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                 AI FAQ for Armored Core: Silent Line
                   Copyright Andrew Sullivan, 2004

         Contact: [email protected] via e-mail or messenger

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                            Disclaimer:
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All material presented was gathered using old fashioned trial and error.
0% of the material you are about to read has been cut-and-pasted from a
guide or any other source, that is to say that all content, except where
otherwise noted, is original and has sprung directly from my noggin'.
I am glad to share this information with anyone willing to invest the time to
read it (forgive my lack of brevity!), but please do not copy and claim it as
your own. Feel free to link to this page or reference the material herein, but
please give credit where it is due.

Also, I'm not perfect, if you catch a goof or something seems completely
wrong, just e-mail me and I'll see what can be worked out. If anything
hasn't been covered as completely as you would like, contact me as well.
This FAQ doesn't address a lot of information about the game such as
controls or how to acquire parts or game modes, there are other FAQs that
do a more than adequate job of this, so I'm leaving that up to them!

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                                 Index
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Glossary of terms

What is an AI unit?

Tips on building an AI unit

How to designate an AI unit

Training your creation

Training tricks and hints

Where you can put your AI to use

Menus and options

Frequently asked questions

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                         Commonly used terms
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     AC - Armored Core, a robot constructed using the game's 'Garage' menu.

     AI - (Artificial Intelligence)An AC that is trained by the player.

     SL - Armored Core: Silent Line, the 4th Armored Core released for
          Playstation 2

     MG - Machine gun

OB/OBing - Overboosting, a function of some cores that activates an auxillary
          boost, it is activated by pressing R3 (right analog stick)

     EO - Exceed orbit, a function of some cores that activates an auxillary
          weapon, it is activated by pressing R3 (right analog stick)

COM unit - An AC controlled by the game

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                         What is an AI unit?
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AI units are created in the same way that other AC's are. A player constructs a
core and then designates under the 'AI' menu in the 'Garage' that he would like
hs AC to be trained as an AI. After 'training' the unit for some time, it will
develop habits of gameplay that mimick the way you react in the game.

AC units that are designated as AI are usable only in certain situations like
VERSUS MODE and as a partner in the EXTRA ARENA. They are not usable as
consorts during missions.

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                       Tips on building an AI unit
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Before you construct an AI AC there is one major consideration to make: how
much time would you like to invest in a unit? As we will discuss later, AIs
are trained by repeating a behavior over and over again. If you wish to make an
AC with a complicated weapon load, then it may take you significantly longer to
have a desireable AI. On the other hand, I have found that a very competant
unit can be trained in short time that uses one or two weapons (even
simultaneously). This is all a matter of personal taste and is certainly at the
user's discression.

With regards to the core construction parts (head, core, legs, arms, etc.),
construct it basically as you would an AC that you would use. It does not need
a radar or any specific sensors in the head part though. AI units, without any
training, will understand where the enemy is and will have rudimentary tracking
with the aiming reticle.

If you teach your AI good behavior of AC operation, it is also not essential to
have the highest output generator. AI ACs will not fully deplete their energy
supply unless it is a behavior that you display often. If you plan on using
highly draining parts or energy weapons a generator like the ROZ or VE905 are
recommended.

Along the lines of weapons, it is important to note that as AI units are in
early stages of training it is more difficult to use weapons that have very
long reload times. This can be infuriating when you are trying to train an AC
to use something like TITAN missiles, for example. It will simply try to
rotate to a different weapon.

AI units tend to make very good use of solid shell weapons like machine guns
and rifles, and are amazing in the accuracy that they can fire unguided
ordinance like rockets. An AI proficient in the use of HECTOS rockets can be
a very scary opponent!

AI units tend to need more time mastering launching of missiles (especially if
you also equip extension missile parts). Early on, they may or may not let the
missiles lock onto their target and then they will switch weapons without
firing.

