Re-Stocked AI: BETA and Release

[System32]

Check the bindings. he probably Used OmniRam.

[Sage]

Hmm. I think rammer py will crash if the bot doesn't have the right controls... ima do some tests.

EDIT: I replaced the rammer.py that was there with the original from stock ra2 and it works. It must have been messed up somehow... but anyways roly poly is backwards, and i fixed it.

edit2: ninja was backwards. fixed.

[GameKing3]

Like sage already said all the bots with rammer.py crash Catfish, Rolypoly, Razor, Eye Poker, Lil Dog, and Da Dog. I looked through the rest of the bots and all the other AI looked fine, it did not crash the game, and the bots drove and attacked like they where supposed to. I am going to look through it again just to make sure i did not miss anything.

[Naryar]

Snowjob isn't invertible.

[Trovaner]

After spending a majority of my day yesterday looking at the internals, bindings, and competitiveness of every bot in the pack, I can now safely conclude that I probably missed some things :P  I've already removed the things that were previously mentioned by other beta testers, some of my extra comments, and ways of reducing weight when I wasn't sure of what to use the weight for. I also removed the bots that I didn't have any problems/comments for. I don't expect you to fix all the problems that I listed (that would take forever and would have little impact on the overall experience) but hopefully some of the info will be helpful for you.

A majority of the bots could have their extenders (40cm+) divided into multiple segments (depending on the 7 component limit, usually 20cm) because they have more HP for the same amount of weight. So instead of making things overly complicated, I marked bots that would benefit from this with an astrix (*) (I left out bots with internal extenders or bots that I believed protected the extenders enough).

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0 - Red Zone
ALARM:
1.I'm not too fond of the weapons hitting at different times (looking at the collision mesh)
Sentinel: *
1.Have the sharp side of the blades point out because they aren't double-sided
3.The Srimech isn't very good right now because the wedges don't have enough extenders attached to them

1 - PREHISTORIC
Roly Poly: Might Be Worth The Rebuild
1.I'm not too fond of the weapons hitting at different times (looking at the collision mesh)
2.If you stack another baseplate anchor in the front, you can have two extenders (with the side attachment points pointing in opposite directions) with everything on the left currently on one and everything on the right currently on the other (with two weapons stacked in the center) (more HP)
3.The nose is in the wrong direction
Sabertooth: *
1.I like the use of the mace's large collision mesh to coverup the extenders
Grog The Warrior: *
1.The Spin command makes one of the snappers move.

2 - The Good ol' Boys
Catfish:
1.The irons (more specifically the top ones) could be rotated so that they hit at once (if hit by a slightly off center frontal attack)
Mud Runner: *
1.The extender Srimech should be a little longer.
BEAR:
1.Scary...

3 - Team Dragon
Ninja:
1.The bindings say that it is invertible but the plow gets in the way (you may have done this on purpose because the plow might be broken off but I figured I'd bring it to your attention)
Ronin:
1.Coolest bot in the pack PERIOD

4 - BLACK STORM
Bot-204:
1.Personally, I think the castors would do better if they were rotated inward a little
Devil:
1.Is the ballast really doing anything?
2.I'm not too fond of the messy chassis.
3.Use Popup instead of Omni because it is activating too soon
Coal Miner: *
1.I like the component arrangement inside and outside of the chassis

5 - Team SPARK
JACKBOT!: *
1.In terms of LWs, it has a ton of castors (a good thing)
Boxer:
1.The forward heading is backward (for when it is controlled by players; not the Heading used for the bindings). This doesn't cause any problems because it is an AI bot but it irritated me while testing.
2.A very well designed bot (reminds me of a bot that I think Click made...)
EMERGENCY: Questionably Easy Rebuild
1.Replace the ice picks and four extenders (one on each side of the weapon brackets (moving the 4 irons w/2 extenders down onto the bottom bracket) and add a razor onto each side of the brackets (I'm pretty sure you would need to remove .1kg off of the chassis for this to work though)
2.Divide the extenders into more than one segment (more HP for the same weight)

6 - SpikeHeads
M.A.D.:
1.The irons aren't lined up very well because of the angled chassis
2.The radius is set slightly too high in the bindings for it
Demetia:
1.I would consider adding another castor to the center
Little Metal Friend: *
1.I think the wedges could be angled down a little more

