What you need to know about the AI in Blood Bowl 2!

Hello coaches!





Today, we’re going to explain you the new direction we took for Blood Bowl 2’s AI!

In the first Blood Bowl, the AI framework was somehow restrictive. More than often it led Wood Elves enter brawls with Orcs, or drunken Dwarfs try their luck at a passing game. Needless to say, the Elves came out with some scars (for the lucky ones), and the Dwarfs can’t remember where they left the ball.



For Blood Bowl 2, we decided to work the new AI from scratch – ditching the old system altogether, in order to start afresh on a healthy new base.

First, in order to work in the best conditions possible, the new AI system we’re working for Blood Bowl 2 is script-based and server-driven. The toolbox we’re working with allows us to be much more reactive in developing believable behavior, by constantly improving the AI reactions based on our test team results. Potentially, this same toolbox would allow us, post-game release, to open the AI scripting to the community.

Now you might be wondering what good this new work base would be doing? Well, in essence it gives us a heck-lot more flexibility when it comes to create new types of behaviors for the AI, especially situation-based behaviors! Let me give a few examples:



- Different races have different AIs. We don’t want a Dwarf team play a passing game! Not only each race will have a behavior that corresponds to how they should be played, but it also gives them a certain… “flavor” let’s say: Dark Elves will have, for example, a tendency to aggress the opponent players, mostly because they are, in fact, real psychopaths!



- The AI will also adapt to the current match setup. It will play with its own team’s strength of course, but will also take the weakness of the opponent team into account. In a nutshell, you will usually see a High Elf team play a passing game, especially if they’re facing a strong, physical team. But in the case they’re facing a STR-weak team, they might try and whittle them down, if the reward is worth the risk!



- The AI will also consider dangerous individuals. If the AI recognizes one of the opponent players to be a real threat (such as a Star Player, or a leveled up player), it will try and put pressure on him in order to get rid of the threat.

Finally, this new AI framework we’re working on also opens for more freedom when it comes to the very fun story-based solo campaign we’re developing. It lets us develop very specific AIs for the specific matches and events that will happen all along the campaign.



And… that’s all for today ! Stay tuned, more news about Blood Bowl II will come soon!





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Camille ‘Jolly Roger’

Community & Communication manager

