what you guys are all saying is great, but your missing something. they can't just make computers "better" because they want to. I'm sure that they made lvl 9's as strong and skillful as they could. They COULD make them have perfect timeing though. Although you would still be fighting them by exploiting weakness in their fighting code so I don't know how fun that would end up being.
As for using advanced tech. You have to recognice that as programers they only have a finite time in order to create the game and the code that makes the fighters...well fight. They don't have time to figure out the tech that players figure out over years of play testing. Also anything that they DO find is tested and tweeked as they see fit to undo any broken fighting technique.
so. Expect better fighters in brawl, BUT realize that within a game with MUCH more freedom and dynamic possiblities then most other fighters, programing to take advatage of it to the point that humans do is nigh impossible. Anything they make will be based on a patter. A pattern that can be easily exploited and abused when it is figured out.
Just think of a "simple" fighter like street fighter or Dead or alive 4. at their base any movment that the player can execute is targeted at the player. their is only one level surface to fight on. Players are always a relativly set distance away from each other and always react the same way to the same hit regardless of damage. You have quick attacks strong attacks and projectiles and throws. Some hit high, some hit low, and some hit middle. All attacks are preprogramed into button combonations and "Perfect" orders for buttons presses are already present.
With all the set perameters within the fighter programing the best possible response to a players attack is not difficult. they attempt a grab? the perfect computer will counter the grab and do the best attack that its been programed to do after a grab. Low attack? jump and attack. Also all the best moves and preset fighting styles have been imputed so that they can do their crazy neer infinite combo if the programers see fight.
Everything is always changing in smash so that programing computers along these lines is impossible. there are no easy out to simulate skill by making CPU's perform their combos flawlessly in smash because THERE ARE NONE.
where as traditinal fighters are a game of rock/paper/ scissors and the counter is easy to impliment in code. Smash is a game of many possibilitys where rock may beat paper, but that still leaves knives and swords and pole arms AND halberds and throwing stars to take rock... Damage is constantly affecting the opponent and not only that each fighter is affected differently so that even programing attempts to juggle are nullifide because it needs to be tailor made to the: level, fighter, who they fight, damage, number of players, where in ths stage each opponent is at any given time (above on a platform, of the stage above in the air in the middle above in the air at the edge of a stage, on and on), and heaven forbid if someone turns items on!
I think I've rambled on long enough about how its much harder to make a compatent CPU in this game then others so im going to stop now.
IF by some grace of the gods they are able to make a fighter that is able to calculate all of these random facters then they deserve a gaming award to end all gaming awards, and a programing award, and a keeping your sanity award.
