THIS AI IS STILL IN A TESTING STAGE PLEASE DO NOT DISTRIBUTE!

THIS IS NOT A RELEASE VERSION!

AI Name: Queller: Queller TA, Queller CC, Queller UH
Creator: Quitch
Contact: quitch@x-stream.co.uk

This text file is designed for 1024x768 desktops.

Testers: 	EMG Man aka StumpDude	"This is almost as hard as BAI"
		Loup-Garou		"Having your units lose half of their health before 					 they can even see the enemy is horrible"
		noo_bee			"The AI spreads out over an enormous area"
		Aklein			"It keeps you on your toes"
		Commander, Core
		Core_Commander
		David
		Michael Cooper
		Michael Jonson
		Spunky the Necromancer
		Warsmith
		Xeno

Thanks to BSR for allowing me to create a non-cheating AI for UH, his excellent mutliplayer mod.

Also, thanks to Switeck for his 1.1 bugfix and AI units.

Introducing the Queller AI for Total Annihilation
-------------------------------------------------

Welcome to the Queller AI! This is an AI for Total Annihilation, Core Contingency, and UH. This AI is designed to be a marked improvement over any other AI avaliable for Total Annihlation that does not cheat, nor use any units other than the ones provided with the game, it's expansions, and those that can be downloaded from Cavedog site at http://www.cavedog.com/totala/

Please note that I have not hacked the Cavedog AI, I have merely improved the mix of units and structures that the AI uses. However, you should notice a marked difference in the way that the AI plays. I cannot, however, correct the fundemental flaws that Cavedog left behind. I cannot make the AI Commander smarter, I cannot correct the attack path finding, I cannot correct any flaw that is in the programming. However, I hope with this AI, to bring closer a truly challenging opponent.

My thanks to all those who I charmed and bullied into testing this AI. My eternal thanks and bouncing cheques go out to you :). Also, all the quotes by the testers were taken from e-mails they sent to me at one time or another during the testing process (none were taken from the Verion 5 reports as small children may be reading this :)).

Thanks to BSR for creating the BSRAI which inspired me to create Queller (to trash his AI with :)). Also thanks to Switech for creating an AI guide explaining the internal TA flaws fully, and for his supreme Mostly Harmless AI, which my goal was to better. Also, thanks to him (again) for his exellent TA 1.1 bugfix, a truely essential download.

If you've download this AI, or I sent it to you (it's an outreach policy :)), feel free to send me feedback and your comments!

Installation
------------

To allow this AI to work properly, put the file Swi_Nuke in the main Total Annihilation directory. For example, if you installed the game under c:\Cavedog\Totala\ then that is the directory wehere you would put the file. This file allows the AI to use Nukes, EMP's and Neutrons, however it does not understand Anti-Nukes (this is something that is impossible to correct without changes being made to the games engine), so please resist the temptation to nuke the AI back to the stone-age. If you have the AI_Nuker file, or any other AI nuke file, in the main TA directory, you *must* move it to another directory or it will conflict with Swi_Nuke.

Put the AIBoost file in the main TA directory. This contains the special Vehicle Plants which have exits at the back. This lowers the chance of the AI building a plant in a position where the units cannot exit after being built.

Put the file, sidedata, into a subfolder within the main TA directory called, gamedata.

Put the file AI_Jam into your TA directory, just as you did the Swi_Nuke file. This is a AI jammer which has a weapon of 0 strength. This allows it to fool the AI into thinking it is an attack unit, so it will accompany attack forces. Thanks to Switeck and his Counter Strike AI for this!

If you do not have the 1.1 bugfix installed on your machine, then extract the OTA files to a Maps subdirectory within your main TA folder.

If you have the expansion Core Contingency, now enter the Queller CC ZIP, if you are using the mod UH, enter the Queller UH ZIP, if you are not using either of these, use the Queller TA ZIP.

To install the AI itself, create a subdirectory called "ai" (no quotes) in your Totala folder. Extract the files from the appropriate ZIP into it.

To 3rd Party Unit Users
-----------------------

Before using this AI, you should move all 3rd Party Unit files into a directory where TA will not detect them. This will prevent the AI from trying to build units it was not weighted for, as doing so will degrade it's ability to play. It will also remove the temptation to throw in some invincible 3rd Party Unit against an AI not built to stop them. I know what you people are like :).

The Difficulty Levels
---------------------

EASY:

The AI will have no priorities and no real idea of what it is doing. It will rarely attack, and when it does it will not present a threat. It will nano-stall often, and will not handle its resources well. It will not use any of the more powerful weapons.

MEDIUM:

This AI is slightly conservative in nature. It will not move in for a quick kill, but will try to expand it's base. It plays for defence. It has some ideas on unit mixes, and it's attacks should present a challenge for the unprepared. It will not use Nukes, but will try to reach level 2 forces quickly. May hide his base from your radar.

