AI in Melee is broken.

[@michaelfradley6950]

heh,heh,h,h,e,hhmmm ,,, bimg head nana ::)))

[@PRLCKLY]

hehehehhee

[@glowkirby]

hehe :3

[@Grimbaloo]

Burger

[@jajajaun]

*y u p* (i said that because big head nana said it)

[@lukethekuya]

cacaGODS won

[@markg2142]

the level 9 bots are essentially frame perfect 9 year olds

[@kh6853]

That is an amazing description of them

[@MisterZebra42]

I learned more about Nana from this 5 minute video than I have in 8 years of watching Melee

[@_Majunior]

Fiction has a really good video on her if you're ever curious. Unlike most of his educational content, it's really well edited and has nice illustrations to go along with it.

[@michaelfradley6950]

Tbf most melee commentators would be 2 games through a bo5 by the time they were through saying all this, and that’s assuming they can project these helpful visuals directly into your brain to speed up the data transfer

[@_Majunior]

@@michaelfradley6950 never mind the fact that most make commentators don't even know this stuff. I always end up muting the commentary when IC are on the screen because they just share misinformation or assume things that are wrong. I'm not blaming them for not knowing but it's pretty annoying when they try to act like it.

[@Mrfinch9999]

You should try playing it too. Melee is much more fun to play.

[@nathandude100]

Same

[@OtrTrash]

Nana grabs you by the throat, smacks you once, and whispers softly in your ear, "Tonight. You," just before she vanishes in a puff of smoke... Truly terrifying.

[@lasercraft32]

I would never sleep again.

[@Alfenium]

She is going to administer some correction 💢💢!!

[@prw56]

Considering that's what handbanana said before rap- Making forceful nonconsenting love to carl in aqua teen hunger force, that would be a pretty unsettling thing to hear...

[@winkone101]

My heart breaks for HBox. Basically the Melee equivalent of "no one wanted to be my partner, so I had to partner with the teacher".

[@wolizuka]

HBox would be more the type of guy to chose to team up with a CPU rather than with a mid to high level player. I'm sure dozens of people would have been happy to team with him cause he's good at the game and famous

[@PhrozenFox]

@@wolizuka He's also just a genuinely cool and good-hearted person in a sea of controller smashers and shit talkers.

[@leaffinite2001]

​@PhrozenFox guy who just watched the emplemon doc says what?

[@bumpersincapped]

​@@PhrozenFoxbro fainted on stream after a popoff

[@musicaldoge9412]

what

[@turndownforwalt]

Love how you blended your current design work/colors with these explanations. Great work as usual!

[@thepengyknight]

yooo it’s walt

[@elbarnes]

I love how, with Zain being so shook from the grab and it getting cut short, it seems like the only thing that prevented Nana from continuing to be a menace is the respawn she goes through where she’s forced to blip out of existence mid-attack to return to popo

[@andredominguez3199]

So you're telling me that Nana alone solos the entirety of the Smash Gods?

[@vocel343]

Nana really grabbed this man, looked him in the eyes and said: "This ain't over. Imma kill you in my next life." And then disappeared Striking fear into the heart of Zain.

[@herobrineharry7698]

3:11 I would be really interested to see if changing this (having Nana at level 9 always being the obvious) would meaningfully change how people have to deal with ice climbers

[@megapussi]

It would probably make it a little bit harder to get low% kills on nana, which could end up being relevant considering that killing nana quickly is a really effective strategy to beat icies for most of the cast

[@hadesthegod9181]

That’s what I’m thinking. Or at least have it be every 10%. As it is, you’re rarely going to get a Nana that grabs (120%+)

[@bastian_5975]

two other little tweaks could be to change the follow target for nana to the enemy if popo was in a screen/star KO, and changing the pathfinding AI so that Nana will slightly prioritize paths that get within range of the enemy so that she will attack a bit more often. Edit: I reread this while watching a video of Baba is You, and I thought I was talking about characters from that game and got very confused

[@stephendonovan9084]

@@bastian_5975When the Popo be above 120%: Nana Is Grab

[@Buglin_Burger7878]

Yes because getting them split suddenly makes it 2v1 and level 9 AIs are effective in duos.

