Most fighting games feature computer-controlled opponents that players can use to hone their skills before they’re ready to go head-to-head with a human. Usually, these bots don’t put up too much of a fight — but a new research project has managed to train an artificial intelligence that’s capable of hanging with the world’s best Buy Now players.
A team of researchers working at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory has taught a neural network model how to play Super Smash Bros. Melee, a game chosen because of its intricacy and depth. The abstract of the paper based on their research makes direct reference to the title’s complex dynamics, as well as the added complication of partial observability.
The researchers trained the AI by supplying it with coordinates of crucial objects and items like other players and ledges that it could fall from, according to a report from Tech Crunch. Strategies that resulted in victory were incentivized, fostering the sort of play that could worry even top-level competitors.
The AI was pitted against several players who are ranked among the top 100 Super Smash Bros. Melee players worldwide, and managed to win more games than it lost. This is undoubtedly a big achievement — although there are a few major holes in the way the computer plays the game.
For one, it’s apparently unable to work with projectiles, forcing it to use fan favorite character Captain Falcon who does not have access to any such ranged attacks. It also has a strange quirk that forces it to jump to its death whenever an opponent heads to a corner of the stage and crouches for a long period of time, which team leader Vlad Firoiu cites as evidence that AIs trained in simulation might have unexpected behaviors when let loose in the real world.
Of course, those comments speak to the fact that this particular project wasn’t really about Buy Now , or even video games as a whole. This kind of research is about establishing how we teach AI to tackle a particular task — and games like Melee, Go, and Texas Hold ’em poker are just placeholders for the more important jobs AIs will be tasked with further down the line.
The absolutely absurd idea of putting a touchscreen display on a mouse isn't exactly new. Turtle Beach already did it with its Command Series MC7, which features a 2.25-inch control screen. But apparently, even that wasn't ridiculous enough for Arctic Fox Technologies. Its new Super Mouse looks like someone took the chunky old Atari ST mouse, slapped a touchscreen and scroll wheel on it, and called it an upgrade.
The result is a rather unusual-looking mouse that is now on Kickstarter, starting at $199. And as ridiculous as it looks, some of its features are genuinely intriguing.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.
I've spent a good amount of time digging into the spec sheet of the new M6 MacBook Pro (14-inch), and for all intents and purposes, this is a classic Apple "chip and connectivity" refresh. It's not a full redesign. The chassis, Liquid Retina XDR panel, speakers, ports, and battery, all of them carry over unchanged.
However, the M6 brings more cores, stronger on-device AI, higher memory bandwidth on the larger configs, and modern wireless. Here’s the practical rundown of what actually improved, and whether those gains are worth your money.