IndyCar Series driver AI details

UK-based Codemasters has today revealed that the opponents players will be racing against in IndyCar Series employ AI routines developed using a system that, in many ways, resembles genetic engineering. For the creation of the drivers' artificial intelligence, the development team began by giving each driver on the circuit only very basic AI and then started a race. The drivers proceeded around the track with varying degrees of success, and those that were the most successful had their parameters--which Codemasters describes as AI genes--integrated into the next batch of drivers. According to Codemasters, this process continued until every driver on the circuit demonstrated that it was able to handle an IndyCar Series event as proficiently as the real-life professionals.

Further tweaking to the driver AI in IndyCar Series allows the drivers to employ some of the same racing tactics as their real-life counterparts, making strategic decisions on the fly rather than following scripted racing paths. The skill levels of the AI drivers in the game will be dynamically adjusted to be in line with the skill level of the player, although exactly how this feature will be implemented is not clear at this time.

IndyCar Series is the official game of the open-wheel championship of the same name and as such will feature authentic drivers, cars, and circuits for the 2002 season. For more information on IndyCar Series, which is scheduled for release in May, check out our previous coverage of the game using the links to the right.