[@B-R23]

dude you are so good at editing

[@EliTheGleason]

High level stuff

[@xzxx1xzx]

Sluuuuurp

[@frigginmanatees8616]

Actually though, the silhouettes and the nana mlem were distractingly good

[@mijhaelandressamaniegomuno28]

So true, and it goes to the dumpster doing melee videos lol

[@xzxx1xzx]

@@mijhaelandressamaniegomuno28 so true

[@matthewwojtechko1946]

As a kid playing Melee, observing the CPU’s behavior was always intriguing. Fascinating deep dive here!

[@ClassicBentobox]

What an amazing video. This community sure blows me away sometimes. Very lucky to have creators like you.

[@colewarnock8694]

you prolly already know him but asum saus is very similar and i think this guy definitely takes inspiration from him

[@shuraizo2877]

Great video, editting and explanation, very clear and understandable! Also, I'm glad the music volume is on the same level as your narration, so I don't have to change it every segment of the video

[@CrispyGFX]

Nana doing what is effectively a pump fake before dematerializing is the most menacing thing I've ever seen in this game.

[@ashequestionmark]

Every single day I miss SluG :(

[@oatmeal2goskits492]

me too buddy

[@Kitth3n]

What happened to Slug?

[@ashequestionmark]

@@Kitth3n retired/is taking a break last I heard

[@kardar233]

I hope MOF is on the come up after that huge 3-0 on jmook

[@TheRealBlazingDiamond]

​@@ashequestionmarkOh, is that all? Good for him then, he's touching grass :)

[@halofactorymoon]

Its cool to see a video visualising the attack sensor ranges! I recently reverse engineered these tables in Smash 64 in order to improve Smash Remix’s AI for their new fighters. I wonder how the tables differ between games.

[@donnyf88]

After years of melee.. I never knew the CPU of Nana..very well done and graphic wise.

[@k_k_aisa]

Videos like this are part of what makes Melee special.

[@theradman9478]

Great upload, stellar editing. Actually useful and fun information.

[@cseager3239]

I remember being a kid and knowing that lvl 9 Gannondorf was like the final boss of melee. I never knew until today that professional melee players utilize that as well. I must have played so much as a kid I just intuitively knew that like that was just a far more challenging character to play against.

[@EmptyZoo393]

It's kind of funny to me to see Gannondorf being picked as a companion given how low tier he's considered competitively. I guess he works better in a support role?

[@comfy39]

Not a melee guy, but the great editing, concise explanations, and good tunes means I spent the last half hour watching every video you have uploaded. Keep it up :)

[@forestskilbred9461]

The editing was so good here, awesome job and great video

[@alexlowe2054]

1:46 This might have been the best single joke I've seen all month. Excellent pacing and style.

[@lucasmaciel3850]

I was listening to a vulfpeck playlist when I clicked on this video. It took me a while to realize that it was also the bgm for the video and not my music app playing over the video lmao

[@P-MK]

Found ya from the GDIME #7 shoutout! Had to browse through a lot of comments to reach your channel but MAN it was worth it, these visuals are so good!! p.s., The prints are really pretty and unique and there's even a hint of inspiration from the main man himself in there! Love to see it :D

[@EtropolisGhost]

i don't know why but 2:30 is just the funniest looking thing to me

[@Dabrebro]

Good choice with the Vulfpeck! Love the visuals, editing and sound mixing, good work!

[@lucianpayne5158]

love the song choice! I never thought I’d hear this in the background of a video, I thought it’d be too distracting, but you just happen to be an excellent visual storyteller. awesome!

[@Blundabus1337]

nana when popo is at 0%: mmm crayons nana when popo is at 140%: SO THOU HAS CHOSEN DEATH

[@zyst6]

This is the best explanation of IC mechanics I've ever seen. Great job! Really love your videos

[@gbowers123]

Welcome back. My favourite Melee channel on KZbin.

[@sagacious03]

Very interesting analysis video! Thanks for uploading! I didn't know about a lot of this level moves stuff, & would love to hear more!

[@erikdoer]

When the title hit and you cranked up Hero Town I already knew this was gonna be a banger. How/when do you decide on the song for each video? Your one on the Jmook recovery was so integrated I couldn't figure out which came first. This is easily the highest effort per-second Smash content currently being made.

[@BrandonNop-r7l]

I can’t believe nana is rarely going to be able to grab, she legit going to stay around 1-5.

