Just wondering if anyone had any opinions on the best smarter AI mods?

I've tried both Arwen's smarter AI mod from http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=7565, and the http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=6860 by IAR80 and taylorsd.

Both seem to have drawback. Enemies in Arwen's module are instantly aware of you as soon as you fire a bullet, meaning, for example, you get totally ganked in Springvale High as soon as you fire a single bullet. While it makes for a frantic game as every raider in the building homes in on you, it leaves a rather boring epilogue as you roam around a now totally empty building looking for loot.

This effect is not as pronounced in Combat Enhanced, but combat in Combat Enhanced is a cakewalk: enemies go down very quickly indeed, and there's no need for VATS at all. Once you get hold of a minigun or a flamer, it's a bore.

I know Arwen's AI module is used in Fallout Wander's Edition, so it perhaps has a greater following: but does anyone know of any other good AI mods, or have an opinion on the above two mods either way?

Cheers!

I've tried both versions of CEP and Arwen's Smarter AI. A short 2 page discussion of FO3 AI as well as my review of CEP can be found http://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=1032257&st=20. But to summarize, while CEP is a good attempt to address the issue of FO3 combat AI, it does not actually produce smarter AI, just simulates the illusion. With certain tactics, NPCs actually become dumber and easier to kill in CEP than in vanilla game. So my vote is for Arwen's SAI (which I currently use). Regarding sneaking: Arwen's SAI does not nerf sneaking, it makes sneaking a skill worth mastering rather than allowing anyone with a few points in sneaking to run around like they are invisible. In the latest version of Arwen's SAI, with 100 sneaking, stealth suit, and silenced weapons, you can still pick off enemies without getting detected (as long as you don't mess up your shots). Basically, it means you have to put some real points into sneaking in order to really make use of the skill.

Thanks Ripple!

Interesting to read Arwen adapted CEP for her smarter AI module.

Just to clarify: it's not the sneaking being tweaked I don't really like, it's the fact an entire building descends on you when you start a fire-fight, leaving you an empty building 10 seconds later. Makes complete sense if you're after realism, though, I do get that, but an empty building isn't really all that threatening!

Ripple, do you use any other of Arwen's modules together with smarter AI? I'm don't want to use them all, but Arwen DOES mention in her post: 'My Smarter AI module is meant to be used with all my other Tweaks, but can be used by itself (but with much different results)'. I wonder exactly what Arwen may mean when she says 'different results'? Reading through http://amito.freehostia.com/Fallout/FO-mods04.htm, I can't imagine her other tweaks would make THAT much of a difference to, specifically, AI behaviour.

It may look that way at first, but in actuality, the NPCs that converge on you are all in the same cell. If you think about what kind of noise gunfire and combat makes, it does make sense in terms of "realism", which is what Arwen's SAI sets out to deliver. Maybe your character's level is still fairly low, so there isn't a larger spawn in Springfield Elementary. But if there are NPCs in the upstair cell and the basemant cell, they won't be affected. But yes, Arwen's SAI definitely makes the game harder.



I only use the SAI module. Main reason being that I use about 100+ mods, including FOOK2, and her other modules are not compatible. It works well in my setup. I did make some minor edits to 2 of her other modules ("Less is More" and "Localized Damage") to make them compatible with my mod list, but after playing with them a bit I felt that the AI module was the only one that I really needed. Whether her other modules will work with your setup depends on which mods you are also using. You can check for conflicts with FO3Edit.

Ripple did a great job at explaining what it is like using my Smarter AI module (Thanks Ripple!), but I can probably explain this last part better than anyone.

My Realism Tweaks is mainly about improving two things: Balance and Immersion (but from a RPG perspective).

This is a single cohesive mod that I broke up into modules because it makes it easier for me to work on the different areas of game play. The modules are all independent, in that they will work without any other module, but they are also dependent on each other for the total game play balance. If you decide not to use my Full Tweaks, that's your option, but your game will not be balanced in the same way as mine is. This is sort of difficult to explain, but just about every mod that changes game play also affects game balance . . . and some mods should not be used together, because doing so really messes up this balance. For instance, if you install a mod that adds weight to ammo, and then install another mod that greatly increases your carrying capacity, the effects of the first mod will be totally nerfed. That's what happens with my Realism Tweaks all the time . . . users activate only one or two of my modules and then add other mods that totally throw the balance off . . . and then they complain that my mod is not working right, or that it 'broke' their game.

There is no AI in computer games, since Artificial Intelligence does not exist outside of science fiction (unless some government agency has figured it out, and are not sharing it with the rest of us). So all games only have a simulated AI, which is nothing more than a bunch of static responses, that are combined with routines that track the player's behavior. All my Smarter AI module does is change a bunch of values for a bunch of game settings that affect distance, timing, and response to many of the combat/search calculations. But my Smarter AI module is only a small part of my Realism Tweaks . . . it only changes 178 records, while my Full Tweaks changes 1326 records, and all 1326 of these changes are meant to work together. The thing about changing most of the game play settings is that a small change to one part of the game can have a major affect on some other part of the game, even if the two do not seem to be related. So, when I tweak an NPC search distance value, I often also have to tweak a PC sneak value. I used to have separate Sneak and SmarterAI modules, until I discovered how intertwined the two were. The same is true of every other module, but to lesser degrees.

Every one of my modules not only affects the PC, it also affects the NPCs and Creatures. So you're going to see very different AI behavior, if you're just using my SmarterAI module. This is especially true for my Survival module, which has a huge effect on the AI behavior . . . in many ways, it changes more than the Smarter AI module does. And my Survival module is closely tied to my Main Tweaks module, my Armor module, and my Weapons module. And my Weapons and Armor modules are closely tied to my Localized Damage module.

It's all about balance. The best game play balance with my Realism Tweaks is when you use all the modules (my Full Tweaks esp), and you're going to lose a bit of this balance for every module that you do not use.

I've tried a lot of the AI changes - there was one called Better Tactics at one point (cannot find it anymore) and I think XFO also had one....

But I like Arwen's as well. I put it last in the load order to make sure it isn't overwritten by anything (including Martigen's hunting-looting just in case) and I find it to be excellent.

Add in a mod that takes away npc markers on the compass and you have a great game! It is silly to talk about tactics imho when you can look to the left and see a mini-radar that basically tells you where everyone is hiding and located.

My game feels radically different with Arwen's and the npc remover mod for the compass.

J