AI for a custom Map?

I'm working on a dota/aos style map with two teams and a computer player on each team. I want to give the computer some more intelligence than simply sending units forward towards the other base.

My two options are a custom AI or doing everything manually with JASS or triggers. I'm intrigued by the idea of making an AI that will work with the map style, but is this feasible? I haven't delved deep enough into the options available to know if I will be able to make an AI flexible enough.

I'm willing to put in a good chunk of time into making the AI, but I don't want to do something that is going to take 10x longer than if I did all the computer's actions through triggers and JASS.



Zak_

I doubt that using AI will help you in your case. Its main support comes from building and controlling one attack group. In an AoS map you will usually have more than one attack group so you would get problems.
I guess for such a map your time is better invested in making a lot of triggers to control the units.

@AIAndy: Is there any .ai functionality for changing the computer's micro at all? I've been wanting to add Comp support to Battledome (hero arena with alot of jass spells).

@AIAndy: Thanks, that makes my decision very easy. You are right, I would need more than one attack group to make things interesting.

@dataangel: There are only very few settings that influence micro a tiny bit (like if they should target heroes first). Nearly everything I do in AMAI to enhance micro is done by issueing direct orders.
It is actually pretty funny to see all the orders the AI gives (you can see them by catching them with a trigger and displaying the information), but all that is hard coded.

@AIAndy: On that note, can you change the way the computer handles micro on human controlled players? For example, influencing their targetting(heroes first, etc.) ?

As I said in the previous post there are some things that can be influenced easily. But there are very few. Mainly the list of settings you will see in the first tab when you open the AI editor.