[Shifty Geezer]

Originally Posted by Arwin

Also, your comments play to the too much story in modern games bit.

Yes, I noticed the crossover. The idea of opening up variables for local coop to eveolve extends to the solo experience too. By all means create the uber cinematic super story game extravaganza, but then let the player just play with the game mechanics after that to have fun expeiences. It seems a very cheap way to add value to a game to me.

[fearsomepirate]

I think there's a unifying theme here--developers need to let gamers play the way we want to play instead of trying to force the gamers to play the way they think we ought to play. There are so many examples of developers failing to do this and not being responsive to gamers. An example of more or less doing it right is the COD series, which has been steadily increasing rather than decreasing the ways you can play and responding to consumer behavior since early on.

[tuna]

Originally Posted by fearsomepirate

I'm not sure what you think "use vehicles" means, tuna.

You know, you can make an AI do almost anything. Telling it what loadouts to use on a given map is probably the easiest part, you just encode the variables in the map file. Or you just tell the bots to randomly choose kits and let things happen as they may.

I'm also not sure where you're getting this idea that programming an AI to have certain conditions where it uses or stops using a vehicle is an insurmountable task. They did it in BF2 and BF2142. The AI in Just Cause 2 can do it. There are user mods for Tribes 2 where the bots will use the vehicles.

Of course the AI isn't human. You'll always find something you can do that it hasn't been programmed to do. But it's not necessary for an AI to be humanly clever in order to be functional in a game.

Well, it seems to be a lot of work for the core engineering people at least.

[Acert93]

Originally Posted by tuna

Do they enter/exit vehicles? Do they change loadout based on the map?

Yes, they have to run slowly to a vehicle just like you--and when you have their vehicle near death they often try to bail, just like a normal newb

As for load outs, '42/DC had 5 load out slots and they used them all. Now they are dumb AI so they were not the best at selection but you would have snipers and anti-armor, etc and they would use all the vehicles.

[Arwin]

Incidentally I played the full version of Foosball on PS3 today and it does support local same screen 4 player.

I can't recommend this one enough if you have Move controllers, just great fun.