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Robot Arena => Tutorials and Tips => Other Tutorials => Topic started by: 123savethewhales on January 19, 2011, 09:47:43 AM

Title: Damage
Post by: 123savethewhales on January 19, 2011, 09:47:43 AM
I.  Pierce VS Concussion.

When ramming 2 static weapons together, Concussion deals 2x the damage of pierce point by point.
Piercing is enhanced significantly more by moving components (piston, spin, burst, flail) compare to concussion for both side.  The faster the movement, the better piercing is over concussion.

Therefore, piercing is always preferred on moving components
Static piercing can be used for countering moving components
Static concussion are good for Rams and non Flail SnS, as their damage are greatly increased by the actual bot's movement.

I concluded that piercing and concussion has no direct linear relationship.  The damage formula should be something like this

M = Combined Momentum
S = Combined Speed of Axle
X = Momentum multiplier
Y = Speed multiplier
P = Piercing
C = Concussion

Damage = X*M*P + Y*S*P + 2X*M*C + f(Y)*S*C

Y is significantly stronger than f(Y), though I haven't figure out exactly.


II.  Initial Fracture.

Initial fracture means any component, after losing all it's HP, still takes one more hit to kill.  So when razor tip lose it's 1000 HP in 1 or 2 hits, it gets another hit before getting destroyed.  This means razor tips dissipates from 33% to a few hundred % damage received in spillover.  Whereas the sledge hammer hit receives all the damage.  It's no wonder why many small weapons are so much better.

This also makes sledge hammer better at light weight, but becomes less effective at heavy weight.  Less damage per hit means less damage getting spill over.


III.  Anything else discovered during this damage test?

Yes, metal value does not add damage on it's own, it is a damage multiplier.  The default for weapon is metal(0.8).  So if you want a non weapon component to deal damage, simply set its metal value to 0.8, and add whatever piercing/concussion you want.
Title: Re: Everything we know about this game is wrong.
Post by: Naryar on January 19, 2011, 09:57:22 AM
MOAR BEATERS

Oh, and you should obviously be more dramatic when announcing that.
Title: Re: Everything we know about this game is wrong.
Post by: NFX on January 19, 2011, 09:59:58 AM
Certainly a good bit of research you did there, 123. However, I'm not certain that it'll drastically alter the way bots are built too much.

And maybe beaters are better than people imagine. Hence why my Valid Query series is so damaging. =P
Title: Re: Everything we know about this game is wrong.
Post by: 123savethewhales on January 19, 2011, 10:08:56 AM
But remember, this test is specifically for static weapons.  See flail double damage on piercing, and I haven't try to see what other axles does the same.  Who knows maybe burst motor boost piercing damage also.  Someone need to try that.

Don't take my word for it.  Try the experiment I listed yourself.  The result is so counter conventional wisdom that I am having a hard time believing it, but that's where all the evidences are pointing at.

Certainly   a good bit of research you did there, 123. However, I'm not certain   that it'll drastically alter the way bots are built too much.

And maybe beaters are better than people imagine. Hence why my Valid Query series is so damaging. =P
You will not be surprise to find out that it makes no difference whatsoever.

DS Light + Light beater on non flail, Razor on Flails, just the way it is now.

DS Light is still somewhat better than light beater due to it's superior damage (because for some reason DS light has huge amount of concussion).
Title: Re: Everything we know about this game is wrong.
Post by: JoeBlo on January 19, 2011, 10:36:15 AM
Really this is the final nail in the coffin for a lot of current weapons...

At least when it comes to playing DSL 2.1 competitively.

Its amazing something so complex could come from what seemed to be a "half assed" game.. maybe they blew the whole budget paying the salary for someone to construct the damage calculation :P
Title: Re: Everything we know about this game is wrong.
Post by: G.K. on January 19, 2011, 10:39:22 AM
I'm a tad confused. What are the best weapons then?
Title: Re: Everything we know about this game is wrong.
Post by: 123savethewhales on January 19, 2011, 10:44:22 AM
Humm here's another non controversial finding.

