New Chapter: AI Golfman & AI Partner

Date

Mar 09, 2016

Views

17,341

Dear Community,

Today we'd like to introduce you to the second part of our forthcoming big update.

One of the important innovations in the new expansion is the appearance of AI-controlled players beyond entries on the score sheet (as has thus far been the case in various scenario quests). Breaking out of their confines, from now on these players will stand right next to you on the course, allowing you to see how they strike the ball or handle difficult situations.

There are two ways in which this new feature will appear in the game.

AI GOLFMAN

The AI Golfman is a useful tool for rounds in which one or more players experience connection problems.

If a player is kicked from a four-player team after the ninth hole, the absent player will be replaced by the AI and one of five available avatars will appear on the left-hand side of the screen.

The AI Golfman assumes many of the absent player's roles:

• He ensures that all remaining players keep their EXP bonus for four players.
• He will be visible as an in-game player, which means you can see him tee off, chip, putt and perform other actions on the course.

There are, however, a few things you should bear in mind:

• AI Golfmen are only available in stroke rounds started with four players (more on that below).
• AI Golfmen are only available after all human players have completed play on the ninth hole (i.e. during the tenth hole at the earliest).
• If the AI Golfman appears during a round, you will only see an avatar picture of him amongst the remaining players. Only at the start of the next round will he appear in 3D.
• AI Golfmen have different skill levels. Above this paragraph, you can find the avatar pictures of the virtual substitutes in ascending order of their level (i.e. GM Owen is the weakest and GM Arthur the strongest).
• Up to three AI Golfmen can appear per round.
• To ensure that the game isn't drawn out unnecessarily, AI Golfmen only take five seconds per shot.
• Only human players receive round scores and guild house coupons. AI Golfmen don't receive these rewards.
• EXP and Caddie EXP are awarded to both human and AI players.
• AI Golfmen continue the game with the score they inherited from their human predecessor. If they're victorious, AI Golfmen don't receive a reward, as they're paid by us.
• The result achieved by an AI Golfman doesn't count towards event scores, neither in missions in which each player has to reach a particular score, nor in events such as team play. If an AI Golfman is amongst the players finishing a team play, his score will be ignored.
• AI Golfmen are only available on courses with medium and hard difficulties. The only exception is "Saint Bay". On random courses, AI Golfmen are only available for normal and hard difficulties.

AI PARTNER

The AI Partner system is more or less an extension of the AI Golfman system.

It's based on the idea that a player should have access to virtual opponents during times when it's difficult to find others to complete a four-player round.

In contrast to the AI Golfmen, AI Partners don't have unique avatars but utilize those of well-known characters from Belzebuit to Zygmunt. A further difference from the AI Golfmen is the fact that AI Partners are an item feature, which means that they have to be summoned into the round by using an item.

As you have probably guessed from the item pictures to the right, AI Partners come at different skill levels:

★	★★	★★★	★★★★
Belzebuit	Wotan	Zygmunt	Albus Erda Shaoring Camilla

Process of calling an AI Partner:

1. Open a room – the players will be waiting there.
2. Open the inventory (Alt+I) and right-click on the AI Partner item.
3. Next you'll see an info window.
4. Summon an AI Partner by clicking the "Call" button.
5. You'll hear a phone noise and after two seconds the AI Partner will appear in the room, displaying the "Ready" status.
6. If your settings don't meet the requirements for summoning an AI Partner (18 holes, stroke, medium or hard difficulty), you'll be informed that he is unavailable.

Except for some minor variations, AI Partners are subject to the same rules as AI Golfmen.

• For the time being, AI Partners are only available for 18 holes, in stroke mode, and on courses of medium or hard difficulty (the only exception is "Saint Bay").
• Each human player can summon only one AI Partner, which means that a team of four cannot consist of more than two AI Partners.
• If one of the human players leaves the round after all players have finished play on the ninth hole, he will be replaced by an AI Golfman.
• To ensure that the game isn't drawn out unnecessarily, AI Partners only take five seconds per shot.
• Only human players receive round scores and guild house coupons. AI Partners don't receive these rewards.
• EXP and Caddie EXP are awarded to both human and AI players.
• If the AI Partner is summoned but the creation of the round is unsuccessful, the item used to call him will not be consumed and will be returned to the first free inventory slot.
• The result achieved by an AI Partner doesn't count towards event scores, neither in missions in which each player has to reach a particular score, nor in events such as team play. If an AI Partner is amongst the players finishing a team play, his score will be ignored.

Why only in stroke mode?

Like all new features of this size, the introduction of AI players requires something akin to a beta phase.

Although we've tested both systems thoroughly, as always, bringing them live is a different kettle of fish.
In order to avoid unexpected serious issues, we've decided for now to roll out these new features only in the less-used stroke mode. We're planning to extend them to the swift stroke mode in the future and will inform you about such a move when we think the time is right.

We hope this satisfies your curiosity regarding the new systems and that you're as excited about it as we are.

Regards,
Your Games Campus Team.