My thoughts on bots

Look under your replays in game. PAStats doesn't record games when you don't have it installed. What's your ingame username?

Actually, I modded dox to be quick, good vision, low range, cheap, and have a high firerate weapon. They also can take a shot from an ant without dying. They actually fare quite well as a raiding unit, and still quite well as a primary assault bot. They just die against infernos.

Actually, I modded dox to be quick, good vision, low range, cheap, and have a high firerate weapon. They also can take a shot from an ant without dying. They actually fare quite well as a raiding unit, and still quite well as a primary assault bot. They just die against infernos.[/quote]

I feel like they are supposed to function well as primary assault combat unit, but at the moment they do not, which makes going bots a very risky endevour. Everthing else is inline with what i said

Edit: Quoting doesnt seem to be working properly

Testinginator

PAstats does not seem to keep track of vs AI games, which explains why I couldn't find the original 2 videos.

Edit: Oh wait. PAstats needs to be installed first? Ah, no wonder.

I have few steps in my mind that might make bots different and useful:
1. First, allow bots to pass rough terrain, like mountains and craters. Give them something like jetpacks that they can use to jump short distances (more like jumpacks, they shouldn't be able to fly). This will allow bot fabbers to have advantage over vehcile, because they will be able to reach places faster. And combat bots, they will be able to strike from more different angles, surprising your opponent. Enemy base is surrounded with cliffs and there's only tiny hallway for vehicles where they get destroyed one by one? Well, use bots to jump into heart of enemy base from mountain.
2. Allow all bots to go underwater, much like commander can. This will give even more reasons to go bot factory first as opposed to vehicle, since your fabbers will be able to build at more places. And again, another degree of freedom for combat bots.

These changes will put bots somewhere in the middle between vehicles and air. They can travel wherever they like, much like air, but still are slower, weaker, have tiny vision radius and no anti air.

Another change is minor. Currently, bots are cheap to produce and are small in size, so you can have hundred(s) of them in one tiny spot. This, combined with low hp, is their major weakness - any AOE explosion will wipe majority or even whole group. Solution to prolong bot life would be larger default spread, i.e. every bot will keep certain distance from other bots. This way, we will increase bot survivability without tweaking any numbers.

So, these changes will provide a reason to go bot first (better fabbers), and will give bots more raiding options, since they can strike form anywhere and surprise opponent. And they will still have their current weaknesses - tiny vision radius, vulnerability to air, etc. This will make them distinguishing unit type as well. Not even to mention, that bots jet-jumping from mountain right to the middle of enemy base will look awesome.

The first is good.

However, I think that the second point about letting all bots go underwater may nullify the purpose of a navy. Already naval ships are too slow, and letting bots go underwater will make naval even more obsolete.

I'm still not sure I like how jump packs feel, but letting bots have access to a much wider set of terrain to move on sounds like a really great way to differentiate them from vehicles.

Yes, I thought of that as well. How about letting them move underwater, but not attack? Same for fabbers, just move.

Fixed