gametechmods
Robot Arena => Tutorials and Tips => Topic started by: Hoppin on November 14, 2018, 09:35:33 AM
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BFE - Beginners guide.
BFE (Bot File Editing) is the process of adjusting the parametres of a given component using the .bot file.
To start with I recommend looking at Craig's guide to the bot file, in which he dissects the bot file itself, showing what each part does. https://gametechmods.com/forums/tutorials-and-tips/guide-to-the-bot-file-(re-up)/
Software you'll need.
Notepad++ https://notepad-plus-plus.org/
Changing the chassis height.
Changing the height of the chassis is a rather simple task. It is stored as a decimal point somewhere shortly after "Chassis". (The number of lines depends on the amount of points your chassis has)
To start with you'll want to create a chassis, example below.
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Then you'll want to export it, this can be done by selecting the bot in the team HQ, then clicking "EXPORT". Navigate to your "Robot Designs" folder, in which you can open the .bot file using Notepad++.
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Once opened, you'll want to find the word "Chassis". Once located, look for a decimal point number. That is the value of your chassis height, highlight this, then press Ctrl+H. This brings up the Replace function. Adjust the "Replace this" to the number you want it to be, then click "Replace All". Then save!
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YOU ONLY NEED THE DECIMAL NUMBER ON THE LEFT, IGNORE THE RIGHT HAND NUMBER
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Open up your RA2, then import the bot you just saved. Tada!
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Position Adjustment
Again, this is a super simple process, even more so than the previous one, specifically in building extenderbots.
To start with place the component (for this example I'm using "Extenderstart" to showcase the process better.). Then export the bot once done so.
I tend to think as bot building as a grid, in which components move on an axis. When opening up the bot without moving the camera, the axis will look like so.
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When opening up the bot file, you should be able to find the components section, located near the end of the file.
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We are looking to adjust the X, Y & Z values of the component in question. Each component in the bot has their own set of variables found above the name of the components, highlighted below
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We are looking to adjust the line "0 0 0". This is the position of the component. X Y & Z respectively.
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Remember that 10cm in the game is 0.1 on the file. Keep this in mind when you're adjusting the value.
Save up, and re-import your bot. If it doesn't move in the direction you intended to, you might have used the wrong column.
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Here's the example from earlier, with the motor moved +0.4 (40cm) in the X axis.
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Changing the component
For this, you want to change the .txt name in the bot file of the component you have, to the one you want to change.
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This can be difficult as you need to know the name of the component in the file name. You can do this easier by attaching the component you want to change it to, to the bot, then copying that .txt name over to the component you need to change.
Hopefully this helps with your BFE. Any questions, just post a reply and I'll certainly try to answer them.
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Good to see more of these guides cropping up. In an ideal world there'd be one for every major aspect of RA2.
Pretty well-written too. Though you could have condensed it down to just the word "Don't" IMO ;)
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Pretty well-written too. Though you could have condensed it down to just the word "Don't" IMO ;)
Beginner's guide to Ra2 right there.
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Okay this is epic, but for chassis height or anything related to bfe, you dont really need to export the bot. Go to Test bot section, Alt tab out of the game, locate the bot, and bfe it there, without needing to exit the botlab
It saves you time
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Okay this is epic, but for chassis height or anything related to bfe, you dont really need to export the bot. Go to Test bot section, Alt tab out of the game, locate the bot, and bfe it there, without needing to exit the botlab
Just the way I learnt it, by all means you can do it that way.
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Okay this is epic, but for chassis height or anything related to bfe, you dont really need to export the bot. Go to Test bot section, Alt tab out of the game, locate the bot, and bfe it there, without needing to exit the botlab
It saves you time
Thanks! I've never BFE'd before, so I just build all in-game. This will help, though.
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You should add 180 degree bursts
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Okay this is epic, but for chassis height or anything related to bfe, you dont really need to export the bot. Go to Test bot section, Alt tab out of the game, locate the bot, and bfe it there, without needing to exit the botlab
It saves you time
Thanks! I've never BFE'd before, so I just build all in-game. This will help, though.
BFE can only be legally used for IRL (to help make more realistic bot) or maybe IF-S (I don't know actually, but I think Reier only allowed chassis height BFE for one of his tourneys IIRC). So if you use it in Stock Unrealistic, your bot will get rejected if you enter it to tourneys