Has Egosoft ever fixed the ship combat AI?

[Phier]

I've played the heck out of XR and X3, but the combat AI was awful, it would fly a capital ship the same as a fighter. XR had some good mods to fix things, X3 has less but still some, and then I gave up on the X games.

Has Egosoft gotten the memo yet or is it still braindead ship combat?

[eMYNOCK]

i see you're a non owner on steam... so.. i can't really go the route i normally would.

assuming you own the game on GoG i would point you to the latest beta and recommend trying the current game out by your self...

but.. because i do not know that you actually own it over there i really can not do that...

however... if you are on the fence.. they do have a way more relaxed refund policy over there and you may be able to still trial the game *cough* 30 days versus 2 hours *cough*

[Dunkler Messias]

In Dead by Daylight they say "It Just Works".
In X4 .. yeah, well, most of the time it works, especially if you are not nearby. But sometimes ship combat (especially destroyer vs destroyer or destroyer vs station) can get a bit infuriating.

But since you wrote "braindead" you'll be pretty much annoyed anyway.

[Zloth]

Originally posted by Phier:

I've played the heck out of XR and X3, but the combat AI was awful, it would fly a capital ship the same as a fighter.

Errr, the AI did no such thing in either of those games. How could it??

[flywlyx]

X4 capital ships are more brain dead because of the new main cannon weapon design. They are not able to fix it after 6 years so I don't really think there will be a fix.

[Chico Rodriguez]

OP: There are LOTS of mods for X4, and some help you get around AI issues. Others simply pack so much good extra stuff into the game you don't mind if there are some or not.

[flywlyx]

Originally posted by Bazooka:

Can't understand why you keep going, now for 6 years.. x)

Because I make mods myself to fix them.

[Zackhron]

You can try the stable version to see the AI but I doubt you'll find it fun if you think AI in XR and X3 are braindead. The stable version 7.10 have the most competent AI in all version. I wouldn't recommend the latest beta right now because of how buggy the AI is because of the new flight model and boost.

[Sticky]

100 times better than X3. And AI works great just need to know how to use it. Those that can't don't know how and just complain about it. But yes AI has been in constant improvement since the release, making it easier for players to understand. Some just need more practice or ask the right questions.

[Venerable_Sin]

Originally posted by flywlyx:

Originally posted by Bazooka:

Can't understand why you keep going, now for 6 years.. x)

Because I make mods myself to fix them.

Perhaps you can make a mod to fix the priority ware issue. Right now the player is not the boss of the station manager when the ware hits a specific threshold. If you could link the "turn off priority ware" U.I. with this threshold to make it null or a number that will never be reached then I would call you the savior of the X4 trading system. Also, if you could null the station capacity changing the automatic pricing, then that would be awesome too. Maybe make it a % of the total storage of the station, instead of some specific value. Maybe I want a station that has a bajillion cargo space. It will hurt that much harder when the pirates hack it.

[PeaceMaker]

Originally posted by Phier:

I've played the heck out of XR and X3, but the combat AI was awful, it would fly a capital ship the same as a fighter. XR had some good mods to fix things, X3 has less but still some, and then I gave up on the X games.

Has Egosoft gotten the memo yet or is it still braindead ship combat?

Played X3 extremely briefly (way too lifeless for me), but X4 large ships and small ships do work differently, no doubt about it. Big ships definitely don't act like small ships.

[flywlyx]

Originally posted by Sticky:

100 times better than X3. And AI works great just need to know how to use it. Those that can't don't know how and just complain about it. But yes AI has been in constant improvement since the release, making it easier for players to understand. Some just need more practice or ask the right questions.

You can't tell TEL how to use their ships:
https://youtu.be/0jxwZ_K3fzI
You can't tell XEN how to fight against me:
https://youtu.be/A_gfqs_TsdY

The problem with the AI isn’t about players finding workarounds for Egosoft’s flawed AI design—it’s that the game’s AI design itself fails to enhance gameplay. Instead, it breaks immersion and makes the game too easy.

[Pathogenic]

Egosoft has been continuously working on the ship combat AI for 6 years now. For some people, it will never reach the point where they will consider it "fixed". For others, they simply enjoy the game for what is it, and work within its limitations.

[flywlyx]

Originally posted by Pathogenic:

Egosoft has been continuously working on the ship combat AI for 6 years now. For some people, it will never reach the point where they will consider it "fixed". For others, they simply enjoy the game for what is it, and work within its limitations.

Absolutely, capital ships are simply not planed to use their main weapons effectively. Players might as well give up hope that Egosoft will fix this someday.
Comparing 2 years ago I made this video:
https://youtu.be/I66V6ExtX0E
To 7.5 beta:
https://youtu.be/D3cJfqlzCuI
The exact same issue persists, and from Egosoft’s perspective, it’s not seen as a problem but rather as an intended requirement.

Originally posted by Bazooka:

Now if the AI ships are as good as you, then there are no trading opportunities in the game. Or is it just me?

That would make escort fighters essential for trader ships, which makes more sense to me. Right now, pirates are practically useless—they don’t even know how to use EMP missiles. Egosoft eventually removed the "ignore" responses so they could harass my traders.

[Jeo Nugu]

I think the combat in the 7.50 BETA is quite good, and I'm not even that skilled at space dog fighting.

[mortis7]

Main Batteries are the source of all trouble.

I found that not equiping them is really helpful - AI captains go in range of their turrets more realiably.

The issue is, that most fought enemy is XEN, and their K's turrets will absolutely oblitarate a non-XEN destroyer. Egosoft should release a new line of capital ships that are heavy turrets designed, but it does not seem to be on their priority list, which is a shame.