I know LFS is focusing on on-line human-to-human racing, but I do enjoy racing against the AI. It seems like the AI does not pit in when fuel runs low. Is this just a lacking feature or have I not set up the race properly?
If it's not implemented, it would certainly be on my wish-list for future releases.
As this is currently the S2 ALPHA release, Scawen simply focused on making the game playable and implementing the key features.
The AI is obviously not a key feature in an online racing simulator, so it was left completely untouched from S1. That means it doesn't know fuel usage, tyre wear/heat/dirtyness and suspension damage. Also, the learning code is a bit outdated and doesn't produce really satisfying results anymore.
You can be sure that the AI will be up to the quality of the rest in S2 FINAL, but don't get your hopes up to get an AI update in the next patch/soon, because it's a pretty low priority issue (IMO).
I dunno... as it stands now, the A.I. is still good enough to help somebody new to racing sims. Before LFS, I never really played many video games, much less driving games. The A.I. was good enough to practice with...til they voted to ban me for wrecking.
Ok so in S-2 the A.I. is a little MIA, it's still good enough for a newbie to
practice with. I don't see where the pitting is an issue since most racing is still sprints and I don't think the average new person will go straight for endurance racing. I mean sure the A.I. has the Foresight and vision of a Government Clerk, but it's still good for a 5 lap race and to help get the feel of whatever car you're wanting to use. It's not going to take the place
of real people (the Stepford Racers?), but at the very least should teach a person how to use the mirrors
Also, as bad and stupid as what people claim the A.I. is, I've never seen them pile up on turn one.
As for the A.I. pitting in S-2, They don't.
I dunno you could try messaging, "PIT FORREST!", but I don't think it'll help much.
Thanks guys, I understand the development priorities are not on AI, but aiming towards serious man-to-man gaming. This is of course the way it should be. However, the LFS programmers has succeeded so well (in fact too well :nod, that it would be a shame not to develop the AI at some stage in the future. I guess the AI issue is a major threshold with many new problems to overcome. Just imagine how individual decision making and strategy vary/depend on car status and position during a race evolution.
I hope time and effort will be spent on the AI engine eventually to allow for even better single player racing. This is where I train before I go online, and with an enhanced training experience, my skills will develop to deliver better online races as well. Naturally.
Just a comment from a beginner that is amazed by the LFS achievement so far. Keep up the good work .
Yeah, well they are still the same AI 'intelligence' as in S1, and not made for S2, so it's not like Scawen broke them. Even though some may say the AI is not important in this online simulation, I'd still like to have some smart AI to race against in a full grid, knowing that it would be safe and enjoyable competition. As long as they can be set to a level of skill at a percentage, then it would be much easier to match up with them in races. (Because "PRO" would either be too slow, or too fast)
AI in simulations can be very beneficial to most people, but most of all to the game. In other words, you could test how fast some cars could go round the track without human skill, and just driven by a computer. And knowing that LFS's AI have a 'learning' ability, it would be neat to see them learn the best possible line on the track... maybe even adjust their setups according to it all. Might that be asking for too much? Well there are plenty of older games that have successfully done AI, and done them well.
Probably the most interesting AI I've looked at was in GPL, where there is probability for mistakes, mechanical failures, aggresiveness, etc.... all different for each driver -- which tried to emulate the way the real drivers were back then. To me, that gave GPL some depth and a chance to race some professionals... and damn they were hard when I first started
In S1 even, adding some AI in online races was great for making a larger grid. And also very useful for creating some movies, or screenshots of a pack of cars in action --- but now they are all whacky and show off by hitting walls and sliding out . They need to be fixed, and yes I agree they should be ready for S2 Final
And you know, there should always be some AI in a simulation, to see how the computer reacts to the game.
What would really be cool with the A.I. was if they had... they had....
THey had something like Predisposed personality types. WHere some
A.I. would perform more agressive than others and others more cautious
something like that. Not just have them getting smarter each lap. But
having them "get smarter" at different rates (does that make sense?)
and maybe with the different personality traits they would race diffferently from each other. Is that possible?
IMO the best solution will be to remove AI completely. They are stupid, slow and just.... annoying. They just ignore you, so completing the Training course where you have to overtake 3 AI without crash really drives me mad. It really pisses off, when you brake 20 meters later than AI, you keep the better line than AI and he crashes to your rear bumper on the exit....
AI was a nice challenge when I began with LFS, but now i don't use it. I preffer some improves on the physics that fixes on AI.
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