Fallout 4 : I am liking the enemy AI so far.

[DanielCoffey]

I have to confess that Beth really seems to have worked harder on the enemy AI this time round. Not only does Dog behave sensibly when you crouch, the enemy seem to understand cover better too.

 

I don't know if you remember that comment that Gopher made in his Jack playthrough of F:NV but he eventually refused to take a sniper rifle because when at extreme range the enemy had no chance to spot you and simply ran to the location of their dead friend and ended up in a nice pile that you could pick through at your leisure when the area was clear. That does not happen as much in FO4.

 

Example... At long range, a single raider turret on a ledge facing towards me and three raiders idling in a ruined building. I take a single shot at the turret. I am in its firing arc and it seems to have very high perception as it immediately activates and accurately returns fire. This is logical - it would have tracked the ballistics and is ever vigilant to incoming attacks. The three raiders start moving and one rushes over to the "wounded" turret to see why it is firing. He is now alert but has not worked out where I am so he goes to cover and crouches. His two friends are also alert and in cover. I fire again and destroy the turret but now the raiders have a bead on me. While they can of course turn round, they are less perceptive than the turret. They are working out where I am and one begins firing. I kill the guy in cover with a lucky headshot and his buddy does not run over - he stays in cover and ducks out to the side for unaimed suppressive fire. Meanwhile his buddy is moving from cover to cover, not firing and trying to get closer to me. Because I am on a low roof and he is on the floor, he can't see me easily but finally Dogmeat spots him and goes for the leg hold. Now I have to go out of cover and help Dogmeat. I dispatch the searcher and have to seek cover myself because the last remaining suppressive shooter gets a good bead on me.

 

We are not in New Vegas any more!

 

Feral Ghouls on the other hand do run over to investigate a fallen comrade. If they then spot you they run directly (but erratically) towards you without any regard for cover and personal safety. You can even shoot limbs off and they keep coming. Echoes of Monty Python here? "Come back and I'll bite you in the ankles!"

 

Beasts such as molerats and dogs will stay low and try to get under your firing arc. You have to learn to drop your shots as they approach. The dogs will even try to circle round behind you.

 

The only thing I so far dislike is the auto-spawn of hidden enemies when you either enter an area or interact with an object. I have seen radroaches emerge from an empty space, apparently crawling from the very walls themselves. Pilfering a Mirelurk nest, despite a careful search of the area is a brutal lesson in the meaning of pain. Sure I get that the little guys might pop out of the eggs, but seriously - all of them? And the parents? Where did they come from? They are huge!

 

I do hope they don't over use the "Oops, you touched the thingy, now its owner will appear and get all mad!". There were occasional uses of it in Skyrim when you opened a chest but I have found several outdoor areas where stuff happens just because you touched some junk out in the middle of nowhere. These tricks need to be used in moderation or else I will be setting a ring of frag mines before I disturb some little cameo out in the Wasteland.

 

How are you finding the AI compared to, say, F:NV and Skyrim?

[skwareballz]

Enemy AI and the major NPCs are much better. Companions other than Dogmeat are still the same.

[alt3rn1ty]

~snip~ And the parents? Where did they come from? They are huge!

 

How are you finding the AI compared to, say, F:NV and Skyrim?

Yes, the parents, aswell as eggs .. watch out for what look like slightly big mole hills in dirt with a greenish cap, thats the parents shell in the dugouts that they make to snuggle down in.

 

I agree with most of what you have to say, it is a lot better than previous games.

There are some nice surprises in store about the enemy strategy sometimes too :)

If you are anywhere near mutants and you hear a faint beeping getting closer .. RUN!

 

Anyone ever played Serious Sam :)

Edited November 14, 2015 by alt3rn1ty

[DanielCoffey]

I also have to admit I am both in awe and total disgust at the animator who did the two types of Feral Ghoul spawn-ins that I have seen so far. First there was a small group hauling themselves out of a pile of dirt and rubble, clawing their way up into the air. Then there was the set that spawned in a first-floor ruined apartment and sort of... flopped... out of the windows onto the ground! Ew!

 

Oh, and I don't know if it is simply an over-zealous RNG dice roll in the Raider Levelled List or if I had gone off the beaten track into a higher levelled area but near Corvega I encountered a raider in Raider Power Armor and his buddy with a mini-nuke! He used it too! There was me with an automatic pipe pistol and he nukes me!

 

I have to confess that the Raiders are *very* accurate with their thrown weapons. Even when throwing up at me on a clifftop they still seem to drop the Molatov right at my feet! Obviously a lot of Baseball professionals became raiders when the bombs dropped.

[Neovalen]

What difficulty are you playing on?

[DanielCoffey]

*blush* Easy... I have terrible reflexes and am finding the increased pace of combat over F:NV and Skyrim a challenge. The fact that melee critters such as ghouls, dogs and so on like to get right in my face and do it so fast is still a bit of a shock. I'll probably up it as I get more used to the challenge.

 

Oh, and the corpse of the Raider in power armour had despawned by the time I got up to where he was so I only got his mini-nuke buddy. Boy the Fat Man is a heavy weapon!

[Neovalen]

I haven't quite gotten started just yet. Getting the basics set up... INI tweaks mostly to fix some annoying issues.

[redirishlord]

I couldn't wait to start & just get a taste for Boston, it's wicked awesome (couldn't resist). While there is definitely room for improvement & polish, there is a lot to like. I'm finding the enemy AI improved, experienced both the dogs trying to flank & raiders making intelligent use of cover. Enjoyed the erupting mole rats, as did Dogmeat, get 'em boy! I'm having enough fun I'm not missing my usual OCD tweak this & that frenzy that so often keeps me from actually playing. Haven't run into enemies with nukes yet, need to find a non-melee weapon solution for that. Oh, how cool is it that Cogsworth knows to call me Deckard, now I just need to find That Gun.

[alt3rn1ty]

Oh, how cool is it that Cogsworth knows to call me Deckard, now I just need to find That Gun.

Deckard from Blade Runner ? - I guess you are going to be chasing replicants :)

[redirishlord]

I want Sparrow Prince/McFly's hoverboard though, and I think the politically correct term for the androids is "Synths" ;-) I plan on shooting them regardless.

[Guest]

I'm inclined to believe you, but when my settlers stand around all day in a circle creepily staring at each other, getting trapped under my floor and falling off roofs - I don't know. The only good thing they ever did was ring the alarm when there was an ememy near, but they kind of messed up that by all gathering around and getting stuck at the bottom of the stairs. Oh and let's not forget my trader who wonders back forth and nothing else. His Brahmin also fell out the sky once, which nearly gave me a heart attack.

Edited November 15, 2015 by Guest