December 2024 - Zone Nine Nihilation - Week 1 + 2 + 3 + 4
Last updated
Last updated
In December, we dedicated our efforts to enhancing the AI Companion system and refining zombie behaviors to provide players with greater control over both their AI partners and the challenges they face. These updates were inspired by player feedback and our commitment to creating a more dynamic and customizable gaming experience. The improvements are categorized into two primary areas: AI Bots and Zombies.
Why It Was Needed
Players expressed a strong desire for more control over their AI companions to better align with their individual playstyles. Whether preferring aggressive allies who engage enemies head-on or defensive partners who focus on protection, customization was essential to enhance strategic depth and player satisfaction.
Decision-Making Process
After gathering extensive player feedback and analyzing diverse gameplay strategies, we identified the need to offer adjustable AI behaviors. This would enable players to tailor their AI companions to match their preferred approach, whether that’s direct confrontation, strategic defense, or a balanced mix of both.
Implementation Process
We developed an intuitive in-game interface that allows players to select behavior types for their AI companions. Each behavior type influences how bot interacts with enemies and teammates.
Additionally, we introduced specific settings to fine-tune AI behavior:
Bot Aim Skill: Players can choose between Easy, Medium, and Cheat levels to adjust the bots’ shooting accuracy.
Bot Action Frequency: Options include Slow, Medium, and Frequently, determining how often AI companions perform actions.
Bot Drop Quantity: Settings are Many, Normal, and Few, adjusting the number of items bots drop upon defeat.
Bot Stamina: Players can set stamina levels to Low, Medium, or Max, affecting AI endurance and combat effectiveness.
Challenges Faced
Balancing AI behaviors to ensure they are effective yet not overpowering was challenging. We had to fine-tune the decision-making algorithms so that AI companions act consistently with their selected behavior without disrupting the game’s flow or making the experience feel scripted.
Outcome
Players now experience a more personalized and strategic gameplay environment. The ability to customize AI behaviors has led to increased engagement and satisfaction, as players can create teams that complement their unique strategies and enhance their overall gaming experience.
Why It Was Needed:
To enhance the survival experience, players sought more control over zombie attributes such as health, numbers, damage, and aggression levels. Additionally, there was a demand for greater flexibility in gameplay modes, allowing players to choose between a combined PvPvE (Player vs. Player vs. Environment) experience or a PvP-only (Player vs. Player) mode. Adjusting these parameters and gameplay modes allows for a more tailored and immersive gameplay environment, catering to both relaxed and intense challenges.
Decision-Making Process:
We aimed to provide players with the ability to customize zombie attributes to create varying levels of challenge and realism. Furthermore, recognizing the diverse preferences of our player base, we decided to introduce options that allow players to enable or disable zombies and choose between PvPvE and PvP-only modes. This comprehensive customization ensures that players can fine-tune the difficulty and nature of their gameplay experience to match their desired survival or competitive focus.
Implementation Process:
We implemented the following adjustable zombie settings and gameplay mode options: Zombie Settings:
Zombie HP:
Low: Zombies have reduced health, making them easier to eliminate.
Medium: Standard zombie health for balanced gameplay.
High: Increased zombie health, enhancing their durability and threat level.
Zombie Number:
Adjusted from 30% to 200%, allowing players to scale the number of zombies present in each match.
Zombie Damage:
Modified from 30% to 200%, affecting the severity of injuries players sustain during encounters.
Zombie Aggression:
Passive: Zombies have a limited vision range (10 meters) and a lower percentage of zombies that will chase players to death.
Normal: Standard vision range (20 meters) with a moderate percentage of zombies engaging in relentless pursuit.
Aggressive: Extended vision range (30 meters) and a higher percentage (30%) of zombies that will aggressively chase and attack players.
Gameplay Mode Options:
Enable Zombies:
Yes: Players engage in a PvPvE environment where they must survive against both zombies and rival player squads.
No: Players participate in a PvP-only mode, focusing solely on competing against other player squads without the threat of zombies.
Select Gameplay Mode:
PvPvE (Player vs. Player vs. Environment): Combines competitive player interactions with environmental challenges posed by zombie hordes.
