighting forces to get a boost as well.</mark>

It was.

One of the best things about Halo: the allies aren’t often infinitely spawning (like in MoH and CoD), are memorable, can help out, not to mention the AI vs. AI battles and impressive numbers potential (AotCR: 16 marines to lead, Outskirts: 18 marines to lead, Crow’s Nest/The Storm: lots of marines to group up, Tsavo Highway: 20 marines to lead, The Covenant: 29 marines, ∞ pilots to group up). There’s a lot of incentive in the trilogy compared to Reach. Only time I bothered saving Reach troopers was when I wanted to exploit their weapon reloading (infinite ammo).

Invincible allies should have been a thing of the past by now. ODST and Reach reverted to permanent invincibility, without making improvements. ODSTs in ODST are inept at cqc while Noble Team fail even harder. Noble Team absolutely kill stealth (there are a number of encounters that could easily be jumped upon if Noble Team were absent) in addition to replayability (even with nerfed AI and damage, they still kill everything in their path. This is especially annoying on Easy).

Halo 3 seems to have had the best form of invincibility. Keeping invincibles down made setup work a lot easier. It’s how I got Arby up the elevator on The Covenant with a Hunter so they could fight in the cutscene. It also ensured that the invincible wouldn’t kill the enemies too soon, so I wouldn’t have to lose a checkpoint or two because of their unwelcome efficiency. Arbiter was unable to use the Sniper Rifle or Gravity Hammer and if he got in a vehicle while wielding a turret, he was unarmed (another way to disarm him was to kill him then drop an emptied weapon besides him). While this was meant for balancing, I found it extremely useful for setup work.

There is no doubt that the friendly AI need to be better. They will get destroyed without improvement (then they will be even more pointless than they were in Reach).

19

^ Took the words right out of my brain

20

I agree, but I think the watchers should be prioritized over the knights because of their abilities to heal and protect their teammates. They can also generate shields and deflect projectiles. But maybe at first, marines won’t have that much of a strategy since the Prometheans are new to them, but as the campaign progresses they’ll become more familiar with them and their tactics.