Speaking of AoE 2, I really hope this research ends up benefiting that game. The AI in it has always been so bad but it's still my favorite game of all time.
Microsoft hired one of the best scripters (Promi) on the AoE2 AI circuit to write the official AI for AoE2 HD, and it's quite good, although the rules engine doesn't have enough features to beat early harassment. If you let it boom it's pretty scary for new players.
If you play using the UserPatch on Voobly, where the serious custom AIs are written, you can play vs. Barbarian. It is _very_ good, if you're not a semi-competitive player it will certainly beat you.
The upcoming UserPatch 1.5 will add even more features, so Barbarian and other custom AIs will become stronger.
To be clear, AoE2 AIs are all rules-based and written by pro players themselves, which is quite different from what DeepMind is trying to do.
It is hard but my impression is it's because it cheats. I'm more looking for interesting AI (creativity, adaptation) rather than raw difficulty due to its ability to spam military.
If you play using the UserPatch on Voobly, where the serious custom AIs are written, you can play vs. Barbarian. It is _very_ good, if you're not a semi-competitive player it will certainly beat you.
The upcoming UserPatch 1.5 will add even more features, so Barbarian and other custom AIs will become stronger.
To be clear, AoE2 AIs are all rules-based and written by pro players themselves, which is quite different from what DeepMind is trying to do.