AI Job System

This page explains the Legacy AI Behavior we experimented with for the project.

Our unfinished AI design used well-defined behavioral roles called Jobs. Each job had its own file in ai/behavior/, implementing the abstract JobTemplate class. This class provided a shared structure for all specialized behaviors.

Overview

• Newcomer - Default job for any freshly spawned player. - Waits to be assigned a role by the existing Elder. - If no Elder broadcast is heard for 50 ticks, promotes itself to Elder.

• Elder - A single Elder exists per civilization. - Acts as the central coordinator:

  • Chooses a “home tile” near civilization center.

  • Receives stones, food, and players for incantations.

  • Assigns jobs to newcomers.

  • Tracks the roles and locations of all known players.

  • Garblers are a partial exception: they are not tracked as precisely, and assignment is rarer to avoid confusion.

• Basic - Default worker role. - Randomly paths around the map, collecting any stones in its way. - Broadcasts when it has enough resources to evolve.

• Collector - Focuses on gathering specific stones. - Delivers resources to the Elder’s designated home tile.

• Garbler - Leaves the civilization to embed itself in an enemy team. - Goal is to disrupt enemy communication. - For every message it sends, it cycles modes:

  • 50% Raven: emits nonsense (including invalid encodings like feff).

  • 40% Mimicry: repeats verbatim any intercepted enemy message.

  • 10% Parrot: repeats messages with heavy modification.

Job Assignment System

The Elder assigns jobs dynamically, using our team’s broadcast protocol. Each player listens for instructions and responds appropriately.

Communication Protocol

All inter-player instructions passed through team broadcasts during the game are defined below:

Job Protocol

Job	Instruction (Recv)	Instruction (Send)	Effect	Args / Type
Basic	assign_job <id> <job>	evolution_ready <level>	Elder-directed reassignment; immediate job transition	id: int, job: str
	evolution_call <count>	evolution_response <id>	Respond to group evolution call	id: int
	status_report_request	basic_status level:<L> needs:<N> food:<F>	Periodic status update to elder	level: int, needs: int, food: int
	resource_request <res> <amt>	resource_available <res>	Respond if excess resource is held	resource: str, amt: int
Elder	newcomer_seeking_assignment	assign_job <id> <job>	Assigns newcomer to job	id: int, job: str
	resource_delivery <res> <amt>	status_report_request	Update depot stock from collector; ask for reports	resource: str, amt: int
		elder_location <x> <y>	Updates elder position for everyone	x: int, y: int
Newcomer	elder_announce <id>	newcomer_seeking_assignment <level>	Announces presence and level; awaits elder reply	id: int, level: int
	assign_job <id> <job>	newcomer_joined	Elder assigns role; confirms join	id: int, job: str
Collector		resource_delivery <res> <amt>	Dispose of the collected stones on the Elder’s tile	resource: str, amt: int
Garbler		variable garbage	Disruption: random unreadable text	str
		intercepted_message (mimicry/parrot)	Disruption: repeated or modified enemy message	str
	any enemy message		Stores for mimicry or parrot use	str

Behavior Philosophy

This system was designed to:

• Decentralize coordination via broadcast-based communication.

• Have a single Elder coordinate overall strategy.

• Allow role reassignment and adaptability during play.

• Disrupt enemy teams by embedding Garblers who mimic or garble enemy messages.

Although unfinished, this “Job System” represents an ambitious attempt to create complex AI behaviors resembling a true in-game society.