Board Thread:Suggestions Forum/@comment-25619598-20141204211607/@comment-27723099-20141204214857

Smaug the Tyrannical wrote: Okay, let me get some things straight first. I have read PLENTY of other forum posts like this, and have a fairly good understanding of what is and what is not possible w/ the code, in Minecraft, etc. I have taken all of it into account before I made this. Your don't seem to know much about the possibilities of coding...

I was playing around with the mod a while ago, pitting foes of various factions against each other, and couldn't help but notice some lackluster performance in my arena. Some minor tweaks to the AI of the mobs (or should they be NPC's, considering the names & lines?) could improve this, without being impossible to do. You know that "better unit AI" is listed in the FAQ and thus a reason to be banned? You are on dangerous terrain...

Soldiers/Warriors: They seem to be doing the best due to the fact that they are quite simply just bashing foes. But they do nothing but that. Perhaps (Either done when w/ low health, or forced on orimplemented via a new item or command. 'Horn of Tactics' anyone?) they could now raise their shields in battle. It would reduce knockback/damage done, but make them move slower/not attack. Perfect for wounded units to last until their allies come to their rescue. Yes, I thought about this idea, especially for my own mod since shields will never have a use in combat in this mod. Could you give me a rough structure when a NPC prefers to block and when to attack? Only depending on the percentage of health remaining?

Archers/Crossbowmen: One of the main things I have noticed of them is the fact that they get like 6 blocks away, then shoot. I think that would make for a bad Archer. Perhaps tweaking them to fire from further away, or make them stand in place and fire until enemies reach a certain distance from them, then they flee/melee. This is a VERY MUCH asked suggestion and it is simply not possible! The range set in the code for the archers is at least 16. But the shooting AI fragment (that is taken from vanilla) ruins it and makes the mob walk towards the enemy. Another problem is, that the AI thinks of any bocks in the way, even non-solid blocks like tall grass, as impenetrable obstacle. If there is enough tall grass or a small hill in the line to the target, the entity thinks it can't hit the target and move forward.

Banner Carriers/Captains: These! Oh my sweet baby Baggins, these! They are almost exactly the same as the warriors! All buffs aside, something MUST be done to make these commanders and leaders more reliable/cooler in battle. One way, I thought, would be to implement certain combat bonuses to troops nearby. Ex., a Banner Carrier nearby makes the Soldiers move full speed w/ shield raised, or Archers faster on their feet. New sounds could be added, like inspirational battlecries or something. I'm speechless. Read the page about Banner Bearers again...

About the other features, they would be too hard to implement.

Orcs/Uruk-Hai: Some changes should be done to the Orcs in battle as well. While we all are aware that they crave man-flesh, perhaps after slaying a human (Rohan/Gondor, etc.) they restore some health, and say a little line. Higher the rank/health of the foe, the more health restored. That's a good idea. If an orc kills an enemy, he would get a little buff, maybe strength II for 1 min.

Dwarves: A good thing to do for the Dwarves could be to make their attacks have a chance of some severe knockback, a testament to their skill in battle. Dwarves often wear warhammers. Warhammers have increased knockback. Problem solved.

Elves: Something much truer to how Elves would work would be to make them move faster/hit harder when battling Orcs. They are a mockery of their people, and they deserve no mercy. Elves are already the strongest troops in the world, and wood elves are the swiftest and fastest. They don't need any further buffs.

Humans: Something to add for the race of Man could be a sort of vengeance factor. Kill an ally nearby, they do slightly more damage for a short amount of time. Time stacks, damage doesn't. Is there anything like that in the books?

The Balrogs: I LOVE THE BALROGS! I nearly wet myself upon my first journey to Utumno because of these little buggers. Something for them could be more along the lines of a transformation. In the books, it says that upon hitting the underground lake, the Balrog become foul and sludge-like. Perhaps making the flames on them green & upside down when they hit water would be good, as well as a decrease to damage done and increase to damage taken in this state. That would make water too stong against balrogs and the combats too easy IMO.