PvP (Player vs. Player): Focuses exclusively on player competition, allowing for more strategic and skill-based matches without environmental threats.
Additional Implementation Details:
User Interface Enhancements: Introduced intuitive UI elements that allow players to easily toggle zombie presence and select their preferred gameplay mode before starting a match.
Matchmaking Adjustments: Updated the matchmaking system to account for selected gameplay modes, ensuring that players are matched with others who have similar preferences for PvPvE or PvP-only experiences.
Balancing Settings: Carefully calibrated zombie attributes and gameplay mode parameters to maintain game balance. Ensured that disabling zombies in PvP mode provides a distinct and competitive experience separate from PvPvE gameplay.
Challenges:
Balancing the additional gameplay mode options alongside existing zombie customization settings was challenging. We had to ensure that enabling or disabling zombies did not disrupt the overall game balance and that each mode provided a unique and enjoyable experience. Additionally, integrating these options into the user interface without causing clutter required thoughtful design and iterative testing.
Outcome:
The customizable zombie settings, combined with the new gameplay mode options, offer players unprecedented control over their survival challenges and competitive experiences. By tailoring zombie health, numbers, damage, and aggression, as well as choosing between PvPvE and PvP-only modes, players can create unique and varied gameplay experiences that cater to their preferred difficulty levels and strategic approaches. This flexibility has significantly enhanced player engagement and satisfaction, allowing Zone 9 Nihilation to appeal to a broader range of playstyles and preferences.
Why It Was Needed
Players desired comprehensive control over both AI companions and zombie attributes to create personalized and balanced gameplay experiences. Preset configurations offer a streamlined way to adjust multiple settings simultaneously, catering to diverse player preferences.
Decision-Making Process
To accommodate the need for extensive customization, we decided to implement preset configurations that encompass a range of adjustable parameters for both AI companions and zombies. This approach allows players to easily select a desired difficulty level while still having the option to fine-tune specific settings as needed.
Implementation Process
We developed three Bot Difficulty Presets: Easy, Medium, and Hard. Each preset applies a comprehensive set of settings that affect both AI companions and zombies:
Easy Preset:
Bot Aim Skill: Easy
Bot Action Frequency: Slow
Bot Drop Quantity: Many
Bot Stamina: Low
Zombie HP: Low
Zombie Number: 30%
Zombie Damage: 30%
Zombie Aggression: Passive
Medium Preset:
Bot Aim Skill: Medium
Bot Action Frequency: Medium
Bot Drop Quantity: Normal
Bot Stamina: Medium
Zombie HP: Medium
Zombie Number: 100%
Zombie Damage: 100%
Zombie Aggression: Normal
Hard Preset:
Bot Aim Skill: Cheat
Bot Action Frequency: Frequently
Bot Drop Quantity: Few
Bot Stamina: Max
Zombie HP: High
Zombie Number: 200%
Zombie Damage: 200%
Zombie Aggression: Aggressive
These presets provide a balanced starting point for players, ensuring that the game remains challenging yet fair. Additionally, players can further customize individual settings within each preset to tailor their experience even more precisely.
Challenges Faced
Balancing the presets to ensure that each difficulty level offers a distinct and enjoyable experience without being too extreme was challenging. We needed to ensure that the presets provide meaningful differences in gameplay while maintaining overall game balance and fairness.
Outcome
The preset configurations have been well-received by players, offering an accessible way to adjust multiple game settings simultaneously. This feature enhances the game’s flexibility, allowing players to quickly select a preferred difficulty level or customize specific aspects to create their ideal survival scenario. The presets contribute to increased replayability and player engagement by accommodating a wide range of playstyles and preferences.
Balance Updates: We’ve fine-tuned zombie behavior and AI bot interactions to ensure better balance and synergy across different gameplay scenarios.
UI Fixes: The issue with the disappearing mouse cursor in preset level screens has been resolved, enhancing the overall user interface experience.
Performance Improvements: By reducing unnecessary processes, we’ve optimized the game flow for better performance and a smoother overall experience.
Why it is needed:
To further enhance the realism and strategic depth of AI companions, allowing them to interact more dynamically with the game environment is essential. This capability will enable AI to utilize environmental elements tactically, improving their effectiveness and providing players with more engaging gameplay.