Burst motors, like axles, boost the damage of piercing.  So it's no wonder why razors are so good on popups too.

So yeah, razors on flails and popups, DS light + Beater on other stuff, just the way it is now.
Title: Re: Everything we know about this game is wrong.
Post by: JoeBlo on January 19, 2011, 10:49:37 AM
hmm ...

so Skirt Hinge Rammers > Static Rammers?

I guess that would too become another norm
Title: Re: Everything we know about this game is wrong.
Post by: 123savethewhales on January 19, 2011, 10:51:55 AM
I tried.  It's odd, but skirt hinge does not boost damage of piercing.

My guess is that piercing only gets boosted when the axle is moving, that just isn't the case for skirt hinge during initial contact.

You really should try this and see if you get the same results I do.  I still find my own test results hard to believe.
Title: Re: Everything we know about this game is wrong.
Post by: JoeBlo on January 19, 2011, 10:56:15 AM
will do in the morning..

I have another possible head scratch-er about your moving axle theory which could change how we AI some robots  ;)
Title: Re: Everything we know about this game is wrong.
Post by: Larrain on January 19, 2011, 03:17:09 PM
About the axles thing, does this also mean piercing damage is boosted by spin motors as well?
Title: Re: Everything we know about this game is wrong.
Post by: Naryar on January 19, 2011, 05:14:20 PM
Burst motors, like axles, boost the damage of piercing.  So it's no wonder why razors are so good on popups too.

Maybe it has something to do with spin motor bursting in stock ? Maybe being on a burst motor or axle improves the statistics of both motors and weapons ?

Then flails are cheating in a DSL perspective, since it seems to augment the damage and hitpoints.
Title: Re: Everything we know about this game is wrong.
Post by: 123savethewhales on January 19, 2011, 06:45:31 PM
Given the piercing is so significantly lower than concussion in DSL, things that does boost piercing, such as flail, might be the only way they are balanced at all.  You are paying 4kg to boost piercing to the concussion level.  Even then Crosswind consistently de-weapon RPP.  Only reason RPP is used over Crosswind is for its sweeping power.

Besides under your argument burst motor with razor will also be cheating.
Title: Re: Damage
Post by: 123savethewhales on January 19, 2011, 09:38:03 PM
Changed the title and added some new findings.
Title: Re: Damage
Post by: Reier on January 20, 2011, 10:53:59 AM
durrrr....imma use sleges in stock k since this is over my head
Title: Re: Damage
Post by: Larrain on January 20, 2011, 11:29:28 AM
The earlier title was more lulzy. :P
Title: Re: Damage
Post by: Vertigo on January 20, 2011, 12:25:56 PM
Does this apply to stock aswell? Meaning hammers are good in stock!?
Title: Re: Damage
Post by: Naryar on January 20, 2011, 01:11:07 PM
Does this apply to stock aswell? Meaning hammers are good in stock!?

Yes it does apply, and no hammers still suck in stock.
Title: Re: Damage
Post by: Badger on January 20, 2011, 05:01:47 PM
Does this apply to stock aswell? Meaning hammers are good in stock!?

Yes it does apply, and no hammers still suck in stock.
*Quietly changes all my stock bots*

I learnt that Razor Tips are the most damaging weapon in DSL. Am I wrong?  :confused:
Title: Re: Damage
Post by: Naryar on January 20, 2011, 05:03:38 PM
They generally are, but not against high concussion weapons.
Title: Re: Damage
Post by: freeziez on January 20, 2011, 05:03:45 PM
Does this apply to stock aswell? Meaning hammers are good in stock!?

Yes it does apply, and no hammers still suck in stock.
*Quietly changes all my stock bots*

I learnt that Razor Tips are the most damaging weapon in DSL. Am I wrong?  :confused:

I think that irons are better, for some reason. But I lieks razors moar. :)
Title: Re: Damage
Post by: NFX on January 20, 2011, 05:07:07 PM
Razor tips are the best weapons in DSL as long as, like anything else, they are used correctly. Razor tips are a popup's best friend. Whereas a hammer rammer will probably beat a similarly designed razor rammer.
 
