Mega Tact v0.1a released!

JSH357 · Post by **JSH357** » Tue Jun 28, 2011 5:24 pm

James Paige wrote:
Mogri wrote: - Mind-altering status effects
I noticed in your first post that you were not sure how you were going to implement these. Is that because they require some kind of AI?

Yes

Post by **Mogri** » Tue Jun 28, 2011 6:06 pm

"Require" is a strong word. The long answer is that AI would be ideal if I could do it right. Of course, there's not even consensus on what "right" is in this context.

Super Tact deals with this problem by having the moderator choose actions for uncontrollable units. It's a pretty effective solution: the moderator is in charge of knowing everything about everything anyway, and he can use his best judgment on what to do with a unit.

Mega Tact is moderated by the computer. Having the computer decide what to do with a unit isn't a terrible problem per se. On a case-by-case basis, I'd probably handle it like this:
- Confusion: Attack the nearest unit 75% of the time and a random panel the other 25% (using a random ability).
- Berserk: Use ATTACK on an enemy in range, prioritizing units that would be killed, then by the amount of damage.
- Blood Suck: Attack a random unit with Blood Suck.
- Charm/Invite: The complicated one. I think the in-game AI priority list is something like "revive, kill, heal critical, remove status, deal damage, add status." It's documented somewhere. Do a brute-force search on possible moves and prioritize them according to that list.

The infrastructure for the AI exists after a fashion (creating move/target/effect maps). My hesitance is partially because it would be a long process, yes, but also because it would be hard to come up with something that felt right.

It's something I may tackle at some point. I don't have definite plans yet.

Post by **Bob the Hamster** » Tue Jun 28, 2011 7:10 pm

is there any such thing as a status that causes the victim to temporarily change teams? I had (mistakenly?) assumed that is what Charm/Invite did.

JSH357 · Post by **JSH357** » Tue Jun 28, 2011 7:17 pm

James Paige wrote:is there any such thing as a status that causes the victim to temporarily change teams? I had (mistakenly?) assumed that is what Charm/Invite did.

Invite is permanent, Charm is temporary

Post by **Mogri** » Tue Jun 28, 2011 7:57 pm

Yes, but both put the unit under AI control. (Technically, Charm doesn't cause a team switch -- Charming your own unit just puts it under AI control.)

Post by **Bob the Hamster** » Tue Jun 28, 2011 9:01 pm

Heck of a lot of error messages in battle 44. Looks like another (?) unit in that battle.

27: Abobo (L) uses Earth Slash on G10. (?) takes 24 damage. (?) dies!

Post by **Mogri** » Tue Jun 28, 2011 9:59 pm

I've removed your (?). Let me know if the problems persist.

Post by **Bob the Hamster** » Tue Jun 28, 2011 10:12 pm

Mogri wrote:I've removed your (?). Let me know if the problems persist.

Awesome. That battle is fixed. Battle 36 has a (?) too, but it ended, so maybe that doesn't matter.

Post by **Bob the Hamster** » Wed Jun 29, 2011 3:40 pm

I could be mistaken, but it seems like sometimes spells target the wrong tile. For example, in Battle #81:

Xenakis (F) uses Reflect on C7. Nothing happens.

Xenakis was standing on C8

Post by **Mogri** » Wed Jun 29, 2011 6:24 pm

That is the off-by-one that will haunt me to the end of my days.

Did that happen yesterday? Please tell me it happened yesterday. Before, say, 3:00.

Post by **Bob the Hamster** » Wed Jun 29, 2011 6:35 pm

Mogri wrote:That is the off-by-one that will haunt me to the end of my days.

Did that happen yesterday? Please tell me it happened yesterday. Before, say, 3:00.

I am not sure when it happened, but yes, it well could have happened before 3:00 yesterday. I only noticed it today.

