[Dune 2] Harder AI Mod/Fix

MrFlibble · Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2006 4:19 pm Post subject: [Dune 2] Harder AI Mod/Fix

I did this about a half year ago, when I was playing around with some Dune 2 scenario editors. One of the programs' authors had found that the original scenario *.ini files contained a syntax error that prevented the AI from building large teams of units. Almost every scenario file contains a team section that looks like this:

Code:

[TEAMS]
1=Harkonnen,Kamikaze,Foot,4,6
2=Harkonnen,Kamikaze,Track,6,8
3=Harkonnen,Normal,Wheel,5,7

But actually, it should look like:

Code:

[TEAMS]
1=Harkonnen,Kamikaze,Foot,4,6
2=Harkonnen,Kamikaze,Tracked,6,8
3=Harkonnen,Normal,Wheeled,5,7

This is because the "Tracked" and "Wheeled" are the correct tags for units built in Light and Heavy Factories respectively. This misspelling caused the AI to simply send every newly-built vehicle in the direction of the enemy base. Obviously, the game difficulty was decreased by this.

However, the editor program author (Shagrath) didn't bother to fix this error himself, so I thought, why not do it? In the process of manually editing every scenario file, I have achieved the following results:
- a smarter and more powerful AI that forms teams of vehicles that it sends against you, instead of single units;
- you can now buy ornithopters via the Starport in the last two missions - this feature was also missing due to a syntax error;
- some scenarios that had a unit limit lower than 25 were fixed;
- the scenario files have been optimized by removing extra blank and obsolete strings.

In addition, I have decided to create and advanced version of the fix/mod that would further increase game difficulty and add some challenge. It contains such changes as:
- the player's max unit cap has been raised to 50;
- in missions where starport is available, the number of each unit-type in stock at CHOAM has been doubled;
- the computer players' max unit cap has been raised to 35;
- the amount of credits given to the computer players at the start of each mission has been significantly increased to give the AI an advantage over the player.

EDIT: Removed the package as it has now become obsolete. A new version of the fix is included in the Dune II patch I have compiled, which is downloadable here: http://forum.dune2k.com/index.php?topic=21532.0

dune20080qz.png

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An Ordos tank platoon pushing through Harkonnen defenses.

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