Author Topic: Beginner's Guide To: Ironforge  (Read 7361 times)

Offline cephalopod

Beginner's Guide To: Ironforge
« on: August 09, 2015, 05:49:30 PM »
Well, this is a big one, and definitely one I need contributions for. Any help fleshing out especially the weapons section with better information than I provide would be massively beneficial. Feel free to post in here or drop me bits via PM.
That said, shall we start at the beginning?

1) What Is Ironforge?
Ironforge (downloadable here) is a Total-Conversion mod for Robot Arena 2 developed by 123savethewhales, with a whole roster of new and/or optimized components and a few unusual rules.
This said, when it comes to building styles, it is not dissimilar to DSL, with the prominent building styles consisting of Standard and IRL (Click here for a guide as to what these mean) and therefore, once the basic changes are gripped, it's very easy to play and build effective bots.

2) Ironforge Weightclasses
The main change to Ironforge from Stock or DSL are the weightclasses. These have been lowered, along with component weight, to provide more exciting matches.
The weightclass changes are self-imposed (due to being unable to edit the games source code), which mean that you cannot rely on the games weightclass indicator to provide the correct weightclass.

AW (Antweight): 70kg
BW (Beetleweight): 90kg
LW (Lightweight): 125kg
MW (Middleweight): 200kg
HW (Heavyweight): 400kg
SHW (Superheavyweight): 600kg

As a general, easy to remember rule for the main LW-SHW classes, the weight limit is half of the Stock/DSL limit.
On top of this, for any weightclass, you are permitted to add 4 ballasts (found in the extras section of the botlab) for no weight cost.

3) Changing Weightclasses for In-Game Tournaments
The lowering of the above weightclasses means that many bots will not read as their weightclass in game (for example a HW with no ballasts will read in-game as a MW, and a LW with 3 or more ballasts will read as a MW, etc).
This means that if you want to play the in-game tournaments, you won't face the correct opponents. This can be corrected by manually changing the bots weightclass.
You will need to follow these instructions carefully as not to ruin your bots file.
i) Export your bot from the Team HQ
ii) Locate your bot file in the Robot Designs folder of your Ironforge directory, and open it using Notepad++ (Freely available software)
iii) After the file indicates your bots name, it will show Class: and then a single digit. You need to change the digit accordingly - for LW (including AW/BW), 0. For MW, 1. For HW, 2. For SHW and above, 19658784 (a strange quirk of RA2).
iv) Save the .bot file (Not save as, as this may save it as a .txt file!) and re-import into RA2.

4) Armour
Armour has been changed in this mod from Stock/DSL and every armour is now a viable choice aside from the default armour, DSA, which weighs more than most armours and provides a lot less protection.

5) Building Style Rules
There are 3 main building styles, Unlimited, Standard and Realistic.

==================
I.  Unlimited Rules
==================

1.  Zero Collision - Components with collision may not stack with each other on the baseplate.
**Reason** - Distinguishing baseplate stacking in game from cheat is impossible.  If I want something to be placed anywhere, I will have given it no collision (e.g. baseplate anchor)

2.  Botlab Only - every placement must be possible in the botlab.

3.  Ironforge Weight Limit
AW - 70kg
BW - 90kg
LW - 125kg
MW- 200kg
HW- 400kg
SHW - 600kg

4.  4 Free Ballast - first 4 ballast do not count toward your weight limit.


==================
II.  Standard Rules
==================

1.  All rules included in Unlimited

2.  Realistically Plausible - a real life model must be hypothetically plausible in real life.  However, a standard bot do not have to consider the effectiveness of it's hypothetical real life model, only that it can be build.


==================
III.  Realistic Rules
==================

1.  All rules included in Unlimited

2.  Realistically Practical - a real life model bot must be hypothetically practical in real life.  A Realistic bot may no exceed it's hypothetical real life model in effectiveness.

3.  Realistic Minimum Chassis Height - 0.24
*Botlab Only Exception* - height below 0.338182 may only be achieved through BFE.



6) Component Guide (under construction)
i) Power
I will only talk about the choices you need to know about here, so disregarding the control board, air tank and smartzones.
-Duracell Batteries
2.5kg, 10 amps, 5000 total power
Enough to power any spin motor in terms of amps, however the capacity will be an issue for robots with higher power motors. Very good for LW and lower.

