Merc AIs - A Rogue is a Rogue is a Rogue

[CelticHound]

(Didn't find this in the Workshop archive - but then the search engine also said that "AI" was too short a search term.)

I've heard several people assert that all mercs are not created equal. According to this line of thought, some mercs are more agressive and some less, some are "hiphuggers" and some are more wide-ranging. Also, I've heard certain others disagree.

I understand that each merc type has a single AI script, but that's not a sufficient answer. It seems to me it would be easy enough to pass in a parameter or two which would influence behaviour. So long as the parameters (or a seed) got stored in the .d2s file, a mercs "personality" could persist between games.

So what's the scoop?

-- CH
(don't force me to turn this into a poll!)

[Occhidiangela]

Back in RBD. Is that the discussion you were referring to? The one about observed rogue behaviour? Last I saw, the discussions over at the Keep did not confirm what he had reported as to the three kinds of rogue AI's.

[CelticHound]

I think I know the thread you mean. Doc made the assertion, and someone (Warblade?) pooh-poohed it?

Yes, that's part of it. Though Doc can be a bit of a radical, KoP and Charis seem to have at least taken a Pascal's wager stance on it. (Also, in one of Sirian's writeups, I think he describes a gonzo merc named Scorch.)

I'll have to wander over to Phrozen and do a search.

[Edit: addition] I've peeked over there and didn't find anything. (Searched on "merc" in post titles.) One thing I was reminded of, though: I seem to recall that Foxbat was tweaking the merc AIs in Seven Lances - if the parameters in the .txt file get passed into the script, then why not a little "something extra" unique to each merc?

-- CH
(That way when we need that little extra bit of power to push us over the cliff, we can turn it up to eleven.)

[Ruvanal]

The thread was in the Realms Beyond forums. It was not Warblade, but I who counterpointed about the behaviors.

http://www.network54.com/Hide/Forum/messag...geid=1025020604

[WarBlade]

The thread was in the Realms Beyond forums.  It was not Warblade, but I who counterpointed about the behaviors. 

http://www.network54.com/Hide/Forum/messag...geid=1025020604

Besides, I never "pooh-pooh". :D I just offer theory-smashing observations when people are getting things bewildering wrong. :lol:

Oh and on RBD, I've only made one theory-smashing observation about something that was bewilderingly wrong on one occasion that I can recall. :lol: (Circlets and gambling odds)

[south]

The way you move strongly affects the rogues movements, so different chars and people will end up with rogues that play close to them or far away more ranged. At least it seems that way to my chars with rogues.