MERLANDESE'S PROFILE

author=LockeZ
I mean, the game is for PC and/or mobile phones, right? I feel confident that you are not making a console game. So just... just let the player type on their keyboard.

author=Ratty524
For PC games why not just stick to the keyboard for typing in names as oppose to the sluggish "scroll through a box of characters" thing in default RPG games, or give options for both depending on whether a player wants to use a keyboard or a joypad?

That would still be a functionality (best case scenario) and all, but the game plays more like a platformer. So having the Movement controls change context would be useful, especially for gamepad.

I think it's important that once I establish a set of inputs for the world as a whole they don't jump to new inputs unless the player specifically wants them. I didn't mention the gameplay so it's definitely a valid concern that I should make the keyboard functional. Thanks! XD

author=Ratty524
You also don't really explain how its supposed to work. Do you turn it like a wheel on a touch-screen?

I don't explain it because I want to gauge non-informed reactions, as if you were to play it for the first time and see a similar setup. So it's definitely useful input here. :)

I'm hoping to make it obvious that it's a wheel that turns by shaping it... like a wheel. XD And the idea that it must be turned is reinforced by the fact that not the entire alphabet is shown. In an arcade input (basically the most flawed of inputs) you still manage to find the other letters through arrow indications despite not being able to see the rest of the alphabet. I'll likely put arrow indications as well, but, like the spiral in Beyond Good and Evil, you can see where you're headed with it.

author=Deltree
Woof, a division operation thousands of times per turn! I'll
E: Holy crap, I think I've discovered the method to its madness. It's aware that cards it takes can be retaken if there are an odd number of edges left over, so it's biding its time and targeting cards that can't be recaptured. I'm getting stalemates/close shave victories more often than not, now. Next, I think I'll have it play off the player's cards, just to see what happens.

I'm scared. Hold me.

Haha! Yes! This is what I meant! Sometimes your AI surprises you with new tactical concepts. I love this stuff, even though keeping your mind bent around it all can be a game in and of itself.

Glad Hedge1 mentioned the thing about the delay because it's the absolute truth. With all of my AI personalities in this board game thing I've made, they each have a sort of variable delay time to make it feel like they're thinking. It adds suspense and, more over, doesn't make it feel like you're playing against yourself. I also made it so that the easier opponents have a longer minimum amount of time (in fractions of seconds) that they wait before selecting a move so that "dumber" opponents feel like they're taking longer to think.

I'm pretty sure Triple Triad and Tetra Master showed some card selection on the opponent's side so it looked like the opponent was considering moves. I'm not sure if it actually was or if that was completely aesthetic, but definitely worth doing in Quad Pro Quo. Even though we have no idea which cards the AI has in hand, it's cool to see them shift among the cards like a human might.

author=Hasvers
For the beginning, it's unfortunately no big surprise - chess and go players have to learn openings from specialized books, and likewise you probably have to guide the AI a little. Or bake in good openings by running much more extensive MC on starting positions and selecting those that seem best.

That's also a good point. I imagine that opening moves deal a lot with protecting weak edges and using the not-as-strong cards to sort of "test the waters" of the upcoming battle. That might be a little trickier to program in, but a strong opening move could make the AI that much better.

I haven't played yours yet but, if I'm imagining scenarios well enough, I'd say that most players will not play their strongest, nor their weakest cards on the first turn. They don't want to blow their load without capturing a piece, nor do they want to be immediately open to attack on the first turn. Whether this turns out to be the best strategy or not is in the air, but if that's how most people end up playing your game it might be good to make the AI think in the same conventional terms. After all, you want the AI to feel like a person first and foremost, THEN to feel like a badass person. XD