players by being more powerful and numerous than the player character.
Creating a challenging AI for a real-time strategy game likeStarCraftis an entirely
more difficult proposition. The expectation in games of this sort is that players are com-
peting with opponents equivalent to them in strength. In your average real-time
strategy game, both sides have a large number of troops to manipulate and the ability to
build more as needed. Both sides usually need to mine a resource of some kind and use
that to build more structures or troops. Basically, the AI in an RTS has to do everything
players do and seem smart while doing it. Often the AI is given an advantage by being
able to see the entire level while the players cannot, and possibly having a larger num-
ber of starting units, an easier method for obtaining more, or a bigger pool of resources
from which to draw. Nonetheless, creating a challenge for players in an RTS game is
quite difficult since it requires the AI to coordinate the movement of the units beyond
the individual unit level, making the units appear to work collaboratively, as players
would use them.
The difficulties presented in creating a challenging AI for an RTS game are only
magnified in a turn-based strategy game such asAlpha Centauri. Here the AI is sup-
posed to operate just as players do. Of course turn-based strategy games are some of
the most thought-intensive games available, so that only amplifies the problem of creat-
ing a compelling opponent AI. Furthermore, the computer does not get to benefit as
much from its extremely fast processing power; since the game is turn-based, players
have as long to think about a move as they like. The computer’s analytical nature does
give it a leg up on remembering the exact status of all the units it has at its command, an
ability at which human minds are significantly less skilled. Often turn-based strategy
AIs create a challenge for players by cheating in various subtle ways, though I would
certainly be the last to accuse any particular game of doing so. In the end, I certainly
have no problem with such a tactic, since the end goal is to challenge the player without
appearing too unfair in the process.
Chapter 9: Artificial Intelligence 155
Developing a
challenging AI for a
turn-based strategy
game such asAlpha
Centaurican be quite
difficult since the
player is supposed to
be fighting opponents
with roughly the same
strengths and weak-
nesses as himself.