AMAI 2.45 Beta 2

Right i have done some of my touch ups this week. Heres beta 2.

This version continue finding bugs and such testing new features but also check that computers are using ancient expansion, tower rush and millitia expansion well.

Tell me if they need to use them more often or much less and bugs that occur with them etc.

Now enjoy!

====Installation====

Unrar the contents of one of the following .rar files you download


File AMAI 2.45 Beta 2 DE - Developer edition
Size: 1.82 MB
Please read the manual for help in using the developer edition and install. All special executables e.g. AMAI vs AI is already included in the "scripts/Standard/" directory.

The debug executable is not included due to attachment size limitation of the forums so you have to download the separate file.

(Please note: Player edition installer is always included in the Developer edition but you have to compile the scripts first before you can use it)


File AMAI 2.45 Beta 2 SE Pack- Simple Edition
Size: 1.42MB
Please read the readme included with the executables for info on how to use.
This pack contains the three main simple editions.
AMAI_TFT
AMAI vs AI
AMAI debug

File AMAI Debug.zip- Debug executable
Size: 0.47MB
Can't be added with the DE edition so can be downloaded separately here.

====Error Reporting====
All bug reports can be left on the forums with an attached replay of where bug occured. If you used a custom exe with your own strategies please also include it or if you used the player edition installer from an older version to install in individual maps please provide the map with the replay.


====Whats new this version?====
Beta 2
-Tower Rushing has been updated and now works for orc players and human.
-Mana fountain usage has been introduced. This feature is not used often as healing fountains prefered but it can occur if computer wants too.
-Fixed a bug in the calculation of hero strength. It was adding the ultimate strength bonus only when hero had a level less than 6.
-Improved Strength Calculation systems to be based from food and level instead of just food to improve creeping reliability and incorrect creeping which noticeably
developed.
-Ancient Expansion system fixed
-Millitia expansion system fixed
-Fixed some Zepplin usage bugs
-Gold mine expansion system updated to pick pathable mines accurately and has
percentage chances of picking certain mines. We will modify prority of picking
certain mines depending on your tests.
-Computers no longer try to use un-pathable shops/fountain
-Added a single hero micro rule to not use town portal if armys in a definate winning. This only works for big advantage. Still work needed for small advantages.


====Confirmed Issues====
Please do not report the following issues. These issues can all be found the DE manual or the SE readme file.


-There is a small 'LAG' near the start of the game with AMAI, this is because AMAI scans
the map to find out locations and paths to different things like mines for example.
This is perfectly normal and nothing to be alarmed about. You may not even notice it anymore since V2.45
- If you try to install or uninstall AMAI on a map currently in use by warcraft3 or WorldEditor the installer will crash.
- AMAI might require a lot of CPU power from your computer. Especially on games with 8 or more players.
- Team Game Teleportation only occurs to nearest allied start location not expansion
locations.
- Problem with ai not harvesting resources or/and trying to get gold in an emergency.
i.e. there main base destroyed and then just sit doing nothing.
- Units are sent to get neutral hero but upon reaching the tavern, player no longer
has enough resources.
- Fight and Flight and reinforce bugs {Blizzard bugs}
- Some rare occurences of units just stand still at some point on the map.
- AMAI cannot detect when it should ignore its save unit procedures when he has an imminent win
- On some profiles amai is not building farms to effectively.
- Harrasses should not be done when his base is under attack.
- Hero should not town portal if his army has the advantage, he should just move hero to base/ heal at shop.
- Human AMAI is constructing town halls with too many peasants than needed.
- AMAI will sometimes in defense stay at certain of base but will not move to attack the enemies which are attacking the base
- Lumber harvesting structures should be built next to lumber [Blizzard bug]
- Town portal should not be used when player is creeping to save the hero.
- Tauren cheiftain should use town portal only if reincarnation not ready or researched.
- Hawk from beastmaster level 1 should not be casted as not needed [Blizzard bug]
- Hero should destroy non needed items on the ground if cannot pick up [not easy to control]
- Orbs should not be brought by heros with orb abilities [blizzard bug]