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                       How to designate an AI unit
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Any AC can be designated an AI unit. Simply rotate to one of your three
available ACs or construct a new one, and from the Garage menu enter AI and
hit AI entry. The game will ask you to confirm your decision, and once you do
you are ready to go.

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                         Training your creation
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AI units are trained by entering the normal Arena and by playing matches
against other ACs. If you have an AC that has been designated as an AI AC, when
you confirm a match against another AC you will have the option to play as
either your AC from the Garage (left) or as your AI (right). The match will
play out exactly like any other Arena match. While you are playing, your AI is
forming its strategy based on your gameplay. Things like how close to your
opponent you are, how much of your energy you are using (are you always in the
red zone? do you ever have to recharge?), and in what order or preference you
use certain weapons.

The AI will pick up your bad habits too. Do you constantly run out of ammo or
shoot without a lock on your opponent... your AI will if you do. Things to
consider when training your AI are as follows:

    * Try to spend as much match time as possible. Your AI will learn more
      in a longer fight.

    * Do not fire unless you have a lock on your opponent (or will definitely
      connect with a shot). Your accuracy reflects directly on your AI. It
      is also helpful to have a high accuracy weapon like a rifle in tandem
      with a less accurate, but higher damage weapon like a rocket... if you
      train the AI to be accurate with a rifle, it will also be accurate with
      the rocket. AI ACs do not ditinguish between rockets and other unguided
      ordinance, that is to say the AI will 'lock' onto a target even though
      there is no lock box or reticle to sight the opponent.

    * Rotate through your weapons and use each one just a little, even if
      you use only one of them primarily.

    * Take note of the proximity to your opponent. If you have a sniper
      rifle equipped, stay farther back than if you have a handgun, the AI
      will pay attention to how close it should be when firing.

    * Try to avoid being targetted by your opponent. There is an indicator
      on screen that lets you know that you are in the lock box of your
      opponent. Most Arena ACs will have you targetted 90% of the time, so
      your AI will assume that this is an acceptable condition. This is bad!

This is not to say that your creation will do everything you do right away.
AI ACs follow a ranking scale just like opponents in the Arena, and as you
enter more matches, they will increase in rank and ability. When you first
enter an AI AC, it will begin as an E Rank. An E Rank AI already understands
that it is in a battle and has an opponent. It will attempt to walk towards
its opponent and will target it regardless of what sort of weapons are
available. E Rank AI will fire, but only sporadically and with minimal
accuracy.

Here is the general progression of ability AI units will achieve:

After 5-10 matches, an AI will be able to toggle through its weapons, and will
begin to fire with some consistency. The AC will not yet boost effectively or
be able to navigate around obstructions.

After 10-15 matches, your AI may begin boosting/OBing and strafing its
opponent. It should now be able to release a sustained burst of fire from a
machine gun and should be able to complete the lock sequence of a small or
medium back missile launcher. An AI AC should also be proficient in blading at
this point.

After 20-35 matches your AI will be at 80% weapon proficiency. It will be able
to keep a lock on its opponents with large missiles and can use missile
extensions. It will have also mastered firing weapons with slow reload times
and should know how to 'stack' weapons that have different reload times
(example - GNL then left arm weapon while changing to the right arm weapon).
AIs in this stage will be able to boost hop and fly to manuever around their
opponent and also navigate around obstacles and terrain. The unit will also
react to certain behaviors displayed by its opponents. Is the other AC
boosting in for a blade attack? Your AI may OB or sidestep in another
direction!

After 35 matches, if your style of play is consistent enough, you will be able
to train your AI to mimick very closely a set behavior pattern. Do you fire
all of your missiles, drop them, and then OB into your opponent to finish them
off with your laserblade? If you do this consistently enough, your AI will too.

