Hey all,

So first thing's first. Since my last update, I've put a tonne of work into Samurai Showdown, and you can now find the latest version on Itch.IO. It's the first version of the game that doesn't require two players thanks to a very simple AI, so now anyone can play the game!

As always, I'd love to hear what you think of the game, so let me know via Facebook or Twitter.

Deep Dive – Singleplayer AI:

A singleplayer version of Samurai Showdown designed to teach people the ropes of the game has been something I've wanted to add ever since I noticed that inexperienced people needed a little bit of a kickstart before they developed the skills they needed. As such, I spent much of the past month developing an easy-to-adjust AI opponent that players could practice against prior to challenging friends, enemies, and/or random game developers to a duel to the death. Currently, this AI offers difficulty modes ranging from 'Very Easy' to 'Expert' which are designed to offer a challenge to players of all skill levels.

[See the above GIF]

Unlike the Classic, Best of Three, and Time Trial game modes, players can't gain XP and unlock new characters while fighting against the AI, however, the AI game modes are otherwise identical to the multiplayer game modes and so players can easily learn the skills they need. In the future, I'd like to tweak the difficulty of the AI such that it's not too easy and not too hard, and perhaps give players the ability to adjust some of the underlying variables in order to let players focus on improving whatever skill they think needs it.

New Features and Changes:

• Samurai Showdown now offers a single-player mode versus AI for the Classic and Time Trial modes. Also, added options to control AI difficulty.
• Only one controller is needed to navigate the game's menus outside of multiplayer modes.
• Added a new UI which displays only the button you need to hit and the one directly after. Improves focus on twitch reactions and accuracy and moves it away from encouraging memorization.
• Improved UX in character selection menu by providing icons for actions instead of relying on text.

Planned Features/Work In Progress:

• Improved accessibility for colourblind and vision-impaired players.
• Improved player control over match details. (Button count, match length, etc.).
• Additional information to the character selection screen.
• Implementing character specific powers and traits. 
• Profile-based stat tracking.
• Improved visual feedback.

Bugfixing:

• Buttons now maintain aspect ratio.
• Characters will no longer move while the pre-fight screen is in motion.
• XP bar scale is now being reset after every level up. 
• Improved UI in game options menu by adding a highlight colour to the selection box.
• Improved text on end-of-match panel to make who won and why clearer.

Final Notes:

I hope you'll all give Samurai Showdown a try now that I've added a singleplayer mode. As always, you'll need either a PlayStation or Xbox gamepad though I'm happy to add support for new gamepads on request. See ya!