All right, it's about time I put together some official rules and set a date for signups.
GET READY FOR IRONBOT!
In case you missed it, you can see a little mini preview tourney I did here: https://gametechmods.com/forums/index.php/topic,6411.0.html (https://gametechmods.com/forums/index.php/topic,6411.0.html)
This tournament will be pretty much like that.
OFFICIAL RULES:
Section 1 - General Information
1.1 Weight class is Stock HW.
1.2 The arena to be used is a new arena I am working on called the Containment Cube. (What? JoeBlo doesn't have any patent on cubes last I checked.)
Here is a quick mockup of what the finished arena will look like:
(https://gametechmods.com/uploads/images/76963cubemockup.jpg)
It is a 32x32x32 meter cube, completely enclosed. There are no death pits or OOTA zones. The lower walls are covered in rows of spikes that will deal damage and possibly hinder spinners from spinning up. In the middle of one wall there is a vertical spinning blade that sticks halfway into the arena. In the opposite wall there is a big hammer. All hazards will be sufficiently dangerous, not like those wimpy "hazards" in the stock arenas. :evilsmile: The floor is regular mesh (not a plane like the BBEANS arena) with 0.5 friction (for reference, this is between the Combat Arena and the BBEANS arena).
The start points are positioned how you see the bots arranged in the picture. Notice how no bot is directly facing another. This means you can't blindly box-rush the opponent right away; a little bit of turning is required to orient. It's intended to have the same general effect as the center blade in the BBEANS arena but without cluttering up the center of the arena.
1.3 Standard stock building. All normal in-game building techniques are allowed. Outside-game building (AAM, BFE) is not.
1.4 The 140 cm extender is allowed.
1.5 BBEANS general rules (http://beetlebros.gametechmods.com/bbeans) apply except where otherwise noted below.
Section 2 - Restrictions
2.1 All bots must have damaging weapons.
2.2 Bots without active (moving) weapons must use the "Ram" or "Charge" tactics such that they repeatedly ram the opponent rather than pin them. If a bot did have active weapons but loses them, it must switch to the Ram or Charge tactic.
2.3 All bots must move via wheels, not via discs or other non-wheel components.
2.4 No popups. Popups are banned. They get KO's too fast without breaking other components, which defeats the purpose of this tournament.
2.5 Bots can have a maximum of 6 casters. Use them wisely.
2.6 Multibots are not allowed.
2.7 Double-strength titanium and steel armor are not allowed. (These are found on some of the stock AI bots.)
Section 3 - Tournament Format
3.1 At the beginning of the tournament, all the bots are randomly paired off in 1 vs. 1 fights. In the following round, the winners and losers will be separated into two groups. All the bots in each group are randomly paired off and fight. This process repeats for all the following rounds. In this way, the same two bots will never fight two rounds in a row.
3.2 If there are an odd number of bots in both groups, the bots remaining after pairing off will fight if they didn't already fight in the previous round. If they did fight in the previous round, the bots are randomized over again.
3.3 If there are an odd number of bots total, the bot in the loser's group with the most damage gets a bye.
3.4 Matches last 30 seconds. Since this is not a standard RA2 match time, I will be using a bit of Python that disables both bots after 30 seconds have elapsed, in order to prevent damage from being dealt after the buzzer. Immobility warnings will be disabled for the entire 30 seconds.
3.5 Any components that break during a match are permanently lost for the rest of the tournament. All other damage not resulting in a break is reset between fights.
3.6 Bots are eliminated when they are either KO'd, or are reduced to 1 or 0 wheels. It doesn't matter how many match wins or losses a bot gets as long as it isn't KO'd or de-wheeled.
3.7 All bots get one spare control board, which allows them to be KO'd once without being eliminated.
3.8 All bots get a number of spare wheels equal to half the wheels they start with. So a 2-wheeled bot gets 1 spare, and a 4-wheeled bot gets 2 spares. Bots with an odd number of wheels like 3 or 5 get their number of spares rounded up (just as a bit of extra incentive to be crazy and original ;) ). Spare wheels are used immediately after any wheels are lost in a fight.
3.9 If a wheel is attached to another external component (such as a drive motor or an extender), and that component breaks, a spare wheel will allow the replacement of any components that are necessary to re-attach the wheel. Any other components attached to the broken component not necessary for the attachment of the wheel are lost.
3.10 If a bot loses wheels such that the drive becomes asymmetrical and it can't drive straight, the wheels will be rearranged so that it can drive straight. If there are an odd number of wheels remaining, one of them will be unpowered so that the bot can drive straight.
3.11 If a bot has vertical spinning weapons and it loses some weapons, the remaining weapons will be arranged in order to keep the bot as balanced as possible.
3.12 As soon as there are four or fewer bots remaining, they will engage in a final Fight to the Death. This will pit all remaining bots against each other in a rumble, with no time limit. Immobility warnings will also be disabled for the first two minutes of the fight. The fight will go on until there is only one bot left, at which point this bot will be the winner of Ironbot!
3.13 If there are a large number of entries, the Fight to the Death will begin once there are 16 or fewer bots remaining. These bots will be randomly sorted into four groups which will each engage in a Fight to the Death. The survivor of each group will then go on to compete in the final Fight to the Death.
3.14 Havok explosions are ignored unless a bot is stuck in the floor, thrown into a hazard, etc. such that it loses components that otherwise wouldn't be broken. In that case the match is restarted. There is no penalty for causing Havok explosions. The exception is in the Fight to the Death; in this case, BBEANS Havok explosion rules apply.
3.15 Unpowered wheels: Unpowered wheels on axle mounts do not count toward the number of spare wheels you get, but they can be moved in case the powered wheels break.
Section 4 - Signups
4.1 Signups will be open for one week, from July 24 to July 31.
4.2 All legal bots received during that time will be accepted; there is no limit on the number of entries.
4.3 I will (grudgingly, but to the best of my ability, or at least the upper 20% of my ability) AI your bot if you don't provide AI.
4.4 If you have a legitimate excuse why you can't send your bot during the official signup period, and you tell me BEFORE SIGNUPS OPEN, you can send your bot at a different time.
4.5 You can update or change your entry at will during the signup period. After signups close on July 31, entries are locked down and cannot be changed unless it is absolutely necessary for the bot's functioning or legality.
Section 5 - Awards
There are several awards up for grabs in Ironbot. These are all objective categories, not subjective decisions that require a vote. The prize for each award is one guaranteed entry slot in BBEANS7.
Last Bot Standing - This is the overall winner of the Fight to the Death and Ironbot.
Competitive Jerk - This is the bot that eliminated the most opponents, either by KO or de-wheeling.
Technical Winner - This is the bot that won the most fights according to standard RA2 criteria (KO or points).
Black Knight Award - This goes to the bot that took the most damage before finally being eliminated. "It's only a flesh wound!"
(https://gametechmods.com/uploads/images/97087fragbeetle21.jpg)