Dear TA:K players out there
After 16 years I have recently revisited TA:K and dedicated a couple of months to release a 2nd version of the Savage AI..... It is a complete comprehensive re-work and is guaranteed to provide the solitary experienced player some superb battles.
I need a few testers who can playtest the AI and confirm its working OK. Please leave your email address here and I'll send you a copy.
I have no idea where I can release this AI.... any suggestions?.... Or is anyone out here willing to host it on their site??
Version 1 Released January 2001
- New cheating ai with a "TAKAIBOOST.UFO" file for providing the AI Monarchs with extra bonus mana resources to help them build up an army quicker, and to rely less on resource management which the AI is naturally not very good at.
Version 2 Released October 2017
1. Complete revision of the AI profile for maximum efficiency and more emphasis on building huge armies comprising of the best attack combinations and carefully thought out melee and projectile unit ratios. The AI will also focus on building up a good defence.
2. Now includes 2 difficulty settings.... A choice between using 2 AI Booster files: TAKAIBOOST.UFO or TAKAIBOOST HARD.UFO
- Normal Difficulty (TAKAIBOOST.UFO) – All AI Monarchs have extra hit points, extra Mana resources and faster build speed ability.
(In addition Zhon have much needed modified builder units - Please read No.3 below)
- Hard Difficulty (TAKAIBOOST HARD.UFO) – All AI Factory structures and builder units will produce units upto 30% faster (APPLIES TO ALL RACES).
3. The Zhon AI has been vastly improved with modified factory units producing units upto 50% faster to give them a more competitive unit production rate similar to all other races.
(The Zhon AI factory units have always been handicapped compared to the structured factory units, Beast Handlers, Tamers, and Lords, seem waste too much time walking aimlessly about rather than continuously producing units. They often get themselves killed by fatally wandering off straight towards the battlefield or the enemy base)
Another serious problem the Zhon AI has is that the Monarch is not guaranteed to build more than 1 Beast Handler at the beginning of the game so having these modified builder units is essential.
4. Optimized "AI Friendly" Combat units to aid AI in fully utilising units attacking abilities:
- AI Creon Beast Rider will now use its long range cannon (previously only limited to using its close range attack).
- AI Aramon Grenadier paralyse grenade disabled (It was extremely inefficient and wasteful when both the Bowman and Grenadier were simultaneously firing paralysing arrows to attack a target - The Grenadier is now 100% focused on throwing explosive grenades)
- AI Taros Mind Mage and Fire Mage will now use its most powerful spells much quicker (The AI would often take too long to decide if there were enough enemy units in front to justify using it’s most expensive spell)
- Additional modified AI Mage Archer with Paralyse arrow disabled.
5. Modified AI Friendly build tree hierarchy.
- Aramon and Veruna Catapults moved from Tier 1 factories to Tier 3 as they are hardly ever useful so early on in the game)
- AI Veruna Ballista now built in Citadel (CUT only)
- The Taros Dark Priest gets easily distracted when building a Tier 4 dragon or god and will occasionally and foolishly abort production of a unit half way through for no apparent reason.... I felt it was fair therefore to of given the AI Dark Mason ability to build both a God and Dragon.
- Zhon Ancient Dragon now built by the Beast Lord to compensate for Zhon’s inability to utilise their God to launch attacks.
6. Additional Bonus AI profile specially modified for battles where very long range units and defence structures are completely banned (i.e. no Stone Giants, Canoneers, Fire Demons, Balista's, Beast Riders, Trebuchets, Defence towers, Prismatic Mirrors) .... These long range units quickly monopolise the battlefield once significant numbers are established. Close combat melee units unfairly soon become complete cannon fodder.
7. Additional Novelty fun Bonus AI profile for close combat slugfest battles (Melee units only - CREON Excluded due to lack of competitive melee units)
8. Optimised for use with the TAK Launcher 500 unit limit mod.
9. All races will now build gods (Please note sadly Cavedog did not script the Zhon flying Deity Tammuz to attack, so the Zhon Deity is not very useful for the AI)
10. Sadly no support for any sea based maps.
Subject: Savage AI Version 2 
