The Last of Us - Pax Demo - Proof that it's not scripted

[Slimebeast]

M.U.G.E.N said:

Slimebeast said:

Hey, what are you implying here?

If you by saying "every game" meant games that are cinematic and directed then you are on the right track though.

The last of us, based on the videos so far, is a step in the right direction though compared to Uncharted. A big step. I like what I see.

Judging from the freedom this latest video suggests combined with the dramatic, tight presentation and graphics, this is like playing a movie, but actually playing the movie instead of passively mostly watching it.

And no, the AI in Last of us does not seem very self aware. It's different from the AI you see in games like Crysis, where anyone can just take a level editor and pick as many Korean soldiers they want and put them anywhere in the world and they will behave and react to their environment in an intelligent way. (then obviously you tie these Soldiers to different kinds of scripts too for dramatic effects, all games do this to at least some extent).

:P I'm just stating my hate for u dang it!

I don't get it..how is it different? (I really am curious here) Am I wrong that both AI are basically the same and in fact AI in tlou is much more complex than games like Crysis? I think ALL AI are scripted/coded to behave in a certain way...depending on the cues they recieve. I do not think there is any other kind of AI in games yet.

but hey like CGi said...you finally gave the game a compliment :P Our efforts in converting you have finally started show an effect! BUHAHAHAHHAHAH

I feel I won't be able to explain this in the best way possible, but I'll try.

There are two principles how you achieve enemies and NPCs to act in a natural and intelligent way with their environments and the player.

It's kind of an external versus internal principle. Scripted versus AI (technically, internal AI is still filled with scripts, but this is the terminology most often used in the game industry - "scripted games" versus "AI focused", or something along that line.)

The internal principle ("AI"). The enemy soldier in Crysis or an NPC in Skyrim has his own advanced senses and personality. He has a specific field of vision, ability to hear, and he reacts on things in his environment (ideally, but this is hard to program, so often you have devs who brag about advanced AI that still turns out to be augmented by tons of simple scripts). You can put one of these anywhere in the world and he will behave in an intelligent manner. This enemy soldier will always be alerted if he hears your footsteps. (obviously you can tie this AI to a bunch of external scripts like you can do with a dumb AI)

The external principle ("script"). You have an enemy that is very basic and dumb, but you tie his behaviour to external triggers - classical scripts - that you have to hand place in the world, typically as invisible lines on the ground. An example: Joel throws a bottle inside the room with bandits who become alerted. Now, the thing is that these guys probably aren't able to hear anything like the soldiers in Crysis, it's just that in this specific scene there's an invisible trigger in that very specific room that activates the alert reaction when Joel throws the bottle. But I would be surprised if you could do the bottle trick anywhere in the world of The last of us, because that would suggest that this reaction is built in into enemy AI.

Now, if well executed you achieve roughly the same illusion of natural and intelligent behaviour with the "intricate script" method as with "internal AI", and that's what I hope with The last of us.

Often the scripted method gives a better sense of realism than internal AI, especially on a first play through. But personally I prefer the built in AI because it's so dynamic and can be surprising (sometimes unintended) and allows re-playability.