History Main / GameplayAutomation

* Similar to ''Earthbound'', ''PaperMario'' included a few badges that allowed the player to defeat weak enemies on the field, without having to enter battle mode.

abandoning survey vehicles adds to the game's atmosphere of having to get off an ever more hostile planet. This is the same mission where residences are upgraded to reinforced shelters.

** In concept, not a bad idea; in execution, however... well, if the AI would only do what I told it to, I'd have been alright with it.

* ''[[{{Outpost2}} Outpost 2]]'', an RTS, has an optional observation satellite that will automatically survey all resource deposits (make them usable) for the rest of the game. It manages to feel great while accomplishing very little: robotic surveyors are cheap and expendable.

It eases the crushing multitasking a bit, and ties right into the game's plot about fleeing the planet.

** FinalFantasyXIII took this in a different direction, giving the player control of overall tactics such as each character's role in the party at specific times, in the form of Paradigms, while giving them a literal auto-battle button. This lines up a string of moves for your character, taking into account who has less health or needs which buffs (for medics and buffers), weaknesses and resistances that you are aware of on an enemy (for mages, commandos and debuffers), and other tactics depending on the situation. You still have the option to put in the commands yourself, but unless you have a very specific strategy you're implementing it generally gives you the best option.

* SaGa3 features an "Auto" option, which lets you toggle on/off AI controlling the characters.

* In ''PlantsVsZombies'' you can buy a snail which auto-collects the coins dropped by plants in your Zen Garden. Though you need to manually awake it in short intervals or feed it chocolate to keep it awake for an hour.

* PhantasyStarIV has a macro system which sets commands for a turn using a single selection. Although the most common set tells all the characters to attack, new macros can be programmed in for using combination spells.

* ''AlterAILA''

* ''SlaveMaker'' allows you to decide if you want to automatically win or lose battles. While winning is obviously the preferable option, auto-losing does allow for some different paths to explore without having to let yourself lose.

** FreeCiv adds build lists that can be applied to new cities so that they automatically construct improvements and troops in the order desired by the player. Cities will also autobuild unless coinage is put in the build queue.

A common type of automation is turning the combat section of a larger game over to the computer. This is convenient when revisiting previous areas, LevelGrinding, or when combat has the tactical depth of wet tissue paper. Good auto-battle systems have a visible and responsive "manual control" button, allowing the player to act as an overseer and intervene when necessary. Great auto-battles have a "WAIT WAIT WAIT TAKE THAT BACK" button. Unfortunately, no great auto-battles seem to exist.

* ''[[{{Outpost2}} Outpost 2]]'', an RTS, has a mission about restarting a space program. It has an optional observation satellite, which will survey all resource deposits (make them usable) for the rest of the game. This isn't actually necessary: robo-surveyors are cheap and easy to use. It still ''feels'' very nice, since it's a tangible reward for advancing the plot, it eases the multitasking, and abandoning survey vehicles adds to the game's atmosphere of having to get off an ever more hostile planet. This is the same mission where residences are upgraded to reinforced shelters.

A common type of automation is turning the combat section of a larger game over to the computer. This is convenient when revisiting previous areas, LevelGrinding, or when combat has the tactical depth of wet tissue paper. Good auto-battle systems have a visible and responsive "manual control" button, allowing the player to act as an overseer and intervene when necessary. Great auto-battles have a "WAIT WAIT WAIT TAKE THAT BACK" button; unfortunately, none seem to have been made.

* In ''[[UFOAfterBlank UFO: Aftermath]]'', the player has a squad of soldiers, an Earth full of aliens and mutants to conquer, and one helicopter to do it with. Defending one's territory is an exercise in futility, until the player wins the first major victory by capturing an alien teleporter. Then the chopper always launches from the closest base.

See also AntiFrustrationFeatures, where gameplay changes in response to the player's (lack of) skill.

** There is also a fan-made program called KolMafia which will automate damn near everything and has a comprehensive scripting language, among many other things. People have made scripts to play the entire game for you. The devs are fine with it.

* In ''[[UFOAfterBlank UFO: Aftermath]]'', the player has a squad of soldiers, an Earth full of aliens and mutants to conquer, and one helicopter to do it with. Expansion increases the number of trouble spots, so

Sending the chopper careening all over the map is an exercise in futility, until the player wins the first major victory and captures an alien teleporter. Then the chopper always launches from the closest base.
* ''[[{{Outpost2}} Outpost 2]]'', an RTS, has a mission about restarting a space program. It has an optional observation satellite, which will survey all resource deposits (make them usable) for the rest of the game. This isn't actually necessary: robo-surveyors are cheap and easy to use. It still ''feels'' very nice, since it's an immediate concrete benefit for advancing the plot, it eases the multitasking a bit, and abandoning survey vehicles adds to the game's atmosphere of having to get off an ever more hostile planet. This is the same mission where residences are upgraded to reinforced shelters.

Worst of all, ArtificialStupidity is waiting for a chance to show its ugly face. The player might be winning glorious victories or building wonders to stand the test of time; it's just going to be frustrating if he has to do it by shepherding a computer that should know better. Still, automation is often important in keeping a game fun and challenging.

* In ''[[UFOAfterBlank UFO: Aftermath]]'', the player has a squad of soldiers, an Earth full of aliens and mutants to conquer, and one helicopter to do it with. Sending the chopper careening all over the map is an exercise in futility, until the player wins the first major victory and captures an alien teleporter. Then the chopper always launches from the closest base.

* Plenty of [=RPGs=] have an auto-battle option that consists of spamming default attacks until told otherwise:
** The ''MegaTen'' games (including ''{{Persona}}'', excluding the Raidou games and ''DevilSurvivor'' for their different combat systems) have the "Rush" command, which speeds the flow of battle by about 50% and forces all party members to stick with physical attacks, overriding their selected tactics.
** ''{{Suikoden}}''.

* {{Goldbox}} games, such as ''PoolsOfDarkness'' or ''UnlimitedAdventures'', have a "Quick" option in battle which puts a character under computer control, or you can turn over the entire party to CPU control by pressing Alt-Q. Of course, due to ArtificialStupidity, this is only a good idea if the battle is easy.

* ''DungeonCrawl'' has two types of autopilot:
** Auto-explore, which automates moving the player-character around to map out the as-yet-unseen parts of a dungeon level, and also picking up newly found items. It stops to let the player take over if something interesting is discovered or if a hostile monster is encountered.
** Auto-travel, which automates moving between two known locations across previously mapped territory.

Worst of all, ArtificialStupidity is waiting for a chance to show its ugly face. The player might be winning glorious victories or building wonders to stand the best of time; it's just going to be frustrating if he has to do it by shepherding a computer that should know better. Still, automation is often important in keeping a game fun and challenging.

Examples:

* ''Fragile Allegiance'' has AI governors for hire with varying salaries and capabilities. One cheaper one, for instance, is described as good as long as she isn't given too much to deal with. Black market wares include the governors' background details, and those seem to have actual gameplay use, since the game has both a "fire" button and a "fire, imprison, and put under armed guard" button.