BW Advent Calendar

Everybody comes up with this question at some point. Why is it this bad, why doesn't it use a somewhat good build order, why does it stop to produce things suddenly or attack random targets? Oh, and why does it prefer units like queens and scouts? I wanted to give an answer in a small article and explain how the SCBW-AI actually works.





I started off with a little test. I just opened a random map and started to play Terran vs. Terran against the CPU. My goal was to get a vulture in the opponent's base as fast as possible. You can see why when you look at the picture below. I attacked the SCVs that were constructing buildings (and obviously killed them) which already outsmarted the AI. It just ignores the unfinished buildings, because it apparently likes it that way. The next picture shows that the AI has a lot of idle workers. Those don't like the hard mining and harvesting gas is not a nice job either as it seems. So, let's try to produce even more bugs: I started to kill every worker but nothing else. Turns out that the AI doesn't think it's neccessary to reproduce them. Instead the last bits of money are invested in some sort of weird firebat attack that should end my life once and for all. Ok, but why does the CPU behave like that?





The best way to understand the AI is to download a tool called SCAIEdit and toy around with it a little. This software isn't exactly modern or the best there is, but it's relatively easy to handle. It won't take much until you finally get to realize: indeed, the AI is really „pretty stupid“. The reason: it gets very specific orders with only few exceptions. There is no room to react to the player's actions. But that does not explain the bugs we have seen earlier.

So, let's take a look at our first problem - unfinished buildings standing around in the scenery. The reason is that AI only knows the timing (when to build) and the number (how many) of special structures (what to build). As a consequence a structure is finished, or done for the build order the AI follows, when the SCV puts down the Depot. Well, if the process gets stopped (by killing the SCV) - bad luck. Next point: why the idle SCVs? This is a though question and I can only guess. I assume that SCVs are (maybe) used to defend - so they quite likely were ordered to attack when I started to shoot at the building SCV, but received no order to mine again.

But: why doesn't it build workers again, after losing all of them? Same explanation as for the first „bug“: it would be wise to do so, sure, but there is no note in the AI's build order commanding it to train workers again, nor telling it that they were any important to the overall strategy. The consequence is that the CPU doesn't do it.





Let's go deeper. I mentioned the build order the AI is following; doesn't mean that this is completely static process though. There is still the possibility that the CPU will react to special buildings. But the chosen „reaction“ itself is just another kind of build order. And, as we already saw, there are ways to screw up the AI again. It is possible with the use of some smart moves to stop the computer from building things like a Facility or a Cybernetics Core for over ten minutes. Moreover, even the type and number of units is a fixed part of the schedule. And that's were the next problem arises. If the build tells the CPU to build four carriers it will do nothing but build those units - the build order only changes once the last carrier was purchased. That means that even if the buildings that are neccessary to train the last missing carrier get destroyed, the CPU will not adapt in any way and reproduces all things that are neccessary all over again: pylon, gateway, core, stargate, beacon, carrier. That's a clear disadvantage. Many smart snipes of several things will give you quite a lot of time this way.





If the CPU is lucky enough to gather enough units it will attack eventually. It will work like this: the AI waits until all units are trained; after that it will classify them as internal „attacking“ group. There is only one of these groups at any time. Now all units are sent to some area which wasn't enemy territory when the group was completed. It's a little too much to define what „enemy territory“ means here, so let's go with „area where the enemy built any kind of structure“. Thats kind of problematic again. What was neutral territory at the end of the classification process doesn't need to be neutral anymore but could be an enemy stronghold. Which means that the AI happily walks into an ambush. Sometimes it won't even try to defend itself, and just wants to pass the territory. The consequences are obvious.

However, if there was no problem up to this point, the commando will take a short break, to sometimes wait for reinforcements or whatever, and then start to attack. I have no idea how the destination area for confrontations are chosen. And the same goes for the targets. Only one thing is for sure: the first things to be eliminated are units and buildings that could retaliate. This kind of behaviour can be observed the best on siege tanks. They will automatically siege whenever a fighting unit crosses their path.





Ok, so offense isn't exactly the AI's strong suit. But why does it build those useless units? Nobody ever would waste money on scouts. The AI does it, and for an obvious reason. Blizzard seemed to think it would be a nice idea to list all units when it comes to the CPU-strategy. Therefore the AI is training anything it can. Of course this has no relation to todays strategies. If you were to re-code the source, you could simply leave out those units.





Now for the defense. At first you need to understand that all areas with buildings on them are divided into different districts. The main base would be such a district, whenever the computer expands he creates a new one. Every district gets a bunch of units with the assignment to defend it. Other units only help out when they are in the area for some reason. An example: if you were to attack a gateway, a just trained Zealot would quite likely help out. If you were to attack an expansion, however, there won't be any units coming from the CPU's main base for the rescue. Because it's the job of the defending units in the expansion district.





Last bot not least: the AI is pretty good when it comes to expanding. There is nothing that can be compared to its ability to cover the whole map. The only downside: it would be a good idea to actually place Command Centers/Hatcheries/Nexi in the right position.