HARD:

The AI will quickly build a resource base which will then become troops. It will attack hard and fast using the best mix of troops for that type of map, and while it attacks its construction units will expand it's base so as to keep a continual flow of troops moving to the front. It will use all the units it deems suitable, and will try to hide its base and attack forces from your radar. It will will rarely be at 0 metal or energy for more than a second, and will handle its resources extremely well. This one will certinally put up a good fight.

Notes
-----

For this AI to work at optimum levels, you MUST have the 3.1 patch, and have downloaded the Flea, Scarab, Hedgehog and Immolator from the Cavedog site, http://www.cavedog.com/totala/

Even if you have the Core Contingency expansion, you may wish to practice for games where you will not be allowed the CC units, right?  Well Queller TA has all the weights and limits for CC, but at 0.  That way you can just not use CC units if you wish, and the AI will effectively "turn them off," and ignore the internal weightings. Queller CC uses the CC units though, and you should use that if you wish to play against a CC opponent.

The AI does actually use a unit the player cannot. The Vehicle Plants for the AI have been changed so that they all now have two exits. This is to compensate for the fact that the AI will reguarly build in front of it's own plant, or put it in a position where units cannot exit. I do not consider this cheating, merely making up for the AI's lack of situational awareness by making sure he can use all his plants that he builds. After all, how often do you build in front of your big, brand new Vehicle Plant?

To pick up any of the extras that I used or admire, such as AI's and the bugfix, go to TAMEC at http://www.tamec.org/

Making The AI A True Challenege
-------------------------------

To make the AI as challenging as it possibly can be, use the following settings:

On Commanders Death: Game Continues
Location: Random
Mapping Mode: Not Mapped
LOS: True
Difficulty: Hard

* For an even game, give yourself both 1000 metal and energy, as this is what the AI was built around. However for a real challenege set the AI's energy and metal to 10 000 (please note, unlike a lot of AI's, it is perfectly caperble of playing a good game with only 1000 metal and energy) while leaving yours at 1000 and 1000 respectively. If you have a deathwish, set your metal and energy values down to 200.

* I strongly reccomend *against* giving both yourself and the AI 10 000 metal and energy. Doing so will give *you* and not the AI the advantage. This is not a building obbsessive AI. You will realise that you can attack immediately, however the AI will, as ever, build a resource base first. Therefore when your first attack hits, Queller would not be ready. This AI was designed for games where the it's human opponent has 1000 metal and energy.

* You should use a fairly large map, with plenty of metal, evenly spread out, but the metal spots should not be too far apart.  The more open the map, the better.  The AI handles Painted Desert quite well, and Yerrot Mountains too. King of the Middle is an example of a bad map, as the AI does not realise the importance of the centre as a human does. If the metal spots are too far apart, the AI will not be able to hold off early attacks, early being around the 4 minute mark.

* Don't use Dragons Teeth or any type of wall. A human opponent would just add more shell lobbers to their unit mix, but the AI can't adept like that, it is not a learning or thinking opponent. If I added more shell lobbers to the AI's troop mix it wouldn't be as effective in open combat. It may be able to handle Dragons Teeth at level 2, but not level 1. I would reccomend you don't use them at all, after all, the AI doesn't :).

* To add an extra level of difficulty, put the game speed up to +10, and do not pause the game to allow yourself to give out orders.

* If you're still winning easily (then you're a liar :)), then try allying several AI's against just you. Still winning? Ally 9 AI's against you, OK, so no one has a chance against those odds. Actually, it's supposed to be possible, but you'd have to take advantage of every flaw the AI has (inbuilt, not ones I can correct).

* Oh, and heres a really wild suggestion, DON'T CHEAT! The AI may not be able to lambast you for cheating, but think of all the devloping time I speant in getting it to kick your ass. Don't let me down, let it kick you ass fair and square, you don't want to embarrass yourself :).

* As a last mesaure, you could not use your Commanders D-Gun. The AI suffers from having no idea of what a Commander is, and it will attack you as if you were a normal unit. If it does this too early, and you have plenty of energy, some quick D-Gun shots can cripple the AI. I would only reccomend this though if you wish to make the game harder, and have already done all the above.

* Finally, if you own Core Contingency, I *strongly* reccomend that you get the 1.1 bugfix by Switeck from TAMEC http://www.tamec.org/  This patch corrects some of TA's flaws, it also encourages the AI to use geothermal power, fixes the ARM Warrior's guns, and makes other fixes, such as increasing the games speed by removing dublicate weapon ID's. This speed increase in turn actually helps to correct the problem the AI Commander had with multiple targets. He will now D-Gun all the live long day. This patch works like the extra units, it only works if everyone playing has the patch, otherwise you just get a normal game of TA. Queller CC assumes you have this patch, and if you don't, it will not play at optimal levels.

WEIGHTS And LIMITS Explained
----------------------------

Weights decide how likely it is that the AI will build a unit, a limit tells the AI the maximum number of units of that kind it may build. A unit only counts towards the limit when it has finished being built and it will not affect the very next unit to be built in the same plant, therefore if the AI builds the same unit in more than one place at a time, or at the same place as the very next unit, it may go over the limit. This is another part of the great randomness the AI demonstrates, making for a slightly more varied challenge (or cock-up depending on what it does) every time.

