Possibly odd question, I'm trying to prepare to write my undergraduate thesis next year and I'm going to do it on creating battle AIs. Is there any chance I could possibly ask about how the battle system AI in 'in stars and time' works? Totally okay if not or if you're busy!
I'm just especially interested in the design decisions that go behind how especially smaller games handle enemies and creat fun/well weighted battles :D
(all the screencaps will be in JPN because I am currently working on the JPN version ok!!!)
i would love to talk about battle AI and this definitely didn't turn into a "this is how I think about random enemies for In Stars and Time which you should wishlist and play the demo of" just deal with it ok
ok so first I gotta explain how RPGMaker's AI works.
You can give skills to enemies, and you can tell them 1. Conditions, aka when to do a certain skill (always? only on certain turns? only if under a certain state? only if under 50%HP?) and 2. Ratings, aka how high that skill is on the action list.
So for example, this is a Paper Tristesse's attack patterns:
Paper Tristesse's [Paper] attack (which attacks only one target) is set to Always, so they'll always have the possibility to do this attack. [Paper (All)] (which targets the whole party) will be activated only if Tristesse's HP is under 50%, and [Does Something] (which actually just... gives a line of dialogue and nothing else) also always has the possibility to happen. BUT those Rating numbers are different- the higher the number, the more likely that skill is to be activated. So [Paper] happens pretty often, [Paper (All)] less often, and only if Tristesse's HP is under 50%, and [Does Something] is even less likely to happen than both of those.
Paper Tristesse doesn't have a whole lot of attacks, because it's easier for the player so they can keep track of what attacks the enemy has, and it's easier for me. So I don't have. To figure out a whole damn complicated AI when this works great (some other enemies have very long lists of patterns but they're spoilers ok!!!)
(sidenote: [Does Something] is here to give a tiny bit of worldbuilding (how does the Tristesse act?) and to make the enemy skip a turn, giving the player some room to breathe and plan. So sometimes instead of attacking Tristesse goes "(Tristesse is distracted.)" I'm being so nice to players)
This simple pattern of 3 attacks is used by enemies that my producer calls "Goomba enemies", which are random encounters that are supposed to be very simple and not time intensive for the player! For the demo, Tristesse enemies are Goombas, and the triplets (seen below)/Rancoeur+Amertume encounters are made to be slightly harder and ask you to think a lil bit.
(oooh what's the difference between those three lil ladies?????)
The way I'm thinking about random enemies is, they should all teach the player something. Basic Tristesse enemies are here to teach you about the basics of Rock Paper Scissors and have pretty low stakes (just one weak enemy to focus on! Not a lot of attacks to keep track of!), the triplets are here to teach you that HEY WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THOSE THREE SEEMINGLY IDENTICAL ENEMIES DO YOU GET WHAT YOU SHOULD LOOK AT YET (it's their hands, because they do different hand signs depending on their RPS type), and Rancoeur+Amertume are here to teach you about enemies with different goals/patterns (Rancoeur buffs, Amertume attacks), and also that enemies can buff themselves, and also about player priorities to a certain extent- which one to focus on first??? And learning those things are useful against bosses and midbosses!
tldr: rpgmaker's AI is pretty simple and so my enemy AI is also pretty simple but it works well so it's perfect. for me ✨
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Natural Satellite [ch 12]
An In Stars and Time AU. In ch 12, Loop returns to the House. You can start from the beginning here.
When you reach the kitchen, your stardust balks in the doorway, eyeing that stupid blinding countertop.
You sigh. “I’ll get it.”
“...Would you?”
“Don’t feel bad,” you tell them, patting their head with all the condescension you can muster. Which is a lot. “Not everyone can be as graceful as yours truly.”
Then you saunter up the aisle and—
—hit your hip on the kitchen counter.
Oh, okay. Haha! Okay!! You’re going to kill yourself!!!!