7 - North Polers
Mini Berg:
1.The front isn't wide enough to trap bots and it doesn't have a working Srimech
2.I think this bot should be replaced...
Snow Job:
1.Using the extra weight, add two irons to the extenders coming off of the pistons

8 - HIGH VOLTAGE
Backslash:
1.Rotate the blades so that the sharp side is out
WIDE LOAD:
1.I'm not too fond of the extender work
2.While inverted, the weapon drags and the front tires don't touch the ground at all (and the middle motors touch the ground occasionally)
3.The radius is set too high *thinks about how ironic that statment is*
3.I think this bot should be replaced...

9 - Team HEX
LugNut:
1.The wheels are a little too far out IMO but the only ideas I have to fix this will make it more generic
2.The radius is set too low
Hanky Panky:
1.Replace the forklift arms with either a spike strip, iron spike, spiked club, iron fist, or samurai sword (because they are big, have more HP, and do damage)
2.Switch directions of the blades on the wedges so that they can do damage to the opponent

10 - Team Z
Razor:
1.I've never seen a controlboard stacked with the top of the chassis before (I knew it worked with the sides but I've never even thought to try it with the top...)
2.Move the castors farther apart because not much will hit between them but horizontal spinners are likely to hit the extenders that are sticking out currently (after destroying the two razors first)
Eye Poker:
1.Move the wedge out more with the extra weight (right now, by the time it hits the opponent's front, you're already on your opponent's wedges)

11 - SteelYard Dog
Lil Dog:
1.The 'turn' setting in the bindings is set too high
Big Dog:
1.I like how this one looks...

12 - RIOT
Civil Disobedience:
1.For the skin, I would move the skull to the front
Raptor: *
1.Maybe try this against a version with the DDTs attached directly to the extenders that are next the other attachment point
2.The Srimech doesn't work very well.

13 - MEGATON
DEADBEAT: *
1.I think if you replace the angle connector with a black extender, the plows would protect the front of the chassis better.

14 - The Scrappers
Arc Pounder:
1.I would upgrade the razor to a mace (short enough that it won't get hit and break off as fast as an iron spike)
2.Continues to spin even while being counted out
Ripblade:
1.The wedge should be a little farther out
Backyard Ripper: *
1.Since it isn't invertible anyways, I would do either one of these:
-Replace the bracket wedges with another pair of snowplows (possible angled inward)
-Remove the bracket wedges, flip the plows, and add another pair of wedges or upgrade the razors
2.The chassis is almost the exact same as my first version of Shadow Tyrant...
4.Switch directions of the blades so that they get do damage to low horizontal spinners.


I, personally, am not very fond of the changes to the Infogrames logo but the music rocks.

[Sage]

wow, very thorough trov!

just on the topic of devil's ballast, i put it there to increase effectiveness of the wedge.

[Naryar]

Well you could add a blade rather than a ballast ?

[Somebody]

A ballast?!
Have we taught you nothing!

[Sage]

A ballast?!
Have we taught you nothing!

Ballasts really do increase the wedge goodness. It's true and has been proven.

[infiniteinertia]

Alright, in order...

- The blades, I will fix.
- I do not quite understand the whole separate segmented extender work, why is it better?
- I fixed all the messsed up headings
- Mud Runner, overall, needs a little fixing all around to improve stability
- Bushido, I HATE
- Glad you like RONIN :P. In this pack, there are 4 bots of my own that I edited slightly from my originals. Ronin (Wipeout), Hanky Panky (Switch of Death), Arc Pounder (Pulsar),  and Backyard Ripper (Platform of Death 3). And I think thats it.
- Boxer, which yes, I created using the design of Firebeetle's LW Lethal Injection. It works very well, and I currently am implementing it into a future HW for my AI pack.
- Emergency (is Sage's responsibility) :P
- M.A.D. I do not like.
- Funny you do not like MiniBerg, I think it is one of the best LW's in the pack. The srimech, I know, does not exist.
-WIDE LOAD, take it up with K343. Ive told him many times to redo the extender work.