And Nary says Irons aren't very good in DSL. Small Beater & Light DS Tooth is a better use of the 10kg.
Title: Re: Damage
Post by: Sage on January 20, 2011, 05:29:17 PM
so... what about hammers on a motor?
Title: Re: Damage
Post by: Badger on January 20, 2011, 05:34:04 PM
so... what about hammers on a motor?
It means you're making a VS.
Title: Re: Damage
Post by: JoeBlo on January 20, 2011, 10:33:21 PM
^ It is highly recommended your don't make replys such as the above in response to serious questions ^

Concussion is double Piercing in static terms but piercing becomes stronger when in movement (axle/flail, spin motor, burst, etc)

so... what about hammers on a motor?

Hammers are a concussive weapon.. they gain nothing from spin motors... yes plain and simple, Hammers on a VS are no different from statically rammed into opponents..

as 123 noted, SnSnS designs can gain the same effects with simple 360 axle's then using motors.. there is no difference.

Does this apply to stock aswell? Meaning hammers are good in stock!?

beyond this damage calculation.. they still suck..

http://beetlebros.gametechmods.com/ra2stats.htm (http://beetlebros.gametechmods.com/ra2stats.htm)

one of the worst (if not the worst) damage to weight ratio in Stock
Title: Re: Damage
Post by: 123savethewhales on January 20, 2011, 10:55:20 PM
so... what about hammers on a motor?
Well, then you get about 500-1000 damage with 3 concussion on a dual perm plus the ram factor......  Whereas with 2.18 piercing you get around 3000 - 6000.  I mean it's no secret that VS with razor or ds light deals way more damage than a sledge one even prior to this.

The inconvenient factor is that if you swing your hammer with dual perm onto a static razor, you deal your 1000 damage while they return 6000.  It's no wonder why sledge VS tends to lose their hammers 20 second into the match.

That said, concussion should not be taken lightly on DSL.  Because with the 1 to 1.893 ratio that click sets, each concussion DP generates 3.786 times the momentum damage than piercing DP does.  If you take full advantage of this (example, see Yoda's first bot), you can generate some pretty outrageous damage with concussion.

In Stock though, the Iron Spike might be better for 36HS than mace.
Title: Re: Damage
Post by: Trovaner on January 20, 2011, 11:37:24 PM
A while back, I wanted to figure out the relationship that the material values had with Click's damage formula. What I did instead was find discrepancies riddled throughout what we believed to be the damage formula. Although I had planned to release a more complete study in the Mythbusters thread, this sorta took root early. Since most of you now know that the formula was a little inaccurate, I decided to just to release what I have and let you guys use it as you will...

========= Testing =========
Additional Conditions/Stats:
-DropDistance = 6.19933 (measured by the bottom of upper bot's component to top of lower bot after settling into ground (I used plus.rayTest(XYZ-StartingLocation, XYZ-EndingLocation)))
-DropVelocity = 11.02675 (if calculated the same way as in reality)

Code: (Formating of Data) [Select]
Variable
ChassisHP, CompHP (of Lower Bot)
ChassisHP, CompHP (of Upper Bot)
Summary

Code: (Control) [Select]
No Variables Assigned
628, 10000
628, 10000
0, 0
Code: (GroupA: Low Value Combinations) [Select]
1 Concussion
628, 10000
628, 10000
0, 0

1 Pierce
628, 10000
628, 10000
0, 0

Metal(1)
542.7, 10000
628, 10000
85.3, 0

1 Concussion + 1 Pierce
628, 10000
628, 10000
0, 0

1 Concussion + Metal(1)
542.66, 10000
628, 10000
85.34, 0

1 Pierce + Metal(1)
542.64, 10000
628, 10000
85.36, 0
Code: (GroupB: Medium Value Combinations) [Select]
10 Concussion
542.62, 10000
628, 10000
85.38, 0

