You want to create a human feeling using AI, but AI is not needed for the feelings you want to create. All you really want is a feeling of variety and surprise in the way computer opponents behave. A LLM-level of AI might just do the same thing all the time and become quite boring.
And yet, that argument I just made often bothers me, because I do think there is a place for strong AI in games, and many people just reflexively say "strong AI wouldn't be fun". I think they are partly right, but I also think a strong AI that is purposely dumbed down in fun ways could be really enjoyable.
When it comes to shooters though, those games aren't really about competition and decisions, they are about giving the human player an experience. I do think strong AI is overkill in such situations.
A strong AI for chess absolutely improves chess computer games.
A strong AI for a Magic: The Gathering style card battler would improve the game.
A strong AI for Civilization would improve the game, but I think we're starting to get into a realm where you can fake some things. I do think Civilization games are lacking because of poor AI, but I don't know that we need LLM-levels of AI in Civilization.
Again, in shooters, there's no decision, no illusion of fair play or equal competition based on making decisions, it's all about the human experience, and so LLM-level AIs aren't needed here at all.
> You want to create a human feeling using AI, but AI is not needed for the feelings you want to create.
> When it comes to shooters though, those games aren't really about competition and decisions, they are about giving the human player an experience. I do think strong AI is overkill in such situations.
> Again, in shooters, there's no decision, no illusion of fair play or equal competition based on making decisions, it's all about the human experience, and so LLM-level AIs aren't needed here at all.
No, playing against humans absolutely sucks to an untold level for me - because more often than not at some point it ends up being about who has better aim or reaction times and I lose like most of those.
Stuff like that makes everything from CS, Valorant, Battlefield, Wardogs, Active Matter, Tarkov, ABI, Insurgency Sandstorm and any other shooter game unplayable. Meanwhile purely skulking around corners is no fun and also sucks, because that still doesn't resolve the imbalance, and that's after over a thousand hours and sometimes with SBMM and all. Teamwork can't really fix that, even when I tried playing a healer in Valorant friendlies would get taken out, I'd get picked off, round over, we lose.
What I really want is AI that is worse at aiming than I am but is more numerous and makes up for it with numbers and utilizing those numbers well with tactics. Games like FEAR and Trepang2 and Incursion Red River evoke that feeling, but could definitely be made even better in that regard! It would be strong not because of sniping me from across the map like a lazily made bot, but rather because there'd be grenades going out in my direction, they'd use cover well and suppress me while some others push from the flank, not just rush me with godlike aim.
That is before you consider playing online being a minefield (especially in Eastern European servers), it's a coin flip whether someone in Wardogs will be trying to flip choppers or AFK bot at base, or whether they'll decide that being annoying and sharing the best slurs they know is what they want to do today. It seems like there's a narrow band between tryhards who berate you for not playing good enough and people who are just trolling. I don't want that kind of hit or miss experience, ever. It's even the same with Arma RP servers (like Altis Life, the idea is cool) when I tried those - you'd be able to make money by mining and processing ores or whatever for a bit, until someone would randomly shoot you for no real reason.
Perseverance might be the drive missing from those bots.