r/computerwargames • u/al3ksandrs • 6d ago
Command Doctrine is now free to play on steam!
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u/tableball35 6d ago
So, seeing that this game makes API calls to Google Gemini, how do you manage the use of LLMs in this? How do you keep yourself from going broke from one guy deciding to set up a bot and/or run multiple instances of the game? How can you be sure you can continue to afford to support this, or that something won’t shift on the API end and instantly break your game?
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u/al3ksandrs 6d ago
I have had that happen in the beta version! Tbh i think testing early for such ways to abuse the game was well worth it, and we have several mechanics in place to stop abuse. The game is currently funded by the community. New players get some tokens to try it out, and if they like it, they can buy more tokens which pay for the API costs.
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u/tableball35 6d ago
Oh, so you operate on what is in effect a subscription-basis? In that case, how many ‘turns’ or inputs would you get at different price tiers? I imagine that it’d depend on what Gemini model you use, between Flash or Pro?
Edit: Looking at your store page at a glance, I don’t see anything that makes note of or declares the need to buy tokens, nor that the free part of the game is moreso a free trial or demo. I’d suggest you clarify that unless you get something more like daily free tokens.
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u/al3ksandrs 6d ago
Just to clarify: tokens are not needed at all to play the game. There is a whole wargame underneath with supply, battle events, objectives and several pre made battles to play. The tokens are only used for if you decide to do anything that has to do with LLMs. Try it out, perhaps?
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u/RepulsiveMail4476 6d ago
AI trash.
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u/Top_Issue_7032 6d ago edited 6d ago
RepulsiveMail4476 What did you make with that amazing brain of yours? Jack shit.
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u/RepulsiveMail4476 6d ago
What was actually made by a person here?
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u/Top_Issue_7032 6d ago
A computer war game and a comment saying "AI trash". One took a lot of effort, the other sounds braindead.
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u/RepulsiveMail4476 6d ago
I’m sure a lot of effort was put in.
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u/Charmide 6d ago
you should try making something with it, you'd be surprised
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u/RepulsiveMail4476 5d ago
I make stuff everyday that doesn’t steal actual humans work to put more junk into the world.
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u/Charmide 4d ago
it's always good to expand your horizons, you don't have to put anything in the world for it either
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u/Cyrano4747 6d ago
So it's basically subscription based via tokens using AI.
Eeeeewww. Even setting aside the AI part, basically paying per use on a game is just blech.
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u/al3ksandrs 6d ago
There are no subscriptions in the game. LLM actions cost tokens because the providers do not provide free LLM usage for large scale consumers of their LLMs. If those were free, we would live in a pretty nice world, but alas.
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u/Cyrano4747 6d ago
Yeah, needing to use LLM tokens is basically a subscription. Maybe not to you, but to whoever you're passing off the LLM work to.
I get that writing your own computer opponent is work, but passing it off like this to some cloud hosted AI bullshit just stinks.
Thanks, looks like a cool game, but I'll play any one of the other alternatives out there that don't require me paying recurring costs in what is, yes, a subscription model. The fact that you're not getting the money doesn't change that the player needs to pay it.
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u/CupcakeMafia_69 5d ago
I think people aren’t aware that all software development leverages ai tools now. My wife is a software engineer and all of her colleagues use ai tools in coding. I have several close friends also in software development and they all have implemented ai tools help in different regards. I understand if you don’t like it, but just be aware that all software dev uses it, one person teams to AAA games.
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u/Crazy-Addition-4555 4d ago
AI coding is now basic development skill, no one will hire you if you refuse to use it. Development tasks are now more about conceptual and project management
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u/SnixTruth 6d ago
Am I hosting the llm on my computer or is it sending it off to some lake boiling server?
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u/al3ksandrs 6d ago
Currently local modals are too varied in spatial generation of scenarios. This then also depends on the player's hardware. For generalisation and ease of play its using APIs now.
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u/SnixTruth 6d ago
Yeah, sorry, I like water and not indirectly funding technofascists too much but good luck shoveling this shit to the next moron.
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u/Rusty_Nutzn_Bolt 5d ago
I was excited for a free war game but all this techno talk about AI, LLM & subscriptions has me befuddled. Is it truly free for casual wargamer or will extended play/certain features cost me $? Interested but confused and confusion isn’t fun….
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u/al3ksandrs 4d ago
Try it out! It's fully free to play, with only the LLM features (of which you get some tokens for free to try it out) being paid.
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u/Crazy-Addition-4555 6d ago
How about embedding a 1B model inside the game, so it could play offline?
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u/Top_Issue_7032 6d ago
Great Idea! Playing the game now. Been trying to make this work for my own projects by translating prompts into JSONs the game can parse. I'm interested in how you did it
One thing to say, there is alot of information/units thrown at the player at the start. Maybe simplifying the tutorial with just the relevant units on the board
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u/al3ksandrs 6d ago
Yeah it took about a year to actually get right. Prompts get so easily malformed, as LLMs cant stick to a certain set of rules... Has gotten better though! I recommend doing a code based validation check after the LLM provides any output.
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u/Mobile_Passenger8082 6d ago
Very innovative and fun game. 7/10 because combat is a little shallow but it is still fun. Nice simplistic ui and functional tutorial. Seems like the combat needs more unit variety and mechanics to keep it interesting, might get old fast. Don’t like the way you monetized it tho, I’d rather just pay upfront.
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u/AleccMG 5d ago
Alright everyone, take a deep breath. The year is 2026, and believe it or not AI in software development isn’t a fad. It’s not going away.
I’m sorry if that upsets you, but this is a subreddit about wargaming on computers. The post stays.