10 Pierce
628, 10000
628, 10000
0, 0

Metal(10)
-226.39, 10000
854, 628, 10000
854.39, 0

10 Concussion + 10 Pierce
542.7, 10000
628, 10000
85.3, 0

10 Concussion + Metal(10)
-7905.07, 10000
628, 10000
8533.07, 0

10 Pierce + Metal(10)
-225.72, 10000
628, 10000
853.72, 0
Code: (GroupC: High Value Combinations) [Select]
100 Concussion
-226.39, 10000
628, 10000
854.39, 0

100 Pierce
628, 10000
628, 10000
0, 0

Metal(100)
-7910.17, 10000
628, 10000
8538.17, 0

100 Concussion + 100 Pierce
-225.61, 10000
628, 10000
853.61, 0

100 Concussion + Metal(100)
-852996.25, 10000
628, 10000
853624.25, 0

100 Pierce + Metal(100)
-7893.31, 10000
628, 10000
8521.31, 0


Edit: Added the picture that I forgot...
Title: Re: Damage
Post by: 123savethewhales on January 21, 2011, 12:05:24 AM
One thing you should highlight or put in bold was that you are using a COMPONENT......  You will be surprise to find out how many reader might skip the preparation spoiler and end up having no idea what you are talking about.

metal(0.1), default concussion = 1, default piercing = 0 all matches the tests that I ran, so I can confirm that.

Funny momentum+pierce deals no damage to chassis at all.
Title: Re: Damage
Post by: Clickbeetle on January 22, 2011, 10:57:45 PM
But obviously razors do damage to the chassis.  :confused:


This is all very confusing.
Title: Re: Damage
Post by: 123savethewhales on January 22, 2011, 11:26:14 PM
Trov did a drop test, which is only a part of the damage equation.  Note earlier that 2 things determines damage, the momentum (Trov's drop test) and axle speed.  When you put razors on a burst motor or flail they will easily kill a chassis in no time.
Title: Re: Damage
Post by: Clickbeetle on January 23, 2011, 12:15:07 AM
But they also do damage to the chassis on rammers.  Which only use momentum if I'm figuring this right.
Title: Re: Damage
Post by: 123savethewhales on January 23, 2011, 12:39:26 AM
Razor has 0.2 concussion.

Also, if you mount it on skirt hinge some of it's momentum becomes axle speed, though not nearly as much as free axles.  When you stack 30 or 40 razors you are bout to generate 1000 damage, whereas full speed hammer ram can generate past 10k.

Personally I never ran the test Trov did, that's just how I made sense of his findings.  I ran weapon vs weapon test.  In there, piercing deals half the momentum damage as concussion point by point.
Title: Re: Damage
Post by: Clickbeetle on January 23, 2011, 12:48:48 AM
Razor has 0.2 concussion.

Not in stock... they have 1 piercing and 0 concussion.  Yet you can still KO bots with a razor rammer or pole spike rammer.
 
Or... maybe it's the metal(0.1) doing the damage?  Still, that low a value should deal pathetic damage.
Title: Re: Damage
Post by: 123savethewhales on January 23, 2011, 01:02:58 AM
No, metal doesn't add damage.  It's a multiplier.
Title: Re: Damage
Post by: Clickbeetle on January 23, 2011, 01:18:07 AM
So clearly there is something else going on here, because stock razor rammers will do damage to the chassis.
 
*thinks*
 
Something to do with wheels then?  Must fiddle around with some test bots.
Title: Re: Damage
Post by: Trovaner on January 23, 2011, 04:48:45 PM
I'm positive there is more to the damage formula than what I posted... I'm thinking there must also be a constant that gets multiplied against the velocity (not momentum). If this is true, I believe it would be merely in addition to what I posted. There is quite a bit that still needs to be accounted for before we will have a one-size-fits-all formula.
Title: Re: Damage
Post by: Clickbeetle on January 30, 2011, 09:58:44 PM
OK I was doing some messing around with some test bots to find out how piercing and concussion relate to each other.


