Do you ever feel embarrassed by an unexpected win against an NPC opponent?

SeaGtGruff · August 2022

Yesterday I was playing an NPC opponent for one of the dailies, and by about the third turn it was starting to get pretty obvious that I'd made a couple of bungled moves at the beginning, and the NPC was able to buy some very powerful cards.

After several turns (I wasn't keeping count) the NPC had 25+ prestige whereas I had maybe 5, and then the NPC started getting 15+ gold almost every turn-- and that was in addition to getting still more power. I figured I was going to get trounced pretty badly.

Except... instead of ending the game when they easily could have by using the Crow patron, they kept using their gold to buy more cards. Granted, they were some very powerful cards, but they could have won the game quite easily instead of buying more cards!

Somehow, I managed to slowly start accumulating more prestige and a few half-decent cards, and eventually I actually won the match. But it felt kind of embarrassing, because I almost felt like the AI had perhaps gone into some sort of "self sabotage" mode to try to give me a fighting chance.

This was against an Expert-level NPC, by the way.

Have you ever had a ToT match where you actually felt embarrassed to win, either because you made some stunningly horrible moves before managing to overcome them, or because you felt embarrassed for your opponent's incredibly bad moves that defied all logic?

Belegnole · August 2022

Would you feel embarrassed winning at a slot machine?

SeaGtGruff · August 2022

I try to think of the NPCs as a bit more than "one-armed bandits," especially NPCs, mobs, and bosses that operate according to some form of AI (as opposed to, say, a character in a zone quest). And my embarrassment was not for the NPC so much as for my obvious mistakes. If I'd been playing against a human opponent who was getting the same cards, I'm pretty sure they probably would have ended the game by using the crow patron as soon as they had 25+ prestige, 15+ gold, and 5+ power in the same turn, instead of continually using their gold to buy more cards.

Lugaldu · August 2022

No, and I also suspect that my NPC opponent doesn't feel embarrassed when I lead and he ends up beating me with luck in drawing the cards...

spartaxoxo · August 2022

No, because the NPCs are programmed to make similar mistakes as opponents with various degrees of experience. I just won a game 79-80 IRL because the opponent made the mistake of buying a couple of good cards in the hopes of winning the next hand, when they could have finished me off with the crow patron and got to 80 first. When I saw them finishing drawing and the amount of coin I had, I was actually thinking "Dang it. They've won, too bad too as the 5 cards in my hand are enough to win me the game if I got play them." But then they started buying cards and I ended up winning after all.

I honestly think they do a pretty good job of mimicking the mistakes of players with varying degrees of knowledge, though the hardest tier could be better.

SeaGtGruff · August 2022

spartaxoxo wrote: »

I honestly think they do a pretty good job of mimicking the mistakes of players with varying degrees of knowledge, though the hardest tier could be better.

Yes, I think it's intriguing how the NPC opponents can display different degrees of knowledge and skill, as well as different styles of play and tactics. I think it helps them seem more realistic.

PinkApple · August 2022

I have not lost an NPC match yet, but from what I have seen both in my own matches and on some streams, it certainly seems possible for even the best players to lose an NPC match versus the Orgnum NPCs if you get a bit unlucky at the start! Have had a close call or two haha.

Honestly, I would not feel too embarrassed about losing a match if it was outside of your control. And if you DO realize mistakes you made and think you could have played it better, then it was just a good learning experience anyways!