[spoiler warning for all conceivable endgame spoilers, including the secret end]
Whaa~aat are you doing here? Haha… What are you doing here. Literally why would you ever, ever, ever come back here? You did this already. You played this game and lost. It’s someone else’s turn.
Oh, you were bored? Re~eally? You were bored and lonely and so blinding pathetic that you’d agree to play pretend with a lot of vacant husks of the people you failed? The family you abandoned? A lot of stupid ugly strangers who don’t even recognize you? And that seemed like a good idea?
Stars. It’s the worst joke you ever told. And as usual, you’re the punchline.
A colossal hand rears up from the shadows. Absently, you just attack it. There’s no satisfaction in watching it shudder and fall. No pleasure in hearing your stupid stardust’s stupid Kid marvel at your strength. The whole performance is almost as empty as you are.
That idiot understudy even tried to give you your— their dagger. “I don’t really need it,” he said, shuffling his feet. “I’m pretty strong now.”
Of course you laughed in their face. You weren’t even trying to make them feel small. It was just so blinding funny.
There’s someone saying something. More sepulchral whispers from the ghosts you left to die. Talking to them at the Tree was bad enough, but seeing them in the House is—well, it’s just hilarious. It’s so funny you could cry. You remember how they used to wail and moan every time you drove your blade into your throat. Would they cry for you now?
(Stupid. Of course they wouldn’t. Who could cry over a stranger?)
“You’re pretty strong,” the Fighter tells you, grudging, after you one-hit another Rancoeur, and you nearly fling yourself into the nearest Tear. But what would be the point? You’re already living your worst nightmare.
The ghost of your Fighter is the one who hates you the most. Isn’t that funny? Isn’t it hilarious? He took to you so quickly once. He thought you were sooooo~ cute. In all fairness, you definitely were. And you used to wear a lot more… clothes. But your surface isn’t exactly solid, nowadays. If you tried to put a hat on, you’re not sure if you’d set it on fire or if it would just fall straight through you. Not that you want to wear a hat. You have no one left to hide from.
Slapstick is a little low-brow for you, anyway.
But these actors are a bunch of hacks. They don’t even remember their lines! You have half a mind to fill in for them. A call and response between you and your understudy. Practically a one-man show! So high-concept!! So avante-garde!!
The only problem is, audiences never like a one-man show. Normal people find them inaccessible. Masturbatory. Pathetic.
But you knew that already, didn’t you.
When you reach the kitchen, your stardust balks in the doorway, eyeing that stupid blinding countertop.
You sigh. “I’ll get it.”
“...Would you?”
“Don’t feel bad,” you tell them, patting their head with all the condescension you can muster. Which is a lot. “Not everyone can be as graceful as yours truly.”
Then you saunter up the aisle and—
—hit your hip on the kitchen counter.
Oh, okay. Haha! Okay!! You’re going to kill yourself!!!!
* * *
Running the House goes a lot more smoothly with Loop around. They’re remarkably efficient. Sort of alarmingly efficient, actually. Not for the first time, you find yourself wondering what their deal is. And not for the first time, you find yourself strangely reluctant to think too hard about it.
When you get to Euphrasie’s office, Madame Odile spends about ten minutes enraptured by a lot of boring paperwork before you gather the courage to mumble, “Um. Madame? Are you almost finished?”
“Absolutely not,” she says briskly. “Honestly, this organizational system is in shambles. Who in their right mind would put expense reports in the same file as enrollment rates? What’s the common thread there? ‘The letter E?’”
Mirabelle giggles. “My roommate says the same thing.”
You don’t want to interrupt, but… “Is this, um. Do you think you might want to help her organize after we beat the King, though?”
Odile barks a laugh. “I’m no one’s secretary. This isn’t altruism, Siffrin, it’s research. I’m looking for any more information that she might have tucked away on Wish Craft. You know. The thing that might actually free you from an eternity of torment?”