[@hadesthegod9181]

Amazing video. I think we’re all in agreement: Why didn’t any of us know this sooner? I’ve been picking up esoteric Melee knowledge from KZbin and forums for 10 years, and I never knew any of this.

[@TheRealBrandonPerna]

First video of yours I’ve seen and I’m excited to see more. Great stuff man, this was super interesting and well made

[@davidvkimball]

One of the best Melee videos I've seen in a while. Great job.

[@Duffy_SSBM]

Absolutely loving your stuff. The art is sick but I wish there were higher res/more zoomed in images! I want to see what the Melee is hard poster says for example

[@MeleeMoments]

good point, i’m realizing there’s not really a central place to find full-res images of the art. i’m going to look into putting those on the website, in the meantime if you go back a few months on my twitter media tab you can see them that way. the melee is hard one was posted on may 17th

[@Duffy_SSBM]

@@MeleeMoments awesome, thanks for the reply!

[@blackquillx]

The graphic design on these transitions are top-notch 💯

[@ARavingLobster]

Bro I swear every video you just get better and better, keep it up! :D

[@HarmonicVector]

"Nana will always recover towards Randall." All hail the AI Overlord, Randall!

[@emmbeesea]

Absolutely delightful and insightful. Can't wait for the next one!

[@yousseftamer4943]

Holy… I didn’t expect Nana of all characters to be so goddamn BROKEN

[@azurecerulean1279]

i discovered this in my recommended and im shocked with how great the editing is

[@basicdamine]

Nana: "Imma about to ends this whole man's career"

[@archonicmakes]

these videos explain things well and are impeccably edited. keep it up dude! :)

[@sewerside01142]

>grabs you >jabs once >refuses to elaborate >vanishes in a puff of smoke

[@Topaz-zk4zk]

Does Nana's dynamic AI carry over to Brawl and Ultimate? Surely they are tweaks, so if so, what are they?

[@quirkyqwertyto1055]

I would really love a video on the subject, just a comprehensive rundown of nana's evolution throughout the games

[@The23rdGamer]

I don't watch much smash at all, but this was excellent presentation! I may have to check out more from your channel.

[@erikrutledge4940]

Melee and Vulfpeck, you sir have earned a subscription

[@salvatoreIII]

Very educational. Never knew about different moves being unavailable to the cpus at lower levels.

[@Wolfboy607]

holy shit, when me and the boys were kids, we would 1v3 the level 9, HANDICAP 9 coms. It was insane. We made it a game, we started at mario, beat him on every level like that, then moved on. Some smash moves have retained the names we gave them in fear as children. Gannon was one of the first true monsters we ran into. He would nail you with the "chicken wing" from out of nowhere and send you packing at like 40%. Holy fuck i miss melee handicap just being a giga-roids buff. In brawl and later, instead of it being a buff, now the handicap applies to yourself, and all it does is increase your starting percentage.

[@MrSlowpez10]

So much good info presented so well. Idk how you do it, but it must take so much work

[@rengarrengar9417]

I've never seen such a video for melee, it's really amazing ! Gj dude !

[@heckensteiner4713]

Great video! It's insane that people are analyzing and playing this game this hard 22 years later.

[@CheeTheOG]

Very informative on how Nana's AI works didn't know that she increased her level by the amount of percentage Popo has I also miss Slug :(

[@EliTheGleason]

Nana being essentially half a cpu until popo is on life support is the most melee bs ever god bless 😂

[@Sagi.Baten.Kaitos]

>Vulfpeck music I can already tell I'm gonna like this video

[@PrismsDesign]

Wow, this was such an incredible video. I learned so much here. Amazing stuff man, criminally underrated

[@darlingj.canela]

Slug, Popo and Nana it's the name of the album. Great video.

[@RamadaArtist]

The rapid short range attacking and frame-perfect inputs that lvl 9 AIs are capable of means that they tend to be much harder to fight if you use the strategies you would against a top level player, instead of simply exploiting how dumb they are about navigating the space. Peach in particular can be absolutely brutal and pull off 50% combos with alarming speed if you try and rush into her face and get really aggressive. (Which was very useful for trying to figure out strategies with Roy that actually help his approach. For one, dashing into a side-B is infinitely safer than his standard dash attack, because the dash attack has a very short window for it's hitbox, and Roy's own hurtbox extends past the attack distance, meaning if you try to use it for approach he'll usually whiff AND run into an attack. Dashing side-b immediately halts his momentum and is a good opener for his combos; dashing side-b to grab to back throw to side smash is highly effective against the space animals. The terrible range and low knockback on his dash attack actually makes it much better as a mid-combo move than an approach.)

