b0rsuk
Level: Smiter

Rank Points: 489
Registered: 11-23-2003
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Hi.

This monster would be similar to regular brain, except it uses different rules:

1.Sends monsters to Beethro around obstacles, using the shortest way available


2. When calculating shortest path for a monster, it considers other monsters walls

3. If all paths for a monsters are blocked (possibly with other monsters), the monster has default behaviour.(usually roachlike)
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Result:

Twisted Brain would be inefficient when there are few tight corridors, but would outperform regular brains when there are multiple ways to Beethro, especially wide ones. (Surrounding and coming from multiple ways)
This surrounding tendency could be also their downside, because rearmost monsters from their "attacking force" would automatically go around for other ways. In the meantime, Beethro may kil several monsters, formerly clogged passage is free, and suddenly this is the shortest way to Beethro again. This means "smarties" would reconsider and go back. That's why Twisted Brain may be inefficient in some cases.
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Twisted Brains vs regular Brains:

Twisted ones have different appearance, at least color.

If numbers of loonies and regulars are equal, they fight each other and monsters act normally.
If number of loonies/regulars is greater than the other kind, monsters behave like the majority of brains orders. This means monster behaviour may change dynamically when Beethro kills some brains.

[Edited by b0rsuk at Local Time:11-10-2004 at 09:39 AM]

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rowrow
Level: Smiter
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Registered: 08-17-2004
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If you wait to kill the monsters in the way of other monsters and the other monsters go a different way and then you kill the monsters, wont the other monsters be closer to you from the other way? And also doesn't it take only the size of the enterance.If the enterance is 2 spaces wide, (to beethro) then only 2 will come to you the short way.

[Edited by rowrow at Local Time:11-10-2004 at 02:37 PM]

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Doom
Level: Smitemaster

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Registered: 07-05-2004
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This would make serpents more difficult to kill in certain rooms but other than that it's not very useful. You already mentioned it yourself. If there's a 2 squares wide passage and lot of mosters behind it, almost all of them would act like unbrained ones.
It's mostly not useful to change brain behaviour during a room if there aren't bigger differences between brain types.

Mattcrampy
Level: Smitemaster

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Mike has expressed interest in a smarter brain that will treat force arrows correctly and other monsters as obstacles. I think Mike does AI research as well in his day job, so he'd be able to do it.

Matt

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b0rsuk
Level: Smiter

Rank Points: 489
Registered: 11-23-2003
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About this "useless" stuff - you don't usually place a monster in a room unless it has a point. You rarely see rooms with just a single tar mother in middle of room and no obstacles. You tend to see weird walls which make tar babies spawn, tar block passages, and make it hard to kill the mother.
The way I see it you can do it with Twisted Brains, too. Goblins are no challange when they have no place to run and you can afford to kill them. Etc.

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