Single Player / AI

Single player is played against an AI. There are 5 preset difficulties corrosponding to equally spaced points on a difficulty slider on a scale of 0-100. With each difficulty, the AI plays more aggressively and less predictably.

Difficulty
Difficulty is chosen on a sliding scale from 0-100 with aggressiveness and defensive ability increasing with number. These can be chosen on a sliding scale, or one of the presets can be chosen:


 * 1) Single Player Difficulty.png - 0
 * 2) Medium - 25
 * 3) Hard - 50
 * 4) World Class - 75
 * 5) Legendary - 100

Competitive table tennis players have proven able to defeat Legendary, but it is a daunting task for beginners.

AI Reduce Mistake
Previously called "Perfect Mode", this mode instructs the AI never to make deliberate mistakes i.e. if you win a point against this mode, it can be considered a bug or a design oversight. This is an excellent mode to practice against, as you can hit extended rallies against an opponent that will almost always return your shots.

There are specific circumstances where this mode is known to make mistakes. Examples of these are extremely high serves, extremely spinny or hard shots and serves with extreme sidespin and backspin which angle the serve into the AI's "body".

An AI using this mode will still play as aggressively as the difficulty chosen, but may appear to play more aggressively as some of its defensive returns to a player's shots (that the normal AI would not return at all) may come back with much of the speed and/or spin that the player hit.

Style
The AI plays relatively flat shots generally, with only a little topspin in most rallies. The current AI will not hit topspin against backspin, either similarly hitting backspin in return or, if the shot is very high, a smash. The AI has been known to hit extreme backspin shots against very powerful drives and loops, though this is not intended behaviour. The AI as currently implemented struggles with high lobs and serves also, even on reduce mistakes mode.

An unusual note about the current AI is that there is currently no difference between its forehand and backhand shots. It is as if it is an ambidextrous player which smoothly swaps hands and always hits a forehand.

Free Hit
In this mode of the game, you are simply playing with the AI but not for points. The AI is still on whichever difficulty has been chosen, including minimum mistakes mode. This mode is on by default if you are not in a single player game, a multiplayer game, a minigame or the tutorial, and the Free Hit settings are what appear when you first open the menu. The AI will attempt to return any shots you make that hit their side of the table by any method (i.e. it does not have to be a legal serve). You can also specify that you wish the AI to always serve to begin with or when a rally is finished.

Single Player
In this mode, you are playing against this AI in a single set to 11. Normal rules apply. After choosing the single player icon, a similar difficulty selection screen appears. The difficulty is distinct from what you have chosen during freeplay.