You should be able to understand the habits of the AI in SCBW a bit better now, and might have an idea why it does all these odd things.

by ChickenLord

South Korea is a paradise for computer gamers - every third South Korean plays. Some of them even make a living from it, like Ma Jae-yoon, also known as „Savior“, a pop star of the scene who has to save the universe again and again in front of a major audience. Anne Schneppen reports from Seoul.

Outside, the fans have been waiting for him for hours, screaming, waving flags, holding banners and mascots up for their idol. He calls himself Savior, the defender of the virtual universe, and is celebrated like a rockstar in South Korea.
Ma Jae-yoon, who is also known as Maestro, is the champion who sets the benchmark for everyone else. Backstage, people are busy with last-minute preperations: cables are being laid and TFTs and speakers tested. Dressed in a white space suit, which is covered with the logos of his sponsors, Ma leaves his dressing room, pale and nervous. His coach gives him some final advice, then Ma heads for the make up room.

An army of helpers is surrounding him, one covers his pimples, another one does his hair. Ma doesn’t say a word. He spends his last minutes before the match in meditative concentration, probably already rallying his troops and adjusting laser cannons in his mind. Savior against Midas, battle of the titans. They don't kick balls, don't swing bats - they move bits and bites.




Ma is a computer gamer, his discipline is called 'Starcraft'. He has been the best player in South Korea for months. His income as a professional is about 300 Million Won per year, 250.000 Euro, including the prizes from tournaments. His fanclub has 17,000 registered members. Every time the twenty-year-old champion plays a match, hundreds of thousands tune in, with two TV stations broadcasting 24 hours nothing else but the art of professional computer gaming.
The E-Sports-stadium in Seoul is on the top floor of an ordinary department store. It is Wednesday afternoon, and the arena is filled to the rafters. Fanfares and fog machines set the mood when Savior and Midas take their seats in two transparent boxes that look as if they had just descended from space. A gigantic screen shows how their armies are forming battle lines. Then the battle for galactic domination begins, only understood by insiders. Thousands of warriors and hundreds of space ships are shown on the screen, only to end in a burning inferno shortly afterwards. „We are under attack! You need reinforcements! More energy, Commander!“





The year is 2499 A.D. Somewhere near the edge of the galaxy, the Terrans fight for survival, especially against the hideous Zerg, who invade entire solar systems with their sheer numbers. Equally dangerous are the Protoss, who eradicate all life on the planet Chau Sara.

Faster than a piano virtuoso, Savior’s hands fly over the keyboard with blurring speed. „These soldiers fight for me. Every soldier is but mine alone and controlled by me, doing my every bidding,“, said the slender professional when he tried to explain his fascination with the game.

According to Kim Tae-hyung, Starcraft commentator, it is very clear why Koreans are the best players: „We are extremely fast, love strategy games, electronics and the internet. Our fingers are nimble and we love the competiton. No country can compete with us.“





Korea is a paradise for computer gamers. Around 18 million people, more than a third of the population, are registered members of an online game. Six out of ten Koreans between nine to 39 think of themselves as „regular online gamers“. There are five million active Starcraft players, with one million playing on the net during weekends.

Starcraft was released by the American company Blizzard in 1998, when the internet boom started in South Korea. Back then, after the financial crisis in Asia had ended, the goverment was desperately searching for growing markets and eventually decided on the internet. After only a few years, a so far unprecedented broadband network had been created.





Today, most schools, almost 80% of all households and all unversities have access to such a high speed connection. The „PC Bangs“ are also extremely popular, public gaming rooms where people can connect to a high-speed-LAN for only one Euro per hour and play millions of so called multi-user-games (MPU) until their keyboards are on fire. There are around 25.000 of these PC Bangs in South Korea.





For the past six years, Ma aka Savior has been playing nothing but Starcraft. „I was addicted to the game, as if I had been sucked into a black hole“, he remembers his first years as an amateur. Back then, he spent days and nights with his friends at a PC Bang, eventually even dropping out of school.

He was lucky and discovered by a „talent scout“ and managed to realise the dream of million Korean teenagers: He is the star of the professional team CJ Entus, which is sponsored by the food company CJ to spice up their image. The company supports fifteen players, warriors, but clean lads - no smoking and no alcohol. They live like cadets in a military academy under the patriarchalic supervision of their coaches in an old family home located in the expensive south of Seoul. There, Ma Jae-yoon takes off his sneakers after a match. The shared flat of professional gamers is his home.





„At first, it was very difficult for me to get used to this place, especially with all the cleaning,“ he said, tired after a match that he lost – a rare occasion. Discipline, hierarchy and obedience are the rules of the gamer community, Confuzian values: The rookie has to make his way to the top by serving and paying respect to the older members. Hemust never challenge the authority of his teacher.

The seven weakest players of the team share a dorm in the basement, they also have to do the majority of the household chores. The stars live upstairs, but even Ma, who has a lot of privileges as champion, has to share a room with one if his teammates. Only some stuffed animals, gifts of loving and devouted fans, give the sparse room a bit of a personal touch.





