Wolf "attack" AI

[dctrjons]

Right now the game has just become a game of how many wolves do I have to fight off during the day. There is no tension to it because they ALWAYS attack. I would like to see some unpredictability to this...or maybe less unpredictability if you witness wolf behavior, so as in they attack when hungry or threatened not because you are a "red dot" to attack like deer and rabbits are to them.

I don't have a problem with their attacking, I like the threat and if you are healthy and prepared it's not a big deal...the problem is they always attack, they seem to always be around and they always have the same behavior. Priority attack player>eat>attack deer/rabbit>wander.

Just because I wanted to see what happened, I went after Fluffy with a knife. Attacked me once and ran, some sprains, I followed...then attacked me again...little more damage to me, and finally a third attack in which fluffy died the moment combat started and then was ravaged by the dead pup...took me too long to realize I still had to fight and died. But other than the bug it made sense, I mean I was cornering Fluffy and three fights with a wolf is bad.

And it seems to me later in the game if they are always coming after you they make for easy kill targets. Maybe they shouldn't always get their deer and rabbit kills, making them hungry, and less easy for players to "push" deer into. Just doesn't feel dynamic enough to me right now. And with the new mechanic the wolves always seem to lose by getting stabbed and bleeding out so there is a reward for the behavior...there just is no tension.

[Rylandish]

I totally agree. I know the game is just in alpha, and I know they're not trying to make animal behavior 100% realistic, and I can respect that. In this game though, it kinda feels like they've replaced zombies with wolves. I feel like the experience would be a LOT more interesting if the wolves' behavior was slightly more unpredictable.

Imagine the feeling of being in a terrible position to come upon a wolf. You've got no easy route for retreat, and it's too close to outrun the guy anyway, and you're almost hypothermic and you know you're probably about to die; you see the wolf, your heart races, and it walks right past you.

A little more variability would make the game feel less like "run away from zombies, get ammo, shoot zombies, run away from zombies some more"...

[dctrjons]

Yeah, I love the "feel" of the game and I just think that one of the hidden hooks could be it's animal AI. There are only a few creatures that nees it...I don't see a need to add more. I think it would be great to invest more time into the animal behaviors and interactions. True it might take 500% more time to get 10% noticeable difference...but I think it could be a strong selling point. Because yeah right now I feel like they really do feel like zombies.

Like the example you gave...why did it walk by? Did it just eat, is it just a wimp, did it just not care, or maybe got in a fight and rather not risk it.

This could be done simply with RNG but an actual motivation simulation would be far better. Maybe even wolves don't all get along. I often see two wolves together, but never seen them act like it. One kills a deer and the other just hangs out.

And same with bears...I mean how long does one kite a bear moving at 2 mph around an area before it's just weird and creepy and slightly comical. I mean bear, go do SOMETHING bearish. Lol never felt so uncomfortable in a game...and it wasn't out of fear of it eating me.

Yeah in a game with such strong "Atmosphere" I feel nothing from the animals. And they are a huuuge part of the experience. Be like Bioware skimping on voice actors.

[Wolfbite]

Another interesting point to add, from what I have seen so far wolves don't seem to travel as dynamically as they should. Sometimes, not all the time, wolves will stay in the same place for a long time, like they are in fact guarding something. My other thing is that they don't travel meaningful enough either, they walk around until something comes close, then chase and attack. That is quite zombie-like. The notion that they act like zombies is a little extreme, but, provides a good point, what is the point of wolves? Are they there just to kill players? They need to seem like they have more purpose than just attacking everything on sight. Maybe if wolves travelled to different areas to hunt deer. Have some areas where deer like to hang out then have wolf attacks once in a while?