AI bottle of rum: the first video game about Somali pirates is released in Russia

Izvestia was one of the first in Russia to play The Sea of Thieves, a large—scale addition to the Sparta 2035 project, which is being released on November 4. This is the first game about Somali pirates in our country. The project received support from the Internet Development Institute. The developers have added HDRP technology, which allows you to create high-quality graphics with excellent performance. Programmers also wrote over 40,000 lines of code for the behavior of characters, which is many times more than the standard indicator for such games. Thanks to this solution, the gameplay develops unpredictably, its authors said. Experts are convinced that the project will resonate with gamers.

What the Sea of Thieves game will tell you about

The release of the strategy game "Sparta 2035" from early access will take place on November 4. Izvestia has tested the large-scale addition "Sea of Thieves", which has a separate mini-campaign to combat pirates in the Gulf of Aden. This is the first game in the history of the Russian Federation where Somali pirates play a central role. New fighters, ships, and port maps are associated with them.

Screenshot from the game "Sparta 2035"

Photo: Lipsar Studio

— In a year, we have gone from the first demo to a full-fledged campaign. Gamers shared ideas, complained about bugs, argued about balance, helped test builds, and just kept us on our toes," said Gleb Durnovo, producer of the game and head of Lipsar Studio.

The authors of the game also plan to add biomes — large geographical areas with unique characteristics, including jungles, military bases and centers of African cities. Along with the addition of "Sea of Thieves", new types of missions are being introduced into the project.: anti-terror, VIP capture, defense of facilities and joint operations with allies. A lot of work has been done by the programmers who used AI in the development.

Screenshot from the game "Sparta 2035"

Photo: Lipsar Studio

— Artificial intelligence, which determines the behavior of enemies, is very important in strategies. Our AI module consists of more than 40 thousand lines of program code. As a result, he poses a real danger to strategists. The module doesn't always act predictably, even for our testers and game designers who set it up," explained Gleb Durnovo.

Thanks to the use of an animation module with separate frames for each combat situation, a smooth transition system between animations, and Unity's High Definition Render Pipeline technology, which provides realistic graphics in complex scenarios, Sparta 2035 is becoming one of the most technologically advanced games created in Russia.

— Each mission can be launched with different light settings depending on what time of day the gamer started the combat mission. The map will show morning, afternoon, evening and night, respectively," the author said.

AI for creating games

For a long time, the industry has been setting a steady trend towards the image of a "cool American hero" saving the world. However, more and more often, players want to see characters from "their own field" — close in spirit, acting in a realistic context and solving tasks that reflect current challenges, said Andrey Voronkov, Deputy General Director of the Institute for Internet Development.

Screenshot from the game "Sparta 2035"

Photo: Lipsar Studio

— Sparta 2035 gives players what they've been missing — the opportunity to see "their tough guys" who are really changing the world, fighting terrorism, solving the crisis of global maritime trade, and preventing the threat of nuclear launches. The team has done a lot of work this year, and the project is coming out of early access perfectly refined and supplemented, including new mechanics, weapons, biomes, and factions. This is 50-60 hours of well—made content and, as a bonus, an addition to the Sea of Pirates, where the Spartans will join the fight against Somali pirates," he explained to Izvestia.

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Modern games are increasingly using AI to create dynamic and adaptive worlds. For example, Inworld and Nvidia are developing AI characters that respond to the player's speech and change the narrative, and in strategies like XCOM 2, intelligence analyzes user tactics and adjusts to them, creating a tense and difficult struggle, said Ivan Kalmykov, an expert in the field of IT, gaming industry and neural network technologies. According to him, the amount of code and complex AI mechanics announced by the developers correspond to global trends and demonstrate the serious ambitions of the game's creators.

40,000 lines of code responsible for the behavior of artificial intelligence in a strategy game demonstrate the depth and ambition of the project. For comparison, in classic strategies like Civilization V or Total War: Shogun 2, the AI modules responsible for tactics, diplomacy, and decision-making range from 10,000 to 30,000 lines. According to Vadim Kovalenko, a lecturer at the Department of Esports at the Faculty of Gaming Industry and Esports at Synergy University, this suggests that developers are striving to create not just a "responsive" opponent, but a complex adaptive system capable of imitating human strategic thinking.

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— If the AI is too smart or, conversely, too simple, it ruins the immersion. Therefore, the developers' words that even their own testers and game designers cannot always predict the behavior of AI should be taken more as a compliment to the system than as a disadvantage. This is a sign that AI is really adapting and evolving depending on the context," the expert noted.

Screenshot from the game "Sparta 2035"

Photo: Lipsar Studio

As noted by IT specialist Sergey Pomortsev, a large amount of program code does not necessarily indicate its quality and performance. He stressed that it is wrong to evaluate artificial intelligence using this metric alone: it is important to take into account the programming languages used, algorithms and behavioral modules that determine the variability and adaptability of the behavior of computer rivals.