Fighting Games Need Opponents

This week I took a stab at Artificial Intelligence. With the new input system in play, I am now able to make a sort of buffer system that I could use to program the AI player. The system I have in place relies on two main components: The two players' health differential, and the distance between them. Using the health differential, I decide which "natures" the AI player should *feel*. Currently I only have "Neutral" implemented, but "Agggressive" and "Defensive" natures are on the way in two weeks. Once a nature is chosen, the AI chooses action trees based on the distance they are from a player. For instance, if the CPU is 6 units away from the player, it is very likely he will shoot a projectile.
Hopefully the CPU feels difficult, but not so much so that it is frustrating.

With a player to play against, I was able to start actually balancing the game. The projectile was way too unfun and didn't require much thought, so I increased the start-up frames substantially to make it more of a skilled shot. Light attack is now more than just a spam tool. It still has the shortest startup at 9 frames (previously it was a 2 frames) but gives enough hitlag to combo into the meaty medium attack. There are other combos waiting to be found, try some experimentation with landing aerials and dash cancels.

You will also notice that sound effects have been added. With next Friday being my deadline for a fully playable experience, it is important for the sound effects to be implemented now so that I have a week of tuning before "release."

Next week will be focused on aesthetic and tweaks to movement. Stay tuned!