Rome: Total War - A Comprehensive Overview of AI Tactics and Game Mechanics
Rome: Total War is a hybrid real-time tactical and turn-based strategy game featuring 20 factions, 11 cultures, and over 100 unit types across 10,000 unique battlefields. The AI offers fast and scalable combat simulations, with units reacting realistically to their environment. However, it lacks learning capabilities and tactical innovations, as enemies follow predictable patterns. City management involves diplomacy, taxes, and strategic planning, but the AI struggles with long-term strategy and pathfinding. Improvements to AI learning could enhance replayability.
Rome: Total War - A Comprehensive Overview of AI Tactics and Game Mechanics
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Presentation Transcript
Rome: Total War Mark Maratea CIS588 Winter 05 14 FEB 2005
Game Overview • Rome: Total War is a hybrid real-time tactical (RTT) and turn-based strategy (TBS) game. • The game contains 20 factions, 11 distinct cultures, and over 100 types of units, over 10,000 unique battlefields
AI Overview • Tactical (Combat screen) • Unit deployment, formations • Unit movement, morale, retreat/flee • Each soldiers has its own AI. • Strategic • City Management (Taxes, Buildings, Training) • Diplomacy, Spies, Assassins • Senate missions • Over land unit movement
AI Techniques • Tactical • Culture based rule-based system (expert system) • Flocking • No evident learning • Some Fuzzy logic • Pathfinding
AI Techniques • Strategic • Simple rule based for where to send units, what buildings to build, etc • Possibly some fuzzy logic for which units to train (hard to test) • A* pathfinding (overall very basic terrain)
Tools • No information was available.
Strengths • AI is very fast and scalable – able to simulate over 10,000 individuals in one battle. • Realistic unit actions – units react to their surroundings/situations as you would expect.
Weaknesses • No learning – enemy reacts the same way each time. No tactical innovations. • No long term strategy – enemy will sacrifice long term growth for no reason (ie. makes too many troops in a town, depleting the population.) • Diplomacy makes very little sense. • Tactical pathfinding issues – unit stacking
Assessment • The AI is significantly better than the previous installments (Shogun and Medieval) but still has a way to go. • A learning system would greatly improve the AI’s battle performance and extend the replayability. • Overall, the AI adds to the game’s enjoyment.
