AI People: Now with local LLM

We are pioneering gaming AI: 

• Update 0.3.0a introduces Local LLM support, enabling AI NPCs to run directly on your PC. 
• AI People is the first game to implement AI NPCs powered by Local LLM.
• Now the entire AI People game can run offline on your PC (configure in game options) 
  
  

Local LLM Integration

AI People's NPCs operate through Large Language Models, which handle their conversations, understanding, and interactions. 

These interactions consume tokens - units of processing that are covered by credits in AI People.

Previously, this required cloud processing and consumed credits. Update 0.3.0a adds the option to run the LLM locally on your PC instead of using cloud services.

What This Means for Players

Cost Efficiency

• Run scenarios without using credits when processing locally
• New option to disable Text-to-Speech (TTS) to eliminate associated credit costs
• With local LLM, local Speech Recognition and TTS off, scenarios can run without consuming any credits - enabling unlimited gameplay
• Note: When TTS is disabled, NPC responses appear as text only

Local Processing

• All AI interactions process on your PC
• No cloud service dependencies
• Full control over AI interactions without cloud-based restrictions (censorship)

System Requirements

Local processing needs:

• Minimum 12GB GPU VRAM:
• 8GB for Local LLM
• 1-2GB for local Speech Recognition
• Remaining VRAM for game operations

Development Plans

This initial local LLM implementation will be expanded with:

• Local Text-to-Speech capabilities
• Hardware requirement optimizations
• Performance improvements

See-through Walls Shader for the Apartment

Previously, when playing on the Apartment map, it could happen that your character was behind any of the walls, especially near the bathroom. We understand it can be annoying when there’s an interaction and discussion close to a wall and it takes time to adjust the camera, potentially causing you to miss part of the experience.

That’s why we implemented a see-through shader for this map. Now, you’ll see a circle around the player character, allowing you to see them through walls and other obstacles. This also lets you view objects and decorations on the map in the close proximity to the characters.

Game speed options

Sometimes, everyone has the feeling that the conversation is too fast, or on the contrary, it moves like a snail and we need it to be faster. Or we see that it takes time before the PC goes to the opposite side of the map, to pick up the item and return to the player. 

As we want to give as much variety as possible, we added to the Gameplay Options two new dropdown menus “Game Speed” and “Speech Speed”.

Both categories allow to choose between 6 different speed options, from 0.75x to 2x

Bug Fixes

• Fixed rare issue where game would freeze after player actions
• Added more contrasting colors to voice input indicator for better audio pickup visibility
• Fixed NPC speech display issues when text contains parentheses
• Fixed NPCs continuing to talk when interrupted by player's voice input attempt
• Updated scenario thumbnails

Thank you for reading this blog!

Best,
Marek Rosa
CEO, Creative Director, Founder at Keen Software House
CEO, CTO, Founder at GoodAI

Personal bio:

Marek Rosa is the founder and CEO of GoodAI, a general artificial intelligence R&D company, and Keen Software House, an independent game development studio, started in 2010, and best known for its best-seller Space Engineers (over 5 million copies sold). Space Engineers has the 4th largest Workshop on Steam with over 500K mods, ships, stations, worlds, and more!

Marek has been interested in game development and artificial intelligence since childhood. He started his career as a programmer and later transitioned to a leadership role. After the success of Keen Software House titles, Marek was able to fund GoodAI in 2014 with a $10 Million personal investment.

Both companies now have over 100 engineers, researchers, artists, and game developers.

Marek's primary focus includes Space Engineers, the VRAGE3 engine, the AI People game, long-term memory systems (LTM), an LLM-powered personal assistant with LTM named Charlie Mnemonic, and the Groundstation.

GoodAI's mission is to develop AGI - as fast as possible - to help humanity and understand the universe. One of the commercial stepping stones is the "AI People" game, which features LLM-driven AI NPCs. These NPCs are grounded in the game world, interacting dynamically with the game environment and with other NPCs, and they possess long-term memory and developing personalities. GoodAI also works on autonomous agents that can self-improve and solve any task that a human can.