Welcome to the LnLP Forums and Resource Area

We have updated our forums to the latest version. If you had an account you should be able to log in and use it as before. If not please create an account and we look forward to having you as a member.

Question about playing LnLTD SP (and the updates)

Bullman

Member
Joined
Mar 25, 2015
Messages
50
Points
8
Location
Australia
Like many other LnL digital games, LnLTD is a digital platform based on boardgames that were designed with the idea that one player controls one side and another controls the other and they play against each other according to the rulebook. Invariably all digital platforms of such games essentially allow MP gameplay to occur between two players. Actually, all but LnLTD only feature this MP kind of gameplay. The main key difference between LnLTD and all the other alternate digital platforms is that it also comes with the ability for players to play against a virtual CPU opponent, in SP.

Consequently you might expect that most people who bought a digital adaptation of a boardgame with a SP feature like LnLTD are buying it primarily because of the the SP feature, given that it is the one unique feature that sets it apart from all the other MP only digital platform alternatives. Admittedly LnLTD and others do also feature sounds and animations to enhance the gameplay experience whether playing MP or SP, but I wouldn't say that people are buying a game like LnLTD for the sounds/animations over the ability for them to play SP against a CPU opponent.

So given how central the SP feature is in LnLTD (and in other similar digital adaptions), I am curious of a few things:
1) how invested are the developers of LnLTD in the SP aspect of the game? (especially given how much DLC is being released)
2) what percentage of the patches released for LnLTD (I notice it is almost weekly!) are related to improving the CPU opponent for SP?
3) what % of people who buy LnLTD are actually buying it primarily for the SP feature?
4) what % of people who buy LnLTD play it MP?

I have noticed that LnLTD is being updated incredibly frequently on Steam yet I have not been able to find out what is being updated in the game. Is there a log/description of all these changes?
 
Last edited:

Jones

Member
Joined
Nov 29, 2020
Messages
51
Points
8
Location
Australia
I have noticed that LnLTD is being updated incredibly frequently on Steam yet I have not been able to find out what is being updated in the game. Is there a log/description of all these changes?

Hey Bullman,

Start up the game.
Fifth button down, "Patch notes".

Scroll to your heart's content, patch notes going all the way back to 3rd April 2020.

cheers
 

Bullman

Member
Joined
Mar 25, 2015
Messages
50
Points
8
Location
Australia
Hey Bullman,

Start up the game.
Fifth button down, "Patch notes".

Scroll to your heart's content, patch notes going all the way back to 3rd April 2020.

cheers
Of course! I had actually been looking for them outside of the game (forums, website etc) so I could word search (the patch notes actually opened up as soon as I entered the game lol!)

The reason I am asking about the AI/SP aspect of the game is because it is this very aspect of these types of PC versions of boardgame adaptations which come with a SP feature that invariably seem to be the biggest weakness/letdown of all these kinds of digital adaptations. Its kind of ironic. The reason the game exists (to play SP) is probably the weakest feature of the game.

Fortunately for LnLTD, the SP opponent (or CPU opponent/AI) you might just call "respectable", from what I have seen, but still has obvious issues (a reputation) as pointed out by Devin in this telling snip example:



But the same cannot be said for the SP AI in another LnL digital adaptation I have, NaWD. It has serious issues to a point I wonder why they even bothered with SP. Hence why I am asking about the SP aspect of the game. What is going on with the development of the SP aspect of LnLTD that perhaps is not happening with the development of the SP aspect of NaWD? And just investment in the SP AI coding side of things in all these games. Coding SP AI is mutually exclusive and a completely different skillset to the vast majority of other tasks needed to be done to just bring a boardgame to a digital platform with MP functionality.

I'm just trying to understand a little about how the development of coding a SP opponent is approached in LnLTD (and in any of the other LnL digital adaptations). Does each scenario need to have it's own SP AI coded in to it (eg. scripts)? Or is the SP AI "adaptive" in the way a human might be when confronted with a map, units and an objective?
 
Last edited:

Tom Proudfoot

Digital Designer
Joined
Oct 13, 2014
Messages
674
Points
43
Location
Alameda, CA
There is minimal scripting, mainly because I knew random battles were coming eventually and you can't really script for that. The existing scripting is mostly preferences for setup hexes (for when the default is just coming out weird). There are also settings to force the AI to be on attack or defense for X number of turns but I try to not use those very often because they can hide other problems. The only real 'script' that exists is a list of hexes for coming on the board with reinforcements, and it's used in a handful of scenarios. Probably about three or so.

The rest is difficult to explain unless I write a whole essay/treatise/screed, but basically the AI is very intertwined with the game rules. Any kind of independent or generic AI for these types of games is not happening anytime soon, if ever.

I am always tinkering with it; each time we add an expansion there is some new rule that comes up and needs to be handled. Each new victory condition type is also something it needs to deal with. Most times changes goes in the patch notes but not always, since sometimes it will be something I am not sure anyone will even notice, or it's something to do with scenarios in development and those notes are long enough already. Or sometimes I just forget. :)
 

Marechal

Member
Joined
May 29, 2020
Messages
28
Points
3
Age
53
Location
Virginia
It seems to me like the AI has been more aggressive lately, but that may just be the scenarios I am playing currently. And I whole-heartedly approve of more aggressive AI.
 
Top