Map Profiles
------------

The following shows which maps use which profile. Seabattle and Airbattle are self explanatory. Default is a land war with the chance of other elements being involved. If you know of a map not listed here, please let me know, and also if you got it in CC, the cavedog site, or from somewhere else on the Internet. If you also have an HPI viewer, please open the maps file, and let me know the size (the one in the description which is found near the top of the file), the "numplayers" value, and the "aiprofile" (if it's blank, then it means default).

The 1.1 BUGFIXC colum applys to those of you who have downloaded and used Switeck's 1.1 bugfix for the game. It lists the name of the profile the AI will now use instead of the old one. Also, the ota files contained in the Queller TA ZIP modify the maps to the 1.1 bugfix profiles.

Maps marked (CC) are Core Contingency Maps, and maps marked with a + are maps that have been downloaded from the Cavedog site. Maps marked with a - have been download from somewhere on the Internet. Maps marked with a * use a profile that are not currently supported by this version of Queller. A double * means both profiles are not supported.

MAP					PROFILE		1.1 BUGFIX

Acid Foursome (CC)*			Acid		Default
Acid Pools (CC)*			Hover		Wind
Acid Trip (CC)*				Acid
Ancient Issaquah+			Default
Anteer Strait*				Seabattle
Ashap Plateau				Default
Assault On Suburbia (CC)*		Hover
Biggie Biggs (CC)*			AirBattle
Block Wars (CC)*			Metal
Brain Coral (CC)*			Waterwrld
Caldera's Rim*				Seabattle
Cavedog Links CC (CC)*			Hover
Checker Ponds (CC)*			Acid		Default
Cluster Freak (CC)*			AirBattle
Coast To Coast*				Seabattle
Comet Catcher+				Default
Core Prime Industrial Area (CC)*	Metal
Crater Islands (CC)*			SeaBattle
Crystal Cracked (CC)**			SeaBattle	Hover
Crystal Isles (CC)*			SeaBattle
Crystal Maze (CC)			Default
Crystal Treasure Island (CC)		Default
Dark Side				Default
Dire Straits (CC)*			Hover
East Indeez (CC)*			SeaBattle
Eastside Westside (CC)*			Urban
Etorrep Glacier				Default		Wind
Evad River Confluence*			Airbattle	Hover
Expanded Confluence (CC)*		Hover
Flooded Glaciers (CC)*			SeaBattle
Fox Holes				Default
Full Moon				Default
Gasbag Forests (CC)*			Acid
Gasplant Plain (CC)			Default		Wind
Gods of War				Default
Great Divide				Default
Greenhaven				Default
Higher Ground (CC)*			AirBattle
Hundred Isles				Default		Seabattle
Ice Scream (CC)*			Hover
Icey Bergs (CC)*			Waterwrld
John's Pass (CC)*			Hover
Kill The Middle*			Airbattle	Wind
King of the Hill			Default
Lake Shore (CC)				Default
Lava & Two Hills*			Airbattle
Lava Alley				Default
Lava Highground				Default
Lava Mania				Default		Wind
Lava Run				Default
Lucsh Puppy (CC)*			AirBattle
Luschaven+*				Hover
Luschie+*				Default
Luschinfloggen+				Default
Luschious+				Default
Metal Heck*				Default		Metal
Metal Isles+				Seabattle	SeaMetal
Moon Quartet (CC)			Default
Mounds of Mars+				Default
Ooooweeee (CC)*				AirBattle
Over Crude Water*			Default		Krogoth
Painted Desert				Default
Pillopeens (CC)*			SeaBattle
Pincushion				Default
Plains and Passes (CC)+			Default
Polar Range (CC)			Default
Polyp Fields (CC)*			Waterwrld
Red Hot Lava				Default
Red Planet				Default
Red River North (CC)*			Hover
Red River (CC)*				Hover
Red Triangle				Default
Ring Atoll				Default
Rock Alley				Default
Ror Shock (CC)*				SeaBattle
Sail Away (CC)*				SeaBattle
Sector 410b (CC)*			Hover
Seven Islands				Default		SeaMetal
SHERWOOD				Default
Shore to Shore				Seabattle	Hover
Show Down (CC)**			SeaBattle	Hover
Slate Gordon (CC)*			AirBattle
Slated Fate (CC)*			AirBattle
Steel Jungle (CC)*			Urban
Surface Meltdown (CC)*			Acid		Default
Temblorian Mist (CC)*			AirBattle
The Barrier Reef (CC)*			SeaBattle
The Bayou (CC)*				SeaBattle
The Cold Place				Default		Wind
The Desert Triad			Airbattle
The Pass				Default		ThePass
ThundurLok Rok+				Default
Town & Country (CC)*			Urban
Tropical Paridise (CC)*			Waterwrld
Trout Farm (CC)*			Default		Urban
Two Continents**			Airbattle	Hover
Yerrot Mountains			Default