-Energizer Batteries
5kg, 15 amps, 15000 total power
A good balanced battery for many applications.

-DieHard Batteries
10kg, 20 amps, 40000 total power.
The most power for the weight, even if you can get more amps. Great for powering high amp burst motors.

ii) Extenders
Most of this section is very self-explanatory, however I will mention:
You will find many components in Extenders and Extras that come in Light and Dark variants - this isn't just aesthetic.
Light components weigh a lot less than Dark, however provide a lot less protection. If you need the strength and you have the weight, the obvious choice is to go for the Dark, but if you have little weight, or a non-exposed extender, Light is a good option.

iii) Motors
These are well described in terms of needs in-game. Make sure each motors needs are fulfilled and you can't go too far wrong.
Just remember drive motors are for wheels, locked motors for treads, and Z-Teks/Perms/Firebirds for weapons.
With the reduced weight of components/bots in Ironforge but higher motor power, it is often the case that you don't need the highest drive you can afford as your bot may end up too fast. Test, test and test again.
In terms of burst motors, Betas are great for flippers and hammers, while the others are great for faster needs, such as popups.
Pistons have been massively buffed in Ironforge and are now very powerful, with capability not to just push bots but fire them.

iv) Wheels
Wheels now come in 3 variants, Slim, Normal and Wide, offering higher grip and HP for each wheel but for a higher weight.
As with every other component, wheels are balanced so there are no real better wheels than others, however it is worth knowing Mini Wheels are the smallest wheels you can get a bot invertible with.
Treads have very high HP and can be just as fast as wheels if used correctly. Plus they look awesome :)

v) Weapons
Will try to go into each weapon in some detail, describing their traits and best usage.
All weapons are again balanced - nothing is more powerful than anything else, but there are weapons more suited to certain situations.
If you're unsure of what normals are in the following guide, they basically mean the weapon only causes damage with certain parts of the geometry - face the weapons so the normal will hit the opponent!


Razor
--------------------
Damage Type: 100% Piercing
Normal:  None
Special:  50% HP
Suggested Use:  FS, Juggler


Pole Spike
--------------------
Damage Type: 100% Piercing
Normal:  Tip only
Special:  2x Damage
Suggested Use:  Hammers, Pokers


Steel Blade
--------------------
Damage Type:  100% Piercing
Normals:  both sides and tip
Special:  Extended Reach
Suggested Use:  Popups, Flails

Sickle
--------------------
Damage Type:  100% Piercing
Normals:  both sides and tip
Special:  Unusual shape
Suggested Use:  Traps

Cutting Edge
--------------------
Damage Type: 67% Piercing, 33% Concussion
Normals:  Single side and tip
Special:  Extended Reach
Suggested Use:  Popups, HS, VS

Axe
--------------------
Damage Type: 50% Piercing, 50% Concussion
Normal:  Both sides and tip
Special:  Short and Compact
Suggested Use:  VS

Hammer
------------------
Damage Type: 100% Concussion
Normal:  None
Special:  Pseudo Extender
Suggested Use:  Rams, Poker, drums, extenders

Ninja Star
------------------
Damage Type: 50% Piercing, 50% Concussion
Normal:  All Bladed Side
Special:  Frequency, Circular hit box (allowing it to lift things much better).
Suggested Use:  Saw Bot

DSL Bars
------------------
Damage Type: 50% Piercing, 50% Concussion
Normal:  2 Bladed Side
Suggested Use:  Extender

Ice Cannon
------------------
Damage Type: None
Normal:  None
Special:  Flame Thrower
Suggested Use:  Pusher

Ban Hammer
------------------
Damage Type: 100% Concussion
Normal:  None
Special:  Flame Thrower, -17kg efficiency
Suggested Use:  Pusher
vi) Extras
-Ballast
You can use 4 of these 50kg ballasts without them counting towards your weight in any class.
-Skirt Hinge
Useful for all sorts of mounting.
-Skirts
Good for getting under stuff on a flipper or as a wedge on a skirt hinge. Comes in Light, Dark and Heater (even stronger) variants.
-Armors
Light and Dark protective panels. Don't underestimate how useful they are.
-Snow Plow
Like you'd expect, a plow. Comes in Light, Dark and Heater (even stronger) variants.
« Last Edit: February 16, 2016, 06:06:37 PM by Craaig »
bristol bot builders / two headed death flamingo / snappy robots
//
kindest and friendliest '13, '15, '16, '17 / favourite staff member '14, '15

Offline Virus Bomb

Re: Beginner's Guide To: Ironforge
« Reply #1 on: August 09, 2015, 09:12:44 PM »
uhw at 800kg is still lame af, takes away the challenge of building up to the weight limit. other than that, the guide looks pretty good.