“Check under ‘water bills,’” Loop suggests. “Or ‘waste management.’”
Madame Odile actually snickers.
“Okay, but…” You huff a breath. “It’s just. The rock trap will go off if anyone leaves, but I’ve still got some keys to collect… and if we take too long, we’ll be pretty hungry by the time we reach the King…”
“Understood,” she sighs. Then she rolls up her sleeves. “Isabeau!”
He salutes smartly. “M’dame!!”
“Pull out this drawer,” she tells him, nodding at it. “And this one, too. We’ll bring them with us to the library. That is where we’re headed next, no?”
“Well, yes, but—”
“Then that’s our first move,” she says firmly. “We can discuss next steps once we’ve resituated.”
But when you get to the library, she gets right back to work.
“Madame,” you sigh. “Weren’t we going to—”
“Oh, absolutely not. This is only because of that trap.” She quirks an eyebrow at you. “If we have other business to attend to, I’m quite sure we can accomplish it in teams, now that we’ve picked up an extra pair of hands.”
Oh. Weird. From your perspective, Loop’s been with you the whole time.
You frown at her. “You think we should split up?”
“Well, there’s no risk anymore, is there? Apparently, failure isn’t permanent. If anything goes wrong, we can simply… start again.”
Loop flinches.
You flinch, too. Technically, temporally, she isn’t wrong. But having the same excruciating conversation over and over and over again… Honestly, it sounds even worse than dying. “Um…”
She flaps a hand at you, her interest already drifting. “You and Loop can go retrieve whatever-it-is you’re so eager to find, and—”
“No,” you blurt out, alarmed. It takes you a second to notice the echo. Loop spoke at the exact same time. You give them a startled glance before pressing on. “Um. You can’t… You need one of us with you. It’s dangerous. And they’ve been with me the whole time, so… they know how to be careful.”
“Teehee!” Loop winks. “I assure you, I’m nothing if not careful.”
“Fascinating,” Odile mutters. “You know what Siffrin’s referring to, then?”
They count on their fingers as they rattle off the answers. “The Crying Key in your Housemaiden’s old classroom; the Scissors Key in the trap room, and—”
“That’s plenty. We’ll keep Siffrin; I have a few questions for him. Loop, what’s your Craft Type?”
“Who’s asking?” they ask automatically.
Odile’s mouth twitches. “Cagy little thing, aren’t you? It’s like meeting Siffrin all over again.”
“No it isn’t,” you both say, in perfect, unnerving unison.
Loop glares at you before rolling their eyes. “I’m Scissors Type. If you must know.”
“Then we’ll send you with a Rock type, to be safe. Isabeau!”
He snaps to attention. “M’dame!”
“Go with Loop. Watch their back. Siffrin,” she adds, making you jump. “Can Isabeau trust them to take the lead?”
You give them a deeply distrustful look, then sigh. “...Yes.”
“Then we’ll see you two shortly. With any luck, we’ll have something to report by then.”
* * *
It’s the worst thing you can imagine. Your own personal void, tailor-made for you. As if your pathetic existence wasn’t torturous enough~!
You do your level best to ignore him. Unfortunately, the ghost of your Fighter makes himself uniquely difficult to ignore. Every time you look his way, you find him already staring. A lot of quick, nervous little glances, like you’re some unspeakable horror that, should he take his eyes off you for ten seconds, would promptly unhinge your jaw and swallow him whole.
The next time it happens, you lose your patience. “Craft a picture, why don’t you? It’ll last longer.”
“S-Sorry!! I was just—just wondering, um. Are you… okay?”
(What.) “Peachy keen, big guy. I just lo~ve wasting time on a lot of low-level losers that’ll reset the second we finish the job.”
“…You’re talking about the Sadnesses, right?”
“Teehee!” you giggle, and wink. “Who can say~!”
You can finish ch 12 here: ao3.org/works/53412649/chapters/138927454
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