How is the Single Player/A.I.?

[Riverdusk]

From reading the early access info and actual game description they seem to be suggesting the single player experience isn't goint to be great. Inferring that from actual wording there of, "The game is most enjoyable when playing against friends", and flat out not even mentioning single player anywhere in the regular game description. I wondered for a second if they removed single player entirely from the lack of mention of it in the game description. Kind of bizarre.

It all makes me think the A.I. is going to be garbage (just like Blood Bowl's AI except in action form). Anyone that has played the Beta or anything can confirm how the single player experience is? I'm not that interested in it if the single player game stinks.

[Chubzdoomer]

The AI is very competent and will only continue to improve. It's already improved immensely over the past ~6 months (I've been playing since early closed alpha builds), and in my opinion plays more intelligently than the AI in the original Mutant League Football for Sega Genesis.

Right now there are five difficulty levels: Newbie, Rookie, Normal, All-Pro, and All-Star Masochist. I haven't tested these enough to know for sure how they affect the AI or if they've even been fully implemented, but do know that the options are there.

You can also make the game more difficult by increasing the "Karnage Level," which results in players taking extra damage and therefore dying much faster.

As far as the actual singleplayer content goes, there are three main modes:

• Play Now - A one-and-done game
  
• Season - A full 13-game season, including the playoffs (if you qualify for them)
  
• Playoffs - Skips the season and starts you in the playoffs

There's also a Practice mode in which you can test out offense and defense either by themselves or versus an AI defense/offense.

Overall I think the game is incredibly fun to play versus the AI. I've spent practically all ~50 hours of my playtime doing just that, and I continue to have a blast. There are times when you simply roll over them (especially if they're using a cruddy team, or you kill their star player(s)); however, there are also times when they come out guns blazing and battle you down to the wire.

If you want to see the AI for yourself, I suggest searching YouTube for some of the most recent gameplay videos. I recommend videos from September 13 onwards (or at least sometime in September), because the most recent version of the game was uploaded right around that date.

If you have any other questions feel free to ask!

[Riverdusk]

Originally posted by Chubzdoomer:

The AI is very competent and will only continue to improve. It's already improved immensely over the past ~6 months (I've been playing since early closed alpha builds), and in my opinion plays more intelligently than the AI in the original Mutant League Football for Sega Genesis.

Right now there are five difficulty levels: Newbie, Rookie, Normal, All-Pro, and All-Star Masochist. I haven't tested these enough to know for sure how they affect the AI or if they've even been fully implemented, but do know that the options are there.

You can also make the game more difficult by increasing the "Karnage Level," which results in players taking extra damage and therefore dying much faster.

As far as the actual singleplayer content goes, there are three main modes:

• Play Now - A one-and-done game
  
• Season - A full 13-game season, including the playoffs (if you qualify for them)
  
• Playoffs - Skips the season and starts you in the playoffs

There's also a Practice mode in which you can test out offense and defense either by themselves or versus an AI defense/offense.

Overall I think the game is incredibly fun to play versus the AI. I've spent practically all ~50 hours of my playtime doing just that, and I continue to have a blast. There are times when you simply roll over them (especially if they're using a cruddy team, or you kill their star player(s)); however, there are also times when they come out guns blazing and battle you down to the wire.

If you want to see the AI for yourself, I suggest searching YouTube for some of the most recent gameplay videos. I recommend videos from September 13 onwards (or at least sometime in September), because the most recent version of the game was uploaded right around that date.

If you have any other questions feel free to ask!

Thanks for the info, that sounds very promising.

[Darkness]

Regarding playing against AI, is it possible to play cooperatively versus AI as well in any of those modes? How many players together?

[Ivan]

Originally posted by Darkness:

Regarding playing against AI, is it possible to play cooperatively versus AI as well in any of those modes? How many players together?

Yes, you can play against AI in co-op mode. Up-to 4 players.

[Ivan]

@Riverdusk We'll release a demo version of MFL very soon and you can check if AI fullfill your requirements personally. I suggest you to start with Normal difficulty (it's Rookie by default right now). Also, we are going to keep improving AI during Early Access and after release.

[Riverdusk]

Originally posted by MFL.GUY:

@Riverdusk We'll release a demo version of MFL very soon and you can check if AI fullfill your requirements personally. I suggest you to start with Normal difficulty (it's Rookie by default right now). Also, we are going to keep improving AI during Early Access and after release.

Thanks. Pretty sure I won't even need a demo, Chubzdoomer sold me.

Just a suggestion, I'd add something about the single player modes in the game description somewhere under "Features of Mutant League Football include" All you mention is the multiplayer modes. Or I guess they are mentioned, but way down the list and still not clearly described that they can be played single player.

[SNARC]

The only real gaffe I've seen so far was in an exhibition game I was up by a touchdown, the AI was on my 25 with a 4th down play with a few seconds left on the clock. They kicked a meaningless field goal instead of going for the TD and the tie. Hopefully they'll fix that soon because aside from that the rest of the game is great.

[Ivan]

Originally posted by SNARCast Productions:

The only real gaffe I've seen so far was in an exhibition game I was up by a touchdown, the AI was on my 25 with a 4th down play with a few seconds left on the clock. They kicked a meaningless field goal instead of going for the TD and the tie. Hopefully they'll fix that soon because aside from that the rest of the game is great.

Thanks for pointing this out. I'll add this to the bug list.

[Darkstar]

the AI routinely screws me over in irritating ways... so I'd say it's good!