Ants

[Learner]

I'm looking for helpfull suggestions for how to improve the Ants. Come of the things currently schedulled or in the works include:

 

1. Get the Ants willing to go to more maps

2. Have the Ants on IP less (related to #1 and #3)

3. Better smarts about if they can kill something

4. Auto equip

5. Eating & Healing

6. Light harvesting (specially of fruit & vegies once they get that high)

7. Try to help each other

8. Anthill guards

9. Other things to make them 'smarter'

 

The Ants are NOT intended to be used for things like trading or interacting with players or NPC's.

 

Other suggestions or ideas?

[Eldwen]

This is more of a suggestion that needs to wait till the new server comes out, but maybe make the ants work together for fighting and other things since after all they are ants and ants work together.

[jojomama68]

There should be a queen ant, who supplies all the smaller ants with food and minerals etc

[Wytter]

They should do some random `fortune -s` =)

[Roja]

I think you should list your ultimate goal with these ants smart npc's for quests? very smart monsters?

[Learner]

My ultimate goal was to do them and make them independent and half way reasonable ... if they get integrated into the server (instead of seperate) and what they finally do is upe to Entropy and open for discussion. We'll just have to see what happens in the long run wont we?

 

I am trying to add more fun and variety with reasonable bounds, but I'm open to what people say (official and non-official).

[Quell]

try to make cooperating packs.

for examlpe if one is attacked other on the map hurry to him to help;

if they can they cast heal on their 'attacked brothe'r and/or harm on attacker;

if its multi-attack map they join in the fight :twisted: ;

if there are more attackers, on above mentioned maps, maybe they could pick & 'swarm attack' the one with the lowest health or combat. skill :wink:

 

:mrgreen:

[Roja]

I believe ent is going to work on smarter AI for monsters, he told me he would make them do the following things:

 

-call for help, if another monster is within their calling radius they will come to them.

-they won't have to be in idle to attack you, if they are walking and you pass within their site they will attack.

-cast magic spells

 

i can't remember what else he siad, but Quell what you said about them healing each other is what reminded me of this, it would be cool if they did that(of course not cool for us )

[Eldwen]

Ummmm... Monsters that heal each other and cast harm that could be dangerous, but fun.

[Learner]

Once I start considering Ants attacking players, they will use a Karma type system. The more you kill them, the more they hate you ALL of them!

[Guest Toyminator]

hehe good idea

[simma]

u don't need anthill guards, they have neva brought anything decent back,

 

also look at ant_5 i think he is insane... he runs around the hill, dropped a bag, then walked a bit, then picked it back up, then dropped it nd vanished (u programmed them to beam?)

[Learner]

I'm working on why sometimes they go right back to the Anthill after walking a short distance away. That is what caused the behavior you described. Its not anything specific to a single Ant.

 

Yes, there is a small % chance they will beam instead of walking away.

[duran]

ants in my pants...

[Aerowind]

Where is the anthill??? I want to know

[Learner]

The Anthill is currently on the WS map, several people have found it, but I don't give out information as to where it is currently other then to say it is a place, not an object and Ants will drop what they are carrying near it.

[Aerowind]

sooo do the ants randonly get made or are they made by you each time? cuz all I know is there are a lot of ants SHEESH!!! :shock:

[jjk]

I still vote learners singing idea

[Learner]

sooo do the ants randonly get made or are they made by you each time? cuz all I know is there are a lot of ants SHEESH!!!  :shock:

Which Ants get run is up to me, and I've made a LOT of Ants to reduce people faking being an Ant, but there are some fakes out there. Once they are created they level in fighting just like anyone else and their stats carry over for one time to the next.

[GloryFades]

maaahvelous....bongo's bot is genius too.

[Leeloo]

What's the name of that one?

 

Maybe it's time to wake up Minai again...

[Cicero]

I saw your ants on the test server having a party in the bar on IP. There was about a half dozen ants there. They all got really drunk and were staggering around in circles, so I kicked them out. Back at the wraith, they stood there looking confused for a minute and then wandered off one by one.

[Learner]

Yes, they confusion is being worked on. Alcohol level is not a factor

[sam3773]

Maybe they could establish "Trade partners" e.g. if say nidan got 250 titanium ore and said "Selling 250 titnium ore" maybe an ants could respond to that if they need titnium ore and somewhere in there code it says what to trade things for, like to give 375k for 250 titnium ore, no more, no less, and they respond by trading and putting 375k in the window and as soon as they reconize 250 titnium ore go in the other side they click accept, and then they establish Nidan as a "Trade Partner" and when they need something they cant get yet they PM everyonn in there partners list saying "got any <item> i offer <price of item>" and then respond to a yes or a no, if yes they set a meeting place at the storage there nearest to. (Im not a C or C++ programmer so if this is impossible, MAKE IT POSSIBLE!)

[Learner]

No, the Ants will NOT act like trade/store bots. It is very possible and Trading functionality is currently reserved for Store Bots (which are in the works as well).

 

One of the reason to not let the Ants trade like that is then they could easily be used as mules or I could take advantage of them. Since they are being permitted to move around from map to map, level, pick items up, they need to be designed to avoid looking as if they can be used like mules.

 

I'm working to adhere to the spirit of Ent's rules on Bots & macroing and being very carefull to get approval from him on new features. At this time I feel that would break the spirit of it. Look at the fact the Entropy doesn't want Store Bots moving around other then to go to storage and limit trading to when they are at their reserved location.