What Next after Avail?

[iamacyborg]

Just as a foreword I should mention that I missed out on one of the materials which will be available with the Avail launch. That material is a corrosive, which, when throw on the ground, will start eroding it away.
One of the uses discussed for this material was to get up cliffs and out of pits, with the corrosive eroding a series of steps the player could then use to climb, which will be useful for those that have a particular hatred for pits and cliffs.

We were also shown the flower model (along with a demo of the tools Eskil has developed),which ties in nicely with the next expansion.

With that said, we also talked about what was planned after Avail. The currently unnamed expansion will be the friendly AI expansion that we've all been waiting a long time for.

Friendly AI were first mentioned quite a while back, with the idea being that players who had been banned by other players would join an AI settlement and use the AI to attack the other players.
Obviously this didn't happen, as it had some pretty obvious drawbacks, but the idea of friendly AI stuck.

We talked about different things that could be possible in the release. The relationship between AI and players and the various way interactions could work.

Connections with AI tribes will likely be on both a settlement basis, and a player by player basis, with individual players being able to form personal relationships with AI tribes.

These relationships would work in a variety of ways.

The AI will be able to see and fulfil player requests. This means that you'll have AI finding tokens you've marked, or placing tokens in player settlements, or any of the other possible requests possible.
The AI will also be able to place requests, so you can help them just as they help you.

Another thing will be with players being able to interact on an individual basis with AI tribes, you'll now have another way of repelling AI attacks.

If a player is friendly with AI that are on their way to attack a player settlement, they'll be able to act as an ambassador and meet them halfway to repel the attack without any shots being fired.
I'm sure most people that have played Love can see the benefit there.

The interaction with AI will be object and emote based, with aforementioned flowers being handed out to AI to appease them.
Another way the player will be able to interact with the AI will be with a new emote system, which is why Eskil has been busy building his new animation editor. Don't worry though, there will be no "/dance" in sight.
You'll be able to wave at AI, and they'll be able to wave back at you.

Another thing mentioned was simple ways to prevent players from attacking the AI on sight.
At the moment, no one really hesitates to shoot at an AI when they see them, but what if that AI was accompanied by a smaller AI, and what if they were holding hands? Would you shoot them then?

Obviously it's early days yet, and Avail isn't even released, but I can't help but feel optimistic about the planned future for Love.

[astroblack]

Incredible. I was fascinated by the friendly AI ever since my first experience and one of your posts confirming that AI could indeed be friendly. Somehow I never thought about just how deep the relationship could be with AI. Working together to raid bases for tokens either for yourself or other AI, genious. I've said it before, I'm not much of a people person (terrible social anxiety disorder) but I love the thought of being able to interact with the game more on a personal level without the limitations of being forced into a social corner.

[johnmatthais]

Awesome. Can't wait to make a legion of AI minions. I will take over the world of Love, settlement by settlement!=D

So...eh...still waiting on Q&A

[iamacyborg]

Just added a couple of other things I remembered to the post.

Don't worry John, it's coming. Promise.