I made a rammer and a horizontal spinner each with three custom weapons which I could set the stats on separately.  I tested several combinations of rammer, spinner, piercing weapons, and concussion weapons and adjusted the piercing or concussion values on one of the weapons until the two bots scored approximately equal points and were both de-weaponed at the same time.  This gives an approximate damage ratio between piercing and concussion.


The results:


Piercing rammer vs. Concussion rammer:
1.8 piercing = 1 concussion


Piercing HS vs. Concussion HS:
1 piercing = 2.2 concussion


Piercing HS vs. Piercing rammer:
1 piercing = 1 piercing


Concussion HS vs. Concussion rammer:
1 concussion = 1 concussion


Piercing HS vs. Concussion rammer:
1 piercing = 1.8 concussion


Concussion HS vs. Piercing rammer
1.8 concussion = 1 piercing


I used a custom motor for the HS as well which I could adjust the speed on.  These results were the same for any speed 10-40 and probably higher speeds as well (there is a lot of difference between 10 and 40 speed but no difference in damage ratios).


Conclusions:


- The old DP formula DP = 183.9 P + 100C is still approximately correct for cases involving moving weapons against static weapons.  It is also still correct for cases of moving weapons against non-weapons (as shown by my original tests in developing that formula).


- The piercing/concussion ratio is apparently reversed in cases involving static weapons against other static weapons.  This is consistent with 123's tests.


- The piercing/concussion ratio is even higher than 1.839 in cases involving moving weapons against other moving weapons.


Practical bot building conclusions?


- Under the old DP formula, piercing weapons are better on spinners and concussion weapons are better on rammers.


- If piercing and concussion are treated as equal, piercing weapons are always better except in rammer vs. rammer battles.


Component balancing conclusions?


- Components will have different balance depending on whether they are moving or static.


- The only way to make all components 100% balanced is to use the same ratio of piercing/concussion on all of them (Might not be a bad idea to just use pure concussion, as this would nerf the damage bonus to flail weapons).
Title: Re: Damage
Post by: JoeBlo on January 30, 2011, 10:07:03 PM
- The only way to make all components 100% balanced is to use the same ratio of piercing/concussion on all of them (Might not be a bad idea to just use pure concussion, as this would nerf the damage bonus to flail weapons).

I did a similar thing to Backlash after talks with 123, we were going to keep it on the down-low as we didn't want debates of realism, but as all piercing weapons gain a boost from spinning and concussion doesnt, we dropped the concussion value for Backlash weapons..

so you can use them as static but they will deal more damage as spinners.. which is the point of the mod all in all..
Title: Re: Damage
Post by: Sage on January 30, 2011, 10:08:18 PM


- The only way to make all components 100% balanced is to use the same ratio of piercing/concussion on all of them (Might not be a bad idea to just use pure concussion, as this would nerf the damage bonus to flail weapons).

perfect.
Title: Re: Damage
Post by: Clickbeetle on January 30, 2011, 10:19:47 PM
as all piercing weapons gain a boost from spinning and concussion doesnt, we dropped the concussion value for Backlash weapons..

so you can use them as static but they will deal more damage as spinners.. which is the point of the mod all in all..


Note my piercing HS vs. piercing rammer test though.  In that case both bots were de-weaponed at the same time with equal weapons.  So piercing weapons ONLY gain an advantage when spinning against concussion weapons and non-weapons.


Simply put, it seems that piercing gets the boost if EITHER bot has spinning weapons--it doesn't matter if the piercing weapons are on the spinner or getting hit by the spinner.


And if BOTH bots have spinning weapons, then piercing gets an even bigger boost.
Title: Re: Damage
Post by: Sage on January 30, 2011, 10:22:59 PM
what about piercing/concussion vs chassis tests, Click?
Title: Re: Damage
Post by: JoeBlo on January 30, 2011, 10:29:25 PM
well that makes it interesting.. that said the boosting of damage could work in the favor of Backlash but could be debatable with realism..

