escort-ees are idiots

[Omega Blue]

They don't bother me by running away. What really annoy me is when they charge to their doom. I don't understand why they would run straight into monsters, thus getting decimated...

[nate]

Man, I love those little dudes. They keep me entertained.

There are few rewards/punishments in ToME that are gradated the way escort missions are. Most other stuff? You succeed-- or you die. That leads to a very boring challenge curve, which is either too easy, or too hard.

Really, when I'm playing, I love it when they get boxed into a corner. At least then they're someplace where they'll stop running.

The bigger problem, to me, is that they'll run from mobs that won't chase. It makes sense when they run from a chaser, because the chaser should be homing in on them. When they run from, say, an immobile mob, then it makes it that much easier for me to get them someplace safe and stable and clear the level.

Even then, chasers don't always seem to home in on them. I think part of that is that mobs apparently only see when they have enough energy to act. If an escort enters view and retreats before the mob has a chance to react, the mob doesn't even know the escort exists. I would love to see can_see checks prompt a reciprocal check to activate the target of the can_see.

If escorts only ran from targets capable of giving chase (because they were both aware of the escort and mobile), their behavior would seem marginally more believable. I also believe that changing them to behave in that way would be more of a challenge for me. The ideal escort rescue ratio (for keeping people from thinking that they DESERVE escort bonuses, rather than thinking, "sweet, i saved that stupid sucker") is probably 50%, and for experienced players, I'm going to guess the actual ratio is more like 90%.

Now, if you want to make them smart enough to avoid drowning, that's both something I can stand behind and that will make them easier.

[Velorien]

Having escortees only flee from chasers is, however, made trickier by the likes of rare corruptor plants. Escortees would have to scan each potential threat's entire talent list before deciding whether to flee. Can AI even do that?

An alternative would be to have escortees flee from all rares, which is an entirely reasonable attitude but not necessarily a helpful or believable one.

[wobbly]

Maybe we could use a few extra commands, like:
"stick close to me"
"Run, I'll hold them off"
"Make a break for it, your only 2 damn squares away"
"Stop shooting me in the back gender-bender self from the future or I'll turn myself in to Zigur"

[Crim, The Red Thunder]

I approve whole-heartedly of ALL of these.

Also... is it reasonable to expect that characters who have not yet determined a side in the mage/zigurist debate should be able to choose whether to sacrifice or not ONLY when the escort reachs the portal, rather then at level start? Both because this allows you to debate with chat group about appropriate choice, and so you actually CAN betray the escorts you don't care about after they drive you bananas all across the level. (Plus, makes them fit better with Burb Lull's comic. )

We really also need to be able to have Zigurist escorts who we could 'save' or betray to the grand corruptor/inquisitor for some evil magic related rewards. Zigurists shouldn't get all the escort fun...