Offline Mr. AS

  • TheGloriousCarbideArstotzkanIronsideChaosProtocol
  • *
  • Posts: 7557
  • Rep: 19
    • robotarenagtm
  • Awards BOTM Winner
    • View Profile
    • Awards
Re: Beginner's Guide To: Ironforge
« Reply #2 on: August 09, 2015, 09:48:20 PM »
Just went into the components file and gathered concussion vs piercing of each weapon (the one bit of info that isn't included in the component description), I think this was in 123's guide that he deleted.

-Razor Tip
Entirely piercing
-Pole Spike
Entirely piercing
-Steel Blade
Entirely piercing
-Sickle
Entirely piercing
-Iron Spike
1/2 piercing, 1/2 concussion
-Cutting Edge
1/2 piercing, 1/2 concussion
-Battle Axe
1/3 piercing, 2/3 concussion
-Crushing Tooth
Entirely concussion
-Hammer
Entirely concussion
-Ninja Star
1/3 piercing, 2/3 concussion, 4 frequency
-DSL Bar
1/3 piercing, 2/3 concussion
-Ice Launcher
Flame damage

That is, if concussion vs piercing actually means anything. Clickbeetle seemed to prove that it doesn't but whatever.
How you make Alarm Clock Pizza is:
Step 1: You buy an alarm clock from the store, and then you have to break it and put it in the sauce.
Step 2: Fold the sauce in 5 slices and put it in the dough.
Step 3: Paint the eggs with a pitcher of a clock showing what time you want to wake up and eat pizza for breakfast.
Step 4: Put the eggs in the dough.
Step 5: Make it flat into a round shape and draw the time you want on it.
Step 6: Put some old steel to prevent other peple from stealing it.
Step 7: Make it flat and cut into 60 slices 1 for each minute in 1 our.
Step 8: Put in the oven set the timer to 30048813.2884 seconds and put the temperature on 'Volcano' setting.
Step 9: If you think it is take to long, then get yor alarm clock and set it to now so that it will ring and you can take it out.
Step 10: Take it out uv the uvin wen it is redy and go to bed. In the morning eat pizza and also eat yor hands bi mistake.

Offline 123savethewhales

  • *
  • Posts: 2923
  • Rep: 30
  • Friendship is Magic
  • Awards BOTM Winner
    • View Profile
    • Awards
Re: Beginner's Guide To: Ironforge
« Reply #3 on: August 12, 2015, 02:52:10 AM »
While I never specify the weight limit for UHW or GHW.  I thought I made it obvious that weight class is == 1/2 of DSL weight class.

Of course, I can't promise that Ironforge won't crash with a 2500 bot.

As for piercing vs concussion

Piercing is enhanced with flails for both sides.
Concussion is enhanced with the momentum of your bot.  Concussion will deal more damage when placed on a ram/poker, unless it made contact with enemy weapons on flails.

This is why razor tip, the only non normal piercing weapon, has a stats penalty, we don't need flail rams/FSnS/TRFBD/wram popups de-weaponing everything all over again.

Offline cephalopod

Re: Beginner's Guide To: Ironforge
« Reply #4 on: August 12, 2015, 03:14:45 AM »
Thanks for the info guys, I'll make some changes to reflect that when I get onto a laptop.
bristol bot builders / two headed death flamingo / snappy robots
//
kindest and friendliest '13, '15, '16, '17 / favourite staff member '14, '15

Offline cephalopod

Re: Beginner's Guide To: Ironforge
« Reply #5 on: February 16, 2016, 06:07:52 PM »
Added a bunch of info Trov dropped me from the original deleted guides which were still in the forum's recycle bin.
bristol bot builders / two headed death flamingo / snappy robots
//
kindest and friendliest '13, '15, '16, '17 / favourite staff member '14, '15