The structuring of the training is very strict, women are not welcome for visits. At nine o‘ clock in the morning the alarm clock rings, after lunch the CJ-Entus bus takes the players to a fitness centre and a short workout of stetching and treadmill jogging. Back at home, their cook has already finished their meal, which is followed by two sessions of practice, each four hours long.
„Two sessions à four hours have proven to be the most efficient,“ said Kim Dong-woo, the trainer, a former professional player. Around 11‘ o clock in the evening, the training ends and the players could go to sleep if they wanted to. Most players, however, are still playing, hidden in the long rows of computer monitors, destroying worlds and rescueing planets, sipping on their vitamin juices, often until 3‘ o clock in the morning „Because they want to,“ Kim assured. Only Ma, the champion, rarely does extra hours: „He is a bit lazy, but a real prodigy.“





There are no countries with more computer gamers than in South Korea. The national inter-trade organisation KeSPA counts 326 players, with 236 of them playing Starcraft. Twelve professional teams compete in different competitions, and even the South Korean air force has its own team.

Every team has its own sponsor who has his own agentda to participate in E-Sports: „Khan“ is sponsored by the electronics giant Samsung, „Hero“ by the broadcasting station MBC Game, „T1“ is part of the South Korean telephone provider SK Telecom. The branch is growing and E-Sports is becoming a real cash cow: Eight years ago, 72 tourneys had a total of 1,5 million Euro as prize money, today there are 280 competitions funded with more than six million Euro. The big finals are usually visited by up to 120,000 spectators.

The biggest lobbyist of Korean E-Sports is doing so well that he can already be compared to the crème de la crème of the insurance or automobile sector. Close to the government disctrict, Je Hun-ho is sitting in his black leather armchair behind a cherrywood desk and talks about his favourite topic: Why are doing Koreans so well in computer games, especially in Starcraft or Warcraft? Je Hun-ho thinks that it is an inherent gift: „We have the mindset of warriors and we like to compete against each other. This is why we prefer multiplayer- and online games.“





Je Hun-ho has a very big vision: „E-Sports as an olympic discipline, that is my dream.“ The fascination for him, the goverment and the sponsors is the potential: In 2006, the market for computer games generated 1,8 billion Won (1,5 Billion Euro), for this year the National Institute for Game Development and Support estimate 2,2 billion Won. Regarding software development, South Korea is the global market leader, followed by America and China.

The global value of this sector is estimated at 25 billion Dollar and is expected to more than double in two years. For the game Lineage, made in South Korea and played by 117 Million players worldwide, virtual products are sold and bought with real money. A magical sword is worth 2500 Euro.





„There is no way back. Games are the language of our children, and if you want to communicate with them, you should get used to it.“ You could almost believe Oh Won-suk speaks of a revolution: According to the marketing expert, games are a global movement, a new culture of spare time activity. First and foremost, however, he is interested in profits.

His agency, International Cyber Marketing (ICM), organises the „World Cyber Games“. Seven years ago, seventeen countries participated in the competition. This year, seventy countries are expected in Seattle. The event is supported by the South Korean electronics company Samsung, but Microsoft has also taken interest in the tournament. „Sponsors use the event to advertise their mobilphones, monitors or MP3 players,“ said ICM vice-president Oh. A few minutes ago it was decided that the next World Cyber Games in 2008 will take place in Cologne.





Two percent of the South Korean population are classified as highly addicted, one in ten is at risk. Five years ago, computer games claimed their first death. Today, there are a few dozen. The cases are very similar: After thirty, sixty or even ninety hours in a PC Bang, the addicts collapsed and died because of heart failure, dehydration or exhaustion.

Outside of Ma Jae-yoon's team house, there are not only young fans waiting, but also ambitious parents. „Only a few years ago, our occupation and work were not taken seriously,“ said trainer Kim, who didn’t reveal his passion to his family for a long time, with a smile on his face. „Today, fathers take their childrento us and say : ‚My son has a special gift, please watch him play!‘“

The eighteen-year-old student Ko-un has brought with her a golden pig, a good-luck for the next match of her idol Savior. „To speak with him only one time, just the two of us!“ Ma Jae-yoon enjoys the attention and being worshipped. He sends his prize money to his mother. He dreams of a Mercedes-Benz sports car.

Maybe open with?

'translate.google.com is proud to announce that the management has far even been decided to sponsor more like Pro Leauge 2012! Occupy the machine help understand worldwide community of youth! Yours sincerly, the linguistic Pros!'

I recently had an interesting idea. In SC1's campaign a lot of opportunities were missed to use Sarah's/Kerrigan's "features", both her unit portrait as ghost as well as Kerri as Zerg [e/n: Kerrigan] are certainly not everybodies taste. Addtionally BW addedd a signficant amount of female units. You should keep in mind that BW had only an age restriction for under 12 year olds - and you can show a lot when the title is rated that way.

Besides that there were no erotic features in SC1. Of course, it is a strategy game, but it also has a story, and especially part two should highlight this feature. Even in-game are enough possibilities, as you can see when Rayoner and Sarah meet for the first time.

I would be interested what you think of this. How would you add this new element without making it artificial and constructed? Please do not do premature postings, I don't want hardcore orgies. Erotic is something different!
OP by Oxel