Queller AI README - Last updated 30/8/99

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

THIS IS NOT A RELEASE VERSION!

This text file is designed for 1024x768 desktops.

This is not a Boneyards compatible AI.

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

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"
		David
		Spunky The Necromancer	"I must say I REALLY like Queller"
		Commander, Core		"I got thrashed...died within 20-30 minutes"
		Aklein			"It keeps you on your toes"
		noo_bee			"The AI spreads out over an enormous area"
		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, AI units and stimulationg conversation :).

Finally, thanks to Creeperman for his Jammers.

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 Annihilation that does not cheat. This AI does use hacked units, but they do not give the AI an edge over a human opponent in any way.

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). Remarks were taken out of context on a whim :).

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, and for our stimulating AI discussions which persuaded me to try to create an excellent AI layout. Also, thanks to him (again) for his excellent TA 1.1 bugfix, a truly 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!

I'm afraid this AI will not work at all well on Boneyards because it will not be allowed to use it's hacked units.

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

In addition to the main ZIP, you will also need to open the ZIP of the game you own. If you have the expansion Core Contingency, open the Queller CC ZIP, if you are using the mod UH, open the Queller UH ZIP, if you are not using either of these, open the Queller TA ZIP.

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

Put the file "QuellerUnits" into your main TA folder. If you use CC you will also need to put the file "QuellerCCUnits" into the TA folder. This file is in the Queller CC ZIP.

Open the OTA Files ZIP, and extract the OTA files to a subdirectory within your main TA folder called, maps.

To install the AI itself, create a subdirectory called, ai, 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:

Not yet built.

MEDIUM:

Not yet built.

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. If you can beat this, you will certinally be able to kick some butt on multiplayer services such as Boneyards. Depending on the speed of your computer, and the decisions it makes, it will be ready and launching an attack anywhere from 4 to 5 minutes into the game.

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/  You should also get a file from somewhere like TAMEC http://www.tamec.org/ that increases the unit limit to 500, as that is what this AI was designed around.

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 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 units 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? You can use this plant if you capture it though.

To pick up any of the extras that I used or admire, such as AI's and the 1.1 bugfix, go to TAMEC at http://www.tamec.org/

Uberhack, otherwise known as UH, is a multiplayer mod which fixes many of TA's flaws, and changes unit stats, and adds new units. This is an attempt to make TA into what many believe it should have been in the first place. It can be found at http://www.aracnet.com/~nimrod/taec/ in the BSR R&D section.

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: Unmapped
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, and even if it wasn't, the internal code insists on the AI building resources first.

* 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. A 16x16 map or larger is what I would reccomend.

* Do not pause the game to allow yourself to give out orders.

* 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 :). Also, don't use anti-AI tactics, if it wouldn't fool a human, don't do it to the AI.

* Don't use your Commander or construction units to assist in the production of units (assisting in buildings production is fine as the AI does). Doing so will mean you get your attacks forces out a lot quicker than the AI can, and will give you an unfair advantage over it.

* Don't block areas or routes using Dragon's Teeth, use them only around defences and buildings.

* Don't attack the AI using your Commander, he should only build things and defend himself, not used as a cheap way of wiping out the AI's base with an explosion.

* 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, improves the tracking of some units, and makes other general 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.

Extreme Changes
---------------

If you really want to make the game hard, here are some of the more extreme changes you can make:

* 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.

* 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 (built in, not ones I can correct).

* You could try not using 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.

* To add an extra level of difficulty, put the game speed up to +10.

I'm sure you can think of more. Attacking by a direct route and not raiding is one, only ever having one group of troops is another. If you limit yourself to doing only what the AI can do (no anti-nukes for a start) then you will get more of a fight out of it.

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 what AI profile the map uses. You will find this wirtten next to, aiprofile: (if it's blank, then it means default).

The 1.1 BUGFIX 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 OTA Files 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. A good place for Internet maps is TAMEC at http://www.tamec.org/ They even have maps made with Skirmish play in mind.

Maps marked with a * are not yet supported by Queller. I have assumed for the purpose of the *'s that you have installed the Queller OTA files.

A ** means that the map either comes with an AI, or the AI intended for it can be downloaded as part of the TAMEC.hpi file. If that map also has a Queller OTA file, it will use Queller. If you wish the map to use the AI that comes with it, simply delete the appropriate OTA file.

