AI vs AI Gets More Interesting & Safer Plays!

Hey Go enthusiasts! 👋

We've just rolled out a fresh update to our online Go game, packed with some exciting enhancements, especially for those who love watching AIs battle it out, and a few tweaks to make your playing experience smoother.

🧠 AI vs AI: Mix and Match Strengths!

The biggest news is for our AI vs AI (AvA) mode. Previously, both AIs played at the same skill level. Now, you have more control! You can set different strengths (Dan or Kyu) for the Black AI and the White AI independently.

• Why is this cool?
  • Want to see a strong Dan-level AI try to overcome a handicap against a weaker Kyu-level opponent?
  • Curious how two Kyu-level AIs with slightly different "personalities" might play out a game?
  • Set up specific scenarios for study or just for the fun of seeing varied AI matchups!

You'll find these new options in the Settings menu when AvA mode is selected. We've updated the dialog to make it clear, and the Game Status panel will now also show the individual levels for both AI Black and AI White during an AvA game.

🛡️ Safer Plays: No More Accidental Game Loss!

We've all been there – deep in a game, you click something by mistake and poof! Your progress is gone. To help prevent this, we've added confirmation warnings:

• Loading a Game (SGF): If you have an active game in progress (with at least one move played), trying to load a new SGF file will now ask for your confirmation before discarding your current game.
• Restarting a Game: Similarly, hitting 'Restart' during an active game will now prompt you to confirm, so you don't accidentally wipe your board when you're in the zone.

We hope these little changes make for a less frustrating and more focused Go experience!

What's Next?

We're always thinking about how to improve the game. Your feedback helps us a lot!

What we changed (a quick summary):

• AvA Mode Enhancement:
  • Added separate AI level settings (Dan/Kyu) for AI Black and AI White in the Settings dialog for AvA mode.
  • Updated the AI move logic to use these individual strength settings when it's an AI's turn in AvA.
  • The Game Status panel now displays the specific levels for AI Black and AI White in AvA mode.
  • Game state persistence (saving/loading your session) now correctly handles these separate AvA AI levels.
• Accidental Loss Prevention:
  • Added a confirmation dialog before loading a new SGF file if an active game (with moves played) is in progress.
  • Added a confirmation dialog before restarting if an active game (with moves played) is in progress.

We're excited for you to try out these new features! We believe the enhanced AvA mode offers a richer experience for observing AI play, and the new warnings provide a welcome safety net.

Jump in, set up your dream AI matchups, and enjoy a more secure Go experience!

As always, your feedback is invaluable. Let us know what you think of the changes!

Happy Go Playing!