Decision-making process:
We have identified that expanding AI interaction capabilities will significantly benefit gameplay by making AI companions more intelligent and adaptive. This decision was based on player feedback and our vision to create a more immersive and dynamic gaming experience.
Implementation process:
We plan to develop and integrate new behavior algorithms that allow AI companions to interact with various environmental elements, such as climbing obstacles, swimming across water bodies, and using objects for tactical advantages. Additionally, we aim to enhance AI resource management, enabling companions to make autonomous decisions regarding ammunition and resource usage during combat.
Expectations:
Improved AI Adaptability: AI companions will be able to respond more intelligently to changing environmental conditions, making strategic use of the terrain and available resources.
Enhanced Combat Effectiveness: By interacting with the environment, AI companions can provide better support in combat situations, such as using cover more effectively or accessing higher ground for tactical advantages.
Increased Player Engagement: More dynamic AI behavior is expected to create a more immersive and engaging gameplay experience, as players will have more reliable and intelligent partners in survival scenarios.
Why it is needed:
To ensure that AI companions can manage resources like ammunition and health more efficiently, thereby contributing to more sustainable and strategic gameplay.
Decision-making process:
Recognizing the impact of resource management on both AI behavior and overall game balance, we decided to implement enhancements that allow AI to make more autonomous and intelligent decisions regarding resource usage.
Implementation process:
We plan to develop systems that enable AI companions to monitor their resource levels and make decisions on when to reload, conserve ammo, or seek out additional resources. This will involve creating algorithms that assess combat situations and prioritize resource management accordingly.
Expectations:
Autonomous Resource Decisions: AI companions will independently decide when to reload or conserve ammunition based on the current combat scenario, reducing the need for player micromanagement.
Sustained Combat Readiness: Enhanced resource management will allow AI companions to remain effective in prolonged combat situations, maintaining their support throughout extended battles.
Balanced Gameplay: Efficient resource management by AI will contribute to a more balanced and realistic gameplay experience, ensuring that AI companions remain reliable without overshadowing player efforts.
Why it is needed:
To allow AI companions to employ more sophisticated tactics during combat, enhancing the overall challenge and strategic elements of the game.
Decision-making process:
Based on the need to elevate the strategic depth of combat encounters, we decided to implement advanced tactical behaviors that enable AI companions to perform coordinated and intelligent actions.
Implementation process:
We plan to develop and integrate advanced combat tactics for AI companions, such as flanking enemies, setting up ambushes, and executing coordinated team maneuvers. This will involve enhancing the AI’s decision-making algorithms to recognize and respond to dynamic combat situations more effectively.
Expectations:
Coordinated Team Maneuvers: AI companions will be able to perform coordinated actions, such as flanking enemies or providing suppressive fire, enhancing team-based combat strategies.
Dynamic Combat Responses: AI companions will adapt their tactics based on the flow of battle, responding to threats and opportunities in real-time to maintain combat effectiveness.
Increased Challenge: Advanced AI tactics will provide players with more challenging and unpredictable combat encounters, requiring them to continuously adapt their strategies.
Why it is needed:
To make the AI more aware of their surroundings and capable of interacting with environmental elements, improving their tactical decision-making.
Decision-making process:
We aim to create a more immersive and realistic AI behavior by enabling AI companions to interact with the environment in meaningful ways. This decision aligns with our goal to enhance the strategic depth and immersion of the game.
Implementation process:
Plans include developing AI behaviors that allow companions to use environmental objects for cover, climb structures for better vantage points, and interact with objects to gain tactical advantages during combat. This will involve integrating environmental awareness into the AI’s decision-making processes.
Expectations:
Strategic Use of Cover: AI companions will utilize environmental cover more effectively, enhancing their survivability and tactical positioning during combat.
Enhanced Tactical Advantages: By interacting with environmental elements, AI companions can gain tactical advantages, such as accessing higher ground or using objects as weapons or shields.
Improved Immersion: Increased environmental interaction will contribute to a more immersive gameplay experience, as AI companions behave in a more lifelike and strategic manner.