Q: Will the AI react differently to vehicles than it would to people?
-Yup, it's really great fun. When they see you coming in the APC, fighter, driller, or jeep, the foolish ones will stand and fire their little girly-man weapons at your armored might, while the sensible ones run, but the jeep doesn't seem to be faster than the average baddy, so that can be somewhat annoying at times... Regardless, pretty soon, there's a little bump, a little shriek, and a little squishing sound. There's even a little red spot on the ground afterward. It's very amusing. And tastefully done, I might add. top

Q: Will people (mainly civies) react to you differently depending on whether or not your weapon is drawn?
-Yup. When you have it drawn civilians will cower from you and may not help you. For instance, draw your weapon at a medic and he will not heal you until you put it away and give him some time to come out of cowering mode. top

Q: Will enemies work in packs?
-Yup. top

Q: Do enemies have a chain of command?
-Yes. Guards and the like will follow their commander. If their commander is taken out they may lose the effectiveness of a team unit, but this is never noticeable in the actual game. You just shoot at guys and sometimes they're bad asses and sometimes they're chumps. It's also pretty much impossible to tell who's the commander and who's not until the firefight is over and you have a second or two to gloat over their bodies. top

Q: Will enemies call for reinforcements?
-Yes. They can sound alarms and retreat around a corner only to come back with their buddies right behind them. top

Q: Will enemies retreat?
-Yes, but they always come back for more. top

Q: Will enemies try and dodge fire or look for cover?
-Yes. They can duck, roll, and hide quite effectively. There are times when you'll find yourself playing a game of cat and mouse with some goons ducking in and out from behind pillars and the like. top

Q: If an enemy's cover is blown will he/she look to find new cover?
-Yes. Destroy the pillar a guy was hiding behind and he'll run away knowing you can hit him now. top

Q: Will enemies try and take out your cover where applicable?
-Yes. They will also shoot through a geo-modded hole to get to you. top

Q: Will enemies react to geo-modded areas?
-Yes. They will shoot through a geo-modded hole to get to you, but they will rarely if ever navigate through geo-modded walls and such. Though, they will recognize an area as impassable if it has a giant hole in the ground or whatever. top

Q: Are friendly NPCs slouches?
-Oh, you'd better believe it, these guys are total losers. Richard Simmons would put up a better fight. I mean, every single comrade you meat during the course of the game dies within 1.5 seconds of the onset of combat. The only exceptions are the story critical characters whom you may meet along the way. top

Q: Do the enemies run out of ammo like the player would?
-Yes. Enemies can run out of ammo, switch weapons according to range and situation, and even have to reload when necessary. top

Q: Does holstering and drawing a weapon create noise that can attract AI opponents?
-Yes, but this is only applicable in the stealth missions, at which point guards are endowed with the "spider sense" and can feel your presence even if you draw your weapon from some distance behind them. top

Q: Will doors opening in Red Faction alert guards?
-No, but if it is yes (as was previously said), then it's not noticeable and would only be applicable in the stealth missions, where I have never seen it to have any kind of an effect. top

Q: Does reloading a weapon cause noise that can attract the AI?
-No, which is unusual since drawing your weapon (even from behind them) will send everyone in a panic like abusive, drunken fathers at their kid's soccer match. top

Q: Will you be able to open doors quietly to prevent alerting the AI?
-Opening doors does not seem to have any discernable effect on the AI. Anyway, even if they say it technically does affect AI, there is still only one way to open a door. top

Q: Will bad guys fight other bad guys?
-No. Throughout the course of the single player game you will not see bad guys fighting bad guys. top

Q: Can we create our own AI routines or modify AI in any way?
-Not much is yet known about modding, but Red. does contain a very powerful scripting system that should enable you to do most anything with the AI. top

Q: What's the multiplayer bot AI like?
-The PS2 version's bot AI will rush you, use terrain, hide, camp, etc. Each AI is assigned one of a set of battle modes/tendencies. Each tendency has a range of behaviors, depending on the terrain and situation the AI encounters. With that being said, they run around and shoot, and do not jump, or swim. It's currently undecided whether or not the PC version will have bots in multiplayer. top

Q: How's the AI pathfinding?
-Ideally, if we've done our jobs right, you will never see AI running into walls, doors, furniture, etc. There are pathways we create in the editor and the AI will generally keep to them (unless they're really, really pissed at you). We've done our best to ensure the pathways cover every meter of clear space in the levels, so it won't be anything like the AI is running on rails. The pathways are variable in width (and length) and are usually as wide and as long as corridors, rooms, etc. allow them to be. This gives the AI lots of flexibility in its approaches to you. If you were to enter a room five times, moving to five spots in the room, the same AI will likely move differently each time to reach you. AI will not navigate through geo-modded areas though. So, if you blow a hole through the wall the AI won't hop through the hole to get at you. top

Q: Can the AI see you in the dark?
Yes. This is not generally intended to be a stealth game, and as such, lighting has no bearing on the AI. top

Q: Does the AI have visual awareness?
Whenever you see a guard, (sans scripted occasions and the two stealth missions), they see you and fire accordingly. Every AI in the game can be given a custom field of view. So if we want you to be able to sneak past someone, we give him a 180-degree or less FOV and position him so that if you move correctly, you can sneak by him. That being said, RF is not generally about sneaking. The usual method in RF to ensure that someone does not detect you is to shoot him until he no longer detects anything. There are situations in which you go undercover, however, sort of sneaking around in plain view. The challenge there is to discover the ways in which your cover can get blown and learn to avoid those circumstances (read trial and error). top