Hey everyone! I finished the last entry in my A.I. overhaul video trilogy and it is about the most juicy topic in my eyes so far: Combat A.I.!
As you might know already, there are two types of combat in BattleJuice Alchemist: close and ranged combat. Close combat is fought in 1 on 1 fights with slow motions. Ranged combat is fought from classic action RPG top-down view, except with a bit more kiting. The overhaul I worked on is that of the ranged combat.
I connected the combat A.I. to the enemies' wellbeing, which I explained before in the need-driven behavior video. Enemies now have various states of aggressivity and act accordingly. They also alarm each other, work together to give the player some real trouble and got a new sprinting ability. I also added some UI that telegraphs the attack an enemy plans to execute so the player can react accoringly.
To raise the stakes even more, enemies now level up themselves. In BattleJuice Alchemist's story, the world is overrun by spirits from a realm called the Crossroads. They possess animals and humans and are lead by demons that spawn under certain conditions. Now, enemies who defeat the player in close combat get promoted to demons.
Check out the full video breakdown, if you are interested:
If you liked this sneak peak, make sure to have a look at the dozen of other videos about the development of BattleJuice Alchemist on YouTube.
If you want to get an even more hands on with the development, make sure to hop by on the Discord server.
Thank you for supporting me making BattleJuice Alchemist!
Alain