MAP					TA PROFILE	1.1 BUGFIX	QUELLER OTA FILES

2 for 1 -				Default
Acid Foursome (CC)			Acid		Default		Default
Acid Pools (CC)				Hover		Wind		WindAcid
Acid Trip (CC) *			Acid
Ancient Issaquah +			Default
Anteer Strait *				Seabattle
Ariza Rift - *				Hover
Ashap Plateau				Default
Assault On Suburbia (CC) *		Hover
Battle Field of Death -			Default
Beachfront Property - *			SeaBattle
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		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		Hover
Crystal Isles (CC) *			SeaBattle
Crystal Maze (CC)			Default
Crystal Treasure Island (CC)		Default
Dark Side				Default
Deep Space Relay Array - *		AirBattle
Delta-class Fortresses -		Default
Detention Center -			Metal
Dire Straits (CC) *			Hover
Divided Kingdoms - **			Evergreen
Dry Duct - *				Krogoth
East Indeez (CC) *			SeaBattle
Eastside Westside (CC) *		Urban
Enta Da Stage - *			SeaBattle
Etorrep Glacier				Default		Wind		Wind
Evad River Confluence *			Airbattle	Hover		Hover
Evad River Delta - *			Hover
Expanded Confluence (CC) *		Hover
Firefight -				Default
Flooded Glaciers (CC) *			SeaBattle
Fox Holes				Default
Full Moon				Default
Gasbag Forests (CC) *			Acid
Gasplant Plain (CC)			Default		Wind		Wind
GatorLands - *				Hover
Gods of War				Default
Great Divide				Default
Greenhaven				Default
Green Maze -				Default
Heavy Metal -				Default				Metal
Higher Ground (CC) *			AirBattle
Highway to Heck! -			Default
Hundred Isles				Default		Seabattle	Seabattle
Ice Scream (CC) *			Hover
Icey Bergs (CC) *			Waterwrld
John's Pass (CC) *			Hover
Khadrikamen - **			ClayDesert
Kill The Middle				Airbattle	Wind		Wind
King of the Hill			Default
Krogth Testing Range v2	-		Metal
Lake Shore (CC)				Default
Lake Volcano -				Default
Land Air Sea - *			SeaBattle
Lava & Two Hills *			Airbattle
Lava Alley				Default
Lava Highground				Default
Lava Mania				Default		Wind		Wind
Lava Run				Default
Lone Ranger v2 -			Default
Lucsh Puppy (CC) *			AirBattle
Lunar Pincushions -			Default
Luschaven + *				Hover
Luschie + *				Default
Luschinfloggen +			Default
Luschious +				Default
Mars Makes Mobile -			Default
Metal Heck				Default		Metal		Metal
Metal Heck 2 -				Default				WindMetal
Metal Heck 3 -				Default				WindMetal
Metal Isles +				Seabattle	SeaMetal	SeaMetal
Micro-TA-Machines -			Default
Military Base -				Default
Molten Alley - *			AirBattle
Molten Metal -				Default
Moon Quartet (CC)			Default
Mounds of Mars +			Default
Ooooweeee (CC) *			AirBattle
Over Crude Water *			Default		Krogoth		Krogoth
Painted Desert				Default
Pillopeens (CC) *			SeaBattle
Pincushion				Default
Plains and Passes (CC) +		Default
Planet Battle Zone - **			Deathvalley
Polar Range (CC)			Default
Polyp Fields (CC) *			Waterwrld
Real Earth V1 - **			AirBattle
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
Rush Hour - TPZ -			Default
Sail Away (CC) *			SeaBattle
Sector 410b (CC) *			Hover
Seven Islands				Default		SeaMetal	SeaMetal
SHERWOOD				Default
Shore to Shore				Seabattle	Hover		Hover
Show Down (CC) *			SeaBattle	Hover		Hover
Skirmish -				Default				WindMetal
Slate Gordon (CC) *			AirBattle
Slated Fate (CC) *			AirBattle
Slated Jingo -				Default
Steel Jungle (CC) *			Urban
Storm Watch - *				SeaBattle
Surface Meltdown (CC)			Acid		Default		Default
Temblorian Mist (CC) *			AirBattle
TA Worlds v1 -				Default
The Barrier Reef (CC) *			SeaBattle
The Battle for Heavens Gate v3 - *	AirBattle
The Bayou (CC) *			SeaBattle
The Cold Place				Default		Wind		Wind
The Desert Triad			Airbattle
The Pass				Default		ThePass		ThePass
The Rock -				Default
ThundurLok Rok +			Default
Tight Spot -				Metal				WindMetal
Town & Country (CC) *			Urban
Training Camp -				Default
Tropical Paridise (CC) *		Waterwrld
Trout Farm (CC) *			Default		Urban		Urban
Two Continents *			Airbattle	Hover		Hover
War Zone -				Default
Yerrot Mountains			Default

It's not MY fault!
------------------

As I don't want a flood of mail telling me how crap my AI is, I thought I should include a list of problems and limitations that any AI will face (it's a big list.....and it's not even a complete one), and that cannot be corrected except by modifying the TA code itself:

1. Attacking. The AI will only ever use one route to attack your base. It will not raid, it will merely smash. This means that the CORE will almost always be handled in a superior fashion to the ARM, simply because they suit the no nonense approach of the AI to combat. The AI also freezes all of it's troops after killing it's targets, making it vunerable to Guardians and such, and so the extra armour of CORE troops benefit the AI again.

