A way AI Bots CAN work in Multiplayer.

Games Halo 5: Guardians
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For awhile now, there’s been players who have wanted to be able to have bot matches in Halo multiplayer, AI of other Spartans that run around and fight like actual players. Most of your are probably thinking “lolno Combat training from CoD” but if the game is going to take elements from CoD it may as well take one of the good elements (as very few as that may be).

Now, what are the issues with implementing AI bots into multiplayer?

…Not much is there? Depending on how they’re programmed of course.

Edit: I forgot to mention the stupid amount of input lag that occurs. I guess this idea could be applied if the lag issue is fixed somehow.

The main issue I can think of, is how AI will NOT be able to find their way around custom maps due to not having a way to enable them to recognize objects. But think, do AI in Campaign REALLY recognize the things around them as objects, or are they programmed where it seems that way? I’ll explain what I mean in a moment.

Being a huge fan of the Star Wars Battlefront series, (which by the way for those who don’t know, Battlefront 3 was announced at E3 yesterday even though chances are you know already :D) i’ve always loved how AI we’re a huge part of the game. I’m not saying Ai should be a huge part of Halo Multiplayer i’m just saying that about Battlefront.

Anyway, once Battlefront 2 had a deal on Steam where it was on sale for only 3$, I already had the game on Xbox but I wanted to play online so I ended up getting it. After awhile I took an interest in modding so I downloaded the mod tools and started to find out how to make my own maps (which I have always loved doing in Halo). In the process, something caught my eye that may be the solution for having AI in Custom Maps and in Multiplayer; “AI Paths”.

Let me explain, AI Paths are lines and areas with nodes automatically connection to eachother, telling the AI where to go, which must be, from what i’m guessing is how they move around objects in campaign. It would obviously work a little differently in multiplayer, but it all depends on how the AI are programmed. But this is how the AI in Battlefront navigate around objects.

Here’s a brief example of two path types.

One Way Path: The AI will only move in the main direction the path is taking it and can not go back that direction.

Two Way Path: The AI can use this path in either direction.

Now, you’d be able to change what those paths belong to, for example:

-Infantry Path
-Vehicle Path
-Heavy Vehicle Path
-Light Vehicle Path
-Flying Vehicle Path

Things like that, which would be great help for BTB Maps.

Now there are other types of things that affect AI as well, known as “Hint Nodes”. They tell an AI what to use the spot you put a hint node as. A hint node could tell an AI that this is a Sniper Spot, or a Spot to use for cover. Something along the lines of that.

You can also edit a paths “Weight” which is the probability of the AI choosing that path (to make it so if you have multiple paths connecting to each other, you can make which path the AI chooses, a little different than choosing the same one each time.

Now there are other details about it, but hopefully, if I explained correctly you should have the main idea.

If AI Paths were implemented in Forge, it could be the way of getting bots into multiplayer.

Think of all the possibilities this could present for Custom Games. Think if 343i decides to take this to the next step and allow us to be able to spawn things such as enemies from Campaign to use in our Custom Games to use on our maps for whatever purpose. If Firefight was still around THIS would be the method to making our very own Firefight maps. Of course i’m not saying to add all of that, I mean just getting AI and AI Paths into multiplayer would be the first logical step.

Regular AI Bots for multiplayer would make it so you can play alone and still be able to enjoy multiplayer. Just think of all the possibilities if AI Paths work. It would need to be a bit different to make it work for Halo, but the main idea is still there. I know we won’t be nearly as limited as we are now Forge-wise due to the new generation Xbox, who knows what could work?

It would be alot of work for 343i to add, but I think it will be worth it.

What do you guys think? Could this work?

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I’m just thinking about how big BTB battles could be while keep the 16 player max in multiplayer.

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This post has been edited by a moderator. Please do not purposely bypass the word filter.

*Original post. Click at your own discretion.

The shi­tty community is the worst part of Halo multiplayer right now. I fear, if bots were done well, alot of people would probably never play online matchmaking.

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>

Just to clarify, I wasn’t saying AI should be in general matchmaking. I was talking about a way to implement them for SOME gametypes in matchmaking and for custom games.

