I am a beginner to game programming with a special interest in AI. Is there any difference in the "amount" of AI you can have in 2D games compared with 3D games and real-time compared with turn based?

Not really, depending on the game. I mean, if you write a 3d flight simulator, it''s a bit more because you''re dealing with AI in all 3 directions instead of 2, but the concepts are still the same (low fuel, go refuel, enemy near you, follow/shoot, etc). The concepts are similar, but the implementation is different. For example, path finding. In 2d, it''s simply (not really simple, but relatively simple) find the easiest path from x,y -> x,y. In 3d, it''s find the easiest path from x,y,z to x,y,z (in 3d, you have to take things like stairs, ladders, etc), so there''s that added complexity, although both are similar in concept. That is AI that has to do with finding/moving, but the other AI (like them remembering things, or adapting to the environement, what kind of moves they should make) is almost identical. When you''re talking about turn based, and real-time, it depends on the game.. as most games that are turn-based, don''t work to well in real-time, and vice-versa.. so if the game is different (and played different), more than likely you''ll need different AI (although, similar, as to figuring out what move to do next, you need that in both real-time and turn-based, but in real-time, you need to make sure it''s FAST, while in turn-based, it can be a bit slower, which means, more complex).

Billy - BillyB@mrsnj.com