Thats all really I have to say response to you Trov. Thank you very much for the analysis. I might have to ask you to BETA test my AI :P

And also, I love the Infrogrames logo :P

[Sage]

- Emergency (is Sage's responsibility) :P  

And also, I love the Infrogrames logo :P

Will do. And thanks :D

[R0B0SH4RK]

Can I has a beta testz plz?

I'd like to see which bots I sent made it in :)

[kill343gs]

I'll have another look at wideload and see what I can figure out.

[Trovaner]

I do not quite understand the whole separate segmented extender work, why is it better?

ALL stock extenders have 100HP no matter what size (DSL is different). So having one 40cm extender would have the same HP as one 20cm extender. With this in mind, having two 20cm extenders would be twice as efficient (40cm; 200HP) as having one 40cm extender (40cm; 100HP). Unfortunately, the 200HP isn't completely accurate because all the opponent has to do is deliver 100 damage to either one before it breaks off but at least this way your opponent has to hit something 20cm long instead of something 40cm long. (the same basic principle applies for extenders larger than 40cm but I thought it would be easier to understand if I used a 40cm extender as the example)

[Sage]

ALL stock extenders have 100HP no matter what size (DSL is different). So having one 40cm extender would have the same HP as one 20cm extender. With this in mind, having two 20cm extenders would be twice as efficient i(40cm; 200HP) as having one 40cm extender (40cm; 100HP). Unfortunately, the 200HP isn't completely accurate because all the opponent has to do is deliver 100 damage to either one before it breaks off but at least this way your opponent has to hit something 20cm long instead of something 40cm long. (the same basic principle applies for extenders larger than 40cm but I thought it would be easier to understand if I used a 40cm extender as the example)

yes, but two 20 cms is actually longer than 1 40 cm (dunno why) so it might change the bot. if its just a wedge that should be fine, but if its something else...

[Trovaner]

Yes but IMO most designs with external/unguarded extenders benefit from this even if something is being extended out slightly more because it is still making a smaller target, you have more HP overall, you have two more attachment points, and it costs the same amount of weight.

[R0B0SH4RK]

Well, here's what I found:

- Roly Poly crashes my game (haven't figured out why yet)
- ALARM does pretty little damage. I'd like to re-re-build this one.
- When Grog gets up on a wedge, its right snapper seems to either fire or fall forward.
- Catfish crashes the game.
- Ninja isn't invertible. I suggest rotating the drive motorsin order to make it invertible.
- Bushido sucks D:
- Devil's razors could be rotated.
- I'd put some razors on Coal Miner to increase it's damage, but it would still be fine as-is
- I believe that JACKPOT has plastic. I think it would be better if it didn't have a couple of the top-middle castors and had DSA.
- EMERGENCY's wedges suck (I know it's about preserving originality here, but they're a huge handicap against anything wedged).
- Dementia's front needs something on it (the paint I mean :P).
- Iceberg dosen't self-right, even when it's in a perfect position to. It also is a little too fast for its own good.
- Razor crashes.
- Eye Poker crashes.
- Lil Dog crashes.
- Da Dog crashes.
- REVENGE's side extenders that are holding on the spikes are vulnerable. They should probably be re-designed. (I have to say, it fights much better than I thought it would).
- Raptor's wedges are too narrow and short.
- Ripblade's wedge seems kinda useless.

That's just what I got from my first hour or so playing it. I have to say that all the rebuilds are very well done (with the exception of a couple, mainly Bushido). I really like Berserker, Civil Disobedience, BOT-204, Flapjack, Ronin and BEAR.

I'll try to diagnose the problems that I had later today or tomorrow, and post if I find anything :)

[Sage]

EMERGENCY was like the first bot built for this pack, a year ago. I have to do a major rebuild. I'll do something with the EMERGENCY wedge, but maybe not use it as a wedge.

[Scrap Daddy]

After a bad storm on saturday my power went out. It came back the next day but I was shocked to find my phone and internetz weren't working. The guy to fix it could only come today and he fixed it but I haven't been able to come on for like a week.

COOL STORY RIGHT?

I would like to beta test.

[Naryar]

Just rebuilt ALARM's weapon setup.



Sadly, the iron's collision mesh sticks out of the mace wall one by a little less than 4 cm.