[@nya69]

its so insane how much they gutted nanas ai in ult, just get to popo by any means necessary usually straight into the opponent with no attack or airdodging to ledge as u try to upb to save her..

[@KopperNeoman]

Probably because Ultimate's AI is smart enough that slipping Nana out of follow state would actually HELP the IC player rather than screwing him over.

[@danede3635]

I sometimes wonder if ai works like it's always scanning the situation constantly pressing moves. The level tells it whether to actually input the attack

[@Plantains-wo1fb]

Omg thats hero town in the intro. I adore your tastes.

[@just-linx8271]

This is well produced! Nice work.

[@morosepapaya]

Sweet visuals and great explanations. Here's a sub, you deserve many more

[@therealwhite]

Dude starts out with Hero Town in the background you know I'm gonna give a like

[@whydoyougottahavthis]

The slight UP music you played with the Luigi joke was fucking perfect 😂😂😂

[@Recarsonated]

Also when trying to beat the AI in singleplayer like classic mode you would be suprised how often the AI can pull off certain bullshit things They will very often do meteor cancels, do the safest moves at close range, and if an item like a heart container or a pokeball spawns a mile away off screen, they will casually stroll on over there to pick it up as if you weren’t fighting them anymore 😂 They can do all that but they still don’t even know how to DI and can easily be chaingrabbed which is super funny to me

[@milesnorris732]

The only hero in this town is you for your song choices ❤

[@Doggowithasubmarine]

Anyone got a link to the 2v2 where Hungrybox is playing with a lv9 ganon?

[@rockzyk1291]

SICK song choice. Amazing band.

[@The_Tsukuyomi]

Had no idea the cloud was named Randall

[@Sugar3Glider]

Ooo, this was **exceptionally** informative

[@steviebea]

this is insanely well produced and interesting! well done!

[@notwhoyouare1543]

you always deliver with some sick shit brodi, big ups.

[@tacolordc]

The fact that SluG disappeared from the community almost immediately after becoming a top dog is quite funny to me.

[@Swing_Bonnie]

I love the new visual design

[@Claptain_Planet]

This would be a cool mode in slippi. 2v2 match making you pick your player and teammate

[@ciarzyx]

Appreciate the Vulfpeck!

[@jwalkrr2710]

good ole Vulfpeck always bangs

[@SirNarax]

1:47 I really liked that.

[@trollof229antthevariable9]

Excellent production value

[@CopperScott]

Bro, this was awesome! I love learning new stuff about the game like this

[@andrew3692]

oh man im not sure if i ever saw the full sequence play though idk what I saw even though i learned so much 😢

[@zgs1997]

What's the song at 1:46 ? I remember it from my childhood, but I can't place it.

[@jakegripss]

It’s from the Pixar movie Up!

[@thegoodgeneral]

AsumSaus level of work while not at all being derivative. Excellently done, I'm subscribing.

[@benstoller2335]

Great editing, great music, great knowledge

[@rhythmgamer201]

"here's where zain makes his crucial mistake" *proceeds to get pummeled 1 singular time*

[@quirkyqwertyto1055]

thats all she needed

[@ohithur]

Awesome stuff as usual. Just bought a couple stickers too. Keep up the good work!

[@BlobstoF]

That was. SPECTACULAR. I'm subbing right now

[@electromagneticlemon]

1:50 me sowing, me reaping

[@raffshot]

great video and i loved the vulfpeck as the music

[@elise3852]

HERO TOWN MOMENT LET’S GO

[@vipermoon_]

Now I finally know how the CPUs work, thank you!

[@irishgoodbye518]

Everyone loves Randall

[@WorstRivenNA]

Great editing and presentation!

[@neorunic]

man, I miss slug

[@slideguitarclem]

Thumbs UP for vulfpeck

[@MitaineMan]

ery nice putting vulfpeck into this