123 hadn't got as far as what you have here at the time we were trying to work out a good weapon balance.
Title: Re: Damage
Post by: Clickbeetle on January 30, 2011, 10:58:50 PM
what about piercing/concussion vs chassis tests, Click?


That was how I originally came up with the current DP formula.  It was a hammer bot I was testing on a bare chassis.  The results are still the same.


That said, I haven't done static weapons vs. chassis/non-weapons, which would be worth doing...


well that makes it interesting.. that said the boosting of damage could work in the favor of Backlash but could be debatable with realism..

123 hadn't got as far as what you have here at the time we were trying to work out a good weapon balance.


As long as you stick with a constant piercing/concussion ratio the components should be balanced.  I'm just saying that using pure piercing won't necessarily give spinners any advantage over rammers.
Title: Re: Damage
Post by: Urjak on January 30, 2011, 11:05:25 PM
(Might not be a bad idea to just use pure concussion, as this would nerf the damage bonus to flail weapons).


The FSS is nearing its final days....  :frown:
Title: Re: Damage
Post by: JoeBlo on January 30, 2011, 11:13:46 PM
dont feel bad... pop ups are nearing theirs with the direction of DSL 3
Title: Re: Damage
Post by: 123savethewhales on January 30, 2011, 11:16:41 PM
Well, given rammers isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer as is, even with 1.839 to 1, rammers would just be outright bad when concussion is completely removed.  Or put in another way, you better off just move slow and stack as much weapons as possible (refraction).

Weapons doesn't have to be the same to be balanced.  The whole 1.839 to 1 was actually quite balance because momentum damage just can't be generated nearly as easily as spinners or popups.  The one person I can think of that loves concussion weapon is The Ounce, and his bots are competitive enough.  That's when I realize I don't actually have to explicitly change much for Space Arena.

dont feel bad... pop ups are nearing theirs with the direction of DSL 3
No way.  With no flails to stop wedges, popups will be better than ever.

Something like samurai sword is good enough for popups in an environment where every bot suffers from normals.  Popup actually gets hurt the least from this as they can best control the direction of which the weapons make contact.

Quote
Concussion HS vs. Piercing rammer
1.8 concussion = 1 piercing
I don't know how you keep getting this 1.8 to 1 relationship.  When I systematically increase the speed/torque of the motor, piercing damage increase disproportionally to concussion.  That's why you get that 2.2 when both of them are on HS.

You can easily generate 3 to 1 or 4 to 1 with a stronger motor.
Title: Re: Damage
Post by: Vertigo on February 02, 2011, 04:35:09 AM
dont feel bad... pop ups are nearing theirs with the direction of DSL 3
Only if stock and DSL 2.1 are forgotten in the process
Title: Re: Damage
Post by: Sage on February 02, 2011, 03:55:32 PM



Piercing HS vs. Concussion HS:
1 piercing = 2.2 concussion




Does this mean that... irons are better weapons than maces on HS?
Title: Re: Damage
Post by: cephalopod on February 03, 2011, 03:16:21 PM
I like my Concussion weapon VS very much, so personally I wouldn't want to see piercing weapons continuing to be generally the best. I like the idea Click suggested of just using pure concussion, which makes everything a lot more balanced and means the moment my LW VS hit a single razor they go flying everywhere ;)
Just mah 2 cents.
Title: Re: Damage
Post by: Clickbeetle on February 09, 2011, 11:03:59 PM



Piercing HS vs. Concussion HS:
1 piercing = 2.2 concussion




Does this mean that... irons are better weapons than maces on HS?


If you just go by stats, then yes... but there are other factors to consider like size.  Maces protect the extenders better which might explain why Inf's tests resulted in 36 mace HS beating 36 iron HS.
Title: Re: Damage
Post by: G.K. on February 17, 2011, 03:27:58 PM
In that instance, to test stock irons vs maces, how about making a custom version of the 20cm extender with the APs quite a way away from the main body of the component and making normal 36 HS's with them?