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Having “waypoints” for bots is getting old, but I imagine it’s being used still as it’s quite easy. The thing is that they get predictable, Unreal Tournnament became a walk in the park knowing where exactly bots would turn up and so on.

There are however, newer bot programs that learn their environment as they play, as well as get better at “playing”.

One thing I think could work really well would be a “neural network” bot that learns as it plays, but the problem is that it needs a lot of input and output in order to learn and not get stuck in it’s track. A neural network is good as it can generalize, and “guess” what an outcome will be based on inputs, however if it’s too worked in on the training data, it won’t be able to generalize and will only put out what it has learned.

There are other learning programs I’ve seen that learn their way around stuff that I think could work really well in gaming, even a combination of them.

Before I thought that bots wouldn’t be able to play forge maps and so on, but now I’m convinced that they could. Why we do not have bots is not because they wouldn’t be able to play forge maps, but because bots require resources to develop.

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For bots, we either need to be able to program AI ourselves like you said, or the other options is something like the new drivatar system from Forza, which involves the game “learning” how players play and then replicating that in the cloud.

Personally, I think bots are a necessity along with JiP to help counteract low population in games.

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How about spartanvatar like the drivatars?

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> For bots, we either need to be able to program AI ourselves like you said, or the other options is something like the new drivatar system from Forza, which involves the game “learning” how players play and then replicating that in the cloud.
>
> Personally, I think bots are a necessity along with JiP to help counteract low population in games.

> How about spartanvatar like the drivatars?

That has potential to maybe work well for matchmaking (if it’s even possible with Halo) but if came up against one of those mini-game infection gametypes that probably wouldn’t end well :stuck_out_tongue:

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The amount of processor and network bandwidth for bots across up to 16 consoles just feels like a waste of resources to me.

I’d rather they keep the bots to Firefight (which, please, 343, bring it back) and next gen SpOps.

I say leave the MP to the real Spartans

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Or they can make it fit Halo more by having it be similar to that of what Forza 5 have. The AIs learn from you. They learn your techniques, which weapons you use the most, which weapons you head for first on a map and so on so forth so that the AIs are always at your skill level and it would be similar to that of a competitive skill ranking.

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The Halo engine’s AI syncs very poorly and there is a huge increase in lag when AI is introduced to a multiplayer game. Remember firefight with 4 people, or coop campaign? Bungie stress tested 6 players in a game with AI in the Reach beta, and the test failed. The Halo engine can only handle 4 players in a game with AI.

Bungie have managed to fix the problem in Destiny (7 players fighting AI were shown in the trailer), but they have far superior technology now and a new engine. I doubt they’ll be sharing any of that with 343i.

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Personally, I would love and hope AI Bots appear in the next title. However, like prev. posts, having it on MM may increase Lag, which i think everyone will getting quite annoyed with. I think its should be available on Customs. It would serve as a great way to practice, for newcoming players, etc. along with increasing the AI Bots difficulty, but that’s just my opinion. Others may differ.

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> Personally, I would love and hope AI Bots appear in the next title. However, like prev. posts, having it on MM may increase Lag, which i think everyone will getting quite annoyed with. I think its should be available on Customs. It would serve as a great way to practice, for newcoming players, etc. along with increasing the AI Bots difficulty, but that’s just my opinion. Others may differ.

Agreed

Customs only would be fine…

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> The Halo engine’s AI syncs very poorly and there is a huge increase in lag when AI is introduced to a multiplayer game. Remember firefight with 4 people, or coop campaign? Bungie stress tested 6 players in a game with AI in the Reach beta, and the test failed. The Halo engine can only handle 4 players in a game with AI.
>
> Bungie have managed to fix the problem in Destiny (7 players fighting AI were shown in the trailer), but they have far superior technology now and a new engine. I doubt they’ll be sharing any of that with 343i.

That was the other worry I had. If we were to still get that massive input lag when AI were in play, then it wouldn’t be worth it.

Oh well, my idea was only if that problem was resolved somehow.

Also, I wasn’t saying AI should be a main thing it matchmaking.

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You have bots in campaign and spartan OPS.