LOS ANGELES, Oct 4 — Epic Games is preparing to introduce AI-controlled players into its last-person-standing hit Fortnite, with the stated aim of helping human players, especially newcomers, improve their levels of skill and familiarity.

Bots are coming to Season 11 of Fortnite, which starts October 14.

The intention is to help players “sharpen skills, explore the map and “elevate (their) game.”

Season X was initially expected to end on October 6, but an official extension means that the current period lasts until October 13 instead.

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Players can expect the new Fortnite Bots to behave slightly differently from human players, at least for now.

They won’t be able to use vehicles, for example, or a rapid tower-building style known as 90s, in which one can build and ascend a ramp whose short sections are laid down at 90-degree angles.

Whether by technical limitation, design, or both, that gives players two advantages over Bots to begin with.

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That said, Epic developers are “looking to see how far we can push our Bots,” the company explained in an October 3 blog post.

Bots will not be available to view in spectator mode, a choice which keeps human players as the game’s focus, nor are they to be part of the Fortnite freeform Creative mode.

However, Epic is looking into implementing a special “versus Bots” mode for learning, training, and exploration purposes.

As Epic explained when introducing the concept towards the end of September, Bots will populate non-competitive matches more frequently at lower skill levels, and less so as players improve.

They’ll be completely absent from tournament events.

Thanks to the revenue generated by optional season passes, the free-to-play Fortnite has not only been able to sustain itself but also host an official tournament schedule; July 2019’s inaugural Fortnite World Cup Finals offered a combined US$30 million (RM125.6 million) across its Solo, Duo, Creative, and Pro-Am events. — AFP-Relaxnews