Player-AI powerup settings

[ReflectedMantis]

In the drivers.DDB file in the JAM file, you can edit the max length of time it takes an AI to use an item. I think the setting can be different for each item (Not totally sure about this tho). And most of the boss racers have a minimum amount of white bricks they can use a certain item for, such as Johnny Thunder, who doesn't use his projectiles unless he has one white brick, or Rocket Racer, who has to have a fully powered boost (warp) to use it. But the AI-controlled player will always use their items instantly unless it's a projectile (Except in the PS1 version, which does make it wait to use items like regular AI).

 

Is there a version of this file for the player-AI? I looked, but never found it, or anything else that might have something to do with it, which makes me wonder if it is in the .exe of the game.

[grappigegovert]

I think because the demo driver is King Kahuka, the drivers.ddb entry that you'd want to edit is also King Kahuka's.

[ReflectedMantis]

Yeah but I'm not talking about the demo, I'm talking about the AI that takes your place when you finish a race.

[bautista]

You mean that the AI takes the player's place while racing?

[grappigegovert]

Ah, my bad, I read that wrong then.
It might still be KK's entry though, have you tried editing it?

 

  On 6/16/2020 at 12:14 AM, bautista said:

You mean that the AI takes the player's place while racing?

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After you finish a race, the player's car continues driving for a little while until the screen fades to black (there are threads on how to prolong this). This is the AI @ReflectedMantis is talking about.

EDIT:
If my theory is correct, I think the correct entry will only be KK's in the first two circuits. The other circuits will then use their main opponent 's entry.
 

[ReflectedMantis]

  On 6/16/2020 at 12:25 AM, grappigegovert said:

Ah, my bad, I read that wrong then.
It might still be KK's entry though, have you tried editing it?

 

If my theory is correct, I think the correct entry will only be KK's in the first two circuits. The other circuits will then use their main opponent 's entry.
 

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Well I went ahead and changed King Kahuka's (Default Demo driver), Veronica Voltage's (My custom demo driver), and Gypsy Moth's (all powerup values were set to 100, which I believe means instant. Figured there was a tiny chance it was used for the player). None of them changed anything for the player.

 

 

[bautista]

Why?

[ReflectedMantis]

  On 6/16/2020 at 10:08 PM, bautista said:

Why?

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Why what?

Why did I change those three specific characters? The reasoning is explained in the comment.

Why did it not work? If I knew the answer to that this thread wouldn't exist lol

Why do I want to do this at all? Eh, I guess I just want the player's AI to be like all the other AI for whatever reason. No real significant reasoning to it really...

[MSC-04]

I might be wrong but I always thought that the player randomly chooses from all the NPC paths for the track and picks one. Try changing all of the NPC entries in the circuit you want and see what happens. If it doesn't work then maybe wait until the player goes "full AI" (which should happen a lap or so after finishing the race) and see what happens.

[ReflectedMantis]

  On 6/17/2020 at 2:18 PM, MSC-04 said:

I might be wrong but I always thought that the player randomly chooses from all the NPC paths for the track and picks one. Try changing all of the NPC entries in the circuit you want and see what happens. If it doesn't work then maybe wait until the player goes "full AI" (which should happen a lap or so after finishing the race) and see what happens.

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It's not exactly "random", but it chooses the path who's loop point is closest to where you finished (out of the ones that are currently being used, which is why it never takes the Demo Kahuka path in circuit 1)

And it's a good thought, but it doesn't affect the powerup usage. It's just an AI path, which has nothing to do with the AI itself aside from where it goes.

[bautista]

According to the video of RobExplorien "Bad driving..." Demo King Kahuka has the player's path when you replace Imperial Grand Prix to Rocket Racer Run.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ESTHU01N64

[ReflectedMantis]

  On 6/17/2020 at 9:22 PM, bautista said:

According to the video of RobExplorien "Bad driving..." Demo King Kahuka has the player's path when you replace Imperial Grand Prix to Rocket Racer Run.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ESTHU01N64

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That happens because Rocket Racer Run doesn't have an RRB file for the demo, so, just like the player, Kahuka just loosely follows an AI path, in this case, I think it's Rocket Racer. It's always the third "lap" it follows, not the entire path. I think that's a topic for another thread. I don't know if I, or anyone else, ever made that thread, but I did make a video about it a few years ago, but sadly, it no longer exists.

 

Curiously enough, that doesn't happen if you remove the RRB files for other racers. They just sit still. Even pushing them all the way to the finish, or using Cheat Engine to put them at the end, doesn't do it.