2. The Sea. The AI seems to hate expanding into the sea, it has the same problem with geothermal power. Construction aircraft go someway to correcting the navel problem, as they move further afield, they're more likely to start a navy off. However, in general, the AI will be a landlubber.

3. Resources. The AI has no idea. If you give him a huge resource advantage, he will not understand. Only a building AI such as BSRAI will actually make full advantage of more resources, other AI's, such as this one, were built from day 1 to play with 1000 resources, and hence will not make much use of the extra resources given to it. However, the more resources it has, the less crippling mistakes it makes are. In light of this problem, no human should ever give themselves more than 1000 metal and energy, to give yourself more is to assure yourself victory. A human understands that with the extra resources they can get a plant up straight away, and get that huge attack force ready by the 5 minute mark. Using it's built in stupidity the AI will of course build a resources base first, even if it doesn't need one. If you wish to make an AI slightly harder, give it more resources, if you want to make it easier, give it less, never give yourself more resources than 1000.

4. Resource Management. The AI has no idea how it should handle its resources. Even if it is losing them in large quantities it will start new production. If it suffers a metal and energy crisis at the same time, it doesn't realise that the two are generally interlinked, and so will build more metal extractors, thus draining more energy. It has been programmed not to build any mobile units when it has less than 100 metal or energy. However, this fails to take into account the amount of metal or energy it has coming in. Thus it may sit there with +5.5 metal and +85 energy, not building anything, even though it has enough to start on a Flash tank. This is why an AI often struggles to attack before a human. When it starts making a positive income of resources, it will start building, at every plant it has, thus crippling itself again.

5. Situational Awareness. The AI has no idea what is happening around it. If it is under attack, it is still as likely to build a construction vehicle as it is a tank. If it is losing resources at an enourmus rate, it doesn't care, as long as it hasn't crippled itself yet. The problem is, when it does cripple itself, it takes too long to build anything for resources to be built in time to be of any use. Here is a vicious circle the AI faces: The AI starts building a Moho Metal Extractor, however this means it runs out of metal because of the drain this puts on its resources. Leaping into action another advanced construction vehicle decides to save the day by, you've guessed it, building ANOTHER Moho Metal Extractor. Of course now the AI has an even worse resource drain and the metal will take even longer to appear. Now of course, a friendly construction plane comes over to help assist in the building. By this time, the AI is going to be sitting around for a good 10 minutes before anything gets done and the gridlock resolves itself, by which time you've come over and put it out of its misery.

6. Defence. Now if you thought the AI that came with Red Alert was the worst ever, you were wrong, TA has managed to snatch the trophy! Not only is it pathetic in every way, its own units won't even return to base if it comes under attack. I cannot name a single AI in the history of RTS which did not have this very basic bit of intelligence. So if you play a FFA, the AI will have to rely on defences to save the day, and of course any player worth his salt can overcome defences, no matter how strong, half of them can be outranged. So very often in FFA's large number of AI tanks roam the wilderness with no home, because their home was destroyed while they destroyed someone elses home. In fact a big circle can occur, an AI force goes left to attack it's neigbour, while it's base is destroyed by the person to it's right. Whole armies can be left without a base.

7. Sticking Together. The AI treats tanks, planes and ships as seperate entities. However for some reason, it does not do the same for hovercraft or amphibious units. This means that they are often left circling in the middle of an ocean while they wait for their land based friends to go the long way around, or fail to go anywhere at all.

8. They Must Have A Good Union. When the AI enters combat, not only do all its trops go for the same enemy unit, but it doesn't bother to make lists of targets, and then re-evaluate this list every so often, no, it attacks one target, and then after destroying it, sits around for about 5 seconds until it picks another target. Such stupidity is truely stunning.

9. Oh It So Does Not Need A Door. Often the AI will simply build plants in a place where units cannot exit, or it will build the plant behind a metal spot, which it will later build an extractor on. This is fixed by Queller, but only by changing the plants the AI uses for custom ones. Some times the AI goes a step better, and the unit it just built will sit in the plant, and not leave. This is quite common during combat, the unit will sit there and fire, without thinking that prehaps the AI could do with the reinforcements that the plant could be producing.

10. Target Evaluation. Only items such as nukes even bother considering what to shoot, the AI ground troops act like the grunts they are, they head towards the nearest target, even if it has a force of 100 goliaths and the nearest target is a flea heading away from the enemy base, the AI will follow.

Sigh.

Well I hope you enjoy Queller, and don't feel too bad if it wins your first few games. It's the perfect AI to train against for multiplayer. If you beat Queller on hard, using the reccomended settings, then you truely are a fine Total Annihilation player and you should be confident in winning games online.

Quitch(y)
Creator of the Queller AI for TA, CC and UH
"Anti-AI tactics are the way of the coward!"