====Researching Issues====
- Some new ghoul lumbering issues are being created e.g. ghouls stay harvesting and no ghoul aids hero in creeping, this makes strength calculations false so hero gets in trouble until max lumber limit is obtained.
- Heros are not being focused fired on.
- Sometimes computers base can get extremly cramped.
- Computer announces it is changing too a strategy but does not do that strategy
- Computer is not retreating red fighting units when fighting creeps but may be when fighting normal players too.
- Army keeps splitting into 2 groups and causes a whole load of issues especially bad creepings as weaker army creeps strong army as it determines strength of entire army not the ones actually attacking.
- The feature from AMAI 2.43 to prevent returning to base behaviour when creeping seems to no longer be working.
- AMAI will change its attack targets too often.
- Zepplin code is not functioning correctly at times.
- AMAI ignores a gold mines as if its taken if it was once his and got destroyed at times. AMAI therefore misses opportunity to re-built on this mine.
- Tower Rushing for a human player can cause all human peasants to be sent to build, therefore not harvesting any rescources at all.
- AMAI town portals but its army is not surrounding it.


====Features for the future====
These are features we are implementing into future amai versions. Please do not list these as suggestions unless you want to expand on its ideas and/or explain to us something new.

- The strategic conclusion system to detect wether an enemy doing a certain strategy
needs testing and implementing
- Improved Pathing system
- Sea/air expansion support
- Improve Fast Expansions
- Double Expansion system ( expanding to two expansions at same time )
- Strategies will be continously improved where needed
- Create a new ai racial script without strategies but calculates what to build in real time i.e no defined build order (This could be the ultimate ai)
- Strategies against Tower rushes may be lacking.
- Team Game work for AMAI needs vast improvement.
- All strengths of units will be calculated from food, level, attack damage, cooldown, effective hp and possibly cost instead of just food and level. (The strengths used in the standardunits.txt is used for strategy changing/ specific power in certain traits, and has nothing to do with the overall power of a group of units which is what this strength resolves in creeping and checking if it could win battles and such)
- Use of Marketplaces to be implemented and choose the super items before lesser items.
- Turning millitia expansion into a job and experimentation in turning other systems into jobs.
- More advanced hero mirco rules to be added.
- Improved micro e.g. frost wyrm continously slow hero, think about going anticaster to counter hero spells
- Move units with lightning sheild away from army to prevent damage to his units.
- Improved creeping tactics i.e. use tank to get him having all the damage, weaken creeps, attack the dangerous creep first
- Humans should cast invisibility on units going to merchant/shops/fountains
- Improved spell usage [This is blizzard controlled]

First post! :)

Thanks StrategyMaster. Expect my Beta 2 Test Results by next week.

Good job, a lot of major bugs are fixed! Now I do not have to avoid certain maps when playing AMAI.

UPDATE: My summary report post did not appear, so I'm pasting it in this message, see below.


@StrategyMaster: Here is my Summary Report for my AMAI Beta 1 tests for current and future AMAI improvements.

GENERAL
=======

1. Need to summon the Lumber Gathering buildings
near the trees instead of the front of the base.
A Blizz hard-coded bug.

Improves: Resource Gathering - Lumber

2. There is one replay that shows that there's always a peon
carrying gold to the mineless main base. The gold comes from
the mine of AMAI's 1st expansion.
Could be bug on a Remote Mining tactics for Peasants and Peons.

Improves: Resource Savings;

3. Need to improve taking advantage of anti-hero harass.
A replay shows that AMAI has the right anti-harass stuff:
Sleep, Frost Wyrm, Death Coil, but did not do the ff.:

a. Sleep & surround KOTG
b. Continuous Frost Wyrm slowing on KOTG to death.
c. Build Destroyers to dispell my Entangles.

Improves: Offensive Tactics;

4. AMAI-Aggressario (on Two Rivers map)
may need some config tweak work:

a. Did not expand immediately.
b. Did not build to 80 food immediately.
c. Has amassed a lot of lumber only to lose faster.

5. Found an issue where AMAI TPs to an expansion (while walking),
but not all units are around the hero. In this case, the
Mountain King TP'd to rescue the expansion with 1 Footman.
The rest of his units are walking towards the base.

AMAI could make use of the same function that bunches units around
a hero that is about to cast the Scroll of Regeneration (which is
also in this replay).

Improves: Army Strength;




CREEPING TACTICS
================

1. Need to avoid confronting difficult creeps on fountains and
expansion mines when army size is not fit, even if it desperate
to use the fountain/mine.

