A universal singular solution

I am doing cutting-edge research on artifical intelligence for a decade and have found a solution that is astonishing in the sense that it is entirely different from the neural network approach. Instead it tracks all interactions, including all knock-on effects through time and space. I have a universal singular solution for it, an AI that can resolve the typically recursive dependencies to provide answers. This goes for anything: logic, consequences, best approaches, strategies and so on.

It opens the door to many things that were not possible before.

Naturally this solution has an affinity to computer games. It is many magnitudes of order faster than neural networks, and can run comfortably as part of a PC game.

I am also working on a Heroes of Might & Magic mod, because the diversity these games offer lends itself ideally to test the AI.

Practical application and what you will find in this blog

First, this blog is about AI in general, its current state and what is possible. A lot what I do is dedicated to advancing what AI can do, including researching its fundamentals. It is an exciting and vast field. The origins of AI gives you a short introduction from which direction I am coming.

Second, a large part is dedicated to developing an advanced AI for a strategy game, Heroes of Might and Magic V. It is an AI written from scratch in C++ with the goal to demonstrate what cutting-edge advanced AI can bring to a computer game today.

Third, I will discuss games in general, the state of AI in the games industry, and modding of games.

In general I want the posts relating to Heroes V to be free for all, as this blog doubles as a project hub for the AI mod. Our newsletter will have a large section dedicated to Heroes V, including special giveaways like maps with interesting origin stories that we create, setting up map challenges and so on. If you are interested in playing Heroes V with a competitive AI, don't miss the opportunity to sign up. It is free.

For an overview of the current state of the AI for Heroes V, what kind of tech is being implemented and how far we plan to go in terms of AI, check out Where we start.

A lot of the tech originally incorporated in Heroes V was based on the source code of Heroes of Might and Magic III, which has proven to appeal to fans even today, with its latest reincarnation Horn of the Abyss. One reason why Heroes III has demonstrated such longevity is that it has, compared to many other strategy games, one of the best AIs realized in a game. Interestingly the development of AI for turn-based strategy games peaked around 2000. Somehow the know-how wasn't cultivated and shared like the professional skills for graphics, and the programmers who created the best AIs, for Heroes III and Master of Orion II, didn't continue this career path.

But having had the opportunity to witness first-hand the code they created, I believe it is worth sharing this know-how as it allows dedicated game developers to do much more in terms of AI than what you find in most contemporary games. There are quite advanced techniques for pathfinding and AI functionality that can help game designers a lot. Usually it takes many years to develop and optimize high quality algorithms in this field. One of my plans is to cover this in its own series of hands-on blogs.

The current AI I am developing is on a different level though, and includes advanced techniques I developed like event sequencing, which allows you to process complex paths that adapt to the strategic context, and more recently universal sequencing that allows the AI to estimate realistic values for every kind of action and figure out how to use all kinds of action to obtain strategic leverage. Heroes V is an ideal game to pilot this tech because of the wide variety of mechanics it incorporates. Not in terms of work required, as this requires incredible amounts of dedicated work, but in terms of creating an AI that is truly adaptable and has genuine insight into how strategic leverage works.

These kinds of tech may be featured in a future blog, but for now you have to read between the lines in my posts related to Heroes V. If you have a penchant for AI, you can learn a lot about what is currently possible here. Often knowing what you can do, is half what you need to know.

Regarding games, modding and AI in general, feel free to tell me what you would like me to write about. We are on Discord. You find the invitation link on the contact page.

The more technically detailed articles will be free as well. For the rationale behind it or if you would like to support this dedicated work, you find more information here.