Reminder: TclRobots Challenge #2
Tom Poindexter
This is a reminder for the TclRobots Challenge #2. There's still
plenty of time to get an entry submitted.
Rules and info about the Challenge are listed below. Additionally, some
folks have written to me asking about the previous Challenge. Results from the
first Challenge are in:
ftp://ftp.aud.alcatel.com/tcl/code/challenge-1.tar.gz
ftp://ftp.neosoft.com/pub/tcl/alcatel/code/challenge-1.tar.gz
Good luck to all challengers!
Tom Poindexter
tpoi...@nyx.net
http://www.nyx.net/~tpoindex/
IT'S THE TCLROBOTS CHALLENGE #2 !!!
To go along with the new version of my game, TclRobots, I'm moderating
another tournament. Here are the rules:
TclRobots Challenge #2 Rules
1. Have Fun! There are no prizes except for the "thrill of victory"
and recognition among other Challengers.
2. Write your own TclRobots Challenge entries using TclRobots version 2.0
as distributed on ftp.aud.alcatel.com.
ftp://ftp.aud.alcatel.com/tcl/potpourri/tclrobots-2.0.tar.gz (temporary)
ftp://ftp.aud.alcatel.com/tcl/code/tclrobots-2.0.tar.gz
ftp://ftp.neosoft.com/pub/tcl/alcatel/potpourri/tclrobots-2.0.tar.gz
Submitting the TclRobots sample programs as your own is considered
to be bad taste.
3. Each contestant may submit a single entry to compete in the one-on-one
tournament, and one team entry consisting of two files (with the same
'team_declare' statement.) Your team entry should declare a team as your
email id.
4. Submit your TclRobots Challenge #2 entry(ies) to me via email by
2:00pm MST (20:00 GMT), Friday, May 3, 1996. No entries will
be accepted after the deadline.
You should use the following comment block as the first lines of your
individual entry:
# TclRobots Challenge #2
#
# Individual entry
# Author's name: (your first and last name)
# Author's email address: (email address)
#
# Strategy: (optional, use as many lines as necessary)
#
You should use the following comment block as the first lines of your
team entry:
# TclRobots Challenge #2
#
# Team entry
# Author's name: (your first and last name)
# Author's email address: (email address)
#
# Strategy: (optional, use as many lines as necessary)
team_declare (your email id)
Please enclose both team files in one email message!
5. Email your entries to
tpoi...@nyx.net
I will acknowledge receipt of your entry. Your individual entry will be
named with your email id (less domain) and a suffix of .tr,
e.g. "tpoindex.tr". Team entries will be named with your email address and
a suffix of '-1.tr' and '-2.tr'. In a case of email conflicts, I will
choose appropriate filenames.
6. I will not be submitting an entry.
7. I will not run any matches or divulge any information about the
number of contestants or types of entries prior to running the
tournament. I will announce the start of the tournament and number
of entries after the entry deadline on :
comp.lang.tcl
comp.ai.games
comp.programming.contests
rec.games.corewar
http://www.nyx.net/~tpoindex
8. Running of the tournament:
The Individual Challenge consists of several preliminary tournaments, a
semi-final tournament, and a final battle. Winner will be determined as
follows:
a. All matches will be run on a 90mhz Pentium PC running Linux.
No other significant processes will be running on the machine
during the Challenge.
b. Entries will be randomly grouped in lots of 7-10 entries each.
No entry will compete in more than one group. Number of groups
will be determined by the number of entries and at the moderator's
discretion. If there are less than 10 entries submitted, then the
preliminary tournaments will be skipped.
c. Preliminary tournaments will be run on all groups of entries, using
the TclRobots "-t 20 -nowin" options (*). A time limit of 20
minutes per match will be used. This is a one-on-one battle against
each other entry in a group. Three points are awarded for each
win, one point for a tie, and zero for a loss.
d. Should the tournament(s) be interrupted for any reason (power outage,
crash, etc.), current results will be discarded and the
current tournament restarted.
e. The top 10 entries, based on points accumulated in the preliminary
tournaments, will compete in one semi-final tournament. The same
time limit and scoring as in the preliminary tournaments will
be used, "-t 20 -nowin". If more than one robot is tied for 10th
place going into the semi-final, a run-off tournament will be run
for those that tie for 10th place.
f. The top four robots from the semi-final tournament competition will
be chosen to compete in a four-way battle. A time limit of 1 hour
will be imposed for the final battle. A tie will be declared if
more than one robot file is still running after the time limit.
The final four-way battle will be run in real time with full
display.
The Team Challenge consists of a single-elimination tournament.
a. All matches will be run on a 90mhz Pentium PC running Linux.
No other significant processes will be running on the machine
during the Challenge.
b. Seeding the tournament will be entirely random, with a bye
inserted as needed.
c. A team entry consists of two robot programs that use the same
"team_declare" name. The individual team robot programs need not
be identical.
d. Each match between two teams will run with the TclRobots "-nowin"
option, and a limit of 50 minutes robot time is imposed (10 minutes
of wall clock time.) If neither team completes a decisive win,
both teams are eliminated. Winning teams advance in the
tournament; losing teams are eliminated.
e. The final match between the two remaining teams will run in
real time with full display. A time limit of 50 minutes
will be used. In case of a tie, both teams will be awarded first
place.
9. The winning entries will be announced on:
comp.lang.tcl
comp.ai.games
comp.programming.contests
rec.games.corewar
http://www.nyx.net/~tpoindex
Decision of the moderator is final.
I plan to start the tournament by 6:00pm MST May 3, 1996. The individual
Challenge will begin first, the team Challenge will follow.
10. A tar file of all entries and results will be posted on
ftp.aud.alcatel.com. If you don't want your entry published, then
don't enter.
Note: results may not be entirely reproducible on any given occasion
due to the random startup nature of TclRobots, and the random
assignments to preliminary tournaments.
11. The winner (or winners in case of a tie) will receive a
TclRobots Challenge #2 First Place certificate. Other entries that
finish in the top four will receive an Honorable Mention certificate.
12. I'm moderating the TclRobots Challenge #2 for fun as a personal service.
The Challenge is not connected with any business venture or company.
13. Email to me for an questions you have on tournament rules. I won't
be giving out any programming advice.
(*) TclRobots Version 2.0 includes a "-nowin" option, in which the battle
is not displayed and the simulation is run at a rate five times greater
than the real time display. E.g., a 20 minute match (apparent robot time)
completes in approximately 4 minutes of wall clock time.
--
Tom Poindexter
tpoi...@nyx.net
http://www.nyx.net/~tpoindex/