Timestamps in the status log might be a good idea. Obviously displaying a full timestamp would overcrowd it badly, but perhaps something like:

June 27
8: Xenakis (F) moves to C8.
8: Xenakis (F) begins casting Reflect, targeting Xenakis (F).
Yesterday
9: Xanadi (B) uses Haste on E3. Xanadi (B) is hasted.
9: Aeon Clock (C) begins casting Haste, targeting Ultimecia (G).
9: Ultimecia (G) uses Murasame on I9. Ultimecia (G) is healed for 300 Hp. Blitzkreig (A) is healed for 300 Hp. Bad News (H) is healed for 300 Hp. The Doctor (J) is healed for 300 Hp.
9: The Doctor (J) begins casting Quick, targeting Ultimecia (G).
9: Blitzkreig (A) moves to I10.
9: Blitzkreig (A) uses Earth Slash on I11. Ultimecia (G) takes 315 damage. Bad News (H) takes 315 damage.
Today
10: Xenakis (F) uses Reflect on C7. Nothing happens.
10: Zulua (D) begins performing Slow Dance.
10: Bad News (H) moves to K10.
10: Ypsiliforle (I) moves to C4.
10: Ypsiliforle (I) uses Masamune on C2. Ypsiliforle (I) regenerates. Ypsiliforle (I) is hasted. Xanadi (B) regenerates. Xanadi (B) is hasted.
10: Ypsiliforle (I) regenerates some health.
10: Current clocktick.

Post by **Bob the Hamster** » Wed Jun 29, 2011 10:12 pm

Feature request:

Right now, when a team member is excluded from participation in a battle, they just don't appear on the unit-placement screen.

Could a list be displayed with the reasons they don't qualify?

Post by **Mogri** » Wed Jun 29, 2011 11:24 pm

James Paige wrote:Feature request:

Right now, when a team member is excluded from participation in a battle, they just don't appear on the unit-placement screen.

Could a list be displayed with the reasons they don't qualify?

Man, I give you an inch...

Maybe we should do a feature exchange. One Mega Tact feature for one OHR feature.

(edit)

Code: Select all

The following units are not allowed in this format&#58;

    * War Machine&#58; Level exceeds cap. Illegal item Robe of Lords equipped.
    * Mog&#58; Level exceeds cap. Illegal item Holy Lance equipped. Illegal item Kaiser Plate equipped.
    * Shadow&#58; Level exceeds cap. Illegal item Koga Knife equipped. Illegal item Iga Knife equipped.
    * Sabin&#58; Level exceeds cap.
    * Celes&#58; Level exceeds cap. Faith above maximum. Illegal item Mace of Zeus equipped. Illegal item Robe of Lords equipped. Illegal item Ribbon equipped.
    * Cyan&#58; Level exceeds cap. Illegal item Chirijiraden equipped. Illegal item Maximillian equipped. Illegal item Grand Helmet equipped. Illegal item Genji Gauntlet equipped.

Post by **Bob the Hamster** » Thu Jun 30, 2011 2:55 am

Mogri wrote: Maybe we should do a feature exchange. One Mega Tact feature for one OHR feature. :devil:

Uh oh! What OHR feature do I owe you now :)

Post by **Bob the Hamster** » Thu Jun 30, 2011 5:22 pm

I was curious about a few things.

One is how Jump is supposed to work. When you jump on a target, are you supposed to return to the location you started? Or are you supposed to end at the location you jumped to? (the former is what happens, which surprised me)

Another is that some attacks (spells?) seem to give you the option of targetting a unit or a tile. Other attacks don't give you a choice. I understand why instantaneous attacks don't give you a choice, because it could never matter. But some delayed attacks don't give a choice, leaving me sometimes surprised when an attack hits a place where the target used to be. I am thinking of a time I had my archer Charge+5 on a target, but hit the ground instead. The target had moved, but it didn't seem like they had moved out of range.

That also makes me wonder about how charge damage works. The damage preview makes it seem like charging an attack is almost never worth it.