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                       Training tricks and hints
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First off, and the tip that makes everything else easier... if it is available
to you, fight opponent D7 Calamity. This AC has a wonderful combination of
shortcomings that will allow you to more easily train your AI. First, she has
no locking weapons or guided ordinance whatsoever. This means that your AC
will never have to avoid being locked on to, just try to avoid standing face
to face with her. Second, the AC is very slow and very easy to manuever behind.
This makes it very easy to train an AI to use its blade or any type of rockets
or other unguided weapons. Third, the AC has a lot of AP, but not a lot of DEF,
this means you have more opportunities to fire (but you definitely need to
have enough ammo to finish the match).
*Thank you Vesperas for this suggestion

To see the rank of your AI, enter the Extra Arena(if you have unlocked it)
and select a match against another team. After you confirm the match you will
be asked to select an ally from a list, at the bottom of the list will be
your AI displayed with its current rank. If you then select your AI, you can
view a bar graph of its statistics similar to other arena opponents that
displays information on AP, offense, defense, mobility, etc. As a side note:
if you replace an AI without deleting the first one, the AI will start out
with the previous unit's rank. This does not affect how quickly your AI
learns or bring any benefit to training, it only makes it more difficult to
evaluate your progress... so be sure to delete your old AI before making a new
one.

Save your game. If you invest the time to go over the same match 20 times
and then turn the power off, you are back at square one.

AI units pick up some skills faster than others. Though more of a design issue,
which weapons you choose affects how much time you spend training a decent AI.
Here is a general guide to the difficulty of training a certain behavior*. I
will rate each area a percent out of 10, 1/10 being very easy for the AI to
learn 10/10 being very difficult for the AI to learn:

                 Blading  1/10
      Blade throw (OP-I)  2/10
                   Rifle  2/10
    Small/Medium Missile  3/10
           Large Missile  9/10
                  Rocket  3/10
         Left arm weapon  4/10
        Boosting(ground)  5/10
           Boosting(air)  7/10
                OBing/EO  5/10
               Extension  6/10
                  Inside  5/10
                  Shield  8/10
               Drop item 10/10

*This guide only denotes proficiency in a skill, not mastery. While blading
receives a 1/10, that does not include advanced tactics like OB hooking, etc.
It only means that the AI understands how to deploy the blade.

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                     Where you can put your AI to use
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You have created an AI unit and trained it, what now? Here is every opportunity
you have to play alongside or against your AI:

    AI Test in the AI menu of the garage
         To access this feature, in the AI menu of the garage select AI Test.
         You will start a match against your AI with the garage AC you have
         selected currently. You can only fight in the Military District and
         are unable to view replay information.

    Extra Arena as a teammate
         If you have unlocked the Extra Arena, select and confirm a match.
         At the teammate select list, scroll to the bottom to find your AI,
         it is listed as AI Rank instead of Raven Rank. This will allow you
         to see your AI's rank and stats, and will also allow you to replay
         the match from your AI's perspective. This is the best method to
         evaluate the progress of your AI. You can only fight in the Military
         District.

    AI Arena in a one on one match
         The AI Arena is available after you save one or more AI ACs in this
         game mode. AI ACs are fought in a progressive ladder-style similar
         to the Arena. You can only fight in the Military District.

    Versus as either teammate, opponent or as unmanned AC (you just watch)
         After loading your game save information from the player setup,
         your current AI will be selectable in two ways: First, if you have
         enabled COM units, you can select your AI from the bottom of the
         list of available ACs. Second, if you press left or right from
         the setup option for your AC, your AI will become available.
         (a small yellow square that says 'AI' will appear) You can fight
         in any arena that COMS are allowed (Military District, Arena,
         Space Arena, Reservoir, etc).

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                             Menus and options
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Here are all relevent menus and submenus (designated by a >) in each part of
AC:SL.

After loading a game, in the Garage menu:

    AI
     >AI Entry
      This will enter your currently selected AC from the garage as an AI
      unit. This will overwrite information from previous AIs except for
      rank.

     >AI Delete
      This will clear old AI information, it is recommended to Delete old
      AI units before Entering new ones.

     >Paint
      This option funtions exactly like the Paint option in the Garage.

