I built a server-based card game that supports multiple players connecting from different clients. The game runs smoothly when all participants are real people joining through the network. However, I’m now trying to add computer-controlled players to fill empty slots or replace disconnected users.
The main challenge I’m facing is figuring out the best way to handle these AI players on the server side. I’m wondering if I should spawn individual threads for each bot, or if there’s a better approach to manage them alongside human players.
Has anyone dealt with similar integration challenges? What would be the most efficient way to handle both human and AI players in the same game session?
Skip individual threads for each bot - just treat AI players as lightweight entities in your main game loop. Way cleaner and you don’t have to deal with thread headaches.
I use a unified player interface where human and AI players implement the same methods. Humans get input from network messages, AI gets it from decision algorithms. Works great.
But managing all this manually gets messy quick. You’ll be juggling timing, state sync, and scaling as player count grows.
I’ve been using automation platforms like Latenode for this stuff - much cleaner. Set up workflows that handle player management, bot decisions, and dynamic scaling based on demand. It handles orchestration so you can focus on actual game logic.
You can trigger bot actions from game events, manage multiple sessions, and plug in external AI services for smarter bots later.
I’ve dealt with this exact issue in my poker server. Skip threading - use an event-driven setup where bots are just another player type in your game state machine. Bots don’t need real-time processing like humans. Batch their decisions during specific game phases and add simulated network delay so they feel natural. I use a simple scheduler that processes AI decisions at set intervals. For disconnections, keep a player registry tracking connection status. When someone drops, spin up a bot with the same player ID and game state. Game keeps running smoothly. One thing I learned the hard way - don’t make bots too predictable. Add random decision delays and throw in some suboptimal plays. Makes it way more engaging for human players. Server overhead is basically nothing since you’re just running decision algorithms without any network I/O.