2. Make AMAI take advantage of creep AI by attacking with a tank
(like Tauren Chieftain). Creeps will attack that tank first.

Improves: Defensive Tactics; Resource Savings

3. Weaken creeps in battle:
Make AMAI always target Level 5 creeps with
disabling spells like Entangle and Sleep.
Disabling priority goes like this:

a. Level 5 non-spell immune
b. Below-Level 5 Caster (especially healers)

4. Heroes should not use TP when creeping AND when there
are no other opponents around. Best strategy is just to run to
the base or back of the army.

5. The separate no-hero stike forces creeping is a good idea,
but losing matches should be avoided. AMAI could use
damage-armor evaluation for creeps too.

e.g. 3 Huntresses vs 3 Trolls is not an optimal match.




HERO & SKILLS USAGE
===================

The following brings improvements to one or more of:

- Resource Savings - Mana
- Resource Savings - Gold
- Offensive and Defensive Tactics
- Hero and Army Strength

1. Level 6 Tauren Chieftain with Reincarnation available
and has a strong army, should not use TP scroll,
to avail of the Reincarnation skill. If still within the
Reincarnation cooldown, Tauren Chieftain may use TP scroll.

2. Beastmaster with Level 1 Hawk:
Beastmaster should be prevented from casting Level 1 Hawk.
It will save him mana, and prevents players from getting
free experience from a Hawk that doesn't attack.
Level 1 Hawk is only for scouting, which AMAI does not need.

3. When a hero with full inventory swaps an item with a better one,
and places the less-preferred item on the ground:

a. The hero should destroy the item; OR
b. If units have their Inventory slots researched, let a fast
unit take the item, and indepently go to the shop and sell it.
For humans with sorceress: Cast invisibility on the unit taking
the item.

4. For items left by a No-Hero Strike Force:
Because a hero is not in the stike force, the item is left, giving
potential winning advantage to opponents.
AMAI should "mark" the locations of unclaimed items and get it when
there are no enemies near it.
See #3 above.

5. For humans with sorceress: Cast invisibility on any hero or unit
that is about to go to a Goblin Merchant, Goblin Lab, Fountain, etc...

Improves: Defensive Tactics

6. Level 3 Entangle usage: Ignore attacking the medium-HP units AMAI
just entangled and proceed to attack the others.
Entangled units will die anyway if there are no Dispelling
units around.



ITEM MANAGEMENT
===============

The following brings improvements to one or more of:

- Inventory Slot Availability
- Resource Gathering - Gold
- Offensive and Defensive Tactics
- Hero and Army Strength

1. Cloak of Invisibility:
Make AMAI always sell this item. AMAI cannot strategically
hide heroes using this item; Human Invisibility is better.

2. Tome of Experience:
If there is a level 5 hero, that hero should consume the
Tome of Experience.
If there are no level 5 heroes, the Tome of Experience
should be consumed by the lowest-level hero.

3. Lightning Shield:
When a high-hp AMAI unit is Lightning Shielded, that unit
should move far from your units to spare them from dying.
If there are low-hp enemy units, get the Lightning Shielded unit
near them.

4. Orb Items, esp. Orb of Corruption.
Priority should be given to Ranged Heroes (notably, the Lich)
that do not have Orb skills (like Searing Arrow, Black Arrow).

Reason is, Orb effects do not stack with Orb skills.

I had a game where AMAI Dark Ranger with Black Arrow wore
the Orb of Corruption, rendenring Black Arrow not
fully functional. Also, Priestess of the Moon wore an Orb of Venom,
which cancelled out the effects of Searing Arrow.

5. Claws of Attack
Priority to any ranged hero, Blademaster with Critical Strike,
and Panda with Drunken Brawler.

6. Gloves of Haste
Priority to Mountain King with Bash, Blademaster with
Critical Strike, Panda with Drunken Brawler, Bloodmage (he attacks
fast already, this one makes it faster exponentially!),
Lich with Orb of Corruption,
Heroes with Searing Arrow, Black Arrow, Frozen Arrow, Incinerate,
Cleaving Attack,

7. Cloak of Flames
AMAI should give high priority giving the Cloak of Flames
to Melee Heroes first. There was this replay where I saw
AMAI Firelord wearing that item instead of the Mountain King.

