The AI opponent

How the AI picks a shot, the three difficulties, and why its games are unrated.

A player alone at a table can start a match against the AI. It takes the second seat, plays by the same rules, and is beatable at every setting.

Configuration

Config.ai = {
    FallbackUsername = "siracozmen01",
    UseFriendAvatar = true,
    difficulty = "medium",
    aimError = { easy = 0.09, medium = 0.045, hard = 0.015 },
    thinkSeconds = 1.0,
},

Field	Default	What it does
`difficulty`	`"medium"`	Which entry of `aimError` is used
`aimError`	see above	Random aim drift in radians, per difficulty
`thinkSeconds`	`1.0`	Pause before each shot
`UseFriendAvatar`	`true`	Borrow a random friend's name and appearance
`FallbackUsername`	a specific account	Used when no friend is available

How it plays

The AI finds a shot at a legal ball, then aims at it with a small random error added. The error is what separates the difficulties.

Difficulty	Aim drift	Feels like
`easy`	0.09 radians	Misses regularly, punishes only easy positions
`medium`	0.045 radians	Takes the shots you would take, misses the thin cuts
`hard`	0.015 radians	Pots almost anything with a clear line

Radians are the honest unit here: 0.09 is about five degrees, which over the length of a table is a comfortable miss. 0.015 is under a degree.

It is a shot-picker, not a position player. It does not plan the next shot or play safeties, so a player who thinks a move ahead beats hard regularly. That is the right level for a pool table in a lobby.

Difficulty is one global setting, not a per-match choice

Unlike the chess and tic tac toe systems, there is no difficulty button on the panel: every AI match uses Config.ai.difficulty.

If you want players to choose, that is a small change: startMode already receives the mode, and the aim error is read per match at start.

The pause

thinkSeconds = 1.0,

The AI waits a second before shooting, even though it decided instantly. Without it the reply lands while the player's own shot is still settling in their head.

The avatar

An NPC stands at the other seat. With UseFriendAvatar = true it borrows the name and appearance of a random friend of the player, otherwise FallbackUsername.

That is a well-judged touch: playing "against" somebody you know is more engaging than playing against a nameless bot. Change FallbackUsername to an account you control.

AI matches are unrated

An AI match never touches ELO, wins, losses, draws or the leaderboards. Neither does solo practice.

This is stricter than the shipped defaults on the other game systems in the range, and it is the right call for a game with an ELO ladder: an opponent whose difficulty the player chooses cannot be allowed to move a rating.

Coin rewards do still apply, so an AI match is worth playing.

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