     >Name Entry
      This option functions exactly like the Name Entry option in the Garage.

     >AI Test
      This will start a one on one match against your AI that is similar to
      a match against an arena opponent except that it can only take place in
      the Military District and that there is no replay option.

AI Arena (scroll up from 'Load Game')

   Garage
      Functions similar to normal Garage, except 'AI' option is replaced by
      'System'. Load your save file from the System menu in order to access
      all parts and all ready-made ACs you have created.

   AI Arena
      Challenge your AI creations by advancing up the ladder (if you have more
      than one AI saved). Arena matches are limited to the Military District.

   Ranking Edit
      >Ranker Customize
           >Ranker Customize
            Change the appearance or name of an AI unit using Paint or
            Name Entry menus.

           >Ranker Entry
            This will allow you to save your current AI from your game to an
            AI Arena.

           >Delete
            Only 10 AI units are allowed in an AI Arena, so it may be
            necessary to remove one from time to time. Also, if you enter a
            better trained version of the same AI you can replace it by taking
            away the older version.

           >Move
            Change the order in which you progress throught the AI Arena if
            there are more than one AI AC entered. Select an AC from the list,
            then move up or down to the desired position on the list and press
            X again to release th AC. Most people will want stronger or better
            trained ACs at the top of the list, but this is entirely up to
            the player.

      >Arena Save
       Saves the current AI Arena settings and ACs.

      >Arena Load
       Loads previous save information from the memory card.

      >Arena Name
       Name your Arena information. Since more than one AI Arena can be made,
       a different name can be made to distinguish between them.

      >Exit Game
       This will exit out to the main menu that loads after the intro movie.


Versus mode (scroll down from 'Load Game')

To enable AI in the Versus mode, first toggle COM units ON. At the initial
match setup screen (which includes the variables of the match like duration,
weapon break, etc.) you will be required to select an arena area that can be
used by COM units such as Arena or Reservoir. At the next screen, if you wish
to fight against or alongside your AI, toggle on one or more COM units.

If you wish to fight AS your AI (your unit is your AI and operates without
your control) enter the 'Setup' option for your AC on the final screen before
starting the match. Load your save file from the 'System' menu to allow access
to all parts and information from your game. Now when you exit, you will have
the ability to scroll left or right at your 'Setup' option. Doing so will
enable your AI. A small yellow square that says 'AI' will inform you that you
have selected this option.

If you wish to fight WITH or AGAINST your AI, make sure COM units are enabled
and go into the 'Setup' option for your AC and load your save game file from
the 'System' menu. When you exit, go to one of the COM unit placeholders and
press X to bring up the list of available units. The AI unit will be listed at
the bottom and will be designated as AI Rank instead of Raven Rank. Now,
depending on the conditions you set up in the previous screen (free for all,
team match, etc.) you can play a match with your AI.

Only the AI you are currently training will be available to you in the Versus
mode.

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                     Frequently asked questions
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Q:My AI won't (insert behavior here), I've trained it for a half an hour, why
 is it so stupid?
A:With patience, your AI will master the skill you are teaching it.

Q:How long would it take to train an AI to jump up, OB and deliver a perfect
 GNL shot in mid-air to start a match like Mobius does?
A:You would lose your job, your family and friends would desert you, and you
 would have carpal tunnel by the time this happenned.

Q:Why can't I select different arena areas in the Arena or Extra Arena if they
 are available in Versus mode?
A:I would like to know this myself!

Q:My NER RAY SAMURAI HUESO AI AC dies really fast, why?
A:AI ACs follow the exact same rules as your Garage ACs. If it has great speed
 and mobility, it probably lacks AP and DEF stats. Build balanced ACs or ones
 that greatly accel in certain areas in order to make a successful AI.

Q:Will my AI be selectable as a mission consort?
A:Nope, They are always the same.

Q:Your FAQ has a lot of words, I'm bored.
A:Sorry!

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