8. On maps with Marketplaces, make AMAI abuse the ff. items
(it already does for Summoning Items):
Ring of Protection +5, Amulet of Spell Shield, Claws of Attack +15,
Potion of Restoration (use this first before considering to TP).

Improves: Hero Strength; Offensive and Defensive Tactics;

___

Hi everyone! Let's set this thread as the central place for all Beta 2 Test Reports. Let's make is easier for the AMAI Team! :)

May I suggest that AMAI weight its use of the mana fountain depending on its hero. For example, a mana fountain doubles as a healing fountain when your hero is someone like the Death Knight.

Uh, I replied, but it seems to have vanished...

Anyway, as I said, mana fountain useage should be weighted by hero. A mana fountain doubles as a healing fountain if you have a hero like the Death Knight.

Hmmm, my quick replies seem to be disappearing.

Anyway, as I was saying, the use of the mana fountain should be weighted by hero. It can double as a healing fountain if you have someone like the Death Knight around.

perfect, thx for your job!!

I posted a reply three times yesterday and none of them stuck, so here's hoping...

You should weight mana fountain usage by the hero. If you hero is the DK for example, that mana fountain will double as a healing fountain.

@StrategyMaster: Here is my Summary Report for my AMAI Beta 1 tests for current and future AMAI improvements.


GENERAL
=======

1. Need to summon the Lumber Gethering buildings
near the trees instead of the front of the base.
A Blizz hard-coded bug.

Improves: Resource Gathering - Lumber

2. There is one replay that shows that there's always a peon
carrying gold to the mineless main base. The gold comes from
the mine of AMAI's 1st expansion.
Could be bug on a Remote Mining tactics for Peasants and Peons.

Improves: Resource Savings;

3. Need to improve taking advantage of anti-hero harass.
A replay shows that AMAI has the right anti-harass stuff:
Sleep, Frost Wyrm, Death Coil, but did not do the ff.:

a. Sleep & surround KOTG
b. Continuous Frost Wyrm slowing on KOTG to death.
c. Build Destroyers to dispell my Entangles.

Improves: Offensive Tactics;

4. AMAI-Aggressario (on Two Rivers map)
may need some config tweak work:

a. Did not expand immediately.
b. Did not build to 80 food immediately.
c. Has amassed a lot of lumber only to lose faster.

5. Found an issue where AMAI TPs to an expansion (while walking),
but not all units are around the hero. In this case, the
Mountain King TP'd to rescue the expansion with 1 Footman.
The rest of his units are walking towards the base.

AMAI could make use of the same function that bunches units around
a hero that is about to cast the Scroll of Regeneration (which is
also in this replay).

Improves: Army Strength;




CREEPING TACTICS
================

1. Need to avoid confronting difficult creeps on fountains and
expansion mines when army size is not fit, even if it desperate
to use the fountain/mine.

2. Make AMAI take advantage of creep AI by attacking with a tank
(like Tauren Chieftain). Creeps will attack that tank first.

Improves: Defensive Tactics; Resource Savings

3. Weaken creeps in battle:
Make AMAI always target Level 5 creeps with
disabling spells like Entangle and Sleep.
Disabling priority goes like this:

a. Level 5 non-spell immune
b. Below-Level 5 Caster (especially healers)

4. Heroes should not use TP when creeping AND when there
are no other opponents around. Best strategy is just to run to
the base or back of the army.

5. The separate no-hero stike forces creeping is a good idea,
but losing matches should be avoided. AMAI could use
damage-armor evaluation for creeps too.

e.g. 3 Huntresses vs 3 Trolls is not an optimal match.




HERO & SKILLS USAGE
===================

The following brings improvements to one of more of:

- Resource Savings - Mana
- Resource Savings - Gold
- Offensive and Defensive Tactics
- Hero and Army Strength

1. Level 6 Tauren Chieftain with Reincarnation available
and has a strong army, should not use TP scroll,
to avail of the Reincarnation skill. If still within the
Reincarnation cooldown, Tauren Chieftain may use TP scroll.

2. Beastmaster with Level 1 Hawk:
Beastmaster should be prevented from casting Level 1 Hawk.
It will save him mana, and prevents players from getting
free experience from a Hawk that doesn't attack.
Level 1 Hawk is only for scouting, which AMAI does not need.

3. When a hero with full inventory swaps an item with a better one,
and places the less-preferred item on the ground:

a. The hero should destroy the item; OR
b. If units have their Inventory slots researched, let a fast
unit take the item, and indepently go to the shop and sell it.
For humans with sorceress: Cast invisibility on the unit taking
the item.

4. For items left by a No-Hero Strike Force:
Because a hero is not in the stike force, the item is left, giving
potential winning advantage to opponents.
AMAI should "mark" the locations of unclaimed items and get it when
there are no enemies near it.
See #3 above.

5. For humans with sorceress: Cast invisibility on any hero or unit
that is about to a Goblin Merchant, Goblin Lab, Fountain, etc...

Improves: Defensive Tactics

6. Level 3 Entangle usage: Ignore attacking the medium-HP units AMAI
just entangled and proceed to attack the others.
Entangled units will die anyway if there are no Dispelling
units around.



ITEM MANAGEMENT
===============

The following brings improvements to one of more of:

- Inventory Slot Availability
- Resource Gathering - Gold
- Offensive and Defensive Tactics
- Hero and Army Strength

1. Cloak of Invisibility:
Make AMAI always sell this item. AMAI cannot strategically
hide heroes using this item; Human Invisibility is better.

2. Tome of Experience:
If there is a level 5 hero, that hero should consume the
Tome of Experience.
If there are no level 5 heroes, the Tome of Experience
should be consumed by the lowest-level hero.

3. Lightning Shield:
When a high-hp AMAI unit is Lightning Shielded, that unit
should move far from your units to spare them from dying.
If there are low-hp enemy units, get the Lightning Shielded unit
near them.

4. Orb Items, esp. Orb of Corruption.
Priority should be given to Ranged Heroes (notably, the Lich)
that do not have Orb skills (like Searing Arrow, Black Arrow).

Reason is, Orb effects do not stack with Orb skills.

I had a game where AMAI Dark Ranger with Black Arrow wore
the Orb of Corruption, rendenring Black Arrow not
fully functional. Also, Priestess of the Moon wore an Orb of Venom,
which cancelled out the effects of Searing Arrow.

5. Claws of Attack
Priority to any ranged hero, Blademaster with Critical Strike,
and Panda with Drunken Brawler.

6. Gloves of Haste
Priority to Mountain King with Bash, Blademaster with
Critical Strike, Panda with Drunken Brawler, Bloodmage (he attacks
fast already, this one makes it faster exponentially!),
Lich with Orb of Corruption,
Heroes with Searing Arrow, Black Arrow, Frozen Arrow, Incinerate,
Cleaving Attack,

7. Cloak of Flames
AMAI should give high priority giving the Cloak of Flames
to Melee Heroes first. There was this replay where I saw
AMAI Firelord wearing that item instead of the Mountain King.

8. On maps with Marketplaces, make AMAI abuse the ff. items
(it already does for Summoning Items):
Ring of Protection +5, Amulet of Spell Shield, Claws of Attack +15,
Potion of Restoration (use this first before considering to TP).

Improves: Hero Strength; Offensive and Defensive Tactics;

___

very nice summary there. Thanx.

this version is not working for me at all, i think...all the computer opponents have the normal names and not the [AMAI] name, updated to 1.18 so that should not be a problem :/

really... which amai option did you download

AMAI 2.45 B2 SE Pack.rar (139 MB, 13 views)

i have ran all 3 .exes in there and none of them seem to do anything, just launches WCIII as normal :/

You are using TFT right.

First try creating a new warcraft profile then play a game. This refreshes the amai cache used by amai as sometimes, extremly rarely the cache gets corrupted so amai fails. (The debug AMAI executable seems to enjoy corrupting the cache)

If that dosn't work check you have no other folders/files which shouldn't be in your warcraft 3 directory.

Make sure you havn't left other mods enabled e.g. TTOR

If that dosn't work after that then i have no idea what else it could be.

yeah im using TFT, i'll give them a shot and report back :)

edit: still doesnt work, i deleted a few old amai files and made a new profile and its still the same, i'll try a reinstall after i try a few more things

edit2: fixed it now, was a file called blizzard.dll in my WC folder for some reason, i deleted it and amai works fine, great even, i got